Discover new books on Goodreads
Meet your next favorite book
Why I made this list...
So I discovered this book..."Special Topics in Calamity Physics"...which many other people had already discovered and read. As I had only recently discovered it, I turned to the many other people who had already discovered it for advice. Said advice said that it was good. So I purchased said book.
When I started reading the chapter titles, also known as Core Curriculum, (Curriculum is hard to spell by the way, and I consider myself to be a really good speller) I found them to be titles of classic must reads. I was appalled to discover that I had read none of them...Count them...None. This was entirely unacceptable to me as I also consider myself to be a well read reader, (I like the sound of "Well read reader") and apparently I was mistaken. Also apparently, the author makes reference to each of them in each corresponding chapter.
So whatever shall I do? Read them. And read them before reading the actual book because heaven forbid there be anything I don't understand. Seriously. We are talking lightning and amphibians.
And so the list...
There are 36 chapters with titles of books and one chapter entitled Final Exam.
Chapter 30 has a book title which is apparently fake. If you can find "The Nocturnal Conspiracy" by Smoke Wyannoch Harvey, let me know. Cuz it's fake and I can call you a liar and then do the rhyme.
I have now read the first four and am currently reading book #5 "The Woman in White". Join me in my quest for better reading enlightenment if you dare. The road ahead may be fraught with unforeseen peril. Like SparkNotes with spoilers, papercuts, and the need to read a steamy romance novel. Proceed at your own risk.
Celery
So I discovered this book..."Special Topics in Calamity Physics"...which many other people had already discovered and read. As I had only recently discovered it, I turned to the many other people who had already discovered it for advice. Said advice said that it was good. So I purchased said book.
When I started reading the chapter titles, also known as Core Curriculum, (Curriculum is hard to spell by the way, and I consider myself to be a really good speller) I found them to be titles of classic must reads. I was appalled to discover that I had read none of them...Count them...None. This was entirely unacceptable to me as I also consider myself to be a well read reader, (I like the sound of "Well read reader") and apparently I was mistaken. Also apparently, the author makes reference to each of them in each corresponding chapter.
So whatever shall I do? Read them. And read them before reading the actual book because heaven forbid there be anything I don't understand. Seriously. We are talking lightning and amphibians.
And so the list...
There are 36 chapters with titles of books and one chapter entitled Final Exam.
Chapter 30 has a book title which is apparently fake. If you can find "The Nocturnal Conspiracy" by Smoke Wyannoch Harvey, let me know. Cuz it's fake and I can call you a liar and then do the rhyme.
I have now read the first four and am currently reading book #5 "The Woman in White". Join me in my quest for better reading enlightenment if you dare. The road ahead may be fraught with unforeseen peril. Like SparkNotes with spoilers, papercuts, and the need to read a steamy romance novel. Proceed at your own risk.
Celery
Score
A book’s total score is based on multiple factors, including the number of people who have voted for it and how highly those voters ranked the book.
| 1 |
Paradise Lost
by
3.85 avg rating — 180,967 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
|
| 2 |
Wuthering Heights
by
3.90 avg rating — 2,013,181 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
|
| 3 |
Madame Bovary
by
3.71 avg rating — 371,568 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
|
| 4 |
A Room with a View
by
3.89 avg rating — 200,573 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
|
| 5 |
Brave New World
by
3.99 avg rating — 2,056,604 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
|
| 6 |
The Secret Garden
by
4.17 avg rating — 1,284,773 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
|
| 7 |
The Woman in White
by
4.01 avg rating — 165,182 ratings
score: 856,
and
9 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
|
| 8 |
Moby Dick
by
3.56 avg rating — 611,773 ratings
score: 848,
and
9 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
|
| 9 |
Othello
by
3.89 avg rating — 433,828 ratings
score: 782,
and
8 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
|
| 10 |
The Trial
by
3.94 avg rating — 389,274 ratings
score: 737,
and
8 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
|
| 11 |
One Hundred Years of Solitude
by
4.12 avg rating — 1,093,094 ratings
score: 732,
and
8 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
|
| 12 |
Heart of Darkness
by
3.43 avg rating — 554,508 ratings
score: 706,
and
8 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
|
| 13 |
Pygmalion
by
3.89 avg rating — 109,274 ratings
score: 668,
and
7 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
|
| 14 |
The Taming of the Shrew
by
3.74 avg rating — 179,862 ratings
score: 656,
and
7 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
|
| 15 |
Howl and Other Poems
by
4.13 avg rating — 118,689 ratings
score: 636,
and
7 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
|
| 16 |
Bleak House
by
4.02 avg rating — 113,590 ratings
score: 559,
and
6 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
|
| 17 |
The Mysterious Affair at Styles (Hercule Poirot, #1)
by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 499,089 ratings
score: 557,
and
6 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
|
| 18 |
Things Fall Apart (The African Trilogy, #1)
by
3.74 avg rating — 409,591 ratings
score: 531,
and
6 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
|
| 19 |
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
by
4.20 avg rating — 776,283 ratings
score: 527,
and
6 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
|
| 20 |
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
by
3.64 avg rating — 163,199 ratings
score: 523,
and
6 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
|
| 21 |
Les Liaisons dangereuses
by
4.05 avg rating — 58,467 ratings
score: 474,
and
5 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
|
| 22 |
The Complete Stories
by
4.39 avg rating — 40,667 ratings
score: 449,
and
5 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
|
| 23 |
Women in Love
by
3.66 avg rating — 33,385 ratings
score: 445,
and
5 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
|
| 23 |
Special Topics in Calamity Physics
by
Marisha Pessl (Goodreads Author)
3.70 avg rating — 48,771 ratings
score: 445,
and
5 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
|
| 25 |
Metamorphoses
by
4.10 avg rating — 77,714 ratings
score: 444,
and
5 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
|
| 26 |
The House of the Seven Gables
by
3.45 avg rating — 42,810 ratings
score: 366,
and
4 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
|
| 27 |
Sweet Bird of Youth
by
3.74 avg rating — 3,608 ratings
score: 364,
and
4 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
|
| 28 |
The Big Sleep (Philip Marlowe, #1)
by
3.94 avg rating — 167,371 ratings
score: 318,
and
4 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
|
| 29 |
A Moveable Feast
by
4.02 avg rating — 165,844 ratings
score: 273,
and
3 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
|
| 30 |
Deliverance
by
3.89 avg rating — 33,851 ratings
score: 265,
and
3 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
|
| 31 |
Laughter in the Dark
by
4.01 avg rating — 21,314 ratings
score: 168,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
|
| 31 |
The Sleeping Beauty & Other Fairy Tales
by
3.82 avg rating — 168 ratings
score: 168,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
|
| 33 |
Justine, or The Misfortunes of Virtue
by
3.42 avg rating — 16,747 ratings
score: 146,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
|
| 34 |
The Housebreaker of Shady Hill and Other Stories
by
4.18 avg rating — 148 ratings
score: 88,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
|
| 35 |
Quer pasticciaccio brutto de Via Merulana
by
3.60 avg rating — 3,644 ratings
score: 74,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
|
| 36 |
Che Guevara Talks to Young People (The Cuban Revolution in World Politics)
by
4.23 avg rating — 122 ratings
score: 72,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
Celery
650 books
29 friends
29 friends
Susanna - Censored by GoodReads
3386 books
852 friends
852 friends
Joanna
1173 books
142 friends
142 friends
Belinda
2219 books
18 friends
18 friends
Jane
2938 books
34 friends
34 friends
Lindsay
700 books
51 friends
51 friends
Sam
154 books
2 friends
2 friends
Judy
879 books
8 friends
8 friends
More voters…
Comments Showing 1-10 of 10 (10 new)
date
newest »
newest »
message 1:
by
Joanna
(new)
Sep 30, 2008 12:34PM
Thanks for sharing your list...I am going to take you up on your challenge and read these classics too! I have read eight of the thirty six listed and would love to read your reviews of them.
reply
|
flag
I noticed a similar thing! I had only read about half of the books, which shocked me since I have an English degree and do a *LOT* of classic-reading on my own time.(I have One Hundred Years of Solitude in the original Spanish. It's in that language that I'll be reading that one. *MAD* props to anyone who can read all of the non-English works on this list in the original ...)
Wow Celery - you are seriously funny! And I shall have to dig out my unread copy - even the back cover blurb is So.Not.Read!:O)
"The Nocturnal Conspiracy" is a reference to a book written by one of the characters in "Special Topics", Smoke Harvey. So yea, it is fake. I love this book, and am currently trying to get through the same list myself!
It's amazing how many movie adaptations I have seen based on these books but not actually read. The challenge has been accepted :)
Is the Justine in the "Core Curriculum" supposed to be de Sade's Justine? Or could it be Lawrence Durrell's Justine? Just(ine) curious.
Antoine wrote: "Is the Justine in the "Core Curriculum" supposed to be de Sade's Justine? Or could it be Lawrence Durrell's Justine? Just(ine) curious."No it's really Sade's Justine, the author's name is mention in the chapters list and it makes sense since both characters encounter a series of infortunes related with a similar dark humor.
Related News
As you might expect, we are book people here at Goodreads World Headquarters—rather intense book people, actually. And when the holidays roll...
Anyone can add books to this list.
How to Vote
To vote on existing books from the list, beside each book there is a link vote for this book clicking it will add that book to your votes.
To vote on books not in the list or books you couldn't find in the list, you can click on the tab add books to this list and then choose from your books, or simply search.











