25. A book from the 1001 Books to Read Before You Die list

[Jackie, Solstitial Mod]

The 1001 Books to Read Before You Die was first published as a reference book in 2006, compiled from literary critics. The 2008 edition included substantial changes, swapping around 300 works by popular English-language authors (most of whom had multiple works on the list) in favor of more global choices and lesser known authors. Subsequent editions have included more minor changes. In addition to the English version, more than 10 other languages also have their own 1001 lists, each tailored to their own cultural context. All of which is to say, there are far more than 1001 options for you to read for this prompt. I've got a link for you that is the most comprehensive compilation of the English editions that I could find as well as a Listopia for the list as a whole.

Combined Editions List: https://1001bookreviews.com/the-1001-...
Goodreads 1001 Listopia: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/9...

ATY Listopia:https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/2...

How many of them have you read? Which ones are you interested in?

[Jackie, Solstitial Mod]

Fun bonus story time:

I was in high school when the 1001 book first came out and I printed out the list from somewhere online and brought it into my lit class. We spent a solid 15 minutes of class passing the list around, comparing how many we had read, passing judgment on the selections, etc. My teacher borrowed the list from me to make a copy because she was also fascinated. It's such a clear memory for me of this group excitement and interest in a book list.

[LeahS]

Sorry not to share the excitement, but I am sad that of all the possible lists out there, this is the one that got voted through. I can't agree that there are so many options available, particularly if you're working on a particular plan.

I trailed through both versions , and came up with 'Read it (a lot); read something by the same author and didn't like it; only available from library as an audio book, which I don't like or an ebook which I don't like for a long novel'. So moan, moan, moan.

I've ended up with The Light of Day from the combined editions list and The Picture of Dorian Gray from the listopia, but I am thrilled by neither.

[Dixie]

Jackie wrote: "Fun bonus story time:

I was in high school when the 1001 book first came out and I printed out the list from somewhere online and brought it into my lit class. We spent a solid 15 minutes of clas..."

What a nice memory!

[Dixie]

Okay, I have many possibilities on my TBR list. They are:
The Accidental
*Midnight’s Children
*The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
Oliver Twist
*Nicholas Nickleby
The Plot Against America
A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay
*Sputnik Sweetheart
*The Rings of Saturn
Flaubert's Parrot
*Lives of Girls and Women
The Day of the Dolphin
Zorba the Greek
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
Independent People
*North and South
The Tale of Genji
* on my physical shelves
I'm trying to get books off my physical shelves. But on the other hand, I can be a mood reader, and also, how long a book I want to commit to will depend on what else I'm reading that month. So creating "short lists" instead of trying to choose one option is going to be what works for me in most cases this time around.

[MJ]

I have read 65ish. Some were so long ago, I’m not sure anymore!
I’ve been meaning to read Finnegan’s Wake and Doctor Zhivago. The Mandarins is on my tbr and also Eugene Onegin. The first will only happen if I feel very ambitious. The listopia says 19 books are on my tbr, so I have lots of options. I’vealso been meaning to read something by Salman Rushdie, and at least one of his are on the list.

[Deborah]

Current possibilities:

Journey to the Center of the Earth
On the Road
H is for Hawk
Watchmen

[NancyJ]

I read quite a few this year. Last week, I really enjoyed Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?. What a surprise!

My possibilities for 2026 in include
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay
The Lover
Midnight’s Children

[Bea]

MJ wrote: "The listopia says 19 books are on my tbr, so I have lots of options.."

This comment made me curious,, so I had to see what it said about my TBR! It took me a bit to find the comment.

"You've read 50 of the top 100 books and 0 are on your to-read shelf."

I'm not really surprised since my GR TBR list are books I own. My true TBR is my Wishlist. And, out of this list (400) I have about 10 on my wishlist and 1 I own.

[Dixie]

Bea wrote: "MJ wrote: "The listopia says 19 books are on my tbr, so I have lots of options.."

This comment made me curious,, so I had to see what it said about my TBR! It took me a bit to find the comment.

..."

wow, I had no idea that comment was there! I've read 39 and 9 are on my Want to Read shelf.

[Pam]

I've read at last 70 on the list and have several that I may read this year. One of my absolute favorites on this list is What a Carve Up! by British author Jonathan Coe.

There are at least 50 books on my TBR. I didn't even try to count. A few that I'm interested in are:
The Plot Against America
The Poisonwood Bible
Waiting for the Dark, Waiting for the Light
The Book of Disquiet (finish)
Foucault’s Pendulum
The Name of the Rose
Independent People
Vineland
Don Quixote (finish)

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

I'm still working on my 40 Before 40 list (fell a bit behind this year of my goal but hoping to make that up next year), and there are plenty on that list that are also on the 1001 books list so I'll hit two birds with one stone on this one!

[MJ]

Dixie wrote: "Bea wrote: "MJ wrote: "The listopia says 19 books are on my tbr, so I have lots of options.."

This comment made me curious,, so I had to see what it said about my TBR! It took me a bit to find the..."

This is more accurate in terms of what I’ve read. I don’t know about you, but I have NOT added all the books I read pre-goodreads to this site.

[MJ]

Emily wrote: "I'm still working on my 40 Before 40 list (fell a bit behind this year of my goal but hoping to make that up next year), and there are plenty on that list that are also on the 1001 books list so I'..."

I’m curious to see what on that list! Is it listed somewhere in the group threads?

[Donna]

Dixie wrote: "Okay, I have many possibilities on my TBR list. They are:
The Accidental
*Midnight’s Children
*The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
Oliver Twist
*[book:Ni..."
This is a good idea for me, too.

[Tracy]

MJ wrote: "I have read 65ish. Some were so long ago, I’m not sure anymore!
I’ve been meaning to read Finnegan’s Wake and Doctor Zhivago. The Mandarins is on my tbr and also Eugene Onegin. The first will only..."

This is a nifty feature! I wish it covered more than the top 100 books though. And you are right, it's a bit hard to find. (for those of you who have not found the statement about how many of the top 100 you've read and how many are on your TBR — it's in the right column. Go to the area call "My Votes". Then move up the column a bit. There should be an ad, and then just above that is the statement about your stats).

What's odd about this is that I looked at the code and couldn't find anything that indicated any kind of data sorting or calculation. It just appeared to be typed in information. Weird.

[Tracy]

This isn't my favorite prompt. Not because I don't like lists, but because this list is SO long to scan, and there are so many books I'm just not interested in. Luckily most of my TBR books are on the first 3 pages.

BUT, this prompt will help me with this year's project: "Prioritize reading books you already own, especially physical books". I currently mostly read from the library, so this is not a cost cutting measure. We are working on downsizing, and this is a more fun way of working on that than sorting through boxes and paperwork!

I've found that I own 3 physical books (at least) from this list, so here's my chance to either read them, or decide it's time to pass them on if I find I really don't like them. The three books are:

Nemesis by Philip Roth
Justine by Lawrence Durrell
The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbury

If I end up passing on these three (and then donating them), I will read Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel

[Jennifer W]

I've been working on the list for a few years. My high school education didn't include a lot of classics, so I've had a lot to catch up with.

A few I recommend:

The Poisonwood Bible
Nervous Conditions
Cloudsplitter
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
Watchmen
S.: A Novel About the Balkans
The Last of Mr. Norris
Spring Snow
Chess Story
In the Forest


There's also a goodreads group which has a bookshelf. It's the English language list, with all books that have been added to it, so I think it's about 1300 total. The shelf has been sorted by country that the book is set in, century it was written, genres, author identities etc. It might be easier to search. https://www.goodreads.com/group/books...