Books part three
So in the original email i sent round i upset lots of people by asking about what makes a person well read. It turns out people think its not possible to have a list of books that does this. I think there is some truth is this, being well read is more a case of reading lots and constantly rather than any set list of books.
Others said being well read simply meant the classical canon. I think it is more than that and i think reading every book on a list of twenty peoples greatest books, classics or not would make a person quite well read. But some people disagree. In which case this list does not constitute being well read, mearly some good stuff to read.
That is what makes this quite interesting, people take it differently, they put their own critera on what is great and what is not. When designing experiments about acceptablity in grammar (my dissertation) it is important not to define acceptable or grammatical. People interpret it differently, use their own critera, think about it independantly; which is why the experiment works. The trick is in knowing how to analyse the data you get, and in understanding that you havnt found any definative answer. Because no such thing exists.
Anyway new lists:
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*100 year of solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
*winnie the pooh - A A milne
*one flew over the cuckoos nest - Ken Kesey
*brighton rock - grahame greene
*adrian mole aged 13 and 3/4 - sue townsend
*invisible man - Ralph Ellison
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War and Peace, Tolstoy
Great Expectations, Dickens
My Family and Other Animals, Gerald Durrell (might not be his real name, but who cares it's just a really cheerful book)
Short Short Stories, Dave Eggers
A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovitch, Alexander Solzhenitsyn
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1. Queen of the damned - Anne Rice
2. Fear and loathing in Las Vegas - Hunter S. Thomson
3. Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
4. Requim for a dream - Hubert Selby Jr,
5. Dune - Frank Herbert
posted by Ben @ 11:41 AM
3 comments
3 Comments:
Interesting how lists like this are often dominated by recent stuff.
For example, does anyone REALLY think "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time" is a great book that will stand the test of time?
I think not.
Lists of "all-time great" movies are like this too; they include a few all-time greats, plus whatever the list-maker watched last week.
It's very true, I remember once seeing an all time great film list that included harry potter.
I dont think there is anything on these lists that quite falls into that category. A few maybe, but generally avoided.
Either I am asking the question in the right way. Or my friends are very clever. Take your pick.
Hmm I love the idea behind this website, very unique.
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