Are you strictly using Boxall's list?

[Diane]

I joined this group and got the App (which I LOVE!!) because I thought it would be a good resource and jumping off point to read more seminal (important/groundbreaking) works of literature. I do NOT actually own a copy of any of Boxall's hard copy book compliations. I was thumbing through a 2010 hard copy at my local bookstore and come to realize that some works -- novels by Welty and Rilke -- are not "seminal" or really even recommended but point to other works by those authors.
For Rilke, his semiautobiographical novelThe Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge was listed with a review description justifying its inclusion as something along the lines of "it's not the great, but Rilke's poetry is beautiful and important." I assume the collection of his poetry was NOT included because the Boxall 1001 list is nearly exclusively novels. I have read Rilke's poetry and Letters to a Young Poet and after reading the blurb I think I have gotten what Boxall and the contributors want me as a reader to understand and glean from Rilke. Would you as other readers count the Rilke entry as "READ" or not?
Welty's The Optimist's Daughter was not nearly as bunked by the blurb as I recall but her short stories were much more highly recommended.
I know there were others, but these two authors/books and their entries resonated and stayed in my head for different reasons. I had just finished Optimist's Daughter and Rilke's Letters to a Young Poet was the first book a man (other than my father) gave me.
So...
Are you strictly adhering to any of the Official variations of the 1001 List? Or are you using the references and recommendations, particularly within the book, to get to the works Boxall and the contributors believe are seminal and important literature

[Jonpaul]

Diane wrote: "I joined this group and got the App (which I LOVE!!) because I thought it would be a good resource and jumping off point to read more seminal (important/groundbreaking) works of literature. I do NO..."

I'm reading the three lists combined but do further reading where I feel like it's necessary. For example, I've chosen to plunge into the full three volume of 1001 Nights instead of the shorter collections. I think it's individual, mostly. I do find that the Boxall book-I have the 2010 edition-adds to my enjoyment/understanding of some of the works. I also read some additional criticism from other sources (e.g. NY Times, blogs, etc.) and some of the reviews on goodreads (I try to read the far ends of the spectrum to get both sides).

I think it's a good list with a hugely international scope. Holes can be poked (Where's "East of Eden"?, Why so much Rushdie?, pretty heavy on the po-mo) but, generally, it's a good guide. I've been introduced to some amazing books (The Invention of Curried Sausage) and authors (Ismail Kadare) I may not otherwise have read. But straying, I think, is both encouraged and applauded.

[Bucket]

If you see the book as a guide, I think you're on the right track. No one is going to bat an eye if you decide to read Rilke's better works in lieu of his novel. No one is keeping track to make sure you read each and every book and none of us here have read all the books on the list anyway (though @Deanne is getting pretty darn close!).

My personal opinion (and others will disagree) is that there is little value to me in plowing through a long list of books, simply because they are on a list. I dabble in this and other lists as my ongoing self-education demands. Plus, I definitely feel that even if you read everything on this list, there's a huge hole in your literary experience if you haven't read Shakespeare. Or Walt Whitman. (Or plays and poetry in general.)

[Tej]

I'm using the list as a guide to authors I would not have otherwise read or heard of. My goal is to read at least one book on the list by every author (all versions). But, I couldn't possibly stick to reading just this list. As Bucket said, I'd be missing out on poetry, drama, and nonfiction. Frankly, I think it's bunk that they put something by Rilke on the list even acknowledging that it's not a very good example of good prose or good Rilke. If you tell me it's something I MUST read before I die, I expect it to be worth my time. But, I'll read it anyway 'cuz that's the kind of silly person I am!

[Diane]

Thanks @Jonpaul and @Bucket and @Tej for your insight.
I did pick through my Library's copy of the 2006 version which seemed to validate each work on its own merits, and I may need to put the 2010 version on my "wish-list" for my personal library.
I originally joined the group and got the app so I could 'read the good stuff'. I still read the nonfiction (veggies) and the series and bestseller stuff (candy bar and diet coke reading). :)
Thanks