Book Club

[LoriLori]

I've read all of them.  And I hate to be a stickler, @smoky22, but it bugs that whoever wrote the list thinks "Romeo and Juliet" is a book when it's a play.

Who published this and why?

I know a lot of people lie about reading Proust.  A friend of mine was saying that one day when our friendship was new-ish, and I started discussing it and she was like OMG, you've actually read it!   So had she.  And I knew a guy who read it in the original French but those two are the only people I've ever met who read it.  And there's no shame in that, it's not just the longest novel ever written, it's difficult.  But so many people say they've read Proust and they haven't.

"Ulysses' too.  I freely admit I couldn't get through it, not even for a class.

[LoriLori]

@smoky22, I don't want to pry but if you feel like answering would love to know why you've skipped the Harry Potter books.  I love them.  Someone on this forum once said they're Satanic but actually they're the ultimate good vs. evil story, filled with religious overtones for those who want them, good vanquishing evil, evil a man who takes the form of a snake.  Not subtle!

Like Stephen King, J.K. Rowling is a great writer who doesn't know when to stop.  Stephen King's first book, "Carrie," is his shortest, and "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is the shortest."  The rest IMO go on too long but no one will tell JK or Stephen King what they can or can't write.

Amazon Charts, every week the Harry Potter books are in the "most sold fiction" category which warms my heart, new generations discovering them.

So sorry if this is too intrusive, I know you'll tell me NOYB if you don't want to say.

[Goldengate8361]

I’ve only read two of them, although I’ve read many, many books in my life (nonfiction). 

Does watching the the movie count? (Joking! Haha)

[smoky22]

@LoriLori  I thought it was odd about Romeo and Juliet too.  That's why I said it was on the internets.  I have never read Proust.  

I actually think I lied when I said I had never read Harry Potter.  I think I read the first one and it just didn't interest me.  I had a co worker who loved the books and wanted to lend me every one.  I felt bad telling her I didn't find the first one all that interesting.  I'm pretty sure I finished it (it was a long time ago).  I have nothing against any of the themes in the Potter books.  Call me unimaginative.  I know a lot of kids credit Harry Potter with starting their love of reading and I know the Potter books are always on the best seller list. I think it's wonderful that they're so popular.

[haddon9]

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@smoky22 wrote:

According to the internets, everyone lies about having read these 10 books:

To Kill A Mockingbird

Romeo and Juliet

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Diary of Anne Frank

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

Lord of the Flies

The Scarlet Letter

The Great Gatsby

Of Mice and Men

1984

I thought it was a funny list.  I've read all of them except Harry Potter.  It seems like most of them were required reading in school. 

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Yes all of these were required reading in school except for Harry Potter which came much later. 

I actually enjoyed reading all of them but hated "Moby D ick" which was required reading too!...I just couldn't get through that one.

[LoriLori]

@haddon9I love "Moby ******" a lot and have read it at least three times.

On the other hand we had to read Melville's "Bartleby the Scrivener" in high school and I found it absolutely horrid.  I couldn't read it.  I ended up writing my essay based on my notes of what the teacher said about it. 

That was a strategy of mine even in college; if I had to write an essay about a book I either couldn't get through or couldn't think of an essay about it, I'd write about what the teacher said about it, regurgitate it back in different words, and I would get an A.  LOL.

[LoriLori]

@smoky22thanks for your generous answer. 

There were many parts I had to push myself through.  The more the books went on, the more bloated I felt they became but still they are dear to my heart.  I didn't want to read them; a friend bugged me mercilessly.  I think about a third of the whole could be cut out and it would be better...

...but I'm not a child.   And yes, so glad what it's done for now two generations, giving them a love of reading and uniquely, getting them used to long books.  I was in amazed at how fast kids I knew read every new Potter (and again, and again). 

[blackhole99]

I read 5 of the books on that list in hgh school , I think it might have been required reading. Not a Harry Potter fan.

[KathyM23]

My personal list of the top 10 (older, but not classics) books I have read and loved.  Were wonderful reads if you like long books.

The Bible

Atlas Shrugged - Ann Rynd

The Fountainhead - Ann Rynd

Dear and Glorious Physician - Taylor Caldwell

Captains and Kings - Taylor Caldwell

Dynasty of Death -Taylor Caldwell

Barbara Taylor Bradford's dynasty series about the English Harte family

  (This series should count for 3 or 4 titles)

Back Street - Fannie Hurst

Centennial - James Michener

So many more but these were the first to come to mind.  Anyone else care share a list of great books?

[insomniac2]

It's true that most of the books listed are required reading for school.

I think the phrase "lies about reading" is just used to get attention.

The Harry Potter series actually deserves to be studied in school. The intricate plot running through all the books is masterful, presenting the broad scope of a fantasy world in a detailed, fascinating manner. I would place Rowling's writing alongside that of Dickens.

(I taught literature for many years, and continue doing it now in retirement to OLLI--Osher Lifelong Learning Institute--members. I need to consider offering an extended study of Harry Potter!)