Dr. Peter Boxall's "1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die (2006 edition)"

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Each work of literature listed here is a seminal work key to understanding and appreciating the written word. These works have been handpicked by a team of international critics and literary luminaries, including Derek Attridge (world expert on James Joyce), Cedric Watts (renowned authority on Joseph Conrad and Graham Greene), Laura Marcus (noted Virginia Woolf expert), and David Mariott (poet and expert on African-American literature), among some twenty others. (Description from Amazon.com)

This is a community list. You can contribute, edit, or help maintain it by adding it to your lists. Please do not remove or add titles that will change this list from how it appears in 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die edited by Peter Boxall with an introduction by Peter Ackroyd.

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  1. 351.
    The Breast
    by Philip Roth

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  2. 352.
    The Summer Book
    by Tove Jansson

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  3. 353.
    G.: A Novel
    by John Berger

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  4. 354.
    Surfacing
    by Margaret Atwood

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  5. 355.
    House Mother Normal: A Geriatric Comedy
    by B. S. Johnson

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  6. 356.
    In a Free State: A Novel
    by V.S. Naipaul

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  7. 357.
    The Book of Daniel
    by E. L. Doctorow

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  9. 359.
    ?
    Group Portrait With Lady
    by Heinrich Boll

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  10. 360.
    The Wild Boys: A Book of the Dead (Burroughs, William S.)
    by William S. Burroughs

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  11. 361.
    Rabbit Redux
    by John Updike

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  12. 362.
    ?
    The Sea of Fertility (Modern Classics)
    by Yukio Mishima

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  13. 363.
    The Driver's Seat (The New Directions Bibelots)
    by Muriel Spark

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  14. 364.
    The Ogre
    by Michel Tournier

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  15. 365.
    The Bluest Eye (Oprah's Book Club)
    by Toni Morrison

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  16. 366.
    ?
    Goalie's Anxiety at Penalty Kick
    by Handke

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  17. 367.
    I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
    by Maya Angelou

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  18. 368.
    Mercier et Camier
    by Samuel Beckett

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  19. 369.
    Troubles (New York Review Books Classics)
    by J.G. Farrell

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  20. 370.
    ?
    Jahrestage
    by Uwe Johnson

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  21. 371.
    The Atrocity Exhibition
    by J.G. Ballard

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  22. 372.
    Tent of Miracles (THE AMERICAS)
    by Jorge Amado

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  23. 373.
    Pricksongs & Descants: Fictions
    by Robert Coover

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  24. 374.
    Blind Man with a Pistol
    by Chester Himes

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  25. 375.
    Slaughterhouse-Five
    by KURT VONNEGUT

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  26. 376.
    The French Lieutenant's Woman
    by John Fowles

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  27. 377.
    The Green Man
    by Kingsley Amis

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  28. 378.
    Portnoy's Complaint
    by Philip Roth

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  29. 379.
    The Godfather (Signet)
    by Mario Puzo

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  30. 380.
    Ada, or Ardor: A Family Chronicle
    by Vladimir Nabokov

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  31. 381.
    Them
    by JOYCE CAROL OATES

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  32. 382.
    A Void (Verba Mundi)
    by Georges Perec

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  33. 383.
    Eva Trout, or Changing Scenes
    by Elizabeth Bowen

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  34. 384.
  35. 385.
    The Nice and the Good
    by Iris Murdoch

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  36. 386.
    Belle du Seigneur
    by Albert Cohen

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  37. 387.
    Cancer Ward
    by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

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  38. 388.
    The First Circle (European Classics)
    by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

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  39. 389.
    2001: A Space Odyssey
    by Arthur C. Clarke

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  40. 390.
    Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
    by Philip K. Dick

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  41. 391.
    ?
    Dark as the Grave Wherein My Friend Is Laid
    by Malcolm Lowry

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  42. 392.
    The German Lesson
    by Siegfried Lenz

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  43. 393.
    In Watermelon Sugar
    by Richard Brautigan

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  44. 394.
    Kestrel for a Knave
    by Barry Hines

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  45. 395.
    The Quest for Christa T.
    by Christa Wolf

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  46. 396.
    Chocky (Puffin Books)
    by John Wyndham

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  47. 397.
    The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test
    by Tom Wolfe

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  48. 398.
    The Cubs and Other Stories
    by Mario Vargas Llosa

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  49. 399.
    One Hundred Years of Solitude (Oprah's Book Club)
    by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

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  50. 400.
    The Master and Margarita
    by Mikhail Bulgakov

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This is a community list. You can contribute, edit, or help maintain it by adding it to your lists.
Created by starlagurl on Mar 27, 2006.
 

Comments

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Shawna is so fresh and so clean
San Jose

Now at 3% — 2 years ago

Just moved from 2% to 3%...Still sad but making progress!

Jun 26, 05:22PM | 0 comments | Reply to this

trix1029

10% — 2 years ago

OK, so I’ve read 10% and many of these are still on my “to read” list, but how can this be a definitive list if there is not a single Paul Bowles? What a serious omission. And both Zadie Smiths? Yeah she’s gotten a lot of press, but her books are not classics – maybe she has a classic in her future, but White Teeth is not it. It’s good for reference – though some of these books that I have read, I thought were just OK and I’ve never recommended them to anyone…

Jun 26, 01:27PM | 0 comments | Reply to this

tammy88

5???? — 2 years ago

i’ve had my nose in a book for half my life, but apparently that’s not a drop in the bucket… 5%!!!

what really surprised me is that i estimate that i actually own copies of around 20% of the books mentioned… and never got around to reading them!!! its hard to get through such a large pile…

ps: i think bill bryson should be on that list.. he’s too cool!

Jun 26, 05:37AM | 1 comment | Reply to this

stilettopimps
Asheville

2% — 2 years ago

I’m a senior lit major and have only read 2%. Boy, do I feel inadequate right now. Thus Operation: Literate Myself commences. Hopefully, by the end of the summer I’ll be at least at 3%.

Jun 12, 03:17PM | 0 comments | Reply to this

cile
Oslo

Where to find this book? — 2 years ago

i went to the library in Norway and asked if they had Chariton’s Chaereas and Callirhoe. the guy that helped me was very helpful, but did not find anything about this book. i have tried to find this book but i really cant find it! do any of you know where i can find this book? HELP!

May 21, 12:07AM | 2 comments | Reply to this

hollyroger
Riverton

5% baby, yeah! — 2 years ago

When I first found this list, I’d read about 4%, which is pretty discouraging when you consider that I’ve been an avid reader my entire life (and am now 23). But, as my roommate pointed out, some people never read that many books in their life, and I’m young and have a lot of free time. So if I’m lucky, and never have kids or get married, and live to a ripe old age, like 269, I should be able to finish the list. But baby steps. After a month, I’ve bumped my percentage to 5! And hopefully, soon to be 6.
Since I work part-time at the public library, I’ve just been selecting titles that are either in the library or can be requested from other libraries in the state (Wyoming might be a little behind the times, but, state-wide, there’s an impressive catalog of books). I’d like to hear what titles other people have really enjoyed, though. Of the books that I’ve read since starting the list, I’ve been most impressed by Margaret Atwood, particularly The Blind Assassin.

May 15, 07:32PM | 6 comments | Reply to this

tassini

Untitled — 2 years ago

This is just one guy’s opinion so don’t take your percentages too seriously. I’m sure he has his biases as do we all. Just for fun I selected a couple of interesting titles and checked them at Amazon – they hadn’t been well received.

May 01, 02:12PM | 1 comment | Reply to this

davecham55
Pekin

The Taebek Mountains — 2 years ago

Has anyone found an English translation of this book? I had my local library do an interlibrary loan search and could only find an edition printed in Korean. Ebay, Amazon and Barnes & Noble have no listings for it. If you know where to find an English version, please post a comment.

Apr 26, 02:14PM | 1 comment | Reply to this

Entitet
Malmo

Arrgh! — 2 years ago

Someone has removed books (see page 1). I’m too lazy to learn how to fix the list and take on the task of checking against the list source, if there is an angel out there that might find time to do it I’d be forever grateful!

Apr 23, 09:08AM | 1 comment | Reply to this

shetoldeveryone

2% — 2 years ago

i joined the site last night and im loving it! such a great place to come to when i cant think of what next to read – or watch or listen to. im excited!

Apr 21, 02:59PM | 0 comments | Reply to this


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