In his introduction, Peter Boxall writes about the difficulty of compiling such a finite list. As many books as it contains, it covers hundreds of years of fiction (and some nonfiction) writing, and could hardly cover all books you ought to read, ever. The chosen titles are organized chronologically by publication date. Each summary begins with the author's birth and death dates, the date of publication, and the publisher. Depending on the book and author, we are also told other information, such as the author's real name or an award the book won. Then, one of the 100 contributors summarizes and offers a bit of literary criticism in approximately 300 words.

Of the completed offering, the editor writes, "this book reflects a set of priorities that are shared by today's readers, a certain understanding of where the novel comes from, a particular kind of passion for reading" (9). Though I haven't read many on the list, I found it interesting to read with this in mind. I kept reflecting on what each choice had to say about the world we live in now and the worldview of the contributors. Especially in the largest section - the 20th century - many of the choices seem to question authority, religion, government, or push the boundaries of fiction itself. . One thing I found extremely frustrating was that many of the summaries summarized to the end of the book. If you are planning on reading all the 1001 books, I recommend that you use the book mainly for reference and read the summary after reading the book so you don't accidentally come across spoilers. ( )

This is a curious book with a curious notion behind it: That one must read certain books in order to feel well-read. It's not enough to be a voracious reader if all we read are the latest magazines and newspapers, or the latest best-seller, or loads of junklit. This is a book which purports to be a reference to literature which has had an impact on the world, and on our collective imagination, but it omits such obvious influences as Shakespeare and The Bible without explanation of any sort. Surely these two works have had as much influence on the Western world as all the rest put together, and Shakespeare, at least, has a universal appeal which cuts across any religious lines.

A quick examination shows a volume weighted heavily towards contemporary literature. More than 700 of its 900+ pages are devoted to 20th and 21st century works. While I don't doubt that many, if not most, of these works are worth reading, I would question the notion that all have and will continue to have a great impact on world thought. While I am heartened to find works by many non-Western authors within the same two chapters, I have to wonder why so few appear in earlier chapters. I also can't help but wonder about why pre-eighteenth century literature is limited to about 20 pages, and we go from Aesop to the 19th century in about 150 pages.

I spent a couple of hours marking each book I'd already read - an occupation more amusing than useful - and discovered to my dismay that I'm not nearly as well-read as I'd hoped. At least by the standards of this book. And yet by most standards I know I am well-read. Again, curious.

In all honesty, as interesting and even useful as I find this book, I find that my objections to both inclusions and exclusions to be about equal. While the commentary is good, often fascinating, I don't see that it can make up for the weight given to contemporary and Western literature, particularly English-language works. ( )

If you're on LibraryThing, you definitely love books. Great resources. You can see my full review of this and other nonfiction favorites at: http://laurareviews.blogspot.com/sear... Nonfiction ( )

If you read a lot of books, "serious" books or not, you should own this book. Before purchasing this book (special order at FULL price!) I read a lot of reviews from people who didn't like the choices among the 1001 -- the books that were chosen. The books that weren't. The authors who were selected, but had a lesser book selected.

These are all valid claims -- you can't please everybody! But with 1001 books, it appears that the author (editor?) appears to be doing just that. Without the lean and mean restrictions of a top 100 list, a lot of sloppy works make it onto the list.

Still, I recommend this book. It is a handy reference to quickly find a good read with handy summaries; hardly any will outright disappoint. Is it actually the list you should strive to complete before you die? I personally don't think so but think this a fine book nevertheless. ( )

If you love books, how could you not love a huge book about books? If you casually would like to know which books are important, pick this up. However, in no way would I follow this list exclusively. Of course, there are many more than 1001 essential books. Some included here are not as necessary to read as some that are missing. I think it should have only included fiction, as the few non-fiction included don't make up for the important books that are missing. Reading should be fun. If a book on this list isn't your thing, don't feel "you must read it before you die." Read what you love! ( )