This topic is currently marked as "dormant"—the last message is more than 90 days old. You can revive it by posting a reply.
1urania1
I am seeking a response to question that interests me. I am posting the following questions on different forums to reach different constituencies. I hope some of you reply.
I am interested in the phenomena of book lists books of booklists. Listing the best books is by no means a phenomena specific to the late 20th/early 21st century; however, lately it seems as if I cannot enter a bookstore without finding yet another book listing the best books of a given period, x books we should read before we die, etc. My experience with newspapers and magazines is similar. Moreover, a casual perusal of LT groups indicates that a regular Schwärmerei for book lists exists among LT members. Two questions interest me: what is the agenda (ideologically, culturally, economically, etc., - you choose) for the choices that appear on these lists? Apart from some outliers, certain titles appear with great regularity - and I would like to see a more nuanced explanation than the usual "well they're classic and influential." Classic to whom? Influential? How? Why? To whom? The second question that interests me: Why do people feel the need to buy books of lists, check off the books they've read, and so on? What does the act of having read all the books on certain lists represent to people?
I am interested in the phenomena of book lists books of booklists. Listing the best books is by no means a phenomena specific to the late 20th/early 21st century; however, lately it seems as if I cannot enter a bookstore without finding yet another book listing the best books of a given period, x books we should read before we die, etc. My experience with newspapers and magazines is similar. Moreover, a casual perusal of LT groups indicates that a regular Schwärmerei for book lists exists among LT members. Two questions interest me: what is the agenda (ideologically, culturally, economically, etc., - you choose) for the choices that appear on these lists? Apart from some outliers, certain titles appear with great regularity - and I would like to see a more nuanced explanation than the usual "well they're classic and influential." Classic to whom? Influential? How? Why? To whom? The second question that interests me: Why do people feel the need to buy books of lists, check off the books they've read, and so on? What does the act of having read all the books on certain lists represent to people?
