Many of you know my obsession with this book. I'm addicted to lists. In high school my local community library had various "top 100 books" lists from a multitude of sources. I compiled them in a 3 ring binder and started a meticulous and organized method of reading through the list. Being an English major also helped me tackle a good chunk.Fast forward to 2005...I was walking through Rye and saw this book in the little bookstore window. I went right in, plunked down $35, and spent a weekend pouring through the book. In 2005 I read 73 books. What can I say? We had no cable, no internet, no car, very little money...but I had this big 1001 book and a library card. This book has introduced me to writers I would never have heard of who I love and sometimes not so well known books by writers I love.
And guess what? I'm not the only nerdy literature odd ball out there. Online groups are dedicated to this list. There was hair pulling and frenzy when new editions of the book came out. Now it is close to 1300 books to read. The first edition got lots of flack about too many dead white guys and some authors being over-represented. I love Dickens, but 10 books? Really? Rather than buy every new edition, I'm indebted to this guy who created a nifty spreadsheet which sorts all 3 in many ways. Now I can easily track my progress on the 714 books that made the cut in all the editions! The spreadsheet even tallies up my books to date and tells me how many books I need to read if I die at 75 (based on age expectancy by country)...this guy has a lot of time on his hands and I thank him for it!
So my reading goal for 2011 had 2 criteria (can you tell I like creating frivolous rules in my life? It gives me a sense of control without added stress) All my "1001 list" books this year had to be in all 3 editions AND by an author I've never read.
I've met my match with Honore de Balzac's Lost Illusions. He has 2 other books on the list and to think of picking him up again makes my stomach turn over. My only knowledge of Balzac is from the musical The Music Man where the townladies are very upset a pool table is coming into town. Next thing you know the youth of the town would be reading "BALZAC!" In my opinion they must have been afraid of their teenagers falling asleep from boredom. There's french literature I LOVE. Give me Emile Zola or Victor Hugo any day, but this was torture. Unless you know minutia about French politics, society, and industrial history of the 19th century you'll be lost. Unlike other books I didn't feel a need to go look it up either. Skim skim skim...read Pioneer Woman book...skim skim skim...read young adult lit book...skim some more and 2 months later I'm FINALLY checking it off the list.
Now I'm onto Russian author Mikhail Bugalov's The Master and the Margarita. The first 2 chapters have me hooked so hopefully Balzac was just a bad start to the year.
5 comments:
So do you like the Pioneer Woman's book? I read every single one of her Black Heels to Tractor Wheels posts and have been curious about the book but refuse to spend money on books (since I never ever reread them) so I was just going to wait for it to come out in the library. I LOVE your lists. And I admire that you make yourself plug away at a book that you don't like. At first that's how I felt about Anna Karenina (the whole Russian agriculture went waaaaay over my head) but that was a REALLY good book (I know you've read it, but that's all I have to compare). It was also intriguing that it was in a woman's voice but written by a man. He did such a good job portraying her feelings.
Anyway, I'm blabbing again. When you were studying lit what was your favorite genre?
You truly are amazing......I would love to be more like you when I grow up!
Have you ever used Paperback Swap? I'm thinking about it, just curious to know who else has tried it!
Kudos to you, Laura! I've had a goal of reading a few classic books every year, now I'm thinking I'm reading more classics than modern literature. I'll have to double check what I've read against this list, see how much progress I've made. We should compare notes!
So, I've always had this preconceived prejudice against classic literature. I didn't want to read it. Boring. Bleh. Well, I finally read Pride and Prejudice and absolutely loved it. Now, I'm not sure if that's considered high literature or not, but it's made me rethink my complete aversion to the "classics." However, it looks like I will still never be adding Balzac to my list :)
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