Boxall's 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die discussion
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How many of the 1001 books have you read?
Sibyl wrote: "So far I've read 76 books off the combined list, and am working on two more at the moment. But as you can see on my profile that is only a small portion of what I've read. Proust looks too intimi..."
Replace Proust's "In Search of Lost Time"--the greatest novel ever written--with a comic? That would be like replacing one of the great meals of your life in the best restaurant in Paris with a Big Mac and fries because it would "save a lot of time." Save the experience of Proust until you have the time. If you love literature, this is what you must do!
GerryC
Well, I finally downloaded the spreadsheet of the 1001 Book List and counted the ones I've read. I counted 300 from the combined lists. Thirty-seven of those were removed from the older list...some I agreed were not that great, others that I truly thought were excellent.I have ninety-five books from the newer list slated to read in the coming years. Maybe I'll read quite a few more than that from the lists, but I'll just wait to learn more about the unfamiliar authors and titles before I do.
I like to inter disperse nonfiction, light mysteries, poetry and humorous writing between the more serious books on the list, but I've set a goal to read 100 per year. Of the 100, I hope to read 30 or so from the lists each, maybe more.
One more thing, I count each book as one...I do not wait until I have finished a whole series, like Dos Passos' USA Trilogy and then count the series as one book. I also count audio books though I rarely use them.
The lists do not intimidate me, they just challenge me to fill in the gaps of all the great books I've missed over my lifetime. I also heavily rely on the Western Canon and Modern Library's 100 Best Novel and accompanying lists to make my selections. If a title is on all three, I just have to get a copy!
I have to say I enjoy all this immensely; and though I never read the group selection with the group, I read the discussions and use others' comments to pick my reads and stimulate my thoughts.
53, ugh.... but I was super excited once I hit "5% complete." I seem to favor the latter half of the list, so am sticking to the 2006 version. I have another 108 on my TBR shelf, which tells me I'm clearly acquiring faster than I'm consuming. Ah well - I only need to read 18 a year and live til I'm 80 and I'll have this list completed!
Only 23, I've counted now.Reading the 24th :)
I have read 78. I just recently checked out the 2008 list, but I have not read any of the new additions yet!
I've read 65 off the list so far, most of them within the last year. Sometimes I have a slow period and then I will jump right back in and keep going. It feels so good to accomplish something! =-)
I consider myself pretty well and widely read (and I've been around quite a long time) but I'm told I'm only 18% done which, I guess, means about 180 books!
Maybe 22. I am excited because I have found a lot of good books that I am interested in reading. There are quite a few on the list that I have no intention of reading. Hey, how do YOU count a book that you read halfway and are not going to finish and don't want to waste any moment of your life reading. I mean I would be closer to reviewing each of the 1001 books but I haven't read it... Seems like there should be another category beside read and tbr.
I'm finishing up my 103rd, David Copperfield.
Wow Michael. Good job. Sara - It depends on how far I've gotten in the book. I agree there should be a third category. I call in NGRs or Never Gonna Reads. LOL
Amanda - I like that option.
45. Not even close to 1/10 of the way there.
I've read 103, but I just got the book. Only read five BECAUSE they were on the list, others I had already read.
I have read 13 books so far and I am reading my 14th right now. I have some of the books at home though, some of them are on my to-read list like forever.
I have read 120, but I am probably older than most of you (age 63). Still, it is going to be difficult to read them all.
Hi! I have just descovered this list. I felt so bad when I found out that I read only 40 books from this list, though the most of the other books are in my TO READ shelf.
I've read 268 total of both editions. I read a lot of the classics over the years and am enjoying reading newer books that I never would have heard of otherwise. I find that this list is very motivating.
I've read 106 from a combined list which I have personalized. After comparing lists, I dropped some that I had no desire/knew I would never read, but retained on my list titles that were dropped but I had read, cuz I felt I deserved credit for them! I did what Amanda did above, marking an "x" next to some books I have no intention of reading.Then I actually took the liberty of adding a few books that I felt deserved to be on the list that I've read or intend to read (ie. The Red Badge of Courage, Fahrenheit 451, The Good Earth), but didn't assign them a number, so I actually have about 1050 books on my list at this time.
The thing this list has done is to challenge me to read books that I never would have picked up, especially more contemporary titles. Like Juliek above, I have tended to read mostly older books (pre-1930), and I have enjoyed reading some of the newer ones.
I've now reached 66% of the original list and I'm still finding books that I'm glad I took the trouble to find. Only found a few books which I really hated, sorry Mr Miller but I hated both tropic books.
where can one find the most recent list? because I'm not even sure which list i've been working off of to tell you the truth...
Deanne wrote: "I've now reached 66% of the original list and I'm still finding books that I'm glad I took the trouble to find. Only found a few books which I really hated, sorry Mr Miller but I hated both tropic ..."Wow, way to go Deanne! That's a ton! How many years has it taken you?
I've only read about 30 from what i believe to be the 2006 version of the list. which i dont think is a horrible number considering my age and how long i've known of the list.
Josh wrote: "where can one find the most recent list? because I'm not even sure which list i've been working off of to tell you the truth..."You can also check out 1001beforeyoudie.com for the recent 2008 list.
Deanne wrote: "I've now reached 66% of the original list and I'm still finding books that I'm glad I took the trouble to find. Only found a few books which I really hated, sorry Mr Miller but I hated both tropic ..."I'm so-o-o-o impressed! Great work! How long has it taken ....all your life so far????
Is there anyone out there who has actually read all of these books? Just curious.
Deanne, do I understand that you have read over 600 of the books on that list?? How in the world....?
660, heading to 67%.When I started reading from the list I'd only read 28, mostly the Bronte sisters, Jane Austen and some other classics, mainly read as a child, and also as a result of the BBC's big read.I've discovered a love of Eliot, Dickens and Hardy to name a few.
Deanne wrote: "660, heading to 67%.When I started reading from the list I'd only read 28, mostly the Bronte sisters, Jane Austen and some other classics, mainly read as a child, and also as a result of the BBC's ..."LOVE Dickens and Hardy!
16 across both lists. Rather poor, I need to get cracking.
I've read 234 off the combined lists, which isn't bad, considering I'm 24. I like the idea of being able to pick and choose off the list to total 1001, as there are some books there I have no interests whatsoever in reading.
I have been thinking, and although I'm not sure which edition I have (not at home), I'm just going to finish that one and then start on any that may have been added. I'm getting through at least one version of this damn book, by hook or by crook!!!!!!!!
I'm up to 142, many of which I read before discovering the list. I've added only about 18 this year so far - I get on too many reading tangents i.e. I love a good dose of non-fiction in my literary diet. There are many books in the 1001 that I have no intention of reading or desire to explore (like anything else that ever, and I mean EVER appears on the list written by Michel Faber), but it's still a great list to go back to when you are looking for your next escape.
Kasey,I'm not familiar with Michel Faber; saw that his one title on the list is Under the Skin - is that the one you read? What is it that you don't like about his writing?
Well. I've read 95 off the 2006 list, only 89 of the 2008. It feels like loads of stuff has been left off, and I've got far too many good books in my queue to concentrate only on these, so it may take me some time to get to the impressive numbers of some of you folks!
Deanne wrote: "660, heading to 67%.When I started reading from the list I'd only read 28, mostly the Bronte sisters, Jane Austen and some other classics, mainly read as a child, and also as a result of the BBC's ..."Great work Deanne! I LOVE Eliot and Dickens! Hardy I struggle with - I've been plodding through "Tess" on and off for about a year now.
PaulaI found Tess hard going, but I really enjoyed The Mayor of Casterbridge.
Hmm... 44 books so far (2008 list). Apparently I read the wrong books. ;)
I'm up to 20 across both lists. I'm aiming low, another 5 by the end of the year.
I've read 57 so far and I am reading 58 and 59 now.
I'm up to 70, but have a few more slated for a challenge that I am doing.
I have read 46 so far, funny thing is I just noticed most of what I enjoy reading is from the 1800's.
19 so far...although some I may choose to re-read it's been quite a while since I read them.
I've read 111 of the 2006 edition, and am on the 112th now! :)
I've read 37, which is only about 3.7%! Theres loads I want to read from the list though.
It would be GREAT if GoodReads could help calculate how many you've read off the list based on books you've already reviewed. Is that possible? I really don't want to scroll through 1001 books looking for ones I've read...
Boxall's 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die
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Proust looks too intimidating so far, although the comic-adaptation looks very tempting. Maybe I should just substitute In Search Of Lost Time with the comic, it would save a lot of time.