A great resource for finding new authors, and discarding them, and reading books that I never otherwise would have. ( )

I just love a book that can be used as an attractive book end; and when not used as such allows me to surreptitiously dip my toe amongst its reading proposals.

The fun doesn’t end there; “What no - Whatever book I adore” or “What, that junk, you’ve got to be kidding” and I laugh to myself as I image most everyone else having a similar internalised tennis match.

I find the quality of the entries variable, the length perfect to tempt and the associated pictures charming and the overall quality of the tome impressive. Not a literary genius I find lots of little gems that will keep me interested for years.

No, its not perfect, but it sits proudly at the head of my bookcase just as my red box of Swiss chocolates sit at the other, both tempting me now and then.........Obese or another book, Ho Hum ( )

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! ( )

If you are having a hard time deciding what to read, this is an excellent resource. I've used it several times to find something different to read. My goal is to read every book I've highlighted before I die. Hopefully, that will be a long time! ( )

I find this book endlessly fascinating. Yes, it's silly. Yes, it's a weird list, Yes, I don't need anyone to tell me what to read. It's all about fun and I don't take it seriously. But what it has done is expand my reading horizons--I've read a wide variety of books I would never have read otherwise, and enjoyed most of them. Even the ones I didn't like were at least interesting on some level. And it's just fun to discuss the merits and demerits of the books with others here at the 1001 Books group here at LT. ( )

I have mixed feelings about this compendium. On one hand, I've read many of the books listed here, and agree with the editors' assesment of them. On the other hand, some of their choices are puzzling. If this is supposed to be a compendium of novels, then why is Rousseau's Confessions on there? A Modest Proposal is more like a pamphlet, and Cider With Rosie is a memoir. Death in Venice and the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes as well as several others are short stories.

Why all those cult classics like The Shining, Interview with the Vampire, Gone With the Wind, The Postman Always Rings Twice, and Tarzan of the Apes? Why A Passage to India (its a book that hasn't aged well and you'd think the PC editors of 1001 Books would be sensitive to the racism discussed in it). Why all of George Gissing except for The Odd Women? Why all of Maria Edgeworth except for Belinda? That novel essentially paved the way for several other novelists, including Jane Austen. There are also some extraordinarily long books on this list: Victor Hugo's Les Miserables comes to mind immediately. The editors' selection of mysteries is also perplexing: Why did they choose The Murder of Roger Ackroyd instead of The Body in the Library or Ten Little Indians?

And more importantly, the stuff they left out: Grace Metalious (to be sure, a novel of its time, but no more so than some of the books on this list). Boccaccio's Decameron. Ayn Rand. Twain is under-represented. Where's The Magnificent Ambersons? Or The Rise of Silas Lapham? Where's James Fenimore Cooper? What about An American Tragedy? I could go on.

But all that said, the illustrations are pretty nice, though some of the information given on some of the books is incorrect. You can tell that the selection of some of the books here was influenced by the movie version. Gone With the Wind is hardly a great book, but somehow it made it into this compendium. In all, I think its hardly worth buying and investing much time in, but in the same breath its a good guide for picking books you might want to read. This book introduced me to a number of gems, including Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day and The Go-Between. I was impressed, for example, that Radcliffe Hall's The Well of Lonliness made it onto the list--it seems like I'm the only person who's ever heard of her. ( )

The fundamental flaw of this book is the manner in which the 1001 books were chosen. They were selected not because they are enjoyable to read, or because they touch a cord in the reader, or because they address a unique side of human experience. Rather, they seem to be selected by some definition of “important” literature. Indeed, the brief summaries sometimes seem to admit that the novel in question isn’t really very good, but that you should read it anyway because it was so groundbreaking in some minor way. Having been “Written by over one hundred international critics,” as the cover claims, is not necessarily a strength; one gets the feeling that all of those one hundred critics were allowed to include the novels, however obscure, on which they wrote their dissertations. Moreover, certain authors seem over-represented. Suppose, for instance, that you have read a Coetzee novel and didn’t care for it. Is it really essential that “before you die” you read the ten other Coetzee novels listed here?

I certainly don’t feel compelled to put all 1001 books on my “bucket list.” That said, I found it useful to look through the book and make a note of some titles I had missed. I skipped over the many, many entries on novels that seem to appeal only to critics or specialists rather than the general reader. ( )

So depressing I feel like I have read nothing! will have to start alternating between books I want to read and books I should read

Reference book chronicling the history of the novel right through from Aesop's Fables through to 2005. Each book has a short essay describing the book, it's context, and its critical acceptance. Useful reference with lots of things I've read and lots of things I'd like to. ( )

This is a chronological list and review of works that, in the contributor's opinions, you must read before you die. The general editor is Peter Boxall. The preface is by Petter Ackroyd. It is very well written. The photos are wonderful. This work is a good example of the best of the 'must do' list books. The list is available on the web in text format. ( )

Great resource to go to, when wanting to read a classic or a great book that isn't currently on your best sellers list! When I am at the books store, I usually go to the just arrived or best seller area.
But this as a reference, I could pick books that I haven't even thought of purchasing or checking out at the library! ( )

Naturally everyone must have some quibble about a list of 1001 books that excludes something they consider a "must-read" (they picked "Get Shorty" and not "Fahrenheit 451!") But for the benefit of those who are not sure whether it's worth over $30 to see what's inside the plastic shrink-wrapped copies on the bookstore shelves, it might be worth knowing what the gist of the list is, so to speak. My confusion is over how those in charge of selecting the books were told to define "books;" apparently in most cases, this is supposed to mean novels, though a handful of short story collections or (auto)biographies are included. It seems, however, that other works that might count as books, such as long plays, were left out--thus no Shakespeare on the list. The book is also heavily biased in favour of the 20th century, which takes up more than half of the 900-plus pages. This leads me to wonder whether I should really hold the opinions of academics who praise all the new books as must-reads -- but can't find a place anywhere on their list for "Beowulf," "Canterbury Tales," "The Odyssey," "The Iliad," "Paradise Lost," or "The Divine Comedy" --in such high esteem. The "blurbs" which accompany each book, which are not necessarily plot summaries and not necessarily reviews, sometimes seem to indicate that for certain members of the selection committee, a criterion is "the more pornographic, the better." However, overall, the book does offer the advantage of highlighting some lesser-known works by well-known authors, and lesser-known works by lesser-known authors, that might be worth a read; which, overall, is probably the book's main intent. ( )

This is a beautiful book, fun to look at even if you can't read a letter. I've never been a huge fan of book lists. I always start them, check off one, get distracted and read a zillion other books before remembering the list. The editors/writers of this book have done their homework. They can tell you why each book is worth a try, can convince you even if you've never heard of the books. (This happened to me with 90% of the 20th century entries.) Just don't try to read it in bed. It's big and fat and heavy and nearly as thick as it is tall. ( )

I want to hug this book. ( )

Ok, so I didn't read every word of this, it isn't that sort of book, but I did spend quite a bit of time with it. This is a great one to pick up if you, like me, love to pore over booklists, bibliographies, and recommendations. The editors chose 1001 "must read" works of fiction and provided a short description of each, along with a variety of facts about the authors, related films, and publication info. I am sad to say that I only read 52 of these - I'd better get to work! The only complaint I have with the book is that several notable novels were snubbed in favor of complete biblios of other highly regarded authors. Do We need to read every single Virginia Woolf novel, while skipping The Fountainhead? Or every Samuel Beckett work, while forgetting The Odyssey? Other snubs include: Dante, Beowulf, religious texts, Boccaccio, Chaucer, and Shakespeare. In addition to that, the collection seemed to be weighted heavily with more recent picks, overlooking past eras. ( )

I'm on about 56, so at this rate I would have to live to the age of 400.

I'll be a bit more generous and say that I have read most of my 56 in the last five years, ten years tops. Which means I will only need another 40-80 years.

The various reviews are brilliant, I will look to it when I am in the market for buying another book.

On the other hand, there are some very big omissions, and some random inclusions. For a start, where is Beowulf? (In Seamus Heaney's translation) ( )

I've just bought this book so obviously I haven't read the whole thing yet, since it does review the 1001 books it says it does. Already though I do love it and it's getting pride of place on my favourite books bookcase (I try not to let the other books know I have favourites but it's not easy. I also have a special Stephen King bookcase because he would fill my favourite books bookcase if I let him on it).
Back to this book though, it has all the reviews as promised, plus some great photo's and illustrations and facts about the books and their authors. It even gives a bit of information about the people who have reviewed the books.
I'm already starting a list of books I want to read from it and I know it's going to be a book I dip in and out of all the time.

The one problem is that at 960 pages it's far to heavy to risk reading in the bath. Can't win 'em all. ( )

Any book of this type is entirely subjective, and you can argue til the cows come home about what was left out, and what shouldn't have been included. However, this is a well-produced doorstop with lots of interesting information and artwork/photos on those works and authors selected. As such I've found it fascinating and useful. ( )

Interesting 'best of' list. Got some great ideas for reading. Thought there were some serious holes in the list, including Dante, Cormac McCarthy, Raymond Carver, Alice Monroe, Ernest Gaines, and more. Read it in October from the library, but purchased my own reference copy in December with a gift card. ( )

A good list, though I would like to see more books from different authors instead of some of the authors which have 5 or more books on the list. ( )

An extremely useful guide to the great novels of the world.The book features hundreds of colour images of book covers and other images which all add quality to the work.This is an ideal companion for those who love to read.Westbrook. ( )