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By ucblockhead (Sat Jun 21, 2008 at 10:41:51 AM EST) (all tags)

A a list of the best? most important? books published since 1983. Take under advisement as it is from "Entertainment Weekly".

I appear to have read around a third of them.

Update [2008-6-21 15:7:27 by ucblockhead]: Having actually taken the trouble to count, I find that I have read exactly 25 of them.

Oh, and Discuss.

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Dear book lovers | 38 comments (38 topical, 0 hidden) | Trackback

I've read eighteen by yicky yacky (2.00 / 0) #1 Sat Jun 21, 2008 at 11:55:52 AM EST

and started but not finished another 15 or so.

There are some pleasantly surprising entries (Maus, Into Thin Air, Underworld), and some not-surprised-that's-there entries, but their presence is kind of sullied by association with others (The Goblet of Fire, Bridget Jones, The Da Vinci Chode, High Fidelity etc.).

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Done.

: well ... by BlueOregon (2.00 / 0) #2 Sat Jun 21, 2008 at 12:34:21 PM EST

... their New Classics: Movies list is even more arbitrary and ridiculous in what it includes and leaves out, and how it orders them.
Which is saying something (thought 'what' I do not know).
The only redeeming feature of the list of movies is that it does not include The DaVinci Code.
_
"The german quoting guy is a little bit out there." (fleece)
[ Parent ]
: Hey! by ucblockhead (2.00 / 0) #4 Sat Jun 21, 2008 at 03:03:43 PM EST

What's wrong with High Fidelity!?
Sadly, I've read the other three of those. I blame my wife.
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_{ウセーバラケダ}
[ Parent ]
: I've read 11. by ambrosen (2.00 / 0) #10 Sat Jun 21, 2008 at 06:24:27 PM EST

Including Bridget Jones (but by accident, as it were, on an aimless day). I'm pleased that all the started but not finished I got to were ones I wanted to finish, but couldn't because I started reading them while staying at other people's houses.

[ Parent ]

I've read 4 by dev trash (4.00 / 1) #3 Sat Jun 21, 2008 at 01:37:49 PM EST

I own Jimmy Corrigan, from webwench I think. I've seen almost all of the ones that were made into movies.

Number 1 almost made me close the page. I did not liek that book at all.

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Click

You're not supposed to like "The Road" by ucblockhead (2.00 / 0) #5 Sat Jun 21, 2008 at 03:04:24 PM EST

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_{ウセーバラケダ}
[ Parent ]

: well by dev trash (4.00 / 1) #20 Sat Jun 21, 2008 at 11:21:04 PM EST

mission accomplished

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Click
[ Parent ]

yep, 4's what I got too by infinitera (4.00 / 1) #19 Sat Jun 21, 2008 at 10:53:26 PM EST

I feel dirty going that high.

[…] a professional layabout. Which I aspire to be, but am not yet. — CheeseburgerBrown
[ Parent ]

Good to see Mark Haddon on that list. by ammoniacal (2.00 / 0) #6 Sat Jun 21, 2008 at 05:10:01 PM EST

Well, that shags it. Looks like I need to read some Eggers. I've been putting that task off for years. Ware is always a fun read.
This A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again is calling out to me, so I guess I'll look for it.

Here's a little-known fact about me: The fictional works of Anne McCaffrey, Lynn Abbey, Jean M. Auel, Agatha Christie, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Suzie Bright, Erica Jong, J.K. Rowling, C. J. Cherryh, and Charlotte & Emily Brontë are the only female-authored ones I've read.

Am I a misogynist?

This coomenat has be n soidnsord by hurricanbe ice malt liqur

Anne McCaffrey? by Captain Tenille (2.00 / 0) #7 Sat Jun 21, 2008 at 05:31:00 PM EST

I question your taste, if nothing else.

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/* You are not expected to understand this. */

[ Parent ]

: I'm a fan of by ammoniacal (2.00 / 0) #8 Sat Jun 21, 2008 at 05:45:45 PM EST

Pern: the Documentary Series
This coomenat has be n soidnsord by hurricanbe ice malt liqur
[ Parent ]

The Wallace book is fun by ucblockhead (4.00 / 1) #11 Sat Jun 21, 2008 at 06:27:45 PM EST

The essay it takes its name is essentially a review of a cruise ship by a guy who hates being with other people.
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_{ウセーバラケダ}
[ Parent ]

Well there you go by Herring (2.00 / 0) #9 Sat Jun 21, 2008 at 06:15:08 PM EST

I've only read 9 - 1.3 of which have been made into films. I still really like Cloud Atlas.

You can't outlaw rabbits! They'll just go underground - Milton Jones

: Books by ucblockhead (2.00 / 0) #12 Sat Jun 21, 2008 at 06:28:59 PM EST

It helps if you have a wife continually pressing you to read the hot book of the year instead of "those books you read with the spaceships".
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_{ウセーバラケダ}
[ Parent ]

Weird list. by Beechwood 45789 (4.00 / 2) #13 Sat Jun 21, 2008 at 06:34:47 PM EST

I've read 38 of them.

I'm not particularly proud of that. It's a pretty crap list.

The list by ucblockhead (2.00 / 0) #15 Sat Jun 21, 2008 at 08:14:11 PM EST

It seems to be the "books everybody is reading" from each of the last 25 years.
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_{ウセーバラケダ}
[ Parent ]

: In that case.. by Driusan (2.00 / 0) #16 Sat Jun 21, 2008 at 09:38:22 PM EST

should I be proud or ashamed of the fact that I've only read 2.5 of them?

[ Parent ]
: That doesn't bother me as much . . . by Beechwood 45789 (4.00 / 1) #32 Mon Jun 23, 2008 at 06:26:45 AM EST

As the fact that it just seems kind of sloppy - like the guys putting it together didn't really know what they were writing about. For example, if your going to count all of Sandman as a single "read", shouldn't both the first and second volumes of Guralnick's Elvis bio be on the list instead of just the first one? Seems that they are as much a single work as Sandman. Maybe more so. Plus, His Dark Materials isn't a book, but a series. Exactly what's being listed - books, series, collections of periodicals - isn't clear. Sloppy.
This doesn't even get into the choices that were made. I don't know anybody, not even fans of the novel, who thought The Ruins was better than A Simple Plan, for example.
Although I do think it is nice to produce a list of current titles. There's probably more folks who will see this and start a title or two then they would if this was some epic "Greatest Books of All Time, Forever, Seriously" list.

[ Parent ]

perseopolis by yankeehack (2.00 / 0) #14 Sat Jun 21, 2008 at 06:56:27 PM EST

I saw perseopolis with LO at the not so local arty movie theatre recently and it definitely was a significant mother/daughter bonding moment. It was quite cool to be able to show LO how someone else grew up under the stresses of war and being sent abroad as a teenager.

It was in french, with subtitles, but she got most of it. After the movie she asked about the Iraq war - when I had to explain that the Iran-Iraq war predated the current situation in Iraq.

The other significant part was when it showed when marjane satrapi was married at 21 and the grandmother referred to the starter marriage. LO looked at me and smiled.
****
You know what is funny? I voted for McCain in 2000 and Obama in 2008. (And let's not forget Edwards in 1998.)

: I just wanted to say... by toxicfur (2.00 / 0) #18 Sat Jun 21, 2008 at 10:24:48 PM EST

that this comment made me smile. I'm really glad you had that moment with your daughter, and I hope there are many more.
--
To Rollins lesbians are like cuddly pandas: cute, exotic, forest-dwelling, dangerous when riled and unable to produce offspring without assistance.-CRwM
[ Parent ]

I'm such a yokel by clover kicker (4.00 / 1) #17 Sat Jun 21, 2008 at 10:00:32 PM EST

I've only read 2 on that list.

I've read: by Greener (2.00 / 0) #21 Sat Jun 21, 2008 at 11:57:52 PM EST

The Road
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Naked
The Da Vinci Code

I've read the followups to:
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Bridget Jones's Diary
Angela's Ashes

I've seen the film versions of:
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Into Thin Air
Bridget Jones's Diary
Lonesome Dove
The Da Vinci Code

I've seen 61 from their list of classic movies.

10 here by MillMan (2.00 / 0) #22 Sun Jun 22, 2008 at 01:43:57 AM EST

The Road
Maus
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
Into Thin Air
Neuromancer
Interpreter of Maladies
The Poisonwood Bible
The Bonfire of the Vanities
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down (surprised this made the list - I thought it was lesser known)
Fast Food Nation

I gave up on A Prayer for Owen Meany after 200 pages and I've read some of the Sandman series.

When I'm imprisoned as an enemy combatant, will you blog about it?

One tag I saw on Shelfari by TheophileEscargot (4.00 / 1) #23 Sun Jun 22, 2008 at 02:31:17 AM EST

Was "herd reads", which seems to fit those books pretty well. A few of them are very good, most of them are kind of average. Seems to be mostly a best-seller list with some of the very dumbest books stripped out.

The Nick Hornby, Ian McEwan and Kazuo Ishiguro books don't seem particularly outstanding examples of their work. I notice that they happen to be the books that have been made into movies.

I approve of the way they've integrated comics into the list though.

I've read 21 of them.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J.K. Rowling (2000)
American Pastoral, Philip Roth (1997)
Maus, Art Spiegelman (1986/1991)
Cold Mountain, Charles Frazier (1997)
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, Haruki Murakami (1997)
Watchmen, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons (1986-87)
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, Dave Eggers (2000)
The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood (1986)
Rabbit at Rest, John Updike (1990)
On Beauty, Zadie Smith (2005)
The Ghost Road, Pat Barker (1996)
Neuromancer, William Gibson (1984)
His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman (1995-2000)
Sandman, Neil Gaiman (1988-1996)
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Michael Chabon (2000)
Jimmy Corrigan, Chris Ware (2000)
The Bonfire of the Vanities, Tom Wolfe (1987)
The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini (2003)
Cloud Atlas, David Mitchell (2004)
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Mark Haddon (2003)
The Remains of the Day, Kazuo Ishiguro (1989)
High Fidelity, Nick Hornby (1995)
Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser (2001)

--
Butch and Petey are harsh and unforgiving in their estimation of female beauty.

Nine. by aphrael (2.00 / 0) #24 Sun Jun 22, 2008 at 11:34:02 AM EST

Harry Potter and the Golbet of Fire (ranked #2? that's ridiculous)
Watchmen
Lonesome Dove
The Joy Luck Club
Neuromancer
His Dark Materials
Sandman
Bright Lights, Big City
High Fidelity

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My favorite of these was the Joy Luck Club, which was both an unforgettable book and an unforgettable movie.

If television is a babysitter, the internet is a drunk librarian who won't shut up.

Apparently, I read more before the Internet by yankeehack (2.00 / 0) #25 Sun Jun 22, 2008 at 12:17:18 PM EST

Also, of the ones I've read, I had to read a number of them because they were assigned in class in college. That's what you get for being a liberal arts major.

-The Handmaid's Tale (Women's Studies 101)
-The Joy Luck Club
-Beloved
-Cold Mountain (loved the book/hated the movie with the Nicole Kidman/Jude Law soft porn scene)
-Rabbit at Rest (during my Updike period)
-Waiting to Exhale
-Angela's Ashes
-The Bonfire of the Vanities
-A Prayer for Owen Meany (I like John Irving's writing -A prayer according to Garp/The hotel New Hampshire/The cider house rules- not so much what comes out of his mouth.)
-Presumed Innocent (Again, read all of Turow's early pre-2000 work)
-Fast Food Nation
-The Night Manager (I think I did because I went through a Le Carre period)

The EW list is pretty much a bedside table reading list more than anything else.
****
You know what is funny? I voted for McCain in 2000 and Obama in 2008. (And let's not forget Edwards in 1998.)

: I have that problem. by garlic (2.00 / 0) #33 Mon Jun 23, 2008 at 07:33:30 AM EST

A lot of my reading time is spent online instead of with books now.

[ Parent ]

For the record by ucblockhead (2.00 / 0) #26 Sun Jun 22, 2008 at 02:11:59 PM EST

I've read:

The Road
Harry Pottery and the Goblet of Fire ¹
Maus
Blindness
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
The Handmaid's Tale
Love in the Time of Cholera
Bridget Jones's Diary ¹
Neuromancer
Possession
Naked
Bel Cando
The Lovely Bones
Angela's Ashes
His Dark Materials
Sandman
The Poisonwood Diary
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay
The Giver ¹
A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do
Secret History
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Atonement
High Fidelity
The Da Vinci Code ¹
America (the book)

[1] I blame the wife.
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_{ウセーバラケダ}

I've read 32. by toxicfur (2.00 / 0) #27 Sun Jun 22, 2008 at 03:18:38 PM EST

What this means is that I was an English major in college and that I'll read damn near anything that comes to hand.

The Road , Cormac McCarthy (2006)
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J.K. Rowling (2000)
Beloved, Toni Morrison (1987)
Mystic River, Dennis Lehane (2001)
Maus, Art Spiegelman (1986/1991)
Selected Stories, Alice Munro (1996)
Cold Mountain, Charles Frazier (1997)
Into Thin Air, Jon Krakauer (1997)
Watchmen, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons (1986-87)
Black Water, Joyce Carol Oates (1992)
The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood (1986)
Lonesome Dove, Larry McMurtry (1985)
The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan (1989)
Neuromancer, William Gibson (1984)
Naked, David Sedaris (1997)
The Things They Carried, Tim O'Brien (1990)
The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold (2002)
Angela's Ashes, Frank McCourt (1996)
His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman (1995-2000)
The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros (1984)
Sandman, Neil Gaiman (1988-1996)
The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver (1998)
Waiting to Exhale, Terry McMillan (1992)
Nickel & Dimed, Barbara Ehrenreich (2001)
Secret History, Donna Tartt (1992)
The Remains of the Day, Kazuo Ishiguro (1989)
Backlash, Susan Faludi (1991)
And the Band Played On, Randy Shilts (1987)
Presumed Innocent, Scott Turow (1987)
A Thousand Acres, Jane Smiley (1991)
Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser (2001)
Practical Magic, Alice Hoffman (1995)

--
To Rollins lesbians are like cuddly pandas: cute, exotic, forest-dwelling, dangerous when riled and unable to produce offspring without assistance.-CRwM

: Reading anything at hand by ucblockhead (4.00 / 1) #28 Sun Jun 22, 2008 at 03:32:44 PM EST

Probably close to half of those books that I read were not purchased by me, but were just laying around the house. There's a good ten others on that list that I haven't read that are currently laying around the house.
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_{ウセーバラケダ}
[ Parent ]

Six by herbert (2.00 / 0) #29 Sun Jun 22, 2008 at 03:45:58 PM EST

Plus one currently borrowed from the library but not started yet.

And I thought I was a fairly big reader. Hmm. Well, I read more old books. You don't suffer so much from Sturgeon's Law that way.

Also, I wouldn't have put The Night Manager as the best le Carre from the last 25 years.

: "Big reader" by ucblockhead (4.00 / 1) #30 Sun Jun 22, 2008 at 05:37:19 PM EST

I think you could probably claim "big reader" credentials without having read anything on this list.
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_{ウセーバラケダ}
[ Parent ]

Worst possile timing by Ranieri (2.00 / 0) #31 Sun Jun 22, 2008 at 05:58:12 PM EST

I was just shopping around Amazon for some holiday reading. This will put a dent in my budget like you would not believe :P

I've read 9 by Bob Abooey (4.00 / 1) #34 Mon Jun 23, 2008 at 09:50:52 AM EST

I'm not sure I'd consider any of them to be modern day classics. Like High Fidelity - one of my "toop 20" favorite books for sure - but not what I'd consider a classic.

Warmest regards,
--Your best pal Bob

How's my blogging: Call me at 209.867.5309 to complain.

No "Diamond Age"...questionable list by haplopeart (2.00 / 0) #35 Mon Jun 23, 2008 at 12:10:40 PM EST

Without "The Diamond Age" I seriously have to question the list. Since the list includes Neuromancer, which is an inferior book to "The Diamond Age"

That, sir by iGrrrl (2.00 / 0) #37 Mon Jun 23, 2008 at 03:18:22 PM EST

...is a matter of opinion.

"I don't have time for martial law, I have to get to the gym!" zarathus
[ Parent ]

: Yep it sure is... by haplopeart (2.00 / 0) #38 Wed Jun 25, 2008 at 02:17:42 PM EST

...and its all mine.
As the saying goes, Opinions are like assholes, everyones got one and I know exactly where I can shove my opinion.

[ Parent ]

I've read 11 by iGrrrl (2.00 / 0) #36 Mon Jun 23, 2008 at 03:15:11 PM EST

And of those almost all of the ones that were comics except Perseopolis.

I feel uncultured.

"I don't have time for martial law, I have to get to the gym!" zarathus

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