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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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.

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jegka
Illinois

1.4 percent — 48 weeks ago

I’ve read 12 before learning of the list and two more since then. Of those 14, I only liked 6. {sigh} Could make for a long 995 to go.
In no particular order, so far:
1. The Color Purple
2. Interview With the Vampire
3. Slaughterhouse-five
4. Stranger in a Strange Land
5. Catch-22
6. Lolita
7. The Story of O
8. Nineteen Eighty-Four
9. The Grapes of Wrath
10.Gone With the Wind
11.The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
12.A Tale of Two Cities
13.Persuassion
14. Aesop’s Fables

Jan 01, 02:50PM | 1 comment | Reply to this

bartzturkeymom
Seattle

my last ten — 1 year ago

okay – here are the last 10 I’ve read in best to worst order:

I absolutely LOVED The Collector, Broken April was very depressing (but well-written)

Vonnegut is becoming my fave author

1. The Collector by John Fowles
2. God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
3. Fear and Trembling by Amelie Nothomb
4. Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys
5. On Love: A Novel by Alain de Botton
6. Sexing the Cherry by Jeanette Winterston
7. Summer in Baden-Baden by Leonid Tsypkin
8. The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
9. The 39 Steps by John Buchan
10. Broken April by Ismail Kadare

Dec 03, 07:51PM | 0 comments | Reply to this

naggie
Whitstable

Untitled — 1 year ago

18% on first read through of list, encouraging – must start on War & Peace now !!

Oct 28, 10:03AM | 0 comments | Reply to this

Wisconsin08
Wausau

From 7 to 8 Percent — 1 year ago

Eight of the last ten books I read were worth consuming. From most to least favorites they were: 1. Brave New World, 2. Red Harvest, 3. Candide, 4. Underworld, 5. The Bluest Eye, 6. The Thin Man, 7. A Journey to the Center of the Earth, 8. The Crying of Lot 49, and, the two not worth consuming, 9. The Temptation of St. Anthony (too encyclopedic, not enough story) and 10. Death in Venice (dull and meandering). Thanks for your time.

Oct 25, 01:26PM | 1 comment | Reply to this

Wisconsin08
Wausau

From 6 to 7 Percent — 1 year ago

The last ten books I read were all worth consuming. Ranking them from best to worst they are: 1. Cryptonomicon 2. Treasure Island 3. The Pursuit of Love 4. Siddhartha 5. Neuromancer 6. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde 7. The Awakening 8. The Yellow Wallpaper 9. The Nose 10. The Turn of the Screw. Number 10 was the only one close to not being worth consuming but I felt it to be a worthy read. Usually about one book of ten is not worth consuming but these all were. I expect I may be reading longer books for a while so my next entry may not occur for some time. However, I like to progress percentage-wise so I may read some shorter works also.

Sep 26, 08:15PM | 0 comments | Reply to this

Wisconsin08
Wausau

From 5 to 6% — 1 year ago

I thought I would rank the books I read from most to least favorite of the last 10 I read:
1. Summer by Edith Wharton: very good, pre-automobile New England. Reads like a fantasy novel but with groups of humans, not fantasy races. Great author. 2. Heart of Darkness: like an impressionist painting creating partial images with good lighting and texture and it has meanings on multiple levels. 3. Death of Ivan Ilych 4. Ethan Fromme by Edith Wharton again 5. Poisonwood Bible: good follow up to Conrad’s Heart of Darkness because it also takes place in the Congo in the 1960’s to 1980’s 6. The Kreutzer Sonata: also by Tolstoy like Ivan.. is. 7. The Fox: good 8. Invisible Man, HG Wells’ 9. The Last September: written with great art and subtlety and 10. Foe by Coetzee which was the only one I felt not worth consuming which is too bad because he is a very great author. The book fizzled for me but I almost recommended it too. Now I’m going to read some longer works like Anna Karenina. See yah!

Aug 13, 06:31PM | 0 comments | Reply to this

GabeGrey
Tucson

2006 version from source — 1 year ago

Here’s the 2006 version, with no changes, if anyone is interested.

http://www.listsofbests.com/list/55126

Aug 10, 02:12AM | 0 comments | Reply to this

buocl
Medina

In case anyone is looking for the 2008 version — 1 year ago

I am creating it now. I hope to be done by the end of the week, but no later than next week.

http://www.listsofbests.com/list/57568

Jul 17, 06:29AM | 1 comment | Reply to this

Wisconsin08
Wausau

From 4 to 5 Percent — 1 year ago

I read whatever strikes my fancy at the time from the list. I just went from 4 to 5 percent reading Watt by Samuel Beckett. This book was the only one of the last 10 not worth consuming as it was rambling, obsessive-compulsive rubbish in my view. However, with the passage of time I am enjoying it more now as I think about it more. I read some really awesome books to get to 5 percent including Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, Lord of the Flies (a reread), Don Quixote, Disgrace, and To Kill a Mockingbird to name some. On the Road was a bit overrated but enjoyable and so was Stranger in a Strange Land. Happy Reading!

Jul 15, 08:53PM | 0 comments | Reply to this

Chuchotement
Baltimore

So, just out of curiosity.... — 1 year ago

...how is everyone going about reading through the list? Chronological order? Reverse chronological? Alphabetical? Whatever first strikes your fancy?

My methods are a bit more practical; I bought the books I stumbled upon at white elephant sales first. shrugs They were meant to be…ha.

Jul 12, 08:08PM | 4 comments | Reply to this

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Pages: Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 12 13

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

Comments

1.4 percent — 48 weeks ago

my last ten — 1 year ago

Untitled — 1 year ago

From 7 to 8 Percent — 1 year ago

From 6 to 7 Percent — 1 year ago

From 5 to 6% — 1 year ago

2006 version from source — 1 year ago

In case anyone is looking for the 2008 version — 1 year ago

From 4 to 5 Percent — 1 year ago

So, just out of curiosity.... — 1 year ago

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