Another list of books to read

[aurora]

I like this one because I've read a lot of them (131 out of 300) and it's clicky so I don't have to remember my count.

www.listchallenges.com/300-books-everyone-should-read-at-least-once

[aurora]

Also 131 puts me in the top 8%.

Some interesting choices in there, but most are classics.

[abs]

Interesting! I've read 88 of the books on the list. But I've heard of most of them.

[dorothyinAus]

51

But most were required reading, and most were "classics" a term I use rather loosely for some required reading -- like Wuthering Heights, which is probably the worst book I've ever read. A Tale of Two Cities, Les Miserables, and Frankenstein rank very close.

[smock]

Interesting mix of classics, contemporary, and lots of genres. Grad school really helped my number: 156.

[smock]

And Frankenstein is one of my favorite books! I blab on about it in my history of science class. It's great for discussing scientific and medical ethics.

[Nonny]

I got 83, which is the top 27%.

If I go back and add in the books where I've seen the play, movie, TV show, or am otherwise 100% aware of the entire story due to pop culture references I jump up to 114.    Reading Shakespeare is dumb - it's meant to be scene on stage.    Although those aren't the only books on that list where I've seen a stage production where I haven't read the book.

[dorothyinAus]

Apr 7, 2017 18:24:11 GMT -5 smock said:

And Frankenstein is one of my favorite books! I blab on about it in my history of science class. It's great for discussing scientific and medical ethics.

I was assigned Frankenstein in senior high school English as part of a women's focused literature reading initiative.  I read it and didn't like it.  Then it was assigned the next year as part of Freshman English in college, and again the following year as required reading for English Literature.  I know the college classes had no way of knowing what everyone was required to read in high school, but still three times in three successive years being required to read the book I didn't like the first time was just too many.  It really turned me off the book.

I appreciate it's a classic and I appreciate it's useful for all kinds of discussions, and it definitely works in women-focused literature classes, but I didn't care for the story or the characters, and it didn't improve with successive readings.

[alleinesein]

50 and at least 95% of those were required reading in my English classes. There are some books on the list that I tried to read but gave up after a few chapters. Most classic novels are very dry and I lose interest in them.

[ilikedonuts]

94. Most were in high school and required reading haha

[mrspez07]

I've read 47 of them (I think). There's a few in there that I know other classes in school (jr high and high school) were reading while we read something more obscure, like Dracula and where the red fern grows.

[rainbowchip]

51 for me but there are a bunch that I know I read in HS but have no idea what they were about.

[brandienee]

118 for me. A lot of these were fun reading though.

I think I would have had more if they focused on obscure classics, thanks Grad School. I love that they had Ulysses but not A Room of One's Own.

[aurora]

Apr 7, 2017 19:36:58 GMT -5 Nonny said:

I got 83, which is the top 27%.

If I go back and add in the books where I've seen the play, movie, TV show, or am otherwise 100% aware of the entire story due to pop culture references I jump up to 114.    Reading Shakespeare is dumb - it's meant to be scene on stage.    Although those aren't the only books on that list where I've seen a stage production where I haven't read the book.

This is a good point. There were quite a few where I had to stop and ask myself if It's read the book or just seen the movie.

[aurora]

Apr 7, 2017 17:44:16 GMT -5 dorothyinAus said:

51

But most were required reading, and most were "classics" a term I use rather loosely for some required reading -- like Wuthering Heights, which is probably the worst book I've ever read. A Tale of Two Cities, Les Miserables, and Frankenstein rank very close.

I loved Les Miserables.

[mrspez07]

Here's another, albeit different, list of books. I'm adding a ton of these to my to-read list.
Hope it's ok to add them here, didn't feel they needed another thread. Let me know if you disagree.

modernmrsdarcy.com/unputdownable/

[MrsAxilla]

Apr 7, 2017 19:36:58 GMT -5 Nonny said:

I got 83, which is the top 27%.

If I go back and add in the books where I've seen the play, movie, TV show, or am otherwise 100% aware of the entire story due to pop culture references I jump up to 114.    Reading Shakespeare is dumb - it's meant to be scene on stage.    Although those aren't the only books on that list where I've seen a stage production where I haven't read the book.

I read 90 and I'm in the top 33%, so I guess the ranking changes as more people take it.  Which makes sense.  I was smug to see some of the more difficult and/or obscure books I've read, like War and Peace and Of Human Bondage.

[snshne322]

I barely got 30. I've started about 100, but never finished a lot of them. I'm notoriously terrible at reading the classics.

And I agree, there were a lot that were required reading, but I wasn't sure if I finished them or not since it was about 20 years ago. So I didn't mark those as read.

[pumpkin]

I got 126. I think this is a good list of old "classics" and some more modern/recent ones too. One of my issues with the list is that there are several books from Faulkner; while I've read some of his work, none that are on this list and really I have no desire to read more and think that listing several of his is a little overkill.

[BlackCanary]

Only 77, I've got some reading to do!

[jillboston]

92 for me. A couple of odd inclusions I thought. Tuesdays with Morrie? there were a few others I found odd. No Philip Roth at all - and The Known World wasn't included.

[litskispeciality]

A sad 21 for me. I dind't count some that we "read" in school, aka I listened to the discussion in class. I've heard of most of them, and seen a lot of movies.

[sassypants]

98 for me. I like that it was a good mix of genres.