What Have You Read? (Please Respond)

[JeffreyWKramer]

BRIAN - Please leave this one here rather than bumping it to Books. The thread was inspired by a discussion in Rita's, and I am hoping to get a wider range of responses, and one at least somewhat more representative of CBR, than one would get from the more bibliophiliac folk on Books.

In Rita's today, Puma mentioned she had just seen the movie JANE EYRE, but had never read the novel. This somewhat surprised me - not only because Puma is a bright and apparently well-read lady (though this is certainly the case), but because I rather assumed JANE EYRE was one of those books that a modestly educated adult couldn't really have escaped having to read at one time or another. Then it turned out my wife hasn't read it, either, and she's no dummy - she's very well-read in many areas, and has three college degrees (though all music-related). So, my assumption was wrong.

That got me thinking... what other well-known or classic bits of literature have and haven't been read by most people here at CBR? So, with that wondering, I came up with a list of works of literature. Please read over the list and note which, if any, you've read. If you would like to fill in some titles where I note "other", please feel free. Feel free also to add any comments about the works, your experiences with/thought about them, any works that you assume others have probably read (to which others hopefully would respond), or ... well, whatever else comes up or comes to mind as a result of this thread. Hopefully this will generate some discussion of some sort.

Please note that I do not in any way consider this list to constitute any sort of "greatest" or "essential" list, or canon of western literature (though I would certainly consider some of these works to fall on any such list). It's not even a list of stuff I consider personally great, or a list of my favorites(though, again, I do hold many of these works in very high regard). It's just a list of works of literature that are fairly widely known; many of these works are commonly taught in high school or entry-level college literature/classics courses. I would assume most American adults would be familiar at least in passing with most of these... but maybe not. That's what I want to see, I guess, at least insoasfar as one can extrapolate from a sample of CBR Comm Board folk.

The List - Which have you read?

1) Homer
- The Iliad
- The Odyssey

2) Sophocles
- Oedipus Rex
- Other

3) The Bible (authors unknown/various)
- Old Testament
- New Testament

4) Dante Alighieri
- The Divine Comedy I: Inferno
- Other

5) William Shakespeare
- Romeo and Juliet
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream
- Hamlet
- Othello
- King Lear
- Macbeth
- The Taming of the Shrew
- Other plays
- Sonnets

6) John Milton
- Paradise Lost
- Other

7) Charlotte Bronte
- Jane Eyre
- Other

8) Emily Bronte
- Wuthering Heights

9) Nathaniel Hawthorne
- The Scarlet Letter
- Other

10) Henry David Thoreau
- Walden
- Other

11) Walt Whitman
- Leaves of Grass
- Other

12) Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
- Tom Sawyer
- Huckleberry Finn
- Other

13) Herman Melville
- Moby-Dick
- Other

14) F. Scott Fitzgerald
- The Great Gatsby
- Other

15) Ernest Hemingway
- A Farewell to Arms
- The Old Man and the Sea
- Other

16) William Faulkner
- The Sound and the Fury
- As I Lay Dying
- Other

17) John Steinbeck
- Of Mice and Men
- The Grapes of Wrath
- Other

18) Arthur Miller
- Death of a Salesman
- The Crucible
- Other

19) Jack Kerouac
- On the Road
- Other

20) JD Salinger
- A Catcher in the Rye
- Other

21) Harper Lee
- To Kill a Mockingbird

22) Robert A. Heinlein
- Stranger in a Strange Land
- Other

23) Toni Morrison
- The Song of Solomon
- Beloved
- Other

[Grazzt]

I feel kind of disgusted with myself. The only ones on the list I've read are Dante's Inferno, King Lear, Romeo & Juliet, Macbeth, The Merchant of Venice, Moby Dick, and Of Mice and Men. Though to be fair, I'm in the Canadian education system, so certain works were probably cut in order for there to be more Canadian content. Oh, and of the ones I've listed only Dante's Inferno, King Lear, Macbeth, and Moby Dick were read outside of a classroom setting.

[Gordon Smith]

These are the items on the list that I cannot ever recall reading. I'm pretty sure I read everything else you mentioned at one time or another.

8) Emily Bronte
- Wuthering Heights



10) Henry David Thoreau
- Walden
- Other

11) Walt Whitman
- Leaves of Grass
- Other


14) F. Scott Fitzgerald
- The Great Gatsby
- Other



17) John Steinbeck
- Of Mice and Men
- The Grapes of Wrath
- Other

18) Arthur Miller
- Death of a Salesman
- The Crucible
- Other

19) Jack Kerouac
- On the Road
- Other


21) Harper Lee
- To Kill a Mockingbird


23) Toni Morrison
- The Song of Solomon
- Beloved
- Other

[JeffreyWKramer]

I feel kind of disgusted with myself. The only ones on the list I've read are Dante's Inferno, King Lear, Romeo & Juliet, Macbeth, The Merchant of Venice, Moby Dick, and Of Mice and Men. Though to be fair, I'm in the Canadian education system, so certain works were probably cut in order for their to be more Canadian content. Oh, and of the ones I've listed only Dante's Inferno, King Lear, Macbeth, and Moby Dick were read outside of a classroom setting.

My first wife was Canadian, so I'm familiar with that particular quirk of Canadian education. I think there's something to be said for developing an appreciation of one's own culture's art and literature and such. On the other hand, I have a hard time accepting the premise that Robertson Davies, good though he is, is as or more important than Hemingway, Faulkner or Fitzgerald.

[Jared_Humpherys]

Y's for yes, N's for no

The List - Which have you read?

1) Homer
- The Iliad Y
- The Odyssey Y

2) Sophocles
- Oedipus Rex Y
- Other

3) The Bible (authors unknown/various)
- Old Testament Y
- New Testament Y

4) Dante Alighieri
- The Divine Comedy I: Inferno Y
- Other

5) William Shakespeare
- Romeo and Juliet Y
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream Y(and performed in a play as the Wall "And, being done, thus wall away now go," etc)
- Hamlet Y
- Othello N
- King Lear N
- Macbeth Y
- The Taming of the Shrew Y
- Other plays Y
- Sonnets Y(and performed a few)

6) John Milton
- Paradise Lost Y
- Other

7) Charlotte Bronte
- Jane Eyre N
- Other

8) Emily Bronte
- Wuthering Heights N

9) Nathaniel Hawthorne
- The Scarlet Letter N
- Other

10) Henry David Thoreau
- Walden Y
- Other

11) Walt Whitman
- Leaves of Grass N
- Other(read lots of his poetry) Y

12) Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
- Tom Sawyer Y
- Huckleberry Finn Y
- Other

13) Herman Melville
- Moby-Dick Y
- Other

14) F. Scott Fitzgerald
- The Great Gatsby Y
- Other

15) Ernest Hemingway
- A Farewell to Arms Y
- The Old Man and the Sea N
- Other

16) William Faulkner
- The Sound and the Fury N
- As I Lay Dying N
- Other

17) John Steinbeck
- Of Mice and Men Y
- The Grapes of Wrath Y
- Other

18) Arthur Miller
- Death of a Salesman Y
- The Crucible Y
- Other

19) Jack Kerouac
- On the Road N
- Other

20) JD Salinger
- A Catcher in the Rye Y
- Other

21) Harper Lee
- To Kill a Mockingbird Y

22) Robert A. Heinlein
- Stranger in a Strange Land Y
- Other

23) Toni Morrison
- The Song of Solomon N
- Beloved Y
- Other

[Gingold]

I've read everything on the list except Wuthering Heights.

[Jared_Humpherys]

Btw JWK, thankee for not having any Dickens on that list.

[i_mmmchocolate]

Out of that list, I've only read:
Romeo and Juliet
Hamlet
Macbeth
The Scarlet Letter
The Great Gatsby
Other stuff by Hemingway
Nearly all of William Faulkner's stuff
Death of a Salesman
The Crucible
A Catcher in the Rye
Stranger in a Strange Land
The Song of Solomon

I've only read a few classics. I haven't seen many of the movies either. I read a lot of books, just not many of the classics. They're the sort of books I don't feel bad about putting off reading until I have more free time.

[JeffreyWKramer]

I've read everything on the list except Wuthering Heights.

I should note that I've read everything on the list other than BELOVED. I included it because I know Toni Morrison's novels in general, and that one in particular, are fairly widely read as contemporary literature.

[Gordon Smith]

Btw JWK, thankee for not having any Dickens on that list.

Charles Dickens was never an especial favorite of mine, but I did manage to read a good deal of his output.

[JeffreyWKramer]

Btw JWK, thankee for not having any Dickens on that list.

Heh! You're welcome.

I probably should have included Dickens, if only because so many people are so unfortunate as to have GREAT EXPECTATIONS forced upon them during high school English/lit classes, but I personally loathe Dickens. I can't say he was a bad writer, and he was certainly influential, but I personally don't enjoy his writing at all.

[Jared_Humpherys]

Charles Dickens was never an especial favorite of mine, but I did manage to read a good deal of his output.

Oh, as have I. Oliver Twist, Great Expectations, Christmas Carol, Tale of Two Cities...

really didn't like any of them. I know where he's getting at, but his prose and dialogue really grate on me.

[Gingold]

I should note that I've read everything on the list other than BELOVED. I included it because I know Toni Morrison's novels in general, and that one in particular, are fairly widely read as contemporary literature.

It's probably her most highly regarded work, but I think it's my least favorite of her novels. I think Tar Baby is her underlooked gem.

This is a pretty good list. I might've included Great Expectations and 1984. Most people have read those, I'd guess.

[StoneGold]

There should probably be an alternate check on those, "assigned reading in school." Because does it count if you were forced to?

[JeffreyWKramer]

This is a pretty good list. I might've included Great Expectations and 1984. Most people have read those, I'd guess.

D'oh! I was going to include Orwell, for 1984 and ANIMAL FARM, but I forgot them. I was also planning to include Golding's LORD OF THE FLIES.

[JeffreyWKramer]

There should probably be an alternate check on those, "assigned reading in school." Because does it count if you were forced to?

Sure, it counts. Feel free to designate which you were forced to read, vs. which ones you read of your own free will.

[Jared_Humpherys]

I might've included Great Expectations .

That seems to be on everyone's list these days, and it's my least favorite of his works by far.

I mean, if even South Park can't make a funny parody about it(just a lame episode overall), then in my mind, there's something wrong with the source material.


Yay! I brought South Park into a thread about literature!


-Jared, corrupting fellow intellectuals since 1983.

[o1pickleboy]

I have only read of mice and men and to Kill a mockingbird.

[Gordon Smith]

There should probably be an alternate check on those, "assigned reading in school." Because does it count if you were forced to?

Heh. I was told I /had/ to read Wuthering Heights in one of my university courses and to write an essay on it. I couldn't get through more than a few pages of the thing before abandoning it in utter boredom, but I still managed to write the essay. I'm still surprised at the good grade I got on that thing.

[i_mmmchocolate]

There should probably be an alternate check on those, "assigned reading in school." Because does it count if you were forced to?
Yeah; I read the majority of those books because they were assigned reading in high school.

[DrewTheXenocide]

There should probably be an alternate check on those, "assigned reading in school." Because does it count if you were forced to?
But what if you enjoyed reading it while in school?

I've only read a handull of the listed:

The Bible
Romeo and Juliet
Hamlet
Macbeth
Henry V
Of Mice and Men
The Crucible
Catcher in the Rye
Rappaccini's Daughter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, more of a short story, really.

I know I've read something by Henry David Thoreau, but I don't remember what.

[Sanagi]

The List - Which have you read?

1) Homer
- The Iliad
- The Odyssey
Parts of both, but never the whole works.

2) Sophocles
- Oedipus Rex
- Other

3) The Bible (authors unknown/various)
- Old Testament
- New Testament
Highlights of them.

4) Dante Alighieri
- The Divine Comedy I: Inferno
- Other
I started to read this a few years ago but haven't gotten very far into it.

5) William Shakespeare
- Romeo and Juliet Yes
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream Yes
- Hamlet Yes
- Othello
- King Lear
- Macbeth
- The Taming of the Shrew
- Other plays Much Ado About Nothing
- Sonnets Yeah, but I forget which ones exactly...

6) John Milton
- Paradise Lost
- Other

7) Charlotte Bronte
- Jane Eyre
- Other

8) Emily Bronte
- Wuthering Heights

9) Nathaniel Hawthorne
- The Scarlet Letter
- Other

10) Henry David Thoreau
- Walden
- Other I've read a number of his poems.

11) Walt Whitman
- Leaves of Grass I think I skimmed through and read the poems that looked interesting... I like Whitman, but I tend to have limited interest in reading poetry.
- Other

12) Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
- Tom Sawyer
- Huckleberry Finn Yes.
- Other

13) Herman Melville
- Moby-Dick
- Other

14) F. Scott Fitzgerald
- The Great Gatsby
- Other

15) Ernest Hemingway
- A Farewell to Arms
- The Old Man and the Sea
- Other

16) William Faulkner
- The Sound and the Fury
- As I Lay Dying
- Other

17) John Steinbeck
- Of Mice and Men Yes
- The Grapes of Wrath
- Other

18) Arthur Miller
- Death of a Salesman
- The Crucible
- Other

19) Jack Kerouac
- On the Road
- Other Desolation Angels.

20) JD Salinger
- A Catcher in the Rye
- Other

21) Harper Lee
- To Kill a Mockingbird Yes

22) Robert A. Heinlein
- Stranger in a Strange LandYes
- Other There's a whole lot of Heinlein in my book collection.

23) Toni Morrison
- The Song of Solomon
- Beloved
- Other
..........

[JeffreyWKramer]

Heh. I was told I /had/ to read Wuthering Heights in one of my university courses and to write an essay on it. I couldn't get through more than a few pages of the thing before abandoning it in utter boredom, but I still managed to write the essay. I'm still surprised at the good grade I got on that thing.

I got an A on a paper on MADAME BOVARY, which I based entirely on the Cliff's Notes. I couldn't make myself read more than a few pages into that thing.

[Jared_Humpherys]

Well, some of mine were "assigned reading in College literature because I wanted a class to give me the incentive to read the classics."

It's the same reason I took Western Civ II while skipping over Western Civ I. I looked over the curriculum and assigned reading material and chose the harder course because it had better books.

Goddamn, I owned that class.

[Charles RB]

The List - Which have you read?

1) Homer
- The Odyssey - and I really, really didn't like it.

2) Sophocles
- Oedipus Rex - hubris my arse, the gods were deliberately shafting the poor guy.
- Antigone

3) The Bible
- Read random chapters and books of it, but not the whole thing all the way through.

5) William Shakespeare
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream
- Macbeth

17) John Steinbeck
- Of Mice and Men
- Cannery Row
- The Red Pony - only one of his I didn't like

21) Harper Lee
- To Kill a Mockingbird

22) Robert A. Heinlein
- Starship Troopers - god DAMN, I hate that book

[Gingold]

I got an A on a paper on MADAME BOVARY, which I based entirely on the Cliff's Notes. I couldn't make myself read more than a few pages into that thing.

As an English teacher, I heartily endorse this action. Bovary is painfully bad.

[Reptisaurus!]

No to:

7) Charlotte Bronte
- Jane Eyre
- Other

8) Emily Bronte
- Wuthering Heights

9) Nathaniel Hawthorne
- The Scarlet Letter
- Other

10) Henry David Thoreau
- Walden

13) Herman Melville
- Moby-Dick
- Other


16) William Faulkner
- As I Lay Dying

Read all the rest, although some of them were for class. I probably never would've read the Divine Comedy or Milton on my own.

[Gordon Smith]

Charles, may I ask why you didn't like the Odyssey?

[Charles RB]

Oh, as have I. Oliver Twist, Great Expectations, Christmas Carol, Tale of Two Cities...

I liked Christmas Carol, but The Signalman? That was supposed to be scary? Bah! I disliked it so much my English teacher made me read & write about The Monkey's Paw instead.

D'oh! I was going to include Orwell, for 1984 and ANIMAL FARM, but I forgot them. I was also planning to include Golding's LORD OF THE FLIES.

Read all of them.

[Puma]

The List - Which have you read?

1) Homer -Yes.
- The Iliad
- The Odyssey

2) Sophocles Yes
- Oedipus Rex
-

3) The Bible (authors unknown/various) Yes
- Old Testament
- New Testament

4) Dante Alighieri
- The Divine Comedy I: Inferno Yes
- Purgatorio & Paradiso

5) William Shakespeare
- All
- Sonnets

6) John Milton Yes
- Paradise Lost
-
7) Charlotte Bronte
- Jane Eyre As Jeffrey commented, I am now reading this.
-

8) Emily Bronte Not yet.
- Wuthering Heights

9) Nathaniel Hawthorne Yes.
- The Scarlet Letter
-

10) Henry David Thoreau Yes
- Walden
-

11) Walt Whitman Yes
- Leaves of Grass
-

12) Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
- Tom Sawyer Yes
- Huckleberry Finn Yes
Celebrated jumping frog of Calaveras County
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's court
Prince and the Pauper
others I can't remember right off

-

13) Herman Melville Must I? Yes.
- Moby-Dick
Billy Budd


14) F. Scott Fitzgerald Yes
- The Great Gatsby
-

15) Ernest Hemingway Yes
- A Farewell to Arms
- The Old Man and the Sea
- The Son Also Rises

16) William Faulkner Nope
- The Sound and the Fury
- As I Lay Dying
- Other

17) John Steinbeck Yes
- Of Mice and Men
- The Grapes of Wrath
- Red Pony
Cannery Row

18) Arthur Miller Nope
- Death of a Salesman
- The Crucible
- Other

19) Jack Kerouac Yes
- On the Road
- Dharma Bums


20) JD Salinger Yes
- A Catcher in the Rye
-

21) Harper Lee Yes
- To Kill a Mockingbird

22) Robert A. Heinlein Yes
- Stranger in a Strange Land
-

23) Toni Morrison Nope
- The Song of Solomon
- Beloved
- Other

where's Austen? Dickens? Huxley?

[JeffreyWKramer]

As an English teacher, I heartily endorse this action. Bovary is painfully bad.

Most of the stuff we read in that particular class (Modern English Lit, I think)was pretty awful. I sometimes suspect the instructor's goal was to demonstrate that 19th Century literature was mostly dreadful.

[Charles RB]

Charles, may I ask why you didn't like the Odyssey?

Mainly because Odysseus just really grated on me as a character, and because the gods showed up annoyingly often. Also there didn't appear to be a reason why they couldn't have just told the Suitors to piss off home at some point (or if there is I can't remember it).

Liked Oedipus and Antigone though.

[Jared_Humpherys]

Best reading assignment ever in highschool:

For my senior paper, I made a pitch to my English teacher, and convinced her to let me read A ClockWork Orange(the full British version, not the abridged American one), and Butcher Boy, and use it to compare the nature of evil in youth as well as the authors' use of unconventional narration and language.

Man, I had fun with that paper.

[JeffreyWKramer]

I probably never would've read the Divine Comedy or Milton on my own.

PARADISE LOST ranks quite high on my personal favorite works of literature. I reread it every few years.

[Wesley Dodds]

Here's mine:

- Oedipus Rex
- Old Testament
- New Testament
- Romeo and Juliet
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream (played Lysander in high school!)
- Hamlet
- Othello
- King Lear
- Macbeth
- Other plays: Richard III, Coriolanus, Much Ado, Julius Caesar, Twelfth Night, Henry IV parts 1 and 2
- Sonnets
- Paradise Lost
- Wuthering Heights
- Tom Sawyer
- lots of other Mark Twain: esp. Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
- Moby-Dick (one of my favourite books!)
- The Great Gatsby
- As I Lay Dying (didn't like it so didn't finish it)
- On the Road
- A Catcher in the Rye (didn't do anything for me so didn't finish it)
- To Kill a Mockingbird

And I'll add:

- David Copperfield (it's not boring, it's brilliant!)
- Catch-22

I'm also a huge Dickens fan. I've just got our Mutual Friend and Edwin Drood to go. I've been doing them in order. My favourite's Dombey and Son although I know it's not the best.

[Jared_Humpherys]

D'oh! I was going to include Orwell, for 1984 and ANIMAL FARM, but I forgot them. I was also planning to include Golding's LORD OF THE FLIES.

Read all of those. Hell, I even got to play the role of Jack in a local theatre production of LOTF(for the Coterie). One of the high points of my rather brief acting "career."

[Sir Tim Drake]

I have read the following:

1) Homer
- The Iliad
- The Odyssey

2) Sophocles
- Oedipus Rex
- Other: Antigone, Oedipus at Colonus, Philoctetes

3) The Bible (authors unknown/various)
- Old Testament: just the Book of Genesis, plus excerpts from other books

4) Dante Alighieri
- The Divine Comedy I: Inferno

5) William Shakespeare
- Romeo and Juliet
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream
- Hamlet
- King Lear
- Macbeth
- Other plays: Twelfth Night, The Tempest, The Merchant of Venice
- Sonnets: a few scattered ones

6) John Milton
- Paradise Lost
- Other: I can recite "On His Blindness"

7) Charlotte Bronte
- Jane Eyre

9) Nathaniel Hawthorne
- The Scarlet Letter
- Other: assorted tales

11) Walt Whitman
- Leaves of Grass: assorted poems

12) Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
- Tom Sawyer
- Huckleberry Finn

13) Herman Melville
- Other: Bartleby, Benito Cereno, a couple other stories

14) F. Scott Fitzgerald
- The Great Gatsby

15) Ernest Hemingway
- The Old Man and the Sea
- Other: The Sun Also Rises

16) William Faulkner
- The Sound and the Fury
- As I Lay Dying
- Other: Light in August, started to read Absalom, Absalom! but never finished

17) John Steinbeck
- Of Mice and Men
- The Grapes of Wrath
- Other: Travels with Charley

18) Arthur Miller
- Death of a Salesman
- The Crucible

20) JD Salinger
- A Catcher in the Rye

21) Harper Lee
- To Kill a Mockingbird

22) Robert A. Heinlein
- Stranger in a Strange Land
- Other: The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Double Star, Beyond This Horizon, Starship Troopers, Time Enough for Love, "All You Zombies--"

23) Toni Morrison
- The Song of Solomon
- Beloved
- Other: Sula

I've also read a lot of other classic literature that isn't on this list, including Anna Karenina, The Story of the Stone, The Tale of Genji, Middlemarch, Madame Bovary, One Hundred Years of Solitude, three Dickens novels, and I'm currently reading Ulysses and Tristram Shandy, and I hope to finish Don Quixote sometime soon.

[JeffreyWKramer]

where's Austen? Dickens? Huxley?

I already mentioned why I left off Dickens. I really should have included Austen, maybe Huxley as well.

I should note that while I don't contest it as a great work, I personally am not the least bit fond of MOBY-DICK. I really detested BILLY BUDD. I am not at all fond of Melville's writing style.

[Reptisaurus!]

PARADISE LOST ranks quite high on my personal favorite works of literature. I reread it every few years.

I really liked it. And the class I took it in was just #$%^in' amazing. Best college class I ever had.

But, still, I probably wouldn't have picked it up for fun.

I did work my way throught THE LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST, GRAVITY'S RAINBOW, and 100 YEARS OF SOLITUDE. But I don't read more than one big-serious book every couple of years.

[Wesley Dodds]

I'm shocked. Not just Dickens-bashing, not just Flaubert-bashing, but Melville bashing. I'm shocked, Jeffrey.

And Faulkner makes the cut. I'll never understand the appeal of Faulkner.

[Grazzt]

And Faulkner makes the cut. I'll never understand the appeal of Faulkner.

I've never read any of his works except the short story "A Rose For Emily", but I really enjoyed that story. What do you dislike about him?

Oh, and as for works that I'm surprised are missing, I'll nominate A Streetcar Named Desire.

[JeffreyWKramer]

Also there didn't appear to be a reason why they couldn't have just told the Suitors to piss off home at some point (or if there is I can't remember it).

It was a Greek morality thing - they were guests in his home, and you had extend substantial hospitality to guests and give them a lot of leeway unless they violated certain standards. And then when they violated said standads, Odysseus killed them.

See SANDMAN, "Season of Mists" for similar themes.

[Puma]

I already mentioned why I left off Dickens. I really should have included Austen, maybe Huxley as well.

I should note that while I don't contest it as a great work, I personally am not the least bit fond of MOBY-DICK. I really detested BILLY BUDD. I am not at all fond of Melville's writing style.

Hawthorne and Melville were the two favorite authors of the particular teacher I mentioned to you before; I will never willingly read them again.

[Gordon Smith]

Mainly because Odysseus just really grated on me as a character, and because the gods showed up annoyingly often. Also there didn't appear to be a reason why they couldn't have just told the Suitors to piss off home at some point (or if there is I can't remember it).



The suitors were armed, had made overt threats of violence against members of Odysseus' family and household and were known to have conspired (ineffectually, mind you) to kill his son, Telemachus. Considering that there was no one in Ithaca at large willing to make a stand against them and no one to appeal to for help, Penelope had little choice but to tolerate their presence until Odyyseus finally came home.

[Jared_Humpherys]

Also there didn't appear to be a reason why they couldn't have just told the Suitors to piss off home at some point (or if there is I can't remember it).

JWK's right on the money. In Greek culture, there is a huge cultural push towards being a good host. Hence the constant contrasts between the monsters and those who were helpful. The good people were the ones who took in Odysseus and treated him well, while the villians like Polyphemous and Sersi treated guests on their island quite badly(by y'know, eating them or turning them to animals).

[Mike Smash!]

The List - Which have you read?

1) Homer
- The Iliad
- The Odyssey Yes

2) Sophocles
- Oedipus Rex
- Other

3) The Bible (authors unknown/various)
- Old Testament (Bits and pieces)
- New Testament (Bits and pieces)

4) Dante Alighieri
- The Divine Comedy I: Inferno
- Other

5) William Shakespeare
- Romeo and Juliet Yes
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream
- Hamlet Yes
- Othello
- King Lear
- Macbeth
- The Taming of the Shrew
- Other plays
- Sonnets Yes

6) John Milton
- Paradise Lost
- Other

7) Charlotte Bronte
- Jane Eyre
- Other

8) Emily Bronte
- Wuthering Heights

9) Nathaniel Hawthorne
- The Scarlet LetterYes
- Other Yes

10) Henry David Thoreau
- WaldenYes
- Other

11) Walt Whitman
- Leaves of Grass
- Other

12) Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
- Tom Sawyer
- Huckleberry Finn
- Other

13) Herman Melville
- Moby-Dick
- Other Yes

14) F. Scott Fitzgerald
- The Great Gatsby
- Other

15) Ernest Hemingway
- A Farewell to Arms
- The Old Man and the Sea
- Other Yes

16) William Faulkner
- The Sound and the Fury
- As I Lay Dying
- Other

17) John Steinbeck
- Of Mice and Men
- The Grapes of Wrath
- Other

18) Arthur Miller
- Death of a Salesman Yes
- The Crucible Yes
- Other

19) Jack Kerouac
- On the Road
- Other

20) JD Salinger
- A Catcher in the Rye Yes
- Other

21) Harper Lee
- To Kill a Mockingbird Yes

22) Robert A. Heinlein
- Stranger in a Strange Land
- Other

23) Toni Morrison
- The Song of Solomon
- Beloved
- Other

[JeffreyWKramer]

I'm shocked. Not just Dickens-bashing, not just Flaubert-bashing, but Melville bashing. I'm shocked, Jeffrey.

And Faulkner makes the cut. I'll never understand the appeal of Faulkner.

Well, I admit that Melville is good, I just don't like his style. At all. Not sure why, but I don't.

Flaubert, I can at least understand the importance - BOVARY is arguably the first really "modern" novel, in terms of themes - but I find Flaubert unreadable. I think I just don't get Dickens. Lots of writers I respect like Dickens, but I find him tedious.

As to Faulkner, his use of language and dialect is astounding. Of course, a lot of people love Melville's mastery of language. So, diff' strokes, I guess.

[Gingold]

Bashing Melville makes baby Jesus cry.

[Gordon Smith]

JWK's right on the money. In Greek culture, there is a huge cultural push towards being a good host. Hence the constant contrasts between the monsters and those who were helpful. The good people were the ones who took in Odysseus and treated him well, while the villians like Polyphemous and Sersi treated guests on their island quite badly(by y'know, eating them or turning them to animals).

Sersi? Or do you mean Circe? :p

[Kid Omega]

1) Homer
- The Iliad
- The Odyssey i had to translate this from latin in 11th grade. THE AENEID in 12th.

2) Sophocles
- Oedipus Rex
- Other: The clouds, and the one about the wives who withold sex...

3) The Bible (authors unknown/various)
- Old Testament
- New Testament

4) Dante Alighieri
- The Divine Comedy I: Inferno
- Other

5) William Shakespeare
- Romeo and Juliet
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream
- Hamlet
- Othello
- King Lear
- Macbeth
- The Taming of the Shrew
- Other plays
- Sonnets

7) Charlotte Bronte
- Jane Eyre

9) Nathaniel Hawthorne
- The Scarlet Letter

10) Henry David Thoreau
- Walden
- Civil Disobedience

11) Walt Whitman
- Leaves of Grass


12) Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
- Tom Sawyer
- Huckleberry Finn
- Connecticut Yankee... random short stories and essays

13) Herman Melville
- Moby-Dick one of my favorite novels

14) F. Scott Fitzgerald
- The Great Gatsby
- Other: short stories

15) Ernest Hemingway
- The Old Man and the Sea

16) William Faulkner
- As I Lay Dying


17) John Steinbeck
- Of Mice and Men

18) Arthur Miller
- Death of a Salesman
- The Crucible

19) Jack Kerouac
- On the Road
- Other: Dharma Bums

20) JD Salinger
- A Catcher in the Rye
- Other: Everything else

21) Harper Lee
- To Kill a Mockingbird

22) Robert A. Heinlein
- Stranger in a Strange Land

[Charles RB]

It was a Greek morality thing - they were guests in his home, and you had extend substantial hospitality to guests and give them a lot of leeway unless they violated certain standards.

Heavily armed guys spending years at your home eating all your food and making threats of violence sounds like a violation of standards to me!

[JeffreyWKramer]

Hawthorne and Melville were the two favorite authors of the particular teacher I mentioned to you before; I will never willingly read them again.

Yeah, I don't mind Hawthorne, but out of everything in the world I could see reading, I just don't imagine myself ever picking up Hawthorne again.

I will actively avoid Melville.

[Mike Smash!]

I'm a little disappointed that you didn't include any Orwell, Jeffrey.

[Jared_Humpherys]

Sersi? Or do you mean Circe? :p


Aargh! The comics have poisoned my mind!

Quick, suck the poison out!

[JeffreyWKramer]

Bashing Melville makes baby Jesus cry.

I know my comments about Melville have made Nathan Carroll cry. Or at least pull out some hair.

I really miss Nate, especially with this sort of thread.

[Mike Smash!]

I will actively avoid Melville.

As do I. Melville has EXCELLENT stories with wonderful and powerful universal themes, but the guy is just torturous to actually read. He takes his descriptive passages to the point where you just say "get on with it, already!" And this is coming from a guy who enjoys Tolkien's writing style.

[Puma]

Yeah, I don't mind Hawthorne, but out of everything in the world I could see reading, I just don't imagine myself ever picking up Hawthorne again.

I will actively avoid Melville.

I was stunned to discover that my brother, who didn't actively take up pleasure reading until his mid-30s, is reading "Moby Dick" and loving it. He is actually better read in American Lit than me.

[JeffreyWKramer]

I'm a little disappointed that you didn't include any Orwell, Jeffrey.

Like I said, I intended to do so as I was thinking about this thread, but I forgot to include him, and Jane Austen and Aldous Huxley and some others when I got around to actually typing the damn thing.

For the record:
Jane Austen: I've read PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, SENSE AND SENSIBILITY, EMMA and PERSUASION.

Aldous Huxley: I think I've read all his novels, and most of his essays. I used to be quite into Huxley, especially his more mystical meanderings. I'd probably find most of that later stuff unreadable now, though.

George Orwell: In addition to 1984 and ANIMAL FARM, I've read a fair number of his essays and pieces of criticism.

[JeffreyWKramer]

Heavily armed guys spending years at your home eating all your food and making threats of violence sounds like a violation of standards to me!

And they got killed for it. But, Odysseus had to see it firsthand before acting, and - more importantly - the reader had to be shown that this action was justified.

It's one of the points of this work that doesn't make much sense to modern audiences. This was a major focus of discussion when we covered THE ODYSSEY in my Ancient Greek Lit course.

[JeffreyWKramer]

I was stunned to discover that my brother, who didn't actively take up pleasure reading until his mid-30s, is reading "Moby Dick" and loving it. He is actually better read in American Lit than me.

Given Melville's place in the pantheon of literature, and that I generally like the classics and particularly like writers that do interesting things with language, I'm rather surprised that I've never liked Melville. Somewhat disappointed, even... it feels like I'm really missing something. But, it is what it is, and I just don't enjoy Melville at all.

I like Joyce, though, which is sort of odd. Though I have to admit, I'm not going to read ULYSSES again any time soon.

[Sir Tim Drake]

2) Sophocles
- Oedipus Rex
- Other: The clouds, and the one about the wives who withold sex...

Those are by Aristophanes, not Sophocles. The one about the sex strike is Lysistrata.

[Charles RB]

And they got killed for it. But, Odysseus had to see it firsthand before acting, and - more importantly - the reader had to be shown that this action was justified.

Well, he might need to have seen it firsthand, but everyone else witnessed it for ten years and all and the buggers were still not dead! (And I was rooting for their deaths after their first scene...)

I admit this is almost certainly to do with some cultural assumption from them days that doesn't exist now.

[BcAugust]

The List - Which have you read?

1) Homer(Both, not assigned reading)
- The Iliad
- The Odyssey


2) Sophocles(Yep, not assigned, though it's been a while)
- Oedipus Rex
- Other

3) The Bible (authors unknown/various)(Of course, and still pick it up occasionally to see where some of the ideas come from)
- Old Testament
- New Testament

4) Dante Alighieri(Nope)
- The Divine Comedy I: Inferno
- Other

5) William Shakespeare All in school that are marked yes
- Romeo and Juliet (Yes)
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream
- Hamlet (Yes)
- Othello
- King Lear
- Macbeth (Yes)
- The Taming of the Shrew (Yes)
- Other plays
- Sonnets

6) John Milton Nope
- Paradise Lost
- Other

7) Charlotte Bronte Nope
- Jane Eyre
- Other

8) Emily Bronte Nope
- Wuthering Heights

9) Nathaniel Hawthorne Yes, when I was eight. Missed a lot then
- The Scarlet Letter
- Other

10) Henry David Thoreau Nope
- Walden
- Other

11) Walt Whitman No
- Leaves of Grass
- Other

12) Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) Yes, never assigned in school
- Tom Sawyer
- Huckleberry Finn
- Other

13) Herman Melville Yes, independent study
- Moby-Dick
- Other

14) F. Scott Fitzgerald No
- The Great Gatsby
- Other

15) Ernest Hemingway Never read anything of his
- A Farewell to Arms
- The Old Man and the Sea
- Other

16) William Faulkner No
- The Sound and the Fury
- As I Lay Dying
- Other

17) John Steinbeck Yes,
- Of Mice and Men

18) Arthur Miller Read both, assigned in school, didn't think much of them.
- Death of a Salesman
- The Crucible
- Other

19) Jack Kerouac Nope
- On the Road
- Other

20) JD Salinger No. Tried too, put it down after a few pages.
- A Catcher in the Rye
- Other

21) Harper Lee No, haven't found time for it
- To Kill a Mockingbird

22) Robert A. Heinlein Don't read Heilein at all, after a particually gross short story of his.
- Stranger in a Strange Land
- Other

23) Toni Morrison No
- The Song of Solomon
- Beloved
- Other

Hmm, it's not surprising to me that I haven't read most of them, most of my independent studies either went to mythology(Norse, Korean, Native American or Chinese), politics, or horror writers. And the school was horrid at promoting reading.

[darkkeeperjr]

[b]The List - Which have you read?

1) Homer
- The Iliad-Read
- The Odyssey-Read

2) Sophocles
- Oedipus RexNope
- Other

3) The Bible (authors unknown/various)-Read
- Old Testament
- New Testament

4) Dante Alighieri
- The Divine Comedy I: Inferno-No
- Other

5) William Shakespeare
- Romeo and Juliet-Read
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream-Read
- Hamlet
- Othello
- King Lear-Read
- Macbeth
- The Taming of the Shrew
- Other plays
- Sonnets

6) John Milton
- Paradise Lost-Read
- Other

7) Charlotte Bronte
- Jane Eyre
- Other

8) Emily Bronte
- Wuthering Heights

9) Nathaniel Hawthorne
- The Scarlet Letter
- Other

10) Henry David Thoreau
- Walden
- Other

11) Walt Whitman
- Leaves of Grass
- Other

12) Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
- Tom Sawyer-Read
- Huckleberry Finn-Read
- Other

13) Herman Melville
- Moby-Dick-Read
- Other

14) F. Scott Fitzgerald
- The Great Gatsby-Read
- Other

15) Ernest Hemingway
- A Farewell to Arms
- The Old Man and the Sea-Read
- Other

16) William Faulkner
- The Sound and the Fury
- As I Lay Dying
- Other

17) John Steinbeck
- Of Mice and Men_Read
- The Grapes of Wrath-Read
- Other

18) Arthur Miller
- Death of a Salesman-Read
- The Crucible-Read
- Other

19) Jack Kerouac
- On the Road
- Other

20) JD Salinger
- A Catcher in the Rye-Read
- Other

21) Harper Lee
- To Kill a Mockingbird-Read

22) Robert A. Heinlein
- Stranger in a Strange Land
- Other

23) Toni Morrison
- The Song of Solomon
- Beloved
- Other
Read a lot.Learned a little.

[howyadoin]

My list:

1) Homer
- The Iliad

2) Sophocles
- Oedipus Rex

5) William Shakespeare
- Romeo and Juliet
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream
- Hamlet
- Othello
- King Lear
- Macbeth
- The Taming of the Shrew
- Other plays
- Sonnets

8) Emily Bronte
- Wuthering Heights

9) Nathaniel Hawthorne
- The Scarlet Letter

10) Henry David Thoreau
- Walden

11) Walt Whitman
- Leaves of Grass

12) Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
- Tom Sawyer
- Huckleberry Finn

13) Herman Melville
- Moby-Dick

15) Ernest Hemingway
- A Farewell to Arms
- The Old Man and the Sea
- Islands in the Stream
- For Whom the Bell Tolls
- The Sun Also Rises
- Across the River and Into the Trees
- A Moveable Feast

16) William Faulkner
- The Sound and the Fury

17) John Steinbeck
- The Grapes of Wrath
- Travels with Charlie
- The Winter of Our Discontent
- Tortilla Flat
- Cannery Row
- Sweet Thursday
- East of Eden
- The Pearl
- The Wayward Bus

18) Arthur Miller
- The Crucible

19) Jack Kerouac
- On the Road

21) Harper Lee
- To Kill a Mockingbird

22) Robert A. Heinlein
- Stranger in a Strange Land
- Have Spacesuit, Will Travel
- Time Enough for Love
- The Past Through Tomorrow
- Glory Road
- Farnham's Freehold
- Starship Troopers
- I Will Fear No Evil

Some pretty noticeable gaps there from what Jeffrey had listed (especially for an English major). But...


... no Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Jeffrey?

[JeffreyWKramer]

Well, he might need to have seen it firsthand, but everyone else witnessed it for ten years and all and the buggers were still not dead! (And I was rooting for their deaths after their first scene...)

His household, his decision. Besides, it wouldn't have been as dramatic an ending if all that got sorted out while Odysseus was away at sea.

I admit this is almost certainly to do with some cultural assumption from them days that doesn't exist now.
Yeah, that's definitely the case. One has to have certain context to understand a lot of classic literature.

One reason I think more people don't like Shakespeare is that teachers generally do a poor job of providing context.

[Jeff Brady]

The List - Which have you read?

1) Homer
- The Iliad
- The Odyssey

I remember reading parts of these in 9th grade. We skipped around a bit.

3) The Bible (authors unknown/various)
- Old Testament
- New Testament

Maybe 10 or 20 pages all together. I got fed up with the who begat who list.

5) William Shakespeare
- Romeo and Juliet
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream
- Hamlet
- Othello
- King Lear
- Macbeth
- The Taming of the Shrew
- Other plays
- Sonnets

Definitely R&J, Macbeth, and Julius Ceasar. I really liked Ceasar. There may have been a few sonnets, but I don't remember.

9) Nathaniel Hawthorne
- The Scarlet Letter

12) Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
- Tom Sawyer
- Huckleberry Finn
- Other

13) Herman Melville
- Moby-Dick

I vaguely remember having to read them, The Scarlet Letter especially.

17) John Steinbeck
- Of Mice and Men

21) Harper Lee
- To Kill a Mockingbird

I recall enjoying TKAM.

Most of my reading in high school was done in class, and out loud. Many of my classmates would stammer & stumble over the words, and I'd read ahead, but get lost because I couldn't quite tune them out. It really killed the idea of reading the classics for enjoyment. In college, I usually had one week to read an entire book, on top of my eight other classes. I didn't do too well.

[Jeff Brady]

... no Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Jeffrey?

Now there's an author I can get behind.

[JeffreyWKramer]

... no Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Jeffrey?

Good stuff! But, how often is he taught in high school or entry-level college lit courses? If this happens, I'm unaware of it.

I left out Dostoyevsky (my second-favorite writer of all time) for much the same reason. Some people get CRIME AND PUNISHMENT in College Prep Lit or something like that, and we got a few selections from KARAMAZOV in my Intro to Modern Culture class, but my impression is that both are fairly unusual.

[howyadoin]

Good stuff! But, how often is he taught in high school or entry-level college lit courses?Good point. I only heard of him for the first time a few years ago (at Rita's, actually).

[Josh S]

17) John Steinbeck
- Of Mice and Men


21) Harper Lee
- To Kill a Mockingbird



That's all I remember reading for sure. I'm sure I've read some of the other stuff, especially Shakespeare, but it was all in high school and I can't recall specific titles.

[K'Nort]

If I read it on my own first, but again later for school, I just say yes.

I buy a lot of classics when there's a good deal. I figure it increases the odds I'll get to them eventually. Plus I broke my leg once and had to spend the first week in bed and actually ran out of things to read and it was horrible, so I've been stocking up ever since.

I also had a list back in junior high that was the most important novels to read before college. Based on a survey of college deans. So I spent several summers working my way through that (although I didn't finish it and I no longer have it). But I can no longer remember exactly which things I read because of that list and which I just read because I wanted to, so no specifications there.

1) Homer
- The Iliad - no
- The Odyssey - yes but circumstances fuzzy

2) Sophocles
- Oedipus Rex - yes
- Other - I've seen several

3) The Bible (authors unknown/various)
- Old Testament - bits and pieces
- New Testament - ditto

4) Dante Alighieri
- The Divine Comedy I: Inferno - no but own
- Other - ditto

5) William Shakespeare
- Romeo and Juliet - assigned
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream - yes
- Hamlet - assigned
- Othello - no
- King Lear - yes
- Macbeth - yes
- The Taming of the Shrew - yes
- Other plays - saw quite a few
- Sonnets - probably

6) John Milton
- Paradise Lost - no
- Other - no

7) Charlotte Bronte
- Jane Eyre - yes
- Other - no

8) Emily Bronte
- Wuthering Heights - yes

9) Nathaniel Hawthorne
- The Scarlet Letter - assigned
- Other - no

10) Henry David Thoreau
- Walden - assigned
- Other - Civil Disobedience - assigned

11) Walt Whitman
- Leaves of Grass - selections
- Other - probably

12) Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
- Tom Sawyer - yes
- Huckleberry Finn - yes
- Other - half a dozen (Connecticut Yankee, Prince and Pauper, etc.)

13) Herman Melville
- Moby-Dick - assigned
- Other - no

Re Moby Dick, my English teacher had an interesting take. We read it, but only the plot bits. She had a list of chapters that were all about the tale, or the eyes, or whatever, and we skipped those. It really helped. And I was charmed by the intro, so it was fine.

14) F. Scott Fitzgerald
- The Great Gatsby - yes
- Other - own a few

15) Ernest Hemingway
- A Farewell to Arms - assigned
- The Old Man and the Sea - yes
- Other - The Sun Also Rises - yes
- Other - For Whom the Bell Tolls - assigned
- Other - assorted short stories - yes

16) William Faulkner
- The Sound and the Fury - no
- As I Lay Dying - no
- Other - no

My high school English teacher (same one for junior and senior high, and the same one that assigned partial Moby Dick) loathed Faulkner so we skipped him. She was clear that he's someone we ought to read, but that she wouldn't do him justice as an assignment.

17) John Steinbeck
- Of Mice and Men - yes
- The Grapes of Wrath - assigned
- Other - Travels with Charlie - yes
- Other - The Red Pony - yes
- Other - The Pearl - yes

18) Arthur Miller
- Death of a Salesman - no
- The Crucible - assigned
- Other - no

19) Jack Kerouac
- On the Road - no but own
- Other - no

20) JD Salinger
- A Catcher in the Rye - yes
- Other - no but I have some

My mother wrote a high school English paper about why Catcher in the Rye shouldn't be banned from the school library, as it was at the time. The public one probably too. One generation later, it was mandatory reading (although I'd already read it on my own).

21) Harper Lee
- To Kill a Mockingbird - assigned

22) Robert A. Heinlein
- Stranger in a Strange Land - no, somehow.
- Other - nope

23) Toni Morrison
none.

I actually took zilch literature classes in college. Ditto history. Hell, ditto math. What the heck did I study?

My high school English classes were pretty high quality, I think. There's a lot we didn't read, but they mixed things up well to keep the broadest range of students engaged. We read a lot of poetry, plays (interactive!), and short stories as well as novels. Nonfiction essays too, like Emerson.

I was hoping to find major additional classics on my bookshelf, but I haven't actually read any of them. I did sign up for a First Edition Library bookclub thing a few years ago. They send first edition reproductions of classic American literature. Pretty much all 20th century. A lot of things from the list above. And too many more to list besides.

No Ulysses? Another one I just own.

Hopefully some of the stuff I read now will eventually be classics. Like Haruki Murakami. Aleksandar Hemon. But sometimes I just go for fun, like Perez-Reverte.

[K'Nort]

Good stuff! But, how often is he taught in high school or entry-level college lit courses? If this happens, I'm unaware of it.

I left out Dostoyevsky (my second-favorite writer of all time) for much the same reason. Some people get CRIME AND PUNISHMENT in College Prep Lit or something like that, and we got a few selections from KARAMAZOV in my Intro to Modern Culture class, but my impression is that both are fairly unusual.

I read Crime and Punishment on my own in high school and that's my all-time least favourite ending. I may have even chucked the book across the room.

Then I was going to wait on all remaining Russian literature until I could read it in the original and I just never got good enough at the language. I have a translation of Anna Karenina lying around, though.

[JeffreyWKramer]

No Ulysses? Another one I just own.

ULYSSES is a masterwork, but it's also probably the most challenging piece of literature ever written in English. I don't expect most people except for hardcore lit lovers or lit majors to have read it.

Worth the effort, but it takes a *lot* of effort.

[Merey]

1) Homer
- The Iliad - yes
- The Odyssey - yes

2) Sophocles
- Oedipus Rex - yes
- Other
I've read Oedipus more times than I can count. I've read/studied most Greek dramas and comedies in college.

3) The Bible (authors unknown/various)
- Old Testament
- New Testament

Not cover-to-cover, but I do have Oxford's Annotated Bible sitting on my shelf and I intend to give it a thorough reading some day.

4) Dante Alighieri
- The Divine Comedy I: Inferno - Yes



5) William Shakespeare - Yes to all
- Romeo and Juliet
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream
- Hamlet
- Othello
- King Lear
- Macbeth
- The Taming of the Shrew
- Other plays


I've read/studied/produced most Shakespearean plays in high school, college and afterwards.

6) John Milton - Nope. But I want to read Paradise Lost because of His Dark Materials.


7) Charlotte Bronte
- Jane Eyre - yes, I read Jane Eyre for the first time last year.



8) Emily Bronte
- Wuthering Heights - No. I attempted to read it, but it didn't grab my interest.

9) Nathaniel Hawthorne
- The Scarlet Letter - Yes
- other - House of Seven Gables


10) Henry David Thoreau - I've read some of his theological writings.


11) Walt Whitman - I've read bits of his poetry.



12) Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
- Tom Sawyer - Yes
- Huckleberry Finn - Yes
- Other


13) Herman Melville - Nope.


14) F. Scott Fitzgerald
- The Great Gatsby - Yes, many times. It's one of my favorite novels.


15) Ernest Hemingway
- A Farewell to Arms - No
- The Old Man and the Sea - No
- Other - The Sun Also Rises

16) William Faulkner
- The Sound and the Fury - No
- As I Lay Dying - No
- Other - a bunch of short stories (favorite, "A Rose for Emily")

17) John Steinbeck
- Of Mice and Men - Yes
- The Grapes of Wrath - No
- Other - Cannery Row

18) Arthur Miller
- Death of a Salesman - Yes
- The Crucible - Yes
- Other - All My Sons, After the Fall, and View From The Bridge

19) Jack Kerouac -No


20) JD Salinger
- A Catcher in the Rye - Yes



21) Harper Lee
- To Kill a Mockingbird - Yes

22) Robert A. Heinlein
- Stranger in a Strange Land - No, but my brother just gave me his copy and is urging me to read


23) Toni Morrison - No

[Davideaux]

The List - Which have you read?

1) Homer
- The Iliad
- The Odyssey

No.. unless the illustrated and heavily abriged versions count.

2) Sophocles
- Oedipus Rex
- Other

Nope

3) The Bible (authors unknown/various)
- Old Testament
- New Testament

I've read up to Job in the OT. In the NT, I've read the gospels and some of Paul's letters. I've been trying to read the Psalms and I'm halfway through those.

4) Dante Alighieri
- The Divine Comedy I: Inferno
- Other

Nope

5) William Shakespeare
- Romeo and Juliet Yes
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream Yes
- Hamlet Yes
- Othello No
- King Lear Yes
- Macbeth Yes
- The Taming of the Shrew Yes
- Other plays
- Sonnets

Including the ones above, I've read Twelfth Night, Merchant of Venice, Measure for Measure, the Tempest and a few others I can't recall.

6) John Milton
- Paradise Lost Yes
- Other

7) Charlotte Bronte
- Jane Eyre Yes
- Other

8) Emily Bronte
- Wuthering Heights Yes

9) Nathaniel Hawthorne
- The Scarlet Letter Yes
- Other
I've read the short stories, 'Young Goodman Brown', the 'Birthmark' and others. I really like his short stuff.

10) Henry David Thoreau
- Walden
- Other

Yes, and 'Civil Disobedience'

11) Walt Whitman
- Leaves of Grass
- Other

Snippets

12) Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
- Tom Sawyer No
- Huckleberry Finn Yes
- Other

Love me some Huck. I also really liked 'Puddin head Wilson'.

13) Herman Melville
- Moby-Dick
- Other

Of course

14) F. Scott Fitzgerald
- The Great Gatsby No
- Other

15) Ernest Hemingway
- A Farewell to Arms No
- The Old Man and the Sea Yes
- Other

I don't remember the title, but I read a book with a main character named Bret.

16) William Faulkner
- The Sound and the Fury Yes
- As I Lay Dying Yes
- Other

I've also read 'Absalom, Absalom'. Difficult but very worthwhile.

17) John Steinbeck
- Of Mice and Men Yes
- The Grapes of Wrath Yes
- Other

Also include 'the Pearl', Steinbeck was a favorite of mine in high school.

18) Arthur Miller
- Death of a Salesman
- The Crucible
- Other

Seen the Dustin Hoffman play.

19) Jack Kerouac
- On the Road Nope
- Other

20) JD Salinger
- A Catcher in the Rye
- Other

Yes, but I read it in my early 20s so it didn't resonate as much as it would have if I had read it 5 or so years earlier.

21) Harper Lee
- To Kill a Mockingbird

Saw the movie.

22) Robert A. Heinlein
- Stranger in a Strange Land Nope
- Other

23) Toni Morrison
- The Song of Solomon No
- Beloved Yes.
- Other

[anthony!]

Bashing Melville makes baby Jesus cry.

Or tap dance. Billy Bud forever frightened me off Melville. It was possibly one of the most boring and dry books I've ever read, right next to Hawthorne's The Scarlett Letter. What makes Billy Bud particularly off putting to me was that it is relatively short IIRC, which makes the prospect of reading Moby Dick ever more so loathesome. Hawthorne definately kept me up at night, and for all the wrong reasons.

The only "classic literature" I ever could say I flew through and gobbled up was The Catcher and the Rye and The Picture of Dorian Gray. Those were great books.

I'm unsure of why there's all the hate for Dickens. I enjoyed Great Expectations and A Tale of Two Cities. I've always wanted to get around to David Copperfield and The Old Curiosity Shop.

[JeffreyWKramer]

Yes, and 'Civil Disobedience'

I really should have included that on my list on its own.

[Wesley Dodds]

Actually, Aristophanes is on my list of people to read next. I want to read The Wasps, the one about the man who's addicted to sitting on the jury and finding people guilty.

Political behaviour hasn't changed much -- only our modern equivalent of the unhealthy fixation is talk radio.

[Gingold]

I'm not a huge fan of Billy Budd, but Moby Dick is an amazing piece of literature. I didn't see what the big fuss about Hawthorne was when I was in high school, but I warmed considerably to The Scarlet Letter after reading it in college. Though there's a reasonable argument to be made that Hawthorne makes the same points more effectively, and in several fewer pages with "Young Goodman Brown."

[Jared_Humpherys]

Bashing Melville makes baby Jesus cry.

Or tap dance.


Why the heck doesn't someone incorporate this into those manger scenes I see in front of houses in December? It'd sell like hotcakes!

Anywho, in regards to comment about Huxley, and Orwell's 1984, perhaps a 2nd list should be made in regards to important science fiction works.

[Ed Cunard]

1) Homer
- The Iliad Yes, but in bits--never the whole thing.
- The Odyssey Yes.

2) Sophocles
- Oedipus Rex Yes.
- Other: The other two in that trilogy, Antigone being my favorite.

3) The Bible (authors unknown/various)
- Old Testament: Bits and pieces
- New Testament: Bits and pieces

4) Dante Alighieri
- The Divine Comedy I: Inferno Yes.
- Other: Purgatorio, Paradiso, and La Vita Nuova. Thos didn't really stick with me like the first one, though.

5) William Shakespeare
- Romeo and Juliet Yes.
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream Yes.
- Hamlet Yes.
- Othello Yes.
- King Lear Yes.
- Macbeth Yes.
- The Taming of the Shrew Yes. I still prefer KISS ME, KATE but, hey, Cole Porter kind of makes me like anything better.
- Other plays: Yes.
- Sonnets: yes (and, if anyone really wants to play with those, I totally suggest Helen Vendler's THE ART OF SHAKESPEARE'S SONNETS, as it's a really good look at each sonnet and written in a surprisingly lively tone.

6) John Milton
- Paradise Lost Yes, but I mostly muddled through it.
- Other: Nothing.

7) Charlotte Bronte
- Jane Eyre Yes.
- Other: None.

8) Emily Bronte
- Wuthering Heights No.

9) Nathaniel Hawthorne
- The Scarlet Letter Yes.
- Other: Some of the short stuff. But, man, I really don't like reading Hawthorne at all.

10) Henry David Thoreau
- Walden Yes.
- Other: Nothing else.

11) Walt Whitman
- Leaves of Grass Yes.
- Other: Yes. Lots of his stuff. Love Whitman.

12) Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
- Tom Sawyer Yes.
- Huckleberry Finn Yes.
- Other: Some of the short stuff.

13) Herman Melville
- Moby-Dick Yes.
- Other: Billy Budd.

14) F. Scott Fitzgerald
- The Great Gatsby: Yes.
- Other: Most of it. Big Fitzgerald nerd.

15) Ernest Hemingway
- A Farewell to Arms Yes.
- The Old Man and the Sea Yes.
- Other: A Moveable Feast (it's like litnerd tabloid gossip), The Sun Also Rises, a lot of the short stories.

16) William Faulkner
- The Sound and the Fury No. Should, though.
- As I Lay Dying Yes.
- Other: No. I suck.

17) John Steinbeck
- Of Mice and Men Yes.
- The Grapes of Wrath Yes.
- Other: Cannery Row.

18) Arthur Miller
- Death of a Salesman Yes.
- The Crucible Yes.
- Other: That's it for me.

19) Jack Kerouac
- On the Road Yes.
- Other: Tons. I went through a Kerouac phases when I was about fifteen.

20) JD Salinger
- A Catcher in the Rye Yes.
- Other: Some of the short stories, but not many.

21) Harper Lee
- To Kill a Mockingbird Yes.

22) Robert A. Heinlein
- Stranger in a Strange Land No.
- Other: None. I don't recall ever reading Heinlein.

23) Toni Morrison
- The Song of Solomon No.
- Beloved No.
- Other: No. That's something I'll probably be remedying next term in one of my classes.

[howyadoin]

Not enough Steinbeck love around here.

[Michael P]

1) Homer
- The Iliad
- The Odyssey

Bits and pieces of both, but not all the way through.

2) Sophocles
- Oedipus Rex
- Other

Nothing.

3) The Bible (authors unknown/various)
- Old Testament
- New Testament

Bits and pieces. I've tried reading it all the way through, but never made it past Exodus.

4) Dante Alighieri
- The Divine Comedy I: Inferno
- Other

I have The Divine Comedy, but never got around to reading it.

5) William Shakespeare
- Romeo and Juliet
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream
- Hamlet
- Othello
- King Lear
- Macbeth
- The Taming of the Shrew
- Other plays
- Sonnets

Loads and loads of the Bard. It'd be quicker to say what I haven't read.

6) John Milton
- Paradise Lost
- Other

See Dante.

7) Charlotte Bronte
- Jane Eyre
- Other

Read Jane Eyre in high school.

8) Emily Bronte
- Wuthering Heights

9) Nathaniel Hawthorne
- The Scarlet Letter
- Other

Read Scarlet Letter in high school.

10) Henry David Thoreau
- Walden
- Other

Read bits of Walden in college.

11) Walt Whitman
- Leaves of Grass
- Other

Own and have read Leaves of Grass.

12) Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
- Tom Sawyer
- Huckleberry Finn
- Other

Lots of Twain. Sawyer, Finn, Roughing It, various short stories, all read many times over.

13) Herman Melville
- Moby-Dick
- Other

I read Moby-Dick all the way through once, and remember none of it.

14) F. Scott Fitzgerald
- The Great Gatsby
- Other

Read Gatsby in high school. Think it's overrated.

15) Ernest Hemingway
- A Farewell to Arms
- The Old Man and the Sea
- Other

Read A Farewell to Arms in high school. Pretty dark, but good.

16) William Faulkner
- The Sound and the Fury
- As I Lay Dying
- Other

Read Sound and the Fury, As I Lay Dying, and A Light in August in high school. He's good, deserves his reputation, but there's other stuff that's to my taste.

17) John Steinbeck
- Of Mice and Men
- The Grapes of Wrath
- Other

A good bit of Steinbeck. I find him preferable to Hemingway, Faulkner, and Fitzgerald.

18) Arthur Miller
- Death of a Salesman
- The Crucible
- Other

Read and seen Death of a Salesman. Read The Crucible. Seen All My Sons. One of the big 20th Century playwrights.

19) Jack Kerouac
- On the Road
- Other

Never read him.

20) JD Salinger
- A Catcher in the Rye
- Other

Never read him.

21) Harper Lee
- To Kill a Mockingbird

Never read it.

22) Robert A. Heinlein
- Stranger in a Strange Land
- Other

Read and loved Stranger. Read a few other works, Red Planet, Have Space Suit Will Travel, and Glory Road. Stranger was pretty much his pinnacle.

23) Toni Morrison
- The Song of Solomon
- Beloved
- Other[/QUOTE]

Never read her.

[Puma]

Not enough Steinbeck love around here.

C'mon down to my neck of the woods and I give you a tour of the Steinbeck museum in Salinas.

[JeffreyWKramer]

4) Dante Alighieri
- The Divine Comedy I: Inferno Yes.
- Other: Purgatorio, Paradiso, and La Vita Nuova. Thos didn't really stick with me like the first one, though.
Do they with anyone, though? INFERNO is simply a lot more engaging. The imagery is more vivid, plus I think the idea of seeing what bad things happen to bad people appeals to voyeuristic and prurient parts of our natures.

Sonnets: yes (and, if anyone really wants to play with those, I totally suggest Helen Vendler's THE ART OF SHAKESPEARE'S SONNETS, as it's a really good look at each sonnet and written in a surprisingly lively tone.

That sounds good. I've never read a really good critical work on the sonnets.

So, Ed, what's your opinion of Bloom, and particularly of SHAKESPEARE: THE INVENTION OF THE HUMAN?

[Gingold]

Thank you Ed, for reminding me that my brother never returned my copy of the Vendler book.

[howyadoin]

C'mon down to my neck of the woods and I give you a tour of the Steinbeck museum in Salinas.I'll definitely do that someboday. I love his work.

[JeffreyWKramer]

Not enough Steinbeck love around here.

I think Steinbeck is a sadly underrated writer. The fact that he doesn't go in for lots of deep or obscure symbolism and wrote fairly straight-forward, character/plot-driven stuff causes a lot of people to disregard what is there - namely, a lot of depth and emotional impact.

The fact that a lot of literati ignore Steinbeck is a good example of how wrong critics and educated people can be.

I feel much the same about Stephen King, btw. Sure, King has his share of crappy books - CUJO perhaps tops the list - but he's a lot better writer than many credit.

I don't buy the "it's popular, so it must be good" argument at all, but the converse is equally stupid. Popular writers can be very good. The fact that many popular writers suck - Dan Brown, for example - doesn't mean they all suck.

[Wesley Dodds]

The Old Curiosity Shop is a mixed bag. Sure, there's a bad dwarf in it, but you can't help wondering how in Hell Dick Swiveller is supposed to be The Shade.

A Tale of Two Cities is basically Dickens pretending to be Carlyle. Just read Carlyle's The French Revolution, which is well-written and enormous fun. Although, A Tale of Two Cities has a very strong, touching ending. "It is a far, far better thing I do..." Jaded person makes good. Unfortunately, it has a lot of filler.

David Copperfield is not for everyone. The first half is very slow but brilliant. It's so honest. The second half is generic Dickens. But it has lots of vivid characters: Mr. Micawber, Steerforth, Uriah Heep, Murdstone, Betsy Trotwood... Although, I have a soft spot for Mr. Mell.

Although, as I said, Dombey and Son's my favourite: John Carker, Toots, Susan Nipper, Edith, Paul Dombey (the dad, not the son). Even Captain fucking Cuttle. And I love the ending.

Ah, Dickens. He was the The Simpsons of his day.

[Grazzt]

Do they with anyone, though? INFERNO is simply a lot more engaging. The imagery is more vivid, plus I think the idea of seeing what bad things happen to bad people appeals to voyeuristic and prurient parts of our natures.

I don't know about that last part. Some of the people in Inferno really aren't that bad, so seeing them punished for eternity is kinda sad. Francesca da Rimini, for instance, or Pier della Vigna (who gets a far more sympathetic treatment from Dante than he probably deserves).

[Smoogis]

The List - Which have you read?

1) Homer
- The Odyssey

I read this one freshman year. Loved the story itself, hated some of the language. I was bored at one point reading it and decided to start counting how many times they mention bathing and oils.

2) Sophocles
- Oedipus Rex

This was apart of my senior year education. Very enjoyable. I knew the myth of it before I read it.

3) The Bible (authors unknown/various)
- Old Testament
- New Testament

I've read small parts of it, but haven't read the entire thing indepth.

5) William Shakespeare
- Romeo and Juliet

Read it. Meh.

- A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Saw the movie, haven't read it.

- Hamlet

On the list of my top five plays. Lysistrata and Macbeth beat it, though.

- King Lear

Loved this play and thought it was hilarious. I'm strange. A few guys from my senior year english class rapped a part of King Lear's lines.

- Macbeth

Awesome play. In the aforementioned english class, I read Lady Macbeth's lines.

- The Taming of the Shrew

I know the story fairly well, but i haven't read the play.

7) Charlotte Bronte
- Jane Eyre

I hate this book with a fiery passion. I just can't explain why.

8) Emily Bronte
- Wuthering Heights

It was required reading. I hated it, and basically just skimmed through.

12) Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
- Tom Sawyer
- Huckleberry Finn

Both, awhile ago. Don't remember much.

15) Ernest Hemingway
- A Farewell to Arms

20) JD Salinger
- A Catcher in the Rye

21) Harper Lee
- To Kill a Mockingbird

I've read some things off this list, but my mind is too mushy to remember what.

[ragnarok_2012]

The List - Which have you read?

1) Homer
- The Iliad
- The Odyssey

2) Sophocles
- Oedipus Rex
- Other

3) The Bible (authors unknown/various)
- Old Testament (I've read portions)
- New Testament (I've read portions)
- The Gospel of Thomas (I've read portions

4) Dante Alighieri
- The Divine Comedy I: Inferno (I've read portions of the first)
- Other

5) William Shakespeare
- Romeo and Juliet
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream
- Hamlet
- Othello (My favorite of the lot)
- King Lear
- Macbeth
- The Taming of the Shrew
- Twelfth Night
- All his poetry (I rather enjoyed his extended erotic poem)

6) John Milton
- Paradise Lost
- Other

7) Charlotte Bronte
- Jane Eyre (It's been so long, I really remember nothing about this novel)
- Other

8) Emily Bronte
- Wuthering Heights

9) Nathaniel Hawthorne
- The Scarlet Letter
- Other

10) Henry David Thoreau
- Walden (I've read excerpts)
- Other

11) Walt Whitman
- Leaves of Grass (I've read portions)
- Other

12) Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
- Tom Sawyer
- Huckleberry Finn
- Other

13) Herman Melville
- Moby-Dick
- Other

14) F. Scott Fitzgerald
- The Great Gatsby
- Other

15) Ernest Hemingway
- A Farewell to Arms
- The Old Man and the Sea
- Other

16) William Faulkner
- The Sound and the Fury
- As I Lay Dying
- Other

17) John Steinbeck
- Of Mice and Men (Neat story)
- The Grapes of Wrath
- Other

18) Arthur Miller
- Death of a Salesman
- The Crucible
- Other

19) Jack Kerouac
- On the Road (I've read about half of it-I didn't enjoy it at the time)
- Other

20) JD Salinger
- A Catcher in the Rye
- Franny and Zooey

21) Harper Lee
- To Kill a Mockingbird (It's been awhile and I'm only vaguely familiar with it now)

22) Robert A. Heinlein
- Stranger in a Strange Land
- Friday
- Time Enough For Love
- The Moon is a Harsh Mistress (My personal favorite)
- Starship Troopers


23) Toni Morrison
- The Song of Solomon
- Beloved
- Other

24) Dystopias
- Fahrenheit 451 (I'm not a big Bradbury fan, though I've also read his book on writing and the Martian Chronicles.)
- 1984
- Brave New World
- Animal Farm (Two Legs Bad)

[Puma]

The List - Which have you read?

1) Homer
- The Odyssey

I read this one freshman year. Loved the story itself, hated some of the language. I was bored at one point reading it and decided to start counting how many times they mention bathing and oils.



Have I mentioned how much you rock lately?

[JeffreyWKramer]

1) Homer
- The Odyssey

I read this one freshman year. Loved the story itself, hated some of the language. I was bored at one point reading it and decided to start counting how many times they mention bathing and oils.



So, you were focusing on the imagery of oiled-up, naked men.

Hey, you're in college now, so I can tease you about that kind of thing!

[ragnarok_2012]

So, you were focusing on the imagery of oiled-up, naked men.

Hey, you're in college now, so I can tease you about that kind of thing!

If only Foley could have waited that long.

[JeffreyWKramer]

If only Foley could have waited that long.


Owww!

Okay, that was *good*!

[Jack Zodiac]

I've read...

The List - Which have you read?

1) Homer
- The Iliad
- The Odyssey

3) The Bible (authors unknown/various)
- Old Testament
- New Testament

4) Dante Alighieri
- The Divine Comedy I: Inferno
- Other

5) William Shakespeare
- Romeo and Juliet
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream
- Hamlet
- Othello
- King Lear
- Macbeth
- The Taming of the Shrew
- Other plays
- Sonnets

6) John Milton
- Paradise Lost
- Other

8) Emily Bronte
- Wuthering Heights

9) Nathaniel Hawthorne
- The Scarlet Letter
- Other

10) Henry David Thoreau
- Walden
- Other

11) Walt Whitman
- Leaves of Grass
- Other

12) Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
- Tom Sawyer
- Huckleberry Finn
- Other

13) Herman Melville
- Moby-Dick
- Other

14) F. Scott Fitzgerald
- The Great Gatsby
- Other

15) Ernest Hemingway
- A Farewell to Arms
- The Old Man and the Sea
- Other

17) John Steinbeck
- Of Mice and Men
- The Grapes of Wrath
- Other

18) Arthur Miller
- Death of a Salesman
- The Crucible
- Other

20) JD Salinger
- A Catcher in the Rye
- Other

21) Harper Lee
- To Kill a Mockingbird

22) Robert A. Heinlein
- Stranger in a Strange Land
- Other

I haven't read...

2) Sophocles
- Oedipus Rex
- Other

7) Charlotte Bronte
- Jane Eyre
- Other

16) William Faulkner
- The Sound and the Fury
- As I Lay Dying
- Other

19) Jack Kerouac
- On the Road
- Other

23) Toni Morrison
- The Song of Solomon
- Beloved
- Other

[Tages]

And Faulkner makes the cut. I'll never understand the appeal of Faulkner.
Philistine.

I'll give my list later. But Faulkner is, hands down, my favorite writer, the only competition being Mark Twain* (most of my favorite American writers are Southerners, natch). I identify with Quentin in "The Sound and the Fury" so well it's scary.


*Anyone who hasn't read "Huckleberry Finn" doesn't know American literature; it's one of the finest novels written in the English language, period.

[Cei-U!]

The List - Which have you read?

1) Homer : I've read both Iliad and Odyssey.
2) Sophocles : Oedipus Rex, Antigone, Oedipus at Collona (do I have that title right?)
3) The Bible: Had to read it cover-to-cover to get through confirmation.
4) Dante Alighieri: All three books of The Divine Comedy.
5) William Shakespeare: All the plays you've listed plus Julius Caesar, Richards II and III, all the Henrys, Twelfth Night, As You Like It, The Tempest, Merchant of Venice and Two Gentlemen of Verona. Some sonnets. Rape of the Lock.
6) John Milton: Just Paradise Lost so far.
7/8) No Brontes.
9) Nathaniel Hawthorne: Scarlet Letter and assorted short stories.
10) Henry David Thoreau: Walden (didn't like it) and Civil Disobediance.
11) No Whitman beyond one or two individual poems.
12) Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens): Tom, Huck, Connecticut Yankee, Pudd'nhead Wilson, Life on the Mississipi, various essays and short stories.
13) Herman Melville: Yup, I've read Moby-Dick... and not for a class!
14) F. Scott Fitzgerald: Gatsby and a slew of short stories.
15) Ernest Hemingway: Both the books you listed plus The Sun Also Rises and a slew of short stories.
16) William Faulkner: As I Lay Dying, Sanctuary and a handful of short stories.
17) John Steinbeck: Grapes of Wrath, his Arthurian novel and twenty or so short stories.
18) No Miller.
19) No Kerouac.
20) No Salinger.
21) Harper Lee: Mockingbird.
22) Robert A. Heinlein: Stranger and Time Enough for Love.
23) No Morrison.

Interesting topic, JWK. I'm interested in how this goes.

Cei-U!
I summon my Harvard Classics set!

[Corrina]

I have read:

The Iliad
The Odyssey

Sophocles
- Oedipus Rex

The Bible, both Testaments.

William Shakespeare
- Romeo and Juliet
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream
- Hamlet
- Othello
- King Lear
- Macbeth
- The Taming of the Shrew
- Other plays
- Sonnets
I haven't read all the sonnets and I'm missing a couple of the comedies but I've read most Shakespeare. MacBeth is my favorite.

Charlotte Bronte
- Jane Eyre

--Funny story on Jane Eyre. I read Jasper Fforde's Eyre Affair and really liked it, so I went back to the original story and enjoyed it. Well, it was more fun thinking of how Thursday Next snuck into the story.


Nathaniel Hawthorne
- The Scarlet Letter
- Other

--Love Rappacini's Daughter.

Henry David Thoreau
Walden
Walt Whitman
Leaves of Grass

--I found both of these men over-rated.

Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
Tom Sawyer
Huckleberry Finn
---plus some short stories. And "CT Yankee in King Arthur's Court." and some non-fiction.

Herman Melville
- Moby-Dick
---I tried, honest. But...dull, dull, dull.

F. Scott Fitzgerald
- The Great Gatsby

Love Fitzgerald, though I prefer his short stories, particularly Babylon Revisited.

Ernest Hemingway
A Farewell to Arms

What's the one with the bullfighting? I read that, too. And some short stories in college. Not. My. Thing.

William Faulkner
--NO. Never, never, never. Sorry, I can't see what everyone sees in this writer. Gah.


John Steinbeck
Of Mice and Men
The Grapes of Wrath


Arthur Miller
Death of a Salesman
The Crucible

Jack Kerouac
On the Road

I see Salinger is here. Never had any interest in reading him.

Harper Lee
To Kill a Mockingbird

--Just recently.

Robert A. Heinlein
- Stranger in a Strange Land
Just about everything he wrote. His short stories, particularly "The Green Hills of Earth" are my favorite but my copies of Friday and Time Enough For Love fell apart from reading. Who knew a writer could make incest and group sex seem wholesome? Damned if I know how he did it. Doubt anyone else could.

[Tages]

The List - Which have you read?

1) Homer
- The Iliad-Yes
- The Odyssey-Yes

2) Sophocles
- Oedipus Rex-Yes
- Other-Antigone

3) The Bible (authors unknown/various)
- Old Testament-Yes
- New Testament-Yes

4) Dante Alighieri
- The Divine Comedy I: Inferno-Yes
- Other-No

5) William Shakespeare
- Romeo and Juliet-Yes
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream-Yes
- Hamlet-Shamefully, no. I've probably read each part of the play individually over the years, but never in a cohesive fashion.
- Othello-Yes
- King Lear-*hangs head in shame* No.
- Macbeth-Yes, along with Richard III I read this at least once a year.
- The Taming of the Shrew-No.
- Other plays-Merchant of Venice, Richard III, Titus Andronicus
- Sonnets-Some of them.

6) John Milton
- Paradise Lost-Haven't gotten to this yet.
- Other-No.

7) Charlotte Bronte
- Jane Eyre-It's on the list.
- Other-No.

8) Emily Bronte
- Wuthering Heights-Nah, never got into Gothic romances. Maybe sometime in the far-off future.

9) Nathaniel Hawthorne
- The Scarlet Letter-Yes. I didn't like it as much as I was expecting to.
- Other-Young Goodman Brown

10) Henry David Thoreau
- Walden-About half of it.
- Other-On Civil Disobedience

11) Walt Whitman
- Leaves of Grass-No. I actually very strongly dislike Whitman's poetry. Strunk's On Writing has a section that explains why.
- Other-No.

12) Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
- Tom Sawyer-Yes.
- Huckleberry Finn-Any American who has never read this cannot claim to be educated. I've read it four times and each time I'm moved by its timeless wit and emotional power.
- Other-Most of his short stories.

13) Herman Melville
- Moby-Dick-I've read an abridged young adult version but never the original.
- Other-Bartleby the Scrivener

14) F. Scott Fitzgerald
- The Great Gatsby-Twice. Otherwise dry and uninteresting subject matter is transformed by Fitzgerald's brilliance with prose.
- Other-This Side of Paradise

15) Ernest Hemingway
- A Farewell to Arms-Not yet.
- The Old Man and the Sea-See above.
- Other-I've tried reading The Sun Also Rises, but every time I make the attempt my eyes glaze over and I migrate to something else. That novel's almost a parody of itself. I really need to learn to stomach Hemingway.

16) William Faulkner
- The Sound and the Fury-Favorite book of all time. If I could only take one book with me to a desert island, I'd take a Bible. If I could take two...I'd bring a survival manual. But if I could take three, this would be the third.
- As I Lay Dying-Nearly matches the brilliance of The Sound and the Fury.
- Other-Absalom, Absalom!, Sanctuary, innumerable short stories.

17) John Steinbeck
- Of Mice and Men-Yes. Loved it.
- The Grapes of Wrath-Yes. Mostly indifferent to it. This book's historical value strikes me as more important than its literary content.
- Other-Loathed The Pearl.

18) Arthur Miller
- Death of a Salesman-Yes. Never seen it, though.
- The Crucible- Read and seen it.
- Other-No.

19) Jack Kerouac
- On the Road-No.
- Other-No.

20) JD Salinger
- A Catcher in the Rye-Three times.
- Other-A couple short stories.

21) Harper Lee
- To Kill a Mockingbird-Yes. My best friend thinks this is the best American novel ever. I disagree, but it's still very good.

22) Robert A. Heinlein
- Stranger in a Strange Land-Yes.
- Other-The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Starship Troopers

23) Toni Morrison
- The Song of Solomon-No.
- Beloved-No.
- Other-No.

Also, put Raymond Chandler up as literary now that he's accepted in highbrow circles. I've read The Big Sleep, Lady in the Lake, The Little Sister and The High Window.

[Tages]

Also, I've read about half of Flannery O'Connor's short stories as well as her novel The Violent Bear it Away. One of the finest American authors of the 20th Century.

[Expletive Deleted]

1) Homer - The Iliad, The Odyssey, and a bunch of the Homeric Hymns (not actually by Homer, but close enough). I actually prefer Hesiod.
2) Sophocles - Oedipus Rex, Antigone, Oedipus at Colonus, and Electra. As others have said, Aristophanes is better.
3) The Bible - The whole thing. I need to read the Apocrypha at some point, though.
4) Dante Alighieri - Just the Inferno.
5) William Shakespeare - Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth, The Tempest, The Taming of the Shrew, Merry Wives of Windsor, Richard III, Julius Caesar, Twelfth Night, and a couple of the Henrys. Plus the random sonnets I had to read and memorize in high school.
6) John Milton - Nothin'.
7) Charlotte Bronte - Nothin'. I really liked The Eyre Affair, though.
8) Emily Bronte - Nothin'.
9) Nathaniel Hawthorn - The Scarlet Letter, which was quite enough for me.
10) Henry David Thoreau - Bits and pieces of Walden, but that's it.
11) Walt Whitman - Bits and pieces of Leaves of Grass. I have a deep aversion to Whitman. No idea why.
12) Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) - Prince and the Pauper, Huck Finn, Tom Sawyer, and Connecticut Yankee.
13) Herman Melville - Nothin'. I somehow avoided Melville.
14) F. Scott Fitzgerald - Just Gatsby.
15) Ernest Hemingway - Just The Old Man and the Sea, but I have "A Farewell To Arms" on my to-read list.
16) William Faulkner - Nothin'.
17) John Steinbeck - Of Mice & Men, The Pearl, Grapes of Wrath, and East of Eden.
18) Arthur Miller - Nothin'.
19) Jack Kerouac - Nothin'.
20) JD Salinger - I loathed The Catcher in the Rye.
21) Harper Lee - Just To Kill a Mockingbird
22) Robert A. Heinlein - Stranger in a Strange Land, Starship Troopers, and Time Enough for Love
23) Toni Morrison - Nothin'.

The only other writer I'd have put on this list was Poe. Everybody has read at least a little bit of Poe.

[Subotai]

My first wife was Canadian, so I'm familiar with that particular quirk of Canadian education. I think there's something to be said for developing an appreciation of one's own culture's art and literature and such. On the other hand, I have a hard time accepting the premise that Robertson Davies, good though he is, is as or more important than Hemingway, Faulkner or Fitzgerald.

Perhaps, perhaps not. If not him, than Margaret Atwood, Rohinton Mistry, or others.

[Gilda Dent]

I have read the following:

1) Homer
- The Iliad
- The Odyssey

2) Sophocles
- Oedipus Rex

3) The Bible (authors unknown/various)
- Old Testament
- New Testament

4) Dante Alighieri
- The Divine Comedy I: Inferno

5) William Shakespeare
- Romeo and Juliet
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream
- Hamlet
- Othello
- King Lear
- Macbeth
- The Taming of the Shrew
- Other plays: Twelflth Night, The Merchant of Venice, Henry IV, Much Ado About Nothing, Antony and Cleopatra,
- Sonnets

6) John Milton
- Paradise Lost

7) Charlotte Bronte
- Jane Eyre

8) Emily Bronte
- Wuthering Heights

9) Nathaniel Hawthorne
- The Scarlet Letter
- Other: Various short stories.

10) Henry David Thoreau
- Walden

11) Walt Whitman
- Leaves of Grass

12) Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
- Tom Sawyer
- Huckleberry Finn
- Other: A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, various short works

14) F. Scott Fitzgerald
- The Great Gatsby

15) Ernest Hemingway
- A Farewell to Arms
- The Old Man and the Sea
- Other: The Sun Also Rises, To Have and Have Not, many short stories

17) John Steinbeck
- Of Mice and Men
- The Grapes of Wrath
- Other: The Red Pony, The Pearl, East of Eden, The Grapes of Wrath, Tortilla Flat

18) Arthur Miller
- Death of a Salesman

20) JD Salinger
- A Catcher in the Rye
- Other: Franny and Zoey, Raise High the Roof Beams, Carpenters and Seymore: An introduction, Nine Stories

21) Harper Lee
- To Kill a Mockingbird

22) Robert A. Heinlein
- Stranger in a Strange Land
- Other: About 20 others.

23) Toni Morrison
- The Song of Solomon
- Other: The Bluest Eye

I, by the way, love Dickens. Great Expectations shouldn't be inflicted on high schoolers, though, I agree with that.

Gilda

[Clint Barton]

Good topic, Jeffrey.

Here's some I've read that I'd add to the list you gave, as I consider them classics:

Hamilton, John Jay, James Madison, and Alexander~Federalist Papers
Daniel Defoe~ Robinson Crusoe
John Milton~ Works
Moliere~ Comedies
Aristophanes~Comedies
Marcus Aurelius~Meditations
The Song of Roland
The Nibelungenlied
Sir Thomas More~Utopia
Edward Gibbon~The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
Arthur Schopenhaur (sp?)~ Studies in Pessimism
Karl Marx~Capitalism
Alexander Solzhenitsyn~ Just about anything. Love reading it all

I've read (mostly because I was required to read) most everything on your initial list and found I enjoyed reading the Bible and Catcher in the Rye most of all because they both touched my life (at various times when I've read them) moreso than the others.

Oddly enough, I consider myself fairly well-read, yet I've never read much Shakespeare at all (other than what I was required to read in high school).

Also, never read Wuthering Heights or Jane Eyre for some odd reason.

[DrewTheXenocide]

13) Herman Melville
- Moby-Dick - assigned
- Other - no

Re Moby Dick, my English teacher had an interesting take. We read it, but only the plot bits. She had a list of chapters that were all about the tale, or the eyes, or whatever, and we skipped those. It really helped. And I was charmed by the intro, so it was fine.



That's a lot better than what my teacher did. We didn't have enough time in the curriculum to read the book, so we spent the class getting through the movie, pretending it was the book. We'd write essays and whatnot about it, but if in them, we talked about it as if it were a movie, automatic 55. He was weird, but I loved him.


Not enough Steinbeck love around here.

Damn skippy. I can't wait to get to The Grapes of Wrath.

20) JD Salinger
- A Catcher in the Rye
- Other

Yes, but I read it in my early 20s so it didn't resonate as much as it would have if I had read it 5 or so years earlier.

I read it when I was sixteen, and I still hated it. Hmm.. maybe "hate" is too strong of a word, but it wasn't as life-changing as I had hoped it to be.

[Clint Barton]

Wonder how many folks on here have read any William Styron? Would he be considered "classic"; ie-American literature?

[Fish Sauce]

Haven't read many of these at all...

I studied Oedipus Rex a few years ago but I can't remember if we ever actually read the full story or not. I don't think we did as I recall what I read being pretty short.

For Shakespeare I've read Twelfth Night, Romeo and Juliet and The Merchant of Venice, and will be reading King Lear in a few months. I've read a little bit of Hamlet.

Other than that I've read To Kill A Mockingbird and that's it. I have read two Heinlein novels, but not Stranger in a Strange Land. I would like to read the Iliad and the Odyssey, but I have to find them.

I did recently finish Brave New World.

[Alex]

Read a lot of these for school, highschool and college.

Left on the ones i have read.


The List - Which have you read?

1) Homer
- The Iliad
- The Odyssey

2) Sophocles
- Oedipus Rex
- Other
Read the other two plays, if i recall, read them in school.

3) The Bible (authors unknown/various)
- Old Testament
- New Testament
School
4) Dante Alighieri
- The Divine Comedy I: Inferno
- Other
Read them all, school again....i cheated on paradiso, bored the crap out of me.

5) William Shakespeare
- Romeo and Juliet
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream
- Hamlet
- Othello
- King Lear
- Macbeth
- The Taming of the Shrew
- Other plays
- Sonnets
Pretty much everything, i don't recall if i specifcly read all the sonnets, but i had to read some.
6) John Milton
- Paradise Lost
- Other
Read these on my own, or, i tried to read regained.


9) Nathaniel Hawthorne
- The Scarlet Letter
- Other

10) Henry David Thoreau
- Walden
- Other

11) Walt Whitman
- Leaves of Grass
- Other

12) Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)

- Huckleberry Finn
- Other
Never read Tom Sawyer, read puddinhead wilson though.

13) Herman Melville
- Moby-Dick
- Other
I tried, i tried so many times, i came to the conclusion this book is just a big bore and can't figure out why it's classic in any sense.
14) F. Scott Fitzgerald
- The Great Gatsby
- Other

15) Ernest Hemingway
- A Farewell to Arms
- The Old Man and the Sea
- Other

16) William Faulkner

- Other
Read some short stories, never read a full faulkner novel.
17) John Steinbeck
- Of Mice and Men
- The Grapes of Wrath
- Other

18) Arthur Miller
- Death of a Salesman
- The Crucible
- Other

19) Jack Kerouac
- On the Road
- Other

20) JD Salinger
Yeah, never actually read catcher in the rye...missed it somehow.

21) Harper Lee
- To Kill a Mockingbird

22) Robert A. Heinlein
- Stranger in a Strange Land
- Other

23) Toni Morrison
I don't even know who he is.

[Erebus]

1) Homer
- The Iliad
- The Odyssey

3) The Bible (authors unknown/various)
- Old Testament
- New Testament *I've read various different verses and chapters during times of strife, but I've never actually read the entire thing as a whole.

5) William Shakespeare
- Romeo and Juliet
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream
- Hamlet
- Othello
- King Lear
- Macbeth
- The Taming of the Shrew
- Other plays
- Sonnets

12) Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
- Tom Sawyer
- Huckleberry Finn
- Other

13) Herman Melville
- Moby-Dick (This book really sucked.)
- Other

14) F. Scott Fitzgerald
- The Great Gatsby
- Other

17) John Steinbeck
- Of Mice and Men
- The Grapes of Wrath
- Other

21) Harper Lee
- To Kill a Mockingbird

Wow, I always considered myself a pretty avid reader. Guess I need to hit the library soon.

[JeffreyWKramer]

23) Toni Morrison
I don't even know who he is.

She. African-American author, one of the most renowned novelists of the past couple decades. She's had a couple books on Oprah's stupid book club, so she's very widely read, but she's quite good despite being featured on that. I don't know her stuff as well as I know more classic writers, but what I've read of hers has been good, solid stuff.

[Alex]

She. African-American author, one of the most renowned novelists of the past couple decades. She's had a couple books on Oprah's stupid book club, so she's very widely read, but she's quite good despite being featured on that. I don't know her stuff as well as I know more classic writers, but what I've read of hers has been good, solid stuff.
Oprah's book club? :-)
Thats all i saw

[JeffreyWKramer]

Oprah's book club? :-)
Thats all i saw

Yeah, but don't hold that against her. It's not her fault.

Some of my literati friends think I'm a dick for railing on Oprah's club. They claim that more people read because of Oprah, and that's good. It would be, if everything she promoted was as good as Toni Morrison, but that's not at all the case, and unfortunately, she pushes a lot of shitty stuff on people who don't know any better.

[Puma]

Oprah's book club? :-)
Thats all i saw


Wasn't she also named Poet Laurete (sp) by Bill Clinton?

[Tages]

Wasn't she also named Poet Laurete (sp) by Bill Clinton?
That was Maya Angelou. Morrison to my knowledge has never published poetry.

[Gilda Dent]

Wasn't she also named Poet Laurete (sp) by Bill Clinton?

That was Maya Angelou.

[Puma]

That was Maya Angelou.

Thank you! It didn't seem right in my head but I am a bit fogged by vicodin.

[Michael P]

I dunno if it's relevant, but my high school English teacher said I was the only student hers in 30 years to find a laugh in