50 books to read before you die discussion

The Great Gatsby.... Everyone I know who's read this book hates it. We will openly roast it in writing club.

The Bible.... This is only a book you should read if you're religious. As an atheist, I find the statement that I should read the Good Book a little upsetting, because I get enough of that from my family.

(Also, why isn't there any Sherlock Holmes, 13 Reasons Why, a Song of Ice and Fire, Fault in Our Stars, etc. Those books are good.)

Hi Delaney,

The list is from a Barnes and Noble (bookstore) bookmark. If you want to know why these 50 books, you will have to contact Barnes and Noble.

This group made their own list of 100 good books, we also nominate other books to read each month. So nominate any book you think our members would enjoy reading.

Hi Delaney,

Ps. We are currently reading A Song of Ice and Fire, it was one of our open nominations. Fault in Our Stars and a Sherlock Holmes story are both on our 100 list.

P.ps I agree about the Bible, you should have all religious books on the list or none at all.

The reason to include the Bible isn't a religious one. It's that you won't understand many of the other books on the list without being familiar with it. Historically, authors have frequently alluded to the Bible. That may be becoming less common.

I would go so far as saying there's a whole lot readers miss when they don't have the background to catch the allusions, symbols, and whatnot that an author has used in a book. Occasionally, a thing that would have been very apparent to an audience 100 or 50 years ago can leave a reader stranded, scratching their head. I wouldn't go all the way, though, and say you can't understand or enjoy a book without having read the Bible--only that much gets lost in translation, so to speak. A serious allergy to the Bible because of a religious upbringing shouldn't present that particular problem--presumably, the OP's familiarity with the text will, ironically, prepare her for some deep reading in great books.

As to whether the Bible belongs on the list, I don't know. I can think of other foundational literary texts that aren't on the list (which is otherwise dominated by novels), and I'm not sure how helpful a cold reading of the Bible is without the Sunday School education that is the bathwater in which it saturates all these other works. And that bathwater has been brewing for centuries, so folks reading the Canterbury Tales had a version of biblical understanding/knowledge that was different from readers of Paradise Lost which was different from readers of Hemingway and Faulkner. I guess I'm questioning how useful for the purpose of reading, say, Gatsby, is the text without the context, the symbols without the fuller meanings gathered over time.

On it's own purely literary merits, the Bible ranges--it is a compilation of very, very old texts, including a boring census report and a book of laws but also some sublimely beautiful poetry and some archetypal tales of the ancient world. Ancient texts, however, tend to be an acquired taste and require a bit of work. How many people read Horace or Thucydides? It's not for everybody, plus, unfortunately, many people are unable to view the texts without the filter of a bad religious experience.

As for Gatsby, I've never been a big fan myself. People do love it though, and since I don't consider that anyone can pass judgment on my reading preferences, it would be hypocritical of me to shoot down someone else's choices. I always enjoy hearing someone tell me why they loved a book, or didn't love a book, or hated a book--but it's the reasons that interest me. Sometimes you can't see into a book until somebody supplies the key.

The bookmark was created, of course, to drive sales. I suspect the list was compiled with an eye toward selling the many public domain titles that B&N publishes, along with some other steady backlist sellers, including the perennially bestselling Bible. Anyway, it's just a list--a starting point for book discussion, not anything nearly as high-stakes as its overly dramatic title suggests. There are quite a few titles listed that I have no inclination to read (and many, many I would add to a list of my own), but I do appreciate a few that it brought to my attention, which is what a list of recommendations is supposed to do.

The group's own 100 is definitely a friendlier place to look for books that are much loved and warmly recommended by people who love to read.

As to your comment about needing a Sunday school education to understand the Bible, I think you might be better off letting it speak for itself like any other book.

The Bible is a compilation of ancient stories. I'm not religious, but I've read the Bible because those stories date back before the biblical religions. It's like finding a book of fairy tales from a list civilization.

The last doesn't appeal to everyone, I personally liked the great Gatsby very much. You have to take it as it is. No list will be made for everyone. I didn't like 13 reasons why at all... Hated it actually, so I'd disagree if that were on the list, but who am I to say. Just read what you like and use these lists as suggestions.

Longhare wrote: "I would go so far as saying there's a whole lot readers miss when they don't have the background to catch the allusions, symbols, and whatnot that an author has used in a book. Occasionally, a thin..."

Well said, Longhare. I belong to a writers' group and, since writers must be readers, we often find ourselves discussing other writers' works. The opinions offered are diverse and the discussions, while short, are useful for our small group-people who are always hoping to improve our own writing. I appreciate the discussions I read on this site as well.

As far as reading the Bible to be able to understand other authors' allusions to some of its content, I've discovered many books have themes which are Biblical, whether intentional or not. Many book titles are taken from phrases found in the text. I find it interesting that the Holy Bible is on a list which otherwise features fiction. Many believe the Bible is fiction; many of us do not. I wonder if anyone else has considered this inclusion based on that idea and why it came to be there with fictional works. I also wonder if the reason it was included is that important.

Most of us hear about a "good read" from a friend, a review we read, a current "best-seller" list, or a list of the type we're discussing here. Any list, for instance "50 Places to Visit Before You Die," would have its likes and dislikes. I was telling a friend the other day how much I enjoyed my trip to the Grand Canyon with my daughter's family in Arizona. My friend made nasty faces and said she wasn't very impressed with it. We're all so different; there's something for everyone.

If you love to read and be exposed to great writing–or even poor writing–grab a book and get to it. Perhaps it will end up on your DNF list or only get one star. Okay, move on. As Longhare said, the list is "a starting point for book discussion, not anything nearly as high-stakes as its overly dramatic title suggests."

So far, everything I've read on the list is something I liked, or, if I couldn't like it, I appreciated its inclusion on the list. Once I start comparing certain books to others, it makes me want to cross stuff off and put other stuff on. But each book on it's own makes sense to be a book everyone should read. I don't think they creators of the list picked their ranked favorite books and cut off everything past 50...I think they picked the works that knew were important. These are 50 books to read before you die - there are hundreds more to read before you die as well, but here's 50 of them to get you started.

But it's problematic. Take the Bible - it's the only religious text on the list. An inclusion of religious texts is fine, but why stop there? Why not include something like the Quran or the Book of Mormon (both of which have similar cultural significance)? Or, if that's just as problematic, maybe not including religious texts at all would have been more appropriate. There are novels on the list that encourage religion (Life of Pi) and novels that encourage non-religious philosophies (The Stranger, listed as "The Outsider" on the bookmark). Maybe that's enough.

The other problem I have is representation. I think I counted 10 books by women. Of course, the Bible is written by men, and has been translated by men for the majority of its existence as we know it today. Then there are contemporary books that feature a non-English-speaking character created by a white, Western-born man. Life of Pi fits this description, but it's not nearly as problematic as Memoirs of a Geisha - a wonderfully written book that received a huge backlash for misrepresentation of culture. Both books are on the list because they are well-written and popular, but I'm not so sure they deserve the praise.

Then there are the books that are beyond the average reader's understanding. This isn't superiority - I don't know of anyone who would spend their free time reading The Divine Comedy or Ulysses and not have serious trouble figuring out what's going on. They should only be read in a class. (Another argument for the Bible - it's almost all up to interpretation, and some parts of the Bible have not aged well at all).

I have a blog based specifically on this list of 50 books, which you can find at www.jeffreycscott.com. I'm reading all of the books from the list and commenting on why each one made the list at all. Some of them don't have clear answers from me, but I attempt an answer for every book: why did this book make the list? I've done one for more than half of the books by now, so feel free to see more of my thoughts.

As to the Bible: there is a significant difference between the old and the new testament. I fully understand why the old testament is on the list, none of them connected to religion.

The Great Gatsby? I allways thought it was an awesome book and still do. It has, for one, stood the test of time:-) Time will tell if the same will be true for A Song of Ice and Fire:-) And I loved that one too.

Bill wrote: "As to your comment about needing a Sunday school education to understand the Bible, I think you might be better off letting it speak for itself like any other book."
I'm not sure Sunday school is the best place to learn about the Bible. But there is a lot of background (historical, literary, etc) you need to understand what the Bible is saying. That certainly doesn't mean that everyone agrees on what it's saying. Many take the Bible quite literally. I don't.

Not sure if this is the correct place to post this. But here's an interesting take on "The Top 10 Greatest Novels of All Time."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5OlI...

Michael wrote: "Not sure if this is the correct place to post this. But here's an interesting take on "The Top 10 Greatest Novels of All Time."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5OlI..."

Interesting. Thanks for posting that. Most of these are on our lists. And having read most of them, I do agree that most are worthy of the title 'The Greatest of All Time.' I wouldn't have put them in the same order, and I would have omitted some and added others. Everyone's best list is different.

And, based on this YouTube list, I've added Madame Bovary to my library reading list.