Boxall's 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die discussion
1001 Book List
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No Shakespeare?
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Lynecia
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Jan 23, 2008 10:13AM
Is this because this book doesn't count plays, and only novels? Or am I the only one who finds this weird?
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The list doesn't count plays (no Shakespeare, Moliere, Shaw, Williams) or poetry (no Eugene Onegin, Divine Comedy). It's just novels.
But isn't Metamorphoses by Ovid a narrative poem?
Well, there are some non-fiction titles on the list. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson spring to mind. I haven't thoroughly examined the list, but there may be more. However, it is comprised primarily of novels.
You're right LyneciaAt least one Shakespeare should be there, and hey, is the Iliad there?
I agree that not having any Shakespeare seems like an enormous oversight. But I believe that since his work was primarily meant to be "spoken" that it doesn't fall into the category of "reading".That is why there are groups out there that get together to read his works aloud. That's my humble opinion on the subject.
Ibsen, Strindberg, Corneille, not to mention Goethe! there are far too many awesome play-writers! you could easily draw up a list with 200 great plays alone, I believe. Thus, this omission of Shakespeare seems only logical to me, to be honest.However, I am somewhat annoyed by the inclusion of some of Poe's stories. some aren't even twenty pages long... not really an apt feature of a "book" you have to read.
I agree with you on the Poe stories Smarti.
Hah, just came across this thread, cuz I was wondering about the Shakespeare-less-ness of the list as well. Couldn't we have a list of non-prose Must Reads?
It should have been called 1,001 NOVELS and they should take out all the essays and short stories and non-fiction memoirs, of which there are only about 30 or so.
I would love to see things like Beowulf, the Divine Comedy, MacBeth, and several of the more profound and meaningful plays. I think they should pull out some of the Authors that have numerous books listed and add in some of the other meaningful works.
I also agree that the list should be consistent - if it's meant to be fiction/novels, then autobiographies, epic poetry, short stories (like Poe and Doyle) and essays (like A Modest Proposal) should be eliminated. Otherwise, works like Beowulf, Paradise Lost and Shakespeare's plays should be added in place of some of the more obscure fiction.
