Boxall's 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die discussion

There is a thread about books that are missing from the list, but what books on the list do you think do not deserve to be there or were picked more for simple popularity than truly becasue of thier vaule and worth as a work?

Interview with a vampire. While not a bad book and fairly well written, I don't think it is such an important work that everyone must read it before they die. Same for The Satanic Verses, but I didn't even like that book much. So I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

Choke. Just not a very good book.

I would have to say Persuasion. Though I love Jane Austen and her works, I just did not think that was one of her better ones, and I don't think it is a must read.

Certainly not Castle of Cross Destinies. It's just a jumble of uninteresting tales.
Time's Arrow. Good concept but not well-written.
Book of Illusions. Generally unsatisfying, especially the ending.

I can agree with Choke. I don't know if I'd put any of Palahniuk's work on the list. As much as I love it, and the style is unique, I wouldn't expect everyone to feel the need to read it. I liked Survivor better anyway.

Mansfield Park. Blech!

Blind Assassin- just so terribly, terribly, worthless.

Either of the Tropics by Henry Miller, at least two days of my life wasted.
Satanic verses was one I struggled with, only think anybody noticed it because of the Fatwah put on Rushdie.
As for Austen I like persuasion and Mansfield park but find Northhanger abbey the one most deserving to be thrown off the list.

I thoroughly enjoyed Northanger Abbey...especially for its celebration of the Gothic novels. But, I understand how it wouldn't strike the right chord with everyone.

I would have give Cocaine Nights by Ballard the boot. Dreadful!

The Blind Assassin has been slow going. I've been taking a break from it for...3 weeks now?
*guilty shrug

Anything by Edna O'Brien... for a start! Then Ackroyd's 'The Lambs of London'.


PS I agree about 'Choke'.

Deanna,

I think this list is pretty transparent in that the books they chose aren't necessarily fantastic in and of themselves, but ones which cast a shadow and were influential. There was so much controversy surrounding Tropic of Cancer, what with it being banned in America forever, and it was obviously a big influence on the beats, so I see why they included it. That being said, I wasn't all too impressed with it myself.

I tried to finish Tropic of Cancer, but only got half way through before I gave up. I kept trying to like it but just couldn't. Other than the controversy surrounding it, I have no idea why people raved about it.

I think it has moments of real strength, and the general mission of the book (to write about the things inbetween what people normally write about) is great, but that it just gets bogged down by the prose more often than not. Some of the "erotic" sections are just a touch ridiculous, as well. More so in Capricorn than in Cancer, but definitely in Cancer as well.

"The Breast" - Philip Roth!

I tried to read What I Loved by Siri Hustvedt, but I didn't like it at all, so I stopped reading after half the book. Maybe the book was great, but I just didn't get it? I don't know.

Although I enjoyed Choke, I certainly wouldn't consider it a "Must Read," actually I don't know that I would truely recommend it to anyone unless they were very strange.

I also agree that there are far better books for the list than "Interview with a Vampire"

and although he is one of my favorite authors of all time, I don't know that Douglas Adams needed 3 books on the list. I might have traded out one of the Douglas Adams books for "Good Omens" by Pratchett and Gaiman.

I agree that The Breast is an utter waste of time. Also the Kathy Acker selections, A Prayer of Owen Meany (I HATE THAT BOOK!) and there are at least four too many Don Delillos.

OTOH, I absolutely love The Blind Assassin and Edna O'Brien.

Like her or hate her, Acker is on the list because she is one of the so-called experimental writers. In terms of the "development of the novel", she is worthy of a mention, I suppose.

Read White Noise by DeLillo and you'll be set. That's the only one I'd put on the list, I think.

Roth deserves to be on the list, but not for The Breast. It's a quirky little thing...not nearly a must read.

Palahniuk might deserve a mention using a similar rationale as Acker. Again, I don't think Choke is even in the top three of the ones I'd pick, but that's just me.

Owen Meany almost made me cry. I din't want that one to end. I never cry. Ever. That has to say something. THE VOICE! Loved it.

My picks to drop? Just from my reading so far this year, I'd say that there is no way I would put Coetzee's, Slow Man, anywhere near the list and Paulo Coelho's, Devil and Miss Prym, was awful, just awful.

I loved The Blind Assassin! I was so happy to see it on the list. I think, however, that has been one of the ones replaced in the new edition.

Bonfire of the Vanities should not be on ANY list of books to read. Ever. Wolfe needed to pick up a thesaurus and hire a co-writer. I got so sick of reading the same descriptions of of people over and over again, and worded almost the exact same way. And I hated every single character in the book. Tedium, thy name is Tom Wolfe!

Cathy, I couldn't agree more about a Prayer for Owen Meany. I received it as a gift, and I rarely quit once I start a book. I quit with less than 50 pages left, couldn't stand it.

The Sea by John Banville. I couldn't get past the fist forty pages.

I loved Prayer for Owen Meany! It's my all-time favorite book.

All of which is to say , that's why there are so many colors in the Crayon box! I read "A Prayer for Owen Meany" years ago, and it has stood the test of time: always one of my favorite reads!

Interview With a Vampire may be important to the vampire genre, but it was one of the worst books I've ever read and was thoroughly overly pretentious. It shouldn't be on the list. It'd be like putting The Da Vinci Code on the list.

Ackroyd's Lambs of London was an odd choice. It isn't very good and it isn't very important. It did get deleted from the 2008 list, so maybe I'm vindicated.

The list also needs to get over its devotion to Coetzee. He gets as many books on the list as DICKENS??? Choose 3-4 (max!) of his best and leave it at that.

This list isn't about the best books written - it's about the most influential books. If it was a list of the 1001 greatest novels, a lot of them would be omitted - like any Marquis de Sade, Fanny Hill etc. Douglas Adams is on the list for his unique humour, I guess - love him by the way. Rice for her way of writing vampire fiction etc etc etc.
When I read from the list, I expect an interesting read - not necessarily a good one (which was the case for me with Dead Babies by Martin Amis).

I do agree, however, about the amount of works by one author. As far as i remember, all of Austen is on the list, a ton of Dickens, lots of Coetzee etc - I don't think all of these works by one author are all important for the development of the novel.

In some ways, one could argue for the inclusion of The Da Vinci Code, Harry Potter - and maybe even (gasp) Twilight - on the list for their huge importance for the book industry and for their being responsible for creating so many new readers. If I should make the case for one of these, I'll prefer Harry Potter...

Btw - love Owen Meany! One of my favourite novels by one of my favourite authors! That being said, I'm surprised that they eliminated Garp from the 2008 list instead of either Owen Meany or Cider House Rules - I think Garp is the most important Irving book - and probably my all-time favourite novel.

Kennedy Tooles' A Confederacy of Dunces. I must admit I probably didn't make it to page 100. I don't think it was particularly good nor do I understand the literary value.

Crome Yellow!

I know this is an unpopular opinion, but I don't like anything by Paul Coelho. There are plenty of other books that I disliked (in some cases, hated), but that doesn't necessarily mean they should be removed.

The Taebeck Mountains - not to sound completely Euro-centric, but as far as I can tell, it's a 10-volume series that is only available in Korean. Since I know this is a language I will never learn, I am a bit disgruntled that there is at least one "book" that I'll never be able to cross off this list.

I also personnally think there should be a limit of 3 books per author. There are far too many great books out there to include four or more from the same author.

My exclusions are --anything by Chuck Palahniuk. He is just too weird and disgusting to me, although I guess you could make a case that his style has impacted the novel. I just don't think his impact has been a positive one, although I know that plenty of people like him. Maybe I just haven't found the correct book yet.

There are so many that I have not read, that I'm sure that I will find more as I go along.

Kristi wrote: "Crome Yellow!

I know this is an unpopular opinion, but I don't like anything by Paul Coelho. There are plenty of other books that I disliked (in some cases, hated), but that doesn'..."

I hate Paul Coelho !!!!!!

I hate Paul Coelho !!!!!!
Same here. Those books are on very simplified philosophy of I-don't-know-what

Anna wrote: "I hate Paul Coelho !!!!!!
Same here. Those books are on very simplified philosophy of I-don't-know-what"
Thanks Anna for supporting our opinions

Mike wrote: "Choke. Just not a very good book."
I totally agree. This book and no "Red Badge of Courage"? Come on, Doc!

Paula wrote: "The Taebeck Mountains - not to sound completely Euro-centric, but as far as I can tell, it's a 10-volume series that is only available in Korean. Since I know this is a language I will never learn,..." Sure have to agree about this! The 2008 list has many books that are not available in English. Who does Boxall think he's writing for, anyhow? Has he read all these books available only in Korean or Serbo-Croatian?

I love this discussion - very helpful. My email address is: "2manybooks," as in too many books, not enough time. Sure people have different tastes, but if several people comment on how awful a book is, I appreciate the warning so I don't waste my time and can move on! For example: I have officially crossed Choke off of my list - Ha!

Sara wrote: "
Kennedy Tooles' A Confederacy of Dunces. I must admit I probably didn't make it to page 100. I don't think it was particularly good nor do I understand the literary value."
I hated this book! Who could identify with the protagonist?

Dave wrote: "Cathy, I couldn't agree more about a Prayer for Owen Meany. I received it as a gift, and I rarely quit once I start a book. I quit with less than 50 pages left, couldn't stand it." If you quit Owen Meany 50 pages before the end, you missed the whole payoff of the plot! One of my all-time favorites by one of my all-time favorite authors.

Cathy wrote: "I agree that The Breast is an utter waste of time. Also the Kathy Acker selections, A Prayer of Owen Meany (I HATE THAT BOOK!) and there are at least four too many Don Delillos.

OTOH, I absolut..."
Love Roth. Hated The Breast. What a stupid book!

Gerald wrote: "Dave wrote: "Cathy, I couldn't agree more about a Prayer for Owen Meany. I received it as a gift, and I rarely quit once I start a book. I quit with less than 50 pages left, couldn't stand it." I..."

I agree with Gerald. A Prayer for Owen Meany is one of my all-time favorite books and definitely in the top 10 from this list. And I agree, the way everything comes together at the end was sheer genius. As they say 'different strokes, for different folks.'

Susanna UK wrote: "Anything by Edna O'Brien... for a start! Then Ackroyd's 'The Lambs of London'.


PS I agree about 'Choke'."

Hey! I liked Girl With Green Eyes!

Jessica wrote: "Susanna UK wrote: "Anything by Edna O'Brien... for a start! Then Ackroyd's 'The Lambs of London'.


PS I agree about 'Choke'."

Hey! I liked Girl With Green Eyes!"I really liked "Lambs of London," but I probably wouldn't put it on my list of 1001.

Sabbath's Theater by Roth is a weak Roth entry and thankfully off the 08 list. It took me forever to read and had little to no redeeming characteristics. Watt by Samuel Beckett was utter repetitive uber-absurdist rubbish without a discernable plot that scholars agree was an experiment the author never intended to publish. Again, this was thankfully removed from the 08 list. Overall, 9 of each 10 books on the list are worth reading, however.

Far From the Madding Crowd should be replaced with The Mayor of Casterbridge. I was devastated to see that Byatt's Possession was taken out of the new edition while The Virgin in the Garden (snore) is still on there!

Additions: The Lovely Bones and Special Topics in Calamity Physics. And why in the world is Hard Times by Dickens not on there?? Or A Tale of Two Cities? That, in my opinion, is his masterpiece.

And I love Mansfield Park! It's my favorite Austen because it's so different.

Sarah wrote: "Far From the Madding Crowd should be replaced with The Mayor of Casterbridge. I was devastated to see that Byatt's Possession was taken out of the new edition while The Virgin in the Garden (snore..." I really liked both The Lovely Bones and Calamity Physics, but I don't think they are strong enough to be two of the 1001. If I had to pick one, it would be Calamity Physics, because the author took so many chances and kept it totally accessible and totally intellectually involving at the same time. Can't wait for her second!

Gerald -A delayed response-For the last couple of years I've been generally focusing on the prize winners(a suggestion from a Gore Vidal essay). 2666 was a winner.It was intense but I feel I have a feel for that Ciudad Juarez horror now.I'm not sure I'm qualified to judge good from best,but some committee picked it as book of the year.I agree with you about The Confederacy of Dunces.It was an ok read(as was 2666)but how either got a prize is beyond me.If 2666 freaked you out I'll bet Cormac McCarthy does too.Yes?

Cormac McCarthy is one of my all time favorite writers. Although Blood Meridian was a little hard to stomach, I found it worth reading. All the Pretty Horses, The Crossing, No Country for Old Men, and The Road are among my favorite reading of all time.

What I need from a book is either a narrative (Forster called it a "story"), and/or characters that I can believe in. Blood Meridian had a story and had characters (albeit grotesque) that I could believe were human beings. 2666 had neither, in my opinion. I enjoyed the parts that did have these things (which was four out of the five parts) but I could see no value in reading 300 pages of descriptions of murder/rape of young women I did not get to know as characters. I got the point: God, this was a horror! long before I finished those 300 repetitious pages.
Gerry

The Swimming Pool Library.

Diane wrote: "The Swimming Pool Library."
Tell us why.

Gerald wrote: "Cormac McCarthy is one of my all time favorite writers. Although Blood Meridian was a little hard to stomach, I found it worth reading. All the Pretty Horses, The Crossing, No Country for Old Men, ..."
In spite of the 300(?) pages of violence-the book won a major literature prize-which says to me that people can see the same book very differently.