This list almost needs a ‘vote for all’ button.

But I’ve managed to ‘read’ a number of these by listening--amazing how much you can get through on commutes, running errands and exercising. I recommend it because Big Works I had tried and failed to read were easy to listen to. Particularly epic poetry and history. Herodotus, Caesar, Homer (although I’ve read the poems a couple of times as well), the Aeneid, Ovid, Milton, Gibbons, James (still a struggle), Proust, Ulysses, Lolita, Bolano… and I’m a third of the way into War and Peace now. Many libraries have them to loan.

I get really antsy if I absorb literature through any other medium besides a treebook, so I have to stick with my stodgier print and paper. Luckily my ability to focus consequently increases with every difficult work imbibed, else I'd never get anywhere.

I agree that print is better if you have most of your life in front of you, but at some point you realize that it’s audio or ‘in another life’ ;-)

Get 'em while they're young!

are these mostly long books? i do not read long books sometimes simply because of length (though it is possible i read long books: there is no such thing as a too long book if you have read proust...) but then i end up reading a set of short books that would add up to long. the other question is, how does translation affect all?

Quite a few of them are long, but when it comes to books I'm more likely to be intimidated by the shorter ones, as it means I'll have far less time to adjust to it while reading.

Mason & Dixon, the Recognitions and the Pale King should be read in this life! Excellent books all.

I aim to do just that. I just need to read lots of other works inbetween.