If a book has literally NO redeeming qualities, there's no reason to read it

7/6/2008 10:42:54 PM

Quote :

"Heart of Darkness should never be read by ANY one "

True. Worst book ever.

7/6/2008 10:43:19 PM

this thread makes me question exactly who should be saying what books make one well read

7/6/2008 10:52:02 PM

the people that've read them?

7/6/2008 10:57:57 PM

Leonardo to the Internet : Thomas J. Misa

http://www.randomhouse.com/modernlibrary/100bestnovels.html
http://www.randomhouse.com/modernlibrary/100bestnonfiction.html
http://www.randomhouse.com/modernlibrary/100rivallist.html

should cover it very nicely....

[Edited on July 6, 2008 at 11:04 PM. Reason : lists perhaps?]

7/6/2008 11:00:29 PM

Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett.

If you haven't read something that truly has no meaning, you should.

7/6/2008 11:01:15 PM

^^^just because you've read a book doesn't mean you're well read

7/6/2008 11:07:24 PM

no, but i'd venture a guess that there's a positive correlation between reading a book and being well-read

7/6/2008 11:09:22 PM

not really...

there are people who read all the time, but only read Stephen king or Mary Higgins Clark or even Danielle Steel. that certainly doesn't make them "well read"

7/6/2008 11:19:35 PM

Master and Margarita by Bulgakov

7/6/2008 11:19:48 PM

When you're engulfed in flames by David Sedaris

7/6/2008 11:21:26 PM

A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole

7/6/2008 11:22:19 PM

more like David Segayis am i right?

7/6/2008 11:22:49 PM

That was damn clever. You must be well read.

7/6/2008 11:26:24 PM

Quote :

"Once upon a time, Snewf made a thread talking about the modern literary canon... I did a quick search for it, but I'm sure it's been purged. I think it was probably at least 2 years ago, if not longer. "

god damn I've looked for that thread too

why does Tdub retain all of the cancerous parts and purge the good stuff

its like we're shitting out our heart and lungs which leaves us simply full of shit

7/6/2008 11:27:14 PM

Confederacy of Dunces, definitely. great book.

"Diplomacy" by Henry Kissinger
"His Excellency" by Joseph Ellis
"Walden" by Thoreau
"Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley

[Edited on July 6, 2008 at 11:28 PM. Reason : f]

7/6/2008 11:27:28 PM

I like to read books endorsed by the Oprah book club.


Fuck your pretensions.

7/6/2008 11:28:04 PM

Quote :

"this thread makes me question exactly who should be saying what books make one well read"

which is exactly why this thread is stupid

if you want to be well-read, read a bunch of stuff

don't worry if you're reading "the right things" or "things that make you look smarter"

[Edited on July 6, 2008 at 11:30 PM. Reason : just read, and read a lot]

7/6/2008 11:28:54 PM

if you want to seem literate then read:

The Bible
most of Shakespeare
The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus
Moby Dick
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

oh there's more

7/6/2008 11:30:39 PM

Quote :

"there are people who read all the time, but only read Stephen king or Mary Higgins Clark or even Danielle Steel. that certainly doesn't make them "well read""

methinks you should explore the meaning of correlation, here's a link for your convenience:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Correlation

7/6/2008 11:30:52 PM

but what the fuck do I know

I don't read anymore

7/6/2008 11:31:15 PM

i know what correlation means, ass. i was just clarifying that your previous statement was ridiculous and meant nothing

[Edited on July 6, 2008 at 11:33 PM. Reason : ]

7/6/2008 11:32:49 PM

if some son of a bitch only read comic books but he read THOUSANDS of them I'd say he is well read

but he doesn't necessarily have good taste

are we making aesthetic judgments here or are we more interested in cultural literacy?

reading comic books all day will likely provide neither a well developed aesthetic sensibility nor an expansive cultural literacy

unless its Watchmen, maybe

[Edited on July 6, 2008 at 11:34 PM. Reason : -n]

7/6/2008 11:33:49 PM

oh gawd

NCSUGirl83 is pissed!

7/6/2008 11:34:23 PM

dur, there's also a correlation between chit chat and meaningless banter

7/6/2008 11:34:52 PM

i want to go put my face in a meat grinder

7/6/2008 11:35:36 PM

I'm sorry but that relationship is causal

fuck what you heard

7/6/2008 11:35:36 PM

There's a correlation between my sore fist and fecal japan's messed up face too.

7/6/2008 11:35:58 PM

ooo baby

7/6/2008 11:36:28 PM

Quote :

"are we making aesthetic judgments here or are we more interested in cultural literacy? reading comic books all day will likely provide neither a well developed aesthetic sensibility or an expansive cultural literacy"

that's the real question

though if we were shooting it, this thread would be "some books you could read to expand your aesthetic sensibility"

right now it just looks like "books you could read"

[Edited on July 6, 2008 at 11:36 PM. Reason : .]

7/6/2008 11:36:29 PM

be honest

this thread is "Books you never will actually read but heard about in highschool."

7/6/2008 11:37:15 PM

^9my lists were more based in "cultural literacy", as you put it...


and I have read the books that i listed...then again, i'm an english major

[Edited on July 6, 2008 at 11:38 PM. Reason : c ]

7/6/2008 11:37:35 PM

oh for christ sake

7/6/2008 11:37:42 PM

Quote :

"be honest this thread is "Books you never will actually read but heard about in highschool.""

LOL

I've read a good number of these, but I don't really consider myself well-read

[Edited on July 6, 2008 at 11:38 PM. Reason : thank god I've managed to avoid Ayn Rand except in very small doses]

7/6/2008 11:38:07 PM

print is dead

7/6/2008 11:38:32 PM

Ayn Rand manages to combine many of the best parts of existentialism with many of the worst parts of fascism

fuck fucking objectivism up its fucking asshole

OBJECTIVITY?

I'm not even sure we can have a SUBJECTIVE experience of something!
SHIT!

7/6/2008 11:40:44 PM

where's that graph between people's favorite books and their education level...

7/6/2008 11:41:03 PM

^ http://booksthatmakeyoudumb.virgil.gr

Quote :

"and I have read the books that i listed...then again, i'm an english major"

I'm confused: are you trying to impress two other English majors with that statement?

[Edited on July 6, 2008 at 11:43 PM. Reason : .]

7/6/2008 11:41:59 PM

and where did people that love THE BIBLE fall on that chart?

I mean, shit its a collection of pretty good stories that has had a profound impact on Western literature (and culture) but favorite??

that, to me, suggests one of two things:

1) zealot
2) didn't actually read it

7/6/2008 11:43:16 PM

^ they were 900-925ish

[Edited on July 6, 2008 at 11:44 PM. Reason : on their SATs (the old version)]

7/6/2008 11:44:26 PM

I have a degree in literature

fat lot of good that did me

I can't wait to get back into academia so that my hopes and dreams are relevant again

the real world makes me want to shit

7/6/2008 11:44:36 PM

if you can read and enjoy (and actually get) The McSweeney's Joke Book of Book Jokes, then I would say that you are fairly well read - and that's not to say that if you don't enjoy or "get" the book that you aren't well read.

7/6/2008 11:45:11 PM

Quote :

"I've read a good number of these, but I don't really consider myself well-read"

7/6/2008 11:45:11 PM

bttt. I'm reading Lord of the Flies right now.

7/6/2008 11:45:52 PM

How can you had a degree in literature?

You either have it or don't.

7/6/2008 11:45:58 PM

Feast of the goat
Blood Meridian

7/6/2008 11:46:13 PM

SOMEONE SET UP US THE BOMB?

7/6/2008 11:46:40 PM

stillfuchsia, you're a fucking idiot. that comment was in reference to this statement

Quote :

"this thread is "Books you never will actually read but heard about in highschool.""

7/6/2008 11:46:52 PM

try some reading comprehension

I HAVE a degree in literature

I have had it for less than a year, however

so that means that not long ago I did not have it

7/6/2008 11:47:38 PM

7/6/2008 11:48:49 PM