As I can only provide a reasonable list of books from my own cultural position, I have to assume that this person is like me, at least in a very basic way: an alive American who can read English. The following books of fiction, poetry, and drama is an attempt to satisfy those competing requirements.
Conversely, to be conversant in the literature of the day turned out to be quite a bit more important than I would have thought. As for the number of in addition to being a nice, round number, it is also a number that, at a one-book-every-two-week pace this hypothetical reader could accomplish in just about four years—the standard length of an undergraduate program.
I've read a lot of the books on this list, not out of some ego-driven desire to flaunt my "well-read" superiority in the face of my peers, but because i held the obviously mistaken belief that these books have attained that lofty status of 'classic' for a reason. And that reason is simply that they are good books. I guess i've come to realize that life is too short and my love for a book i can sink my teeth into is too great to spend my time reading something i don't want to, just so i can say "i've read that!
Monica wrote: "What happened to reading for it's own sake? I've read a lot of the books on this list, not out of some ego-driven desire to fl That's what I did Dec 16, AM. This is an exceptionally helpful list to someone such as I, whom was not given the proper 'education' in terms of reading and speech.
Though I have passed Math, English, History and the like with flying colors, I find myself dumb-founded when it comes to the most basic of logic processing--the kind that reading is supposed to enhance. As I search for both entertainment and a better intelligence, I hold great appreciation to the creator of the list--putting out the most common sense of book titles out for even the most uneducated to find easily.
Quint wrote: "This is an exceptionally helpful list to someone such as I, whom was not given the proper 'education' in terms of reading and speech.
Though I have passed Math, English, History and the like with f I found it no better than average. Atlas Shrugged however Dec 19, AM. I've read a lot of the books on this list, not out of some ego-driv Jul 03, PM.
None of The Lord of the Rings books are on this list? The books that defined modern fantasy? Aug 16, PM. Only 2 women authors in the top 20? If this is what the canon looks like then we have some work to do. Mar 21, AM.
Since joining groups focused on reading classics, I have been delighted and edifies that books I had either not heard of or might have overlooked before. Certainly, if you are reading a book with the sole goal of saying that you have, you are wasting your time. Mar 21, PM. Mel wrote: "Only 2 women authors in the top 20? I don't ever consider the gender of the author. If I read something I like I will up more by that person. If GR, or a friend recommends something I will look into it, but I never consider the writer's gender.
I like most genres, and have enjoyed books by men and women to be sure, but gender, race, religion Jun 10, AM. I'm disappointed that Gogol is overlooked altogether on this otherwise good list. His short story, "The Overcoat," is brilliant and the foundation of virtually all of Russian literature.
Aug 07, AM. Tyler wrote: "Mel wrote: "Only 2 women authors in the top 20? I don't ever consider the gender of I understand why it wouldn't occur to someone to look at the gender-- there is so much fabulous work out there. Why should the background of the author make a difference? The reason why I started looking at the gender is that I realized we are not picking up good books indiscriminately.
There are good books by people of all backgrounds, yet the ones that come into our sphere-- through networks on Goodreads, friends, publishers, articles, bookstores, etc.
Because of this, lots of good books by men make this list here, for example, but the equally fantastic books written by women do not. One more comment- the concept of "women exclusion" assumes an "inclusion" default, in which men are already found.
If the men "category" is the default and women is the exception, then the complexity of gender in art and social spaces is already knotty.
Lots to be said on this Aug 26, AM. How is that simplistic? Oct 16, AM. And then there are books that even those who enjoyed them could not conceivably think are literature, much less belonging on this list Twilight being a flagrant example!
Maybe I should create a new list Feb 05, AM. This looks overwhelmingly white. Hardly well-read. Nelle wrote: "This looks overwhelmingly white. Many of then are, of course, excellent books, but if you only read English plus a sampling of other European works, one could hardly be considered well-read. Feb 05, PM. Feb 10, AM. Booklovinglady wrote: "Nelle wrote: "This looks overwhelmingly white. There is such a fantastic history of literature from other populations.
If we say that most authors from these places are white we are simply blinded to the rich contributions of women and non-white authors. Fantastic lit created by other people is minimized because we make blanket biased acceptances of what is of merit and who is producing it in Europe and America. Great works are and have long been produced around the world and one cannot be considered well-read at all if their reading has been confined to only a single tradition.
May 16, PM. May 17, AM. May 17, PM. I like reading lists, and there's no reason for anyone to be indignant if it doesn't match their list. There can be no definitive list like this. I would encourage you to correct the typo in the introduction once, not ones. Nov 21, AM. James wrote: "Caleb wrote: "I take huge issue with Animal Farm being 4. Nov 21, PM. When my high It is awful and I only gave it one star. Mar 01, PM. As usual this kind of lists are ridiculously anglo and english language centered Meli wrote: "Booklovinglady wrote: "Nelle wrote: "This looks overwhelmingly white.
Apr 18, PM. I read what I wanna read and not what other people tell me! Apr 19, PM. Didn't school make you read some things? Apr 24, AM. Apr 24, PM. Some of them I liked for instance Jane Eyre. Did you have to read that one? I also had to read Romeo and Juliet. Oct 26, PM. I didn't get assigned Jane Eyre though. Horacio wrote: "As usual this kind of lists are ridiculously anglo and english language centered Add a reference: Book Author.
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Add books from: My Books or a Search. Related News. When it comes to writing, Jocelyn Johnson is about that life. The Virginia native—born, bred, and wed—has had aspirations of being a Read more Friends Votes. If you count books you are not fair, because one reads a doorstopper like the complete Gormenghast trilogy pages or Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell , while another reads a crime novel which hardly ever excel pages.
Both, the doorstopper reader and the crime novel reader have read ONE book. But the former has read double or even thrice the amount the latter has read. That is why counting in book numbers is not fair to readers. Not that I say any of those bigger ones are more valuable, just that the number of pages would be a fairer assessment. Hi Fran — I absolutely agree. The number of pages is more of an apples-to-apples comparison.
And then there is quality vs. I think the statistic for India might have to do with just reading, not reading books specifically, though I may be wrong.
People in India very avidly read newspapers daily. This is why I have a tinge of doubt. The longest one was , words. This is not counting school textbooks. I think novels are great and I hate it when people say they are not useful to read.
I tend to read historical fiction novels, which make history stick in your head better than the textbooks in my opinion, and classics such as the works of Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, etc. I choose the novels I read carefully and try to find ones that expand my world view and ones with inspiring characters who make me want to be a better person. Novels are great for getting people started who hate reading. Just let it be a worthwhile one cause there are plenty of trashy novels, there are just plenty of great ones too.
Why has reading become a pissing contest? And should it not be quality over quantity? Hardly surprising to see the UK near the bottom of the list. Might explain the Brexit result. British people are busy writing the novels that the rest of the world reads, as well as great comedy, and doing Nobel prize-winning research. The UK has several universities in the world top ten; the rest of Europe — none.
Brexit will be great because Britain excels all other EU countries in every way that matters. I I spent 8 years in Thailand teaching ESL and studying the Thai language which is the most fascinating language that I have ever studied. It has a 44 consonant, non-Roman alphabet and 33 complex vowel sounds but it is almost completely phonic in its orthography. Reading Thai is a visual pleasure and one can see Thais reading in public wherever you go. Thai libraries have books that are dog-eared from countless readings.
And when the library chairs are full one can see dozens of people sitting on the floor with their backs to the walls reading books.
Sadly, that is not the case. I read 31 books last year, but also re-read some of them.. Especially for self help and business books.
Speed reading is all about efficiency and purposeful reading. I prefer quality over quantity and when applying the techniques in my business books, personal development and self-help, I find ways to implement the principles in real life application to absorb the information more effectively. Sounds like you could benefit from some note-taking strategies and memory techniques. I always find it so depressing to read statistics such as these. I, for one, read to books a year, and I am still astonished that most of my participants read only one to ten books a year.
Reading as a pastime is entertaining, I swear. Wait did you say you read books a year? Is that a joke or did I get something wrong? I am a books worm. I am trying ot figure out how many people read non fiction books in the US. But now when I look at this, I almost cry. Yes, Lilly… It is indeed a sad statistic.
What percentage of people have never read a book?
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