Apocalyptic Reading Challange of 2012 discussion

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Reading Goals for 2012 > Megan's Read 25 Classics by Dec. 21, 2012 Challenge

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message 1: by Megan (last edited Nov 30, 2009 06:15PM) (new)

Megan Hansen (meganhansen) I made a list of classics I want to read in the next few years. It's a flexable list, so if anyone has suggestions, I'm open!


Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

Dracula by Bram Stoker

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Moby-Dick: or, The Whale by Herman Melville

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Watership Down by Richard Adams

The Hunchback of Notre-Dame by Victor Hugo

As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner

Peter Pan by Arthur Conan Doyle

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum

Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote

Tales From the 1001 Nights by Richard Francis Burton

Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand

The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde



message 2: by Christy (new)

Christy Stewart (christyleighstewart) The Picture of Dorian Gray


message 3: by Megan (new)

Megan Hansen (meganhansen) Thanks! Consider it added to the list! lol


message 4: by Christy (new)

Christy Stewart (christyleighstewart) ...But will it literally be added to the list?


message 5: by Megan (new)

Megan Hansen (meganhansen) Yes, it is literally added to the list lol


message 6: by Michelle (new)

Michelle (lifeasabooknerd) How about ABSALOM! ABSALOM!??



message 7: by Tom (new)

Tom (tommyro) | 3 comments Admirable list for the next 2 years. Great cross section. However, nothing very apocalyptic. I guess since the world is going to end, we don't necessarily have to read books about it.

I love apocalyptic books.

I'll start a list of apocalyptic books. I don't claim that they are great, just on point.

PLEASE feel free to add to the list:

The Road, Cormac McCarthy
The Pesthouse, Jim Crace
The Stand, Stephen King
Childhood's End, Arthur C. Clarke
The Day of the Triffids, John Wyndham
I am Legend, Richard Matheson
Damnation Alley, Roger Zelazny
Children of Men, PD James
The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwod
The Drowned World, JG Ballard
Dr. Strangelove by Terry Southern
and, of course, Revelations



message 8: by Christy (new)

Christy Stewart (christyleighstewart) Dr. Strangelove sounds cool


message 9: by Brett (new)

Brett (battlinjack) | 4 comments Tom wrote: "Admirable list for the next 2 years. Great cross section. However, nothing very apocalyptic. I guess since the world is going to end, we don't necessarily have to read books about it.

I love apo..."


Here a few more for your list.

There Will Be War (ed. Jerry Eugene Pournelle)
A Boy and His Dog (by Harlan Ellison)
A Canticle for Leibowitz (by Walter Miller)
A Gift Upon the Shore (by M K Wren)
A Messiah at the End of Time (by Michael Moorcock)
Alas Babylon (by Pat Frank)
Burning World, The (by J G Ballard)
Childhood's End (by Arthur C Clark)
Chrysalids, The (by John Wyndham)
Damnation Alley (by Roger Zelazny)
Day of the Triffids, The (by John Wyndham)
The Death of Grass (by John Christopher)
Deluge (by S Fowler Wright)
Dies The Fire (by S M Stirling)
Drought, The (by J G Ballard)
Drowned World, The (by J G Ballard)
Earth Abides (by George R Stewart)
Gather Darkness! (by Fritz Leiber)
The Night of the Long Knives (Fritz Leiber)
I Am Legend (by Richard Matheson)
Long Winter, The (by John Christopher)
Lucifers Hammer (by Larry Niven)
On the Beach (by Nevil Shute)
Postman, The (by David Brin)
Protectors War, The (by S M Stirling))
Ragged Edge, The (by John Christopher)
Rift, The (by Walter J Williams)
Some Will Not Die (by Algis Budrys)
Swan Song (by Robert R McCammon)
Third World War, The (by Sir John Hackett)
This Immortal (by Roger Zelazny)
When Worlds Collide (by Edwin Balmer & Philip Wylie)
Winter of the World, The (by Poul Anderson)
World In Winter, The (by John Christopher)



message 10: by Brett (new)

Brett (battlinjack) | 4 comments Christy wrote: "Dr. Strangelove sounds cool"

The screenplay for 'Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb' was written by Peter George, Stanley Kubrick & Terry Southern.

The film was loosely based on Peter George's Cold War thriller novel 'Red Alert' (aka Two Hours to Doom).


message 11: by Tom (new)

Tom (tommyro) | 3 comments Brett wrote: "Christy wrote: "Dr. Strangelove sounds cool"

The screenplay for 'Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb' was written by Peter George, Stanley Kubrick & Terry Southern..."


A long long time ago, when the movie came out, I read the novel that was based on the screenplay, co-written by Terry Southern. Having also read Candy and Blue Movie by Southern, and of course I might be wrong, I always thought that he was the actual writer of the novelization since he was the prose writer among them, but that credit had to be shared with Kubrick and George as co-authors of the screenplay. This is Hollywood where it isn't always clear who actually did the work and who deserves the credit.


message 12: by Brett (new)

Brett (battlinjack) | 4 comments Tom wrote: "Brett wrote: "Christy wrote: "Dr. Strangelove sounds cool"

The screenplay for 'Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb' was written by Peter George, Stanley Kubrick ..."


Oh so very true, you can't believe half of what comes out of Hollywood!
I am simply going on what I found on IMDB and Wiki.
I think Kubrick co-wrote simply because that is how he was. He had to have a hand in every part of his films, which I think is good, IMO.

But I agree Southern was the instrumental creator.

No matter what, they created an absolutely amazing film! There are so many great moments that you can't single just one out. Peter Sellers with his arm that moved on it's own. Slim Pickens riding the bomb.


message 13: by Tom (new)

Tom (tommyro) | 3 comments The sad fact is that there are people in this country who have never seen it. What's sadder, is that some people who have seen it don't get it.


message 14: by Megan (new)

Megan Hansen (meganhansen) Oh wow, there’s been a lot going on in here since I last looked! O_O

Thanks for the recommendations ~

Here's what I have read so far


1. The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving

2. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland / Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll Alice's Adventures in Wonderland / Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll




message 15: by Kevin (new)

Kevin Shamel (kevin_shamel) | 9 comments I love these apocalyptic lists. Earth Abides is one of my all time favorite books. And Alas, Babylon! Those are both great examples of earlier books about the end of the world. I especially love Earth Abides for its dated "shocking" revelation near the end of the book.

This is a cool group. I'll make my list of what needs to be read before the entire world is eaten by the big snake in the sky on December 21, 2012.


message 16: by Megan (new)

Megan Hansen (meganhansen) Can't wait to see your list!


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