Probably shouldn't laugh but...

firedrake · Mar 27, 2011

this is from the Sunday Telegraph

Not the 50 books you should read

Irreverent and, in places, very funny.

mscelina · Mar 27, 2011

*snerk*

I have to admit--as soon as I saw Ulysses topped the list, I was hooked. Especially since I think the exact. same. thing.

Purple Rose · Mar 27, 2011

Love it, great for laughs. Sadly, I've already invested time in reading at least 15 of those books. Many were good. By the way, I thought McEwan's Saturday was very good and is a must-read if you like his other books.

Terie · Mar 27, 2011

I started to panic when I got to 25 and my 'read' count was already up to 12. But then things improved and I ended up with only 14 overall.

firedrake · Mar 27, 2011

There's a few on that list that I started to read with the best of intentions, and then abandoned. There's a few I stuck with.

But the writer is spot-on about Ulysses

aruna · Mar 27, 2011

Agree with most of the ones on that list that I've read... very funny! A couple of old favourites there though - (P&P) - and others that are so obvious they needn't be there at all (DVC).

scarletpeaches · Mar 27, 2011

I've read 13, and am in the middle of reading Lolita.

Maybe it's meant to be funny, but it smacks of reverse snobbery. They mock GWTW for goodness' sake!

jaksen · Mar 27, 2011

GWTW had its flaws, but it was great story-telling. I read it at age eleven and was fascinated by the scope, the characters, the multiple story-lines AND the length. After I was done I thought, I can do that...

And on a much smaller scale, I have.

Dr.Gonzo · Mar 27, 2011

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas? F***ers.

Sai · Mar 27, 2011

They neatly summed up one of my main issues with 'Girl with a Dragon Tattoo.' Good stuff.

Alitriona · Mar 27, 2011

I've read 17.

Eddyz Aquila · Mar 27, 2011

1984... I found that ridiculous. It's an amazing novel, why should it be avoided?

Ulysses, spot on. I didn't even bother going past page 80.

blacbird · Mar 27, 2011

Ulysses would have topped my list, were it not for the existence of Moby Dick, which unaccountably didn't crack this top 50.

Xelebes · Mar 27, 2011

I've only read one (Great Gatsby) and two halves (Lolita, Canterbury Tales: both of which I find entertaining enough to intend to finish.) Three or four (Les Miserables, War & Peace, Crime & Punishment, Ulysses) are on to my to-be-read list.

Xelebes · Mar 27, 2011

Eddyz Aquila said:
1984... I found that ridiculous. It's an amazing novel, why should it be avoided?

Ulysses, spot on. I didn't even bother going past page 80.

I avoid 1984 because you already know the ins and outs of the plot, the characters and the coinages before you even read it.

jennontheisland · Mar 27, 2011

I've read none of them. I win.

Calla Lily · Mar 27, 2011

I've read 12. Does it count against me if some of the 12 were assigned reading in HS and others were because I always read what my kids were reading when they were younger?

No?

Eddyz Aquila · Mar 27, 2011

Xelebes said:
I avoid 1984 because you already know the ins and outs of the plot, the characters and the coinages before you even read it.

Because everyone else followed more or less the same formula? That still doesn't justify the place on the list.

Xelebes · Mar 27, 2011

Eddyz Aquila said:
Because everyone else followed more or less the same formula? That still doesn't justify the place on the list.

Yes and no. People read things for relevance. Current relevance is much more important in determining if the current reader should invest their time reading it. There is always going to be that niche relevance - for philological purposes and for historical curiosity into the literature of the Cold War (along with Sixth Column, Atlas Shrugged and the like.) It's poignant, all right, but it's also trite.

A.V. Hollingshead · Mar 27, 2011

Not only hilarious, but also, this dude has the same surname as me. Having grown up in America where nobody has the last name Hollingshead, it is always nice to see it when I pop over to the British side of the internet.

Zelenka · Mar 27, 2011

As a CSYS French student who was forced to read Camus, I have to say that bit was spot on. I like Kafka though...

BigWords · Mar 27, 2011

Twenty books. And I did enjoy both A Brief History Of Time and Fear And Loathing. My thoughts on the quality (hell, the readability) of the others should probably be left off here - my thoughts on Ulysses and Lolita have already gotten me into trouble...

BarbaraKE · Mar 27, 2011

I've only read 17. But 1984, Les Miserables, War & Peace, and Crime & Punishment are all wonderful.

aruna · Mar 27, 2011

I think this is nothing more than a "50 books I dislike" list. We could all do the same, and all our lists would be different.

Renee Collins · Mar 28, 2011

This guy obviously wants us to "ooo" and "ahh" at his awesome rebelliousness and bad boy iconoclasm.

*YAWN*

Probably shouldn't laugh but...

practical experience, FTW

Teh doommobile, drivin' rite by you

practical experience, FTW

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