Top Must Read Books of All Time

[Ursula]

I am a sucker for lists of books to read.  I found this to be a very interesting list with a few books that I had not read, but many that I had enjoyed, and one that I would rather not have read.  Although many of the books are classics, I was pleased to see The Book Thief made the list at #32 and The Kite Runner was #75.  The book I did not enjoy was Kafka's The Metamorphosis (#83), which my F2F novella book club read....that's what happens when one of your members is a retired university English professor.  It is a dreadful story, in my opinion.

Here's a link: http://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/20-must-read-books?llid=1wGz...

[Carci]

Interesting Ursula,  I always think I'll get to those classics I haven't read someday...  maybe I will...  LOL

I was surprised at how many I had read and amused to see the children's books included.

Many of the other collections listed below the book list are really weird.

I'm 100+ pages into a book called Tularosa by Michael McGarrity and I'm having a hard time retaining an interest in the story. There's an awful lot of military jargon. Maybe a bit too much of a guy book for me. Set in New Mexico, it's the first in a series so I had high hopes for it... we'll see  :) 

[Joanne]

carci, stay with the McGarrity if you can, or go to the next book in the series.  I always found his books very enjoyable.  The trick was...finding all of them in my library system.  I think there are probably a couple that I was never able to track down.  Oh, I could go to ThriftBooks or such and find them, but I'm into a whole raft of newer authors and books now.

I need to print that list of Must Reads!  Probably have read a lot of them.  I have pages and pages of printed lists from several years back to the present, and every now and then I will pull a book off one of the lists, purely by accident usually!   Ursula, I was never able to get into Metamorphosis either.  It was disgusting.

[Carci]

thanx for the encouragement, Joanne... I will stick with it... need a new series desperately and they just got on horseback so that is a plus...  LOL

[Ioruach]

Trouble with those "must read" lists for me is that they make me feel guilty. Many of them I have never read and most of those that I did read were many years ago, often when I was in college. Take War and Peace for example. I started it a couple times and doubt that I ever got more than 50 to 75 pages into it. It simply overwhelmed me. Perhaps I'll try again; but it will be in my next life.

[Carolyn Tewell]

I am surprised how many I've read as well. Especially "The Cat in the Hat"....lol (4 kids, 12 grandkids!)

Many I read in High School or in the 70's and 80's...wonder if I would have a different impression/understanding of their stories now?

[Lip Service]

I also love book lists, I am surprised to have read at least 3/4 of this list

Number 19 The Count of Monte Christo left a big impression on me as youngster, am currently rereading Agatha Christie's The Murder Of Roger Ackroyd and Murder On the Orient Express is next.

Feeling in a nostalgic mood lately

[Angharad]

Quite a bit late to the party, but I'm chiming in anyway.  :>)

I was surprised when I found that I had read every book on this list. Surprised because I've never thought of myself as a reader. I seldom curl up with a book--I usually prefer to be in motion. And even now, when I can't be in motion as I once was, I tend to make things or watch things (I'm a movie/documentary nut) rather than read books.

I've always liked the idea of snuggling in with a book and a big, steaming mug of tea. Maybe I'll try to cultivate that desire. 

[Lip Service]

Welcome to Bookoholics Angharad,

Doesn't matter if you are an occasional or prolific reader

Feel free to express your relation with books any which way you feel

[Angharad]

Thank you, Lip Service, that's very kind.

I am realizing as I sift through the discussions that I've read more than I thought. I keep asking myself, "when the heck did I do that?"  ツ

In case anyone is interested, I have a Haiku group here: http://teebeedee.ning.com/group/haikusenryu  It's not traditional haiku--or at least it generally doesn't adhere to traditional Japanese forms. We've even created a form which I call "serial haiku," which is a series of related haiku which allow the writer to tell a story. We have fun and express ourselves in a free and easy way, and I believe that's what counts. 

[Lip Service]

Oh I love haiku and will go check it out, thanks for mentioning it

Last week while watching the Perseid meteor shower I wrote the following;

The Perseid shower

Shooting star across the sky

Pierced something in me

[Angharad]

Oh, how beautiful and evocative, LS!

Yes, please come over! There are 142 existing topics, so if no subject on the front page interests you, be sure to click on "view all." OR, just start a new topic! (We found that having topics acted as a writing prompt.)

For the years since the exodus from TBD, it's mostly been 2-3 of us holding down the fort, and I admit to using the writing as catharsis for a big loss I'd suffered. So pardon the flood of angst--hahaha! If you check out the earlier pages of any topic, you'll see lots of wonderful poems by many members--if you're a lover of traditional haiku, look for Drew Francis' offerings. He was (and is, I assume) an artist in every way. 

And, I reiterate (because I don't want you to be surprised or disappointed), the haiku is, for the most part, only VERY loosely that. Pretty much all that exists of the form is the Americanized standard of 5/7/5 syllables.

Hope to see you post soon!