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 H.]

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 H.]

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 H.]

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 H.]

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 H.]

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 H.]

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 H.]

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 H.]

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 H.]

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).

[glue]

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 H.]

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 Henry James.

[ragnarok_2012]

I used to read a lot of Shakespeare in the early 90's.

I know some people think he's hokey, but you cannot deny his energy and creativity.

Without a doubt, he is the Jack Kirby of his generation. I know what you're thinking. Kirby was primarily an artist, and Shakespeare was a writer. But Will-who else could you compare him to? Simply in terms of the sheer number of original creations Shakespeare brought to his medium, he can only be compared to the King.

And I don't think anyone can deny that William Shakespeare owned the 1590's.

[Michael P]

I used to read a lot of Shakespeare in the early 90's.

I know some people think he's hokey, but you cannot deny his energy and creativity.

Without a doubt, he is the Jack Kirby of his generation. I know what you're thinking. Kirby was primarily an artist, and Shakespeare was a writer. But Will-who else could you compare him to? Simply in terms of the sheer number of original creations Shakespeare brought to his medium, he can only be compared to the King.

And I don't think anyone can deny that William Shakespeare owned the 1590's.
You're my hero.

[ragnarok_2012]

You're my hero.

I'm just one man.

One man with a passion for Shakespeare.

[spoon_jenkins]

The List - Which have you read?

1) Homer
- The Iliad - no
- The Odyssey - yes

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

3) The Bible (authors unknown/various)
- Old Testament - bits here and there
- New Testament - bits here and there

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 - yes
- Othello - yes
- King Lear -yes
- Macbeth -yes
- The Taming of the Shrew - yes
- Other plays - a bunch: Henry IV Parts 1 and 2, Henry V, The Tempest, The Comedy of Errors, The Merchant of Venice, As You Like It, Twelfth Night, Julius Caesar
- Sonnets - maybe a few

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

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

8) Emily Bronte
- Wuthering Heights - no

9) Nathaniel Hawthorne
- The Scarlet Letter - yes
- Other - some short stories

10) Henry David Thoreau
- Walden - no
- Other - might have read an essay or two, I think I read Civil Disobedience in school

11) Walt Whitman
- Leaves of Grass - no
- Other - I read a couple shorter poems, don't recall which

12) Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
- Tom Sawyer - yes
- Huckleberry Finn - no
- Other - The Prince and the Pauper, Roughing It, some short stories

13) Herman Melville
- Moby-Dick - yes
- Other - Billy Budd

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

15) Ernest Hemingway
- A Farewell to Arms - no
- The Old Man and the Sea - no
- Other - In Our Time

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

17) John Steinbeck
- Of Mice and Men - yes
- The Grapes of Wrath - no
- Other - The Red Pony, The Pearl

18) Arthur Miller
- Death of a Salesman - no
- The Crucible - yes
- Other - I don't think so

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

20) JD Salinger
- A Catcher in the Rye - yes
- Other - no

21) Harper Lee
- To Kill a Mockingbird - yes

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

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

[Iangould]

The List - Which have you read?

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

2) Sophocles
- Oedipus Rex - No
- Other - No

3) The Bible (authors unknown/various)
- Old Testament - Large parts but not the whole thing
- New Testament - ditto

4) Dante Alighieri
- The Divine Comedy I: Inferno - yes
- Other - Purgatory and the start of Paradise

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 - no
- Other plays - Merchant of Venice; Titus Andronicus; Henry V;
- Sonnets - most, not all

6) John Milton
- Paradise Lost - excerpts only
- Other

7) Charlotte Bronte - nothing

8) Emily Bronte -nothing


9) Nathaniel Hawthorne - nothing

10) Henry David Thoreau -nothing


11) Walt Whitman - nothing

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

13) Herman Melville - nothing


14) F. Scott Fitzgerald - nothing

15) Ernest Hemingway - nothing


16) William Faulkner - nothing


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

19) Jack Kerouac -nothing

20) JD Salinger - nothing


21) Harper Lee -
- To kill a Mockingbird - yes

22) Robert A. Heinlein
- Stranger in a Strange Land Are you kidding>
- Other - everything he ever wrote that's available in book form with the exception of Tramp Royale; For us the living (which I'm reading currently); and The Cat That Walked Through Walls;

23) Toni Morrison - nothing

[spoon_jenkins]

Simply in terms of the sheer number of original creations Shakespeare brought to his medium, he can only be compared to the King.
I think many of Shakespeare's works were derivative to some extent. For example, Romeo and Juliet was a pre-existing story. And he lifted a passage in Antony and Cleopatra from another work.

I should amend my list to say that I skipped most of the Custom-House (the introduction to The Scarlet Letter because it was pretty boring and went right into the story itself).

And as far as F. Scott Fitzgerald goes, I started This Side of Paradise, but I couldn't bear to finish. I don't really like him. He seems pretty clumsy for a great writer - misplace modifiers and all that.

Count me in the pro-Melville camp. I actually found Moby Dick not too taxing for such a long work. I think the tangents away from the main plot actually help. And it's divided into so many little chapters. That's something I find easier to handle.

Some of my faves that weren't on the list: I'm a big Sinclair Lewis, although I guess his cynicism could wear you down. I enjoyed The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James.

[Subotai]

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.

Rohinton Mistry not being one of the authors you're referring to, I hope.

[Paradox]

Well, I haven't read Jane Eyre either. I tend to shy away from the Bronte sisters/Jane Austin type of stuff. Not my cuppa, sorry.

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
- Macbeth
- The Taming of the Shrew
- Other plays

6) John Milton
- Paradise Lost
Only started. Got about 50 pages in. God it's tedious.

9) Nathaniel Hawthorne
- The Scarlet Letter
- Other

I've READ Hawthorne. I don't like him.

10) Henry David Thoreau
- Walden

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

13) Herman Melville
- Moby-Dick
- 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

21) Harper Lee
- To Kill a Mockingbird

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

A favorite

EDIT: There's only a handful here I had to read for a class, and I'd read them already anyway.

[JeffreyWKramer]

Rohinton Mistry not being one of the authors you're referring to, I hope.

Since I don't know who that is, no, that's not someone I'm specifically talking about.

[Donald M.]

From the initial list I've read:


5) William Shakespeare
- Romeo and Juliet
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream
- Hamlet
- Macbeth


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

17) John Steinbeck
- Of Mice and Men


21) Harper Lee
- To Kill a Mockingbird

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

Other classics I've read:

George Orwell
- 1984
- Animal Farm

H.G. Wells

- The Island of Doctor Moreau

Jules Verne

- Around the World in 80 Days

Franz Kafka
- The Metamorphosis

Ray Bradbury

- Fahrenheit 451
- Something Wicked This Way Comes

Stephen Crane
- The Red Badge of Courage

The complete short stories and poems of Edgar Allen Poe

Also no doubt some other stuff I've forgotten.

I have vague recollections of reading Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, but as I would have been very young when I read these I can't speak to the accuracy of the memory.

[Paradox]

JeffreyWKramer brings out the mischief in me:

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

Forgive me. I can't help myself.


"Don't write this down, but I find Milton probably as boring as you find Milton. Mrs. Milton found him boring too. He's a little bit long-winded, he doesn't translate very well into our generation, and his jokes are terrible." - Donald Sutherland as Prof. Jennings, Animal House

:D

[Paradox]

JeffreyWKramer goes in circles:

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.

Inferno felt very much like what Dante really WANTED to write. Not surprising, since it's filled with political jabs at people he couldn't stand of his era. The other two feel more like an afterthought, or some contractual obligation or something. He didn't put his heart into those.

[Paradox]

JeffreyWKramer gets modern:

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'm not a horror genre fan, but I love King for his depth of characterization and ability to paint "word pictures" that I can almost actually SEE.

That said, while Cujo is really weak, I think his worst is Pet Semetary. I never saw so many characters do so many obviously moronic things in my life. I was rooting AGAINST the protagonists in that one. "Just DIE already!"

[Tages]

That was Maya Angelou.
You owe me a coke.

[DrewTheXenocide]

I'm not a horror genre fan, but I love King for his depth of characterization and ability to paint "word pictures" that I can almost actually SEE.

That said, while Cujo is really weak, I think his worst is Pet Semetary. I never saw so many characters do so many obviously moronic things in my life. I was rooting AGAINST the protagonists in that one. "Just DIE already!"
I read Pet Sematary over the summer and being my second go at King, I liked it a lot. My first hand was The Gunslinger, which I thought was just too boring to get through. Pet Sematary, on the other hand, was a quick easy fun little read.

[Paradox]

Smoogis needed it sung:

1) Homer
- The Odyssey

I read this one freshman year. Loved the story itself, hated some of the language.

Homer's stuff comes from an oral tradition, and a lot of it doesn't translate well into text. The recurring themes and words are more like a chorus in a song, intended to be repeated. That's how the Greeks wanted to hear it.

I was bored at one point reading it and decided to start counting how many times they mention bathing and oils.

HA! Try "rosy fingers of dawn". :p

[Davideaux]

Hey Jeffrey,

Your avatar has me thinking of one of my favorites, Joseph Conrad. What do you make of him? I think 'Youth' is one of the best short stories ever written. It's full of longing. And has a definite adventerous feel. Of course, 'Heart of Darkness' is a masterpiece.

What's your view of Conrad? I recall during his time he was compared with Melville, and I think Conrad hated the comparison.

[ragnarok_2012]

Hey Jeffrey,

Your avatar has me thinking of one of my favorites, Joseph Conrad. What do you make of him? I think 'Youth' is one of the best short stories ever written. It's full of longing. And has a definite adventerous feel. Of course, 'Heart of Darkness' is a masterpiece.

What's your view of Conrad? I recall during his time he was compared with Melville, and I think Conrad hated the comparison.

My favorite Conrad novel is Lord Jim.

[ragnarok_2012]

I think many of Shakespeare's works were derivative to some extent. For example, Romeo and Juliet was a pre-existing story. And he lifted a passage in Antony and Cleopatra from another work.


But you cannot deny his energy.

[Donald M.]

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'm not the King fan I used to be, but I definitely feel he's a better author than critics give him credit for. I've read most of his stuff. On a pure so bad it's good level I really liked The Tommyknockers, a book of his that even diehard King fans won't admit to liking.

I would have to say my favorite book of his is Dolores Claiborne which except for a bit of unnecessary nonsense connecting it to the dreadful Gerald's Game has no supernatural elements.

Dolores Claiborne was so good, it makes me think that if he'd never written horror he'd still be a well known and important writer, though perhaps not as wealthy.

[Davideaux]

I think Shakespeare's history plays don't get enough attention. I loved "The first part of Henry IV". I thought "Richard II" was the bomb too.

[Donald M.]

I think many of Shakespeare's works were derivative to some extent. For example, Romeo and Juliet was a pre-existing story. And he lifted a passage in Antony and Cleopatra from another work.


Many works of fiction are derivative to some extent.

Ultimately, what you do with the material is more important than where you got your inspiration. Many authors have used preexisting stories as a basis for great works of their own.

[Gilda Dent]

You owe me a coke.

I have the good stuff--real sugar Coke.

-----------

I liked the Tommyknockers when I was 12. I agree that King is better than he's given credit for. Sometimes I'll be reading something he's written and we'll get to the horror element and I'll be thinking that this story was working well even without the addition of the supernatural stuff. It works that way. Learning about the lives of these kids and how they intersected with each other was interesting enough on its own without any need to throw in the demonic clown. This isn't to say the horror element didn't work--it did up until the climactic scenes--but that it seemed intrusive at times.

[spoon_jenkins]

I think Shakespeare's history plays don't get enough attention. I loved "The first part of Henry IV". I thought "Richard II" was the bomb too.
Yeah, Henry IV part 1 is one of my favorite Shakespeare plays I've read. I think Hotspur is one of my favorite Shakespeare characters. The only histories I've read, though, are the trilogy formed by the two parts of Henry IV and Henry V.

I recently picked up a complete works of Shakespeare book for $8. Unfortunately, at that price it doesn't have textual notes to help me out, but it was too good a bargain to pass up.

The only Stephen King novels I've read are Pet Sematery and The Stand. I liked them both (especially The Stand). I could see how people would look down on him, but they're still fun reads.

[Sir Tim Drake]

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

I read Darkness Visible. I don't know if it's a classic or not.

[Sir Tim Drake]

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 Henry James.

You read Henry James in high school?

[Tommy]

The List - Which have you read?

1) Homer
- The Iliad
- The Odyssey
I have read most, but not all of the Iliad.

2) Sophocles
- Oedipus Rex
- Other
I never read it...

3) The Bible (authors unknown/various)
- Old Testament
- New Testament
A lot, but not all.

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

5) William Shakespeare
- Romeo and Juliet
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream
- Hamlet
- Othello
- King Lear
- Macbeth
- The Taming of the Shrew
- Other plays
- Sonnets
I was in a production of Hamlet. And I have read a Midsummer and Romeo and Juliet.

6) John Milton
- Paradise Lost
- Other

7) Charlotte Bronte
- Jane Eyre
- Other

8) Emily Bronte
- Wuthering Heights
Nope.

9) Nathaniel Hawthorne
- The Scarlet Letter
- Other
I still consider it the worst book I ever read.

10) Henry David Thoreau
- Walden
- Other

11) Walt Whitman
- Leaves of Grass
- Other
Nope.

12) Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
- Tom Sawyer
- Huckleberry Finn
- Other
I read Huck Fin and I have read many many short stories by Twain.

13) Herman Melville
- Moby-Dick
- Other
Nope.

14) F. Scott Fitzgerald
- The Great Gatsby
- Other
Yes, I read Gatsby.

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
Nope.

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

21) Harper Lee
- To Kill a Mockingbird
Both of them I read.

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

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

Does my love of all things by Swift count for anything?

[Sir Tim Drake]

HA! Try "rosy fingers of dawn". :p

Or how about "each man's hand went out upon the food"? As I remember, Homer uses that line whenever a bunch of people are eating together. Apparently they ate with their hands.

[howyadoin]

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.I couldn't agree more. And it still offends me that some people think it's racist.

[Tages]

I couldn't agree more. And it still offends me that some people think it's racist.
Calling one of the best, most prominent and most obviously anti-racism books ever "racist" is like hanging a neon sign around your neck that reads "WHAT'S 'SUBTEXT?'"

[Paradox]

Sir Tim Drake talks table etiquette:

Or how about "each man's hand went out upon the food"? As I remember, Homer uses that line whenever a bunch of people are eating together. Apparently they ate with their hands.

Didn't just about everyone until the Middle Ages?

[Paradox]

Tages goes for the "here's your sign" bit:

Calling one of the best, most prominent and most obviously anti-racism books ever "racist" is like hanging a neon sign around your neck that reads "WHAT'S 'SUBTEXT?'"

But...but...it has that AWFUL "n-word" in it. It MUST BE! :eek:

[Clint Barton]

I read Darkness Visible. I don't know if it's a classic or not.


Good book.

I was thinking more along the lines of The Confessions of Nat Turner though.

[JeffreyWKramer]

Hey Jeffrey,

Your avatar has me thinking of one of my favorites, Joseph Conrad. What do you make of him? I think 'Youth' is one of the best short stories ever written. It's full of longing. And has a definite adventerous feel. Of course, 'Heart of Darkness' is a masterpiece.

What's your view of Conrad? I recall during his time he was compared with Melville, and I think Conrad hated the comparison.

I like Conrad quite a bit, and vastly more than I like Melville. Both are quite descriptive and wordy, but I feel Conrad's descriptions do a better job of Melville's of actually going somewhere.

I'm not going to claim that Conrad was as deep a writer as Melville - few are, other than Dostoyevsky, Joyce and maybe Faulkner - but I find him vastly more readable.

[JeffreyWKramer]

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.


I think I'd agree with your friend if it wasn't for HUCKLEBERRY FINN, which I consider the quintessential American novel.

Like you and Howy have noted, it stuns me that anyone could actually *read* the book and think it in any way embraces, excuses or promotes racism.

Well, no... "stuns" isn't accurate. "Pisses me off and makes me want to disembowel the person making such retarded claims" would be closer to the truth.

[howyadoin]

Calling one of the best, most prominent and most obviously anti-racism books ever "racist" is like hanging a neon sign around your neck that reads "WHAT'S 'SUBTEXT?'"Oh, I agree. But the racist angle was the one my highschool English teacher used when we covered it.

I guess she somehow missed the climactic "okay, I'll go to hell!" moment.

[Bradley]

Calling one of the best, most prominent and most obviously anti-racism books ever "racist" is like hanging a neon sign around your neck that reads "WHAT'S 'SUBTEXT?'"


Well, just to play devil's advocate for a second...

There's been an awful lot of interesting, thought-provoking scholarship arguing that there actually is a racist subtext to Huckleberry Finn. I think that, when we remember reading the book, we tend to think about Huck and Jim's friendship, Jim's desire to be free, and Twain's general indictment of slavery. So in that sense, the book seems to take a stand against racism.

UNTIL you get to the last, oh, third of the book or so. Suddenly, the depth and passion that marked the first two-thirds of the book are dropped in favor of a sort of broad, base comedy that locates at least some of its laughs in Jim's obvious, "inherent" ignorance. The psychological realism that was evident earlier in the book disappears-- Jim ceases to be a strong, dignified character who deserves the reader's respect and becomes, instead, a buffoon who would likely feel right at home in a minstrel show. In that sense, the novel actually is racist, even while it condemns the institution of slavery.

So now that I've said all that, I should clarify and say that I still think the novel should be taught in every high school in America; the first two thirds of the book are moving and complex, and the last third reveals a set of racist assumptions (either on the part of the author or-- more likely, I think-- the audience he thought he was writing for) that should be dragged into the light and discussed.

[howyadoin]

There's been an awful lot of interesting, thought-provoking scholarship arguing that there actually is a racist subtext to Huckleberry Finn. I think that, when we remember reading the book, we tend to think about Huck and Jim's friendship, Jim's desire to be free, and Twain's general indictment of slavery. So in that sense, the book seems to take a stand against racism.Huck spends his whole life being told that slavery is good and black people aren't his equal. The climax of the book is his decision that if being friends with Jim means he'll go to hell, then that's a price he's willing to pay.

"Seems to"?

[Charles RB]

I'm not the King fan I used to be, but I definitely feel he's a better author than critics give him credit for.

Oh indeed - every King book I've read I find myself really liking and finding interesting most of the characters (which made The Stand really painful to read as two of my favourite characters chose to stand with Flagg :( ). Annoyingly, I never like the endings of his books, they seem to fizzle out and not live up to the hundreds of pages that have come before.

Also - god damn it, Stevey, explain that "PENNYWISE LIVES" grafitti in Dreamcatcher already!

[Bradley]

My responses...

1) Homer
- The Iliad
- The Odyssey

2) Sophocles
- Oedipus Rex
- Other: Antigone

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

I haven't read it cover-to-cover, but I've skimmed the good parts.


4) Dante Alighieri
- The Divine Comedy I: Inferno
- The other books of the Divine Comedy

5) William Shakespeare
- Romeo and Juliet
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream
- Hamlet
- Richard III
- King Lear
- Macbeth
- The Taming of the Shrew
- The second history tetrology
- Alls Well That Ends Well
- A Comedy of Errors
- As You Like It
- Love's Labors Lost
- all of the sonnets
- Venus and Adonis

6) John Milton
- Paradise Lost

7) Charlotte Bronte
- Jane Eyre

8) Emily Bronte
- Wuthering Heights

9) Nathaniel Hawthorne
- The House of the Seven Gables
- "Young Goodman Brown"
- "My Kinsmen Major Molineaux"

10) Henry David Thoreau
- Walden
- Civil Disobedience
- Walking

12) Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
- Tom Sawyer
- Huckleberry Finn
- The Death of Jean

13) Herman Melville
- Moby-Dick
- Bartleby the Scrivener

14) F. Scott Fitzgerald
- The Great Gatsby
- Babylon Revisited

15) Ernest Hemingway
- The Old Man and the Sea
- Hills Like White Elephants
- Indian Camp

16) William Faulkner
- A Rose for Emily

17) John Steinbeck
- Travels With Charley

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

20) JD Salinger
- A Catcher in the Rye

As you can see, I've included American short stories and a few works of creative nonfiction on my list. I would probably add James Joyce's Ulysses, James Baldwin's "Sonny's Blues", Beckett's Waiting for Godot, and Carver's "What We Talk About When We Talk About Love" to the list of works that I tend to imagine most people have read.

Oh, and The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams, too.

[Gordon Smith]

Readin' this thread has reminded me of the debt I owe to Nathaniel Hawthorne. My lifelong interest in classical mythology was kindled by reading his A Wonder Book for Girls and Boys, and Tanglewood Tales as a kid.

[Bradley]

"Seems to"?

Exactly. "Seems to." Because, as I mentioned before, even while Twain is building that part of the narrative, he's also creating a narrative that reinforces the base, negative stereotype of the African American (Jim) as an intellectually inferior, superstitious creature who's so weak and ineffectual that he needs to be "rescued" by a couple of mischievous children.

It's a more complicated issue than most people seem to think. I happen to believe that Twain intended to write a passionate argument for equality, but got scared off towards the end and included the racist comedy bits in order to please an audience he feared wasn't ready for his beliefs.

[Gingold]

King describes the creepiness of smalltown New England better than any writer I've ever read. His characterization is often quite good as well. But there's a heck of a lotta bad mixed in with his good stuff.

Re: Huck Finn, I think there's a huge difference between the type of criticism that Bradely's discussing in the novel and the far-too-typical charges of, "it uses the word n*****, it's racist!". I think the ending lets the book down somewhat, but all in all, I'm with Howy on this one. The book is decidedly anti-racist in intent. (And dammit, now I want to go read it again.)

[Michael P]

You read Henry James in high school?
Not willingly.

[Bradley]

Re: Huck Finn, I think there's a huge difference between the type of criticism that Bradely's discussing in the novel and the far-too-typical charges of, "it uses the word n*****, it's racist!". I think the ending lets the book down somewhat, but all in all, I'm with Howy on this one. The book is decidedly anti-racist in intent. (And dammit, now I want to go read it again.)

I wholeheartedly agree-- I don't like the argument that says the use of the "n-word" in the novel is evidence of racism either. My point was just that the discussion of race and Huckleberry Finn is more complex than "the book is racist" or "the book is anti-racist." It's oddly both, and I think that should be remembered when the book is taught.

[JeffreyWKramer]

I wholeheartedly agree-- I don't like the argument that says the use of the "n-word" in the novel is evidence of racism either. My point was just that the discussion of race and Huckleberry Finn is more complex than "the book is racist" or "the book is anti-racist." It's oddly both, and I think that should be remembered when the book is taught.

That's at least a valid way of approaching the book. I tend to disagree that the book itself is racist, but I think one can make good arguments that Twain could have done more to make Jim less a stereotype than is the case in parts of the book - and, most crucially, *why* he didn't do so. I think your argument - that he didn't trust the audience was ready - is closer to the truth than are readings suggesting that Twain had a lot of racist perceptions of which he was unaware.

[Gary_B]

Here's what I've read on your list, Jeffrey.

The Bible
- New Testament

Shakespeare
- Romeo and Juliet
- Hamlet
- Macbeth
- The Merchant of Venice

Twain
- Tom Sawyer
- Huckleberry Finn

Melville
- Moby-Dick

Steinbeck
- Of Mice and Men
- The Grapes of Wrath
- Cannery Row
- East of Eden

Miller
- Death of a Salesman

Salinger
- A Catcher in the Rye
- Raise High the Roof-Beam, Carpenters
- Franny and Zooey

Lee
- To Kill a Mockingbird

Heinlein
- Stranger in a Strange Land

Most of those I read as a teenager but I did go through Steinbeck and Salinger phases when I was in my 30's. Some other great required reading I had in my youth were 1984, Animal Farm, Childhood's End, Watership Down and No Exit.

[Joe Rice]

I have read:

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
- Other plays
- Sonnets

8) Emily Bronte
- Wuthering Heights

9) Nathaniel Hawthorne
- The Scarlet Letter


11) Walt Whitman
- Leaves of Grass

12) Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
- Huckleberry Finn


14) F. Scott Fitzgerald
- The Great Gatsby


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


16) William Faulkner

- As I Lay Dying



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



21) Harper Lee
- To Kill a Mockingbird

I've read parts of the others . . .I went through an unfortunate stage in school when I realized I could get A's just by listening and participating in discussion, not actually reading the books. So my list is way shorter than it should be.

[Bradley]

That's at least a valid way of approaching the book. I tend to disagree that the book itself is racist, but I think one can make good arguments that Twain could have done more to make Jim less a stereotype than is the case in parts of the book - and, most crucially, *why* he didn't do so. I think your argument - that he didn't trust the audience was ready - is closer to the truth than are readings suggesting that Twain had a lot of racist perceptions of which he was unaware.


Well, it's difficult to say, isn't it? I mean, on the one hand, I think it's valid to suggest that Twain probably had some ideas that we would consider racist by today's standards-- he was a very progressive man, but he still existed in a racist culture. I'm sure he was conditioned by that culture, just as I'm sure I've been conditioned by my own culture. To say that what Twain wrote (or what I write) doesn't, on some level, reflect that conditioning is probably wrong.

On the other hand, though, the evidence in the text itself pretty much shows that Twain valued equality and dignity for all. That last third-- as poorly-executed as it is (and, if you haven't read the book in a while-- it really, really is poorly-executed), doesn't negate what came before it, and can't undo the argument against slavery and racism that Twain's constructed. So, I tend to think that the end really is a bone thrown to the ignorant masses who Twain feared would avoid the book if it didn't pander to them, and not evidence that Twain himself was a repressed racist.

I do want to make it clear that I didn't come up with these ideas on my own-- this, as I understand it, has been a huge conversation topic in 19th century literature studies for decades. I'm not much of a 19th centuryist, I'm afraid (the only B I got during my PhD work was in a 19th century class, in fact), so I'm probably not presenting the argument as well as someone who, y'know, actually knows what he's talking about.

[Gingold]

I seem to remember that maybe 5-6 years back, a new edit of Huck was released that had a revised ending that concluded the book the way that Twain had supposedly intented. I was flat broke at the time and didn't pick it up, and I've scarcely heard a mention of it since. Anyone hear read it or know much about it?

[JeffreyWKramer]

Well, it's difficult to say, isn't it? I mean, on the one hand, I think it's valid to suggest that Twain probably had some ideas that we would consider racist by today's standards-- he was a very progressive man, but he still existed in a racist culture. I'm sure he was conditioned by that culture, just as I'm sure I've been conditioned by my own culture. To say that what Twain wrote (or what I write) doesn't, on some level, reflect that conditioning is probably wrong.

Sure. And that's why I characterized the side of the argument to which you lean as probably "closer to the truth." It's difficult to completely escape the biases of one's culture, and this would have been as true of Clemens as it is today. But I don't think this truth explains those qualities you mention about the last third of the book. I rather tend to agree with you that he was writing to the audience there, in an unfortunate way, but likely a smart one for the times - Twain knew his audience.

On the other hand, though, the evidence in the text itself pretty much shows that Twain valued equality and dignity for all.
Absolutely. And this is notable in his life outside his writings as well.

I do want to make it clear that I didn't come up with these ideas on my own-- this, as I understand it, has been a huge conversation topic in 19th century literature studies for decades. I'm not much of a 19th centuryist, I'm afraid (the only B I got during my PhD work was in a 19th century class, in fact), so I'm probably not presenting the argument as well as someone who, y'know, actually knows what he's talking about.
It occurs to me that much as I love Twain, I've read fairly little Twain criticism and scholarship. Twain is not a particularly difficult author, so I've never felt a need to consult other works to try to tangle out arcane symbolism or language, nor have I felt it necessary to go to the experts to make sure I'm not missing some hidden theme or deep subtext. I probably should nonetheless correct this omission at some point.

[JeffreyWKramer]

I seem to remember that maybe 5-6 years back, a new edit of Huck was released that had a revised ending that concluded the book the way that Twain had supposedly intented. I was flat broke at the time and didn't pick it up, and I've scarcely heard a mention of it since. Anyone hear read it or know much about it?

I don't recall anything about this. Do you know in what way the ending was revised?

[Gordon Smith]

I'm not much of a 19th centuryist, I'm afraid (the only B I got during my PhD work was in a 19th century class, in fact), so I'm probably not presenting the argument as well as someone who, y'know, actually knows what he's talking about.


You have a doctorate, Bradley?

[Gingold]

I don't recall anything about this. Do you know in what way the ending was revised?

I don't, unfortunately. I had almost forgotten about it until this discussion started and I may be remembering it incorrectly. I'm doing some searching right now. I'll see what that yields.

[JeffreyWKramer]

BTW, a couple of general comments.

First off, I'm pleased this thread of mine has generated so much response, and a good bit of discussion.

Second, though I implored Brian to not bump this thread to the Books forum - and I thank you for heeding my wishes on that, Brian - I very much want to encourage those of you who are enjoying this thread and who don't already post at Books to check it out and be more involved there. In no way do I wish my request, or my posting this here, to be seen as any sort of slam or slight to the Books forum. Chris and Ben, the Mods there, are wonderful people, and Books is a neat forum - but it's rather a neglected one, certainly not as active as the topic deserves. If you don't find many threads there that match your interests, by all means start some.

[Davideaux]

Re: Twain and Race

"Puddin head Wilson" also shows Twain's conflicted view of race. If I remember correctly, the son of a slave was raised as one of the slaveowner's kids. His mother saw that her light skinned baby would have a better life as a 'white' child and so she swapped him for one of the master's babies.

The story develops as a comedy. However, over the course of the novel the child grows up and does really ignorant and wrong-headed things. The assumption is that he did these things because he would regress back to his 'black' nature in spite of his privileged and educated upbringing. Or that he was doing these things because he was a child of privelege. Twain never picks a side of the argument.

[Donald M.]

Also - god damn it, Stevey, explain that "PENNYWISE LIVES" grafitti in Dreamcatcher already!

I've tried to expunge Dreamcatcher from my memory as I didn't much like it, but part of the book and particularly the part where that graffiti turns up takes place in Derry, the fictional setting of it.

It was a nod to previous work. Is any more explanation really necessary?

[Gingold]

Oops. Seems like I'm misremembering somewhat. There was a revised version that embodied the then recently recovered original manuscript, that made alterations to first third of the book, rather than ending. I'm still interested in checking it out though.
http://www.ucpress.edu/books/pages/10015.html

[Bradley]

You have a doctorate, Bradley?

Yeah, though my field is creative nonfiction, not 19th century novels. So I'm probably a little out of my element talking about Huck Finn scholarship. Ask me about the history of the personal essay, though...

[Gordon Smith]

Yeah, though my field is creative nonfiction, not 19th century novels. So I'm probably a little out of my element talking about Huck Finn scholarship. Ask me about the history of the personal essay, though...

I can't say I'm greatly interested in the history of the personal essay, truthfully. But expert or not, you seem to wing it pretty darned well.

[Forefinger]

[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 (Parts of both)

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 (For Whom the Bell Tolls)

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
What I've read is bolded. I know that I've read some works by some of the authors, but I can't recall what was read. I guess I'm not well read when compared to others here.

[Wesley Dodds]

I've read a lot of Twain but couldn't really get into Huckleberry Finn. Of course, I was a kid at the time; I kept wondering why he was writing about Huck when he could have just told another story about the really interesting character, Tom Sawyer.

[Puma]

I've read a lot of Twain but couldn't really get into Huckleberry Finn. Of course, I was a kid at the time; I kept wondering why he was writing about Huck when he could have just told another story about the really interesting character, Tom Sawyer.

I was the reverse; I really didn't like Tom Sawyer and preferred Huck.

[FBHthelizardmage]

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

I should probabbly read somemore :(

Or not, I know that those books on this list I have read I've generally disliked. . .

Which can be put down to my general phobia of classics.

[JeffreyWKramer]

I guess I'm not well read when compared to others here.

Seems a pretty wide range, from the responses. I'm sort of surprised that many of the things on the list haven't been read by many of the respondents, but there's tons of classic stuff I haven't gotten around to reading.

And the neat thing about reading is you can always do more of it.

[Forefinger]

While I have read many novels and other books, many of the classics just escaped my notice.

[JeffreyWKramer]

While I have read many novels and other books, many of the classics just escaped my notice.


I don't know you that well, Fore, but I'm guessing you'd love Faulkner if you gave him a try. You might want to start with one of his more accessible novels, like SANCTUARY, and if that works for you, give some of the others a try.

[Grazzt]

I don't know you that well, Fore, but I'm guessing you'd love Faulkner if you gave him a try. You might want to start with one of his more accessible novels, like SANCTUARY, and if that works for you, give some of the others a try.

Maybe he could try some of the short fiction, first? "A Rose For Emily" is a great little horror piece.

[FBHthelizardmage]

While I have read many novels and other books, many of the classics just escaped my notice.

It certainly beats the hell out of my list :p

[JeffreyWKramer]

Maybe he could try some of the short fiction, first? "A Rose For Emily" is a great little horror piece.

I certainly can't argue that, but good as Faulkner was as a short story writer, I think his novels were his superior works, by far.

[Reptisaurus!]

I should probabbly read somemore :(

Or not, I know that those books on this list I have read I've generally disliked. . .



I've liked all the ones I've read.*

Some of 'em don't really work if you're not reading them in class or with a book of criticism near-by. Like the Illiad is all about Greek Culture, and there's no way in hell we're gonna figure that out on our own. Same with Joyce, because Ow my head hurts.


* No, actually I'm with ExD on "Catcher on the Rye," but maybe I'm just too old. I'm morally opposed to taking young people's problems seriously.

[warspite1805]

The List - Which have you read?

1) Homer
- The Iliad
- The Odyssey

2) Sophocles
- Other(Electra, Philoctetes & Ajax)

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

4) Dante Alighieri
- The Divine Comedy I: Inferno (partly, intends to crack on with Paradise as soon as I finish Militon's Paradise Lost )
- Other

5) William Shakespeare
- Hamlet
- Macbeth


6) John Milton
- Paradise Lost (half way through)
- Other

12) Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) _ can't remember
- Tom Sawyer
- Huckleberry Finn
- Other


17) John Steinbeck
- Of Mice and Men

------------------------

Not many I confess, but I was suprised that you left Euripdes & Aeschylus off the list but included Sopocles. Plus how come you left out Virgil, Ovid and Sir Thomas Malory:confused:

[Nikita]

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




Wow, I'm surprised at how much I've actually read. Of course, this was all back in highscool and I don't remember the stories to most of what I highlighted. I'd have to read them again.

[Winslow]

What I've read is in bold . . most in high school or college.

1) Homer
- The Iliad (partially)
- The Odyssey (partially)

2) Sophocles
- Oedipus Rex Yes
- Other

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

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

5) William Shakespeare
- Romeo and Juliet Yes
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream
- Hamlet Yes
- Othello Yes
- King Lear
- Macbeth Yes
- 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 Yes
- Other

10) Henry David Thoreau
- Walden Yes
- Other

11) Walt Whitman
- Leaves of Grass
- Other

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

13) Herman Melville
- Moby-Dick
- Billy Budd Yes

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

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

18) Arthur Miller
- Death of a Salesman yes
- 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 Yes

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

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

[JeffreyWKramer]

Not many I confess, but I was suprised that you left Euripdes & Aeschylus off the list but included Sopocles. Plus how come you left out Virgil, Ovid and Sir Thomas Malory:confused:

In my experience, both personal and looking at a variety of school/college cirricula over the years, you're less likely to see the others in high school or freshman level college courses than you are Sophocles. I wanted to do a list that was reasonably representative of stuff that most people run into, without making it so long that people wouldn't bother responding to it.

Plus, as already noted, there were various authors I intended to include (Orwell and Austen, for example), but didn't because I forgot as I typed the list.

Myself, I'm quite familiar with Virgil, Ovid, Hesiod, Mallory, BEOWULF and all that other wonderful stuff, due to a lifelong love of mythology. I later read all that stuff again in college, taking enough classics studies classes that I had all the requirements for a classics degree except the language requirement.

[JeffreyWKramer]

Wow, I'm surprised at how much I've actually read. Of course, this was all back in highscool and I don't remember the stories to most of what I highlighted. I'd have to read them again.

You really, really ought to read MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM. Well, so should everyone.... but I'm pretty sure you'd love it.

[Puma]

You really, really ought to read MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM. Well, so should everyone.... but I'm pretty sure you'd love it.

If we shadows have offended,
Think but this - and all is mended-
That you have but slumber'd here
While these visions did appear.
And this weak and idle theme,
No more yielding than a dream,
Gentles, do not reprehend;
If you pardon, we will mend.
And, as I'm an honest Puck,
if we have unearned luck
Now to 'scape the serpent's tongue,
We will make amends ere long;
Else the Puck a liar call:
So, good night unto you all.
Give me your hands, if we be friends,
And Robin shall restore amends.

I love that play.

[Expletive Deleted]

No, actually I'm with ExD on "Catcher on the Rye," but maybe I'm just too old. I'm morally opposed to taking young people's problems seriously.I think your reaction to the book depends on when you first read it. Everyone I know who loved it read it in their early teens. Everyone I know who hated it, including myself, read it later.

[Gingold]

I think your reaction to the book depends on when you first read it. Everyone I know who loved it read it their early teens. Everyone I know who hated it, including myself, read it later.

I loved it as a teenager, but re-reading it as an adult just made me want to tell Holden to get over himself already.

[Merey]

I loved it as a teenager, but re-reading it as an adult just made me want to tell Holden to get over himself already.


That was my reaction when I read it as a teenager. I couldn't understand what the hell was wrong with him. I didn't quite grasp the concept of ennui back then, but thinking back on it, I still think he's a spoiled, privileged brat. I haven't read it since, but now that I'm older and have actually met folks like him, I don't think my opinion would budge an inch. In fact, I'm now more apt to slap the kid.

[spoon_jenkins]

I read The Catcher in the Rye for the first time just a few months ago at age 27. I enjoyed it. I felt like it was supposed to a character sketch rather than an endorsement of Holden's attitude, so to me, the novel seemed effective at what it was doing.

I'm not a big fan of Sir Thomas Malory. I read maybe 100-200 pages or so of Le Morte D'Arthur when I was in high school and that was rough sledding. I'm betting I could read through War and Peace a few times before I could get through Le Morte D'Arthur once.

[Sir Tim Drake]

I read The Catcher in the Rye for the first time just a few months ago at age 27. I enjoyed it. I felt like it was supposed to a character sketch rather than an endorsement of Holden's attitude, so to me, the novel seemed effective at what it was doing.

I'm not a big fan of Sir Thomas Malory. I read maybe 100-200 pages or so of Le Morte D'Arthur when I was in high school and that was rough sledding. I'm betting I could read through War and Peace a few times before I could get through Le Morte D'Arthur once.

Syr Thomas Malleorre coulde wryte the Englissche language wondrous well, seyde Syr Tim Drake, nor woulde I notte trayde ten bookes of no lesser scrybe for one of his. Yet, seyde Sir Tym, meseemeth his wrytynge is an acquyred teyste indeed. And it surpryseth me not that ye had difficultye readynge his booke.

[JeffreyWKramer]

I loved it as a teenager, but re-reading it as an adult just made me want to tell Holden to get over himself already.

Holden Caulfield, father of emo.

[Paradox]

Puma pounces:

If we shadows have offended,
Think but this - and all is mended-
That you have but slumber'd here
While these visions did appear.
And this weak and idle theme,
No more yielding than a dream,
Gentles, do not reprehend;
If you pardon, we will mend.
And, as I'm an honest Puck,
if we have unearned luck
Now to 'scape the serpent's tongue,
We will make amends ere long;
Else the Puck a liar call:
So, good night unto you all.
Give me your hands, if we be friends,
And Robin shall restore amends.

I love that play.

And I hate you for beating me to it while I slept. :)

Robin Goodfellow is probably my favorite Shakespeare character. I know he's not his BEST, but he's the one that pops into my head first when Will is mentioned. But then, I've always had a close affinity for trickster god types.

[morna]

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


Most of these were long ago I barely remember a lot of them. I agree with the folks who mentioned Animal Farm, 1984, and Childhood's End those were classics to me ... and I Claudius somehow feels like it should be here. I should get some of these done though, Leaves of Grass and Walden I really should read and Paradise Lost too. sigh. so little time

[howyadoin]

Most of these were long ago I barely remember a lot of them. I agree with the folks who mentioned Animal Farm, 1984, and Childhood's End those were classics to me ... and I Claudius somehow feels like it should be here. I should get some of these done though, Leaves of Grass and Walden I really should read and Paradise Lost too. sigh. so little timeYou can never read too much Steinbeck.

[morna]

true enough! I haven't read Sea of Cortes but I think I've done pretty much everything else. We had a Steinback fest a few years ago.

If you ever want a really awesome book about the sea life around here get Ed Ricketts' Between Pacific Tides It's delightful, informative and written by the "doc" in Cannery Row!

[howyadoin]

We had a Steinback fest a few years ago.What a great idea.
If you ever want a really awesome book about the sea life around here get Ed Ricketts' Between Pacific Tides It's delightful, informative and written by the "doc" in Cannery Row!I knew he wrote a book, but I never knew anything specific about it till now.

Thanks for the info; that one's going on the list.

[morna]

It's kinda like a field guide but more complete. His writing style is unusually friendly and enthusiastic for a science writer. Here's a little snippet I found just now talking about Skeleton shrimps: "... If caprellids were a meter tall instead of 25mm... no zoo would be without them and their quarters would surpass those of the monkeys in popularity. Specimens under a hand lens actually seem to be bowing slowly, with a ceremonial dignity; clasping their palmlike claws, they strike an attitude of prayer.... " I LOVE that guy!

[Reptisaurus!]

I read The Catcher in the Rye for the first time just a few months ago at age 27. I enjoyed it. I felt like it was supposed to a character sketch rather than an endorsement of Holden's attitude, so to me, the novel seemed effective at what it was doing.


I can buy that.

It's hard for me to feel much about a character who's worldview is diametrically opposed to mine, though. And I'm not sure what we were supposed to learn from the book, either.

[mattbib]

I've also only read a few from the list.

1) Homer
- The Iliad

5) William Shakespeare
- Romeo and Juliet

- Macbeth

8) Emily Bronte
- Wuthering Heights

12) Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
- Huckleberry Finn

14) F. Scott Fitzgerald
- The Great Gatsby

18) Arthur Miller
- Death of a Salesman

20) JD Salinger
- A Catcher in the Rye

21) Harper Lee
- To Kill a Mockingbird

[howyadoin]

It's kinda like a field guide but more complete. His writing style is unusually friendly and enthusiastic for a science writer. Here's a little snippet I found just now talking about Skeleton shrimps: "... If caprellids were a meter tall instead of 25mm... no zoo would be without them and their quarters would surpass those of the monkeys in popularity. Specimens under a hand lens actually seem to be bowing slowly, with a ceremonial dignity; clasping their palmlike claws, they strike an attitude of prayer.... " I LOVE that guy!Seems to me I read an article on him in the Georgia Straight once. Was he from BC?

[Gene M.]

Homer
- The Iliad

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

Dante Alighieri
- The Divine Comedy I: Inferno

William Shakespeare
- Romeo and Juliet
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream
- Hamlet
- Macbeth
- Other Plays
- Sonnets

Emily Bronte
- Wuthering Heights

Nathaniel Hawthorne
- The Scarlet Letter

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

F. Scott Fitzgerald
- The Great Gatsby

John Steinbeck
- Of Mice and Men

Arthur Miller
- Death of a Salesman
- The Crucible

JD Salinger
- A Catcher in the Rye

Harper Lee
- To Kill a Mockingbird

[phoenixrising]

I've read everything but:

- King Lear
- Walden
- As I Lay Dying
- On the Road
- Stranger in a Strange Land

I've really slacked on my reading of classics lately. I haven't read and of these in at least five years.

[clayholio]

The List - Which have you read?

1) Homer
- The Odyssey

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

4) Dante Alighieri
- The Divine Comedy I: Inferno

5) William Shakespeare
- Romeo and Juliet
- King Lear
- Macbeth

6) John Milton
- Paradise Lost

7) Charlotte Bronte
- Jane Eyre

8) Emily Bronte
- Wuthering Heights

9) Nathaniel Hawthorne
- The Scarlet Letter
- Other (The Blithedale Romance)

10) Henry David Thoreau
- Walden

12) Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
- Tom Sawyer
- Huckleberry Finn
- Other (Pudd'nhead Wilson)

14) F. Scott Fitzgerald
- The Great Gatsby

19) Jack Kerouac
- On the Road

23) Toni Morrison
- Other (Sula)
It's kind of sad that I haven't read more on this list, seeing as how I was an English major (but there are tons and tons of books I was required to read that aren't on this list, like Jack London's "Call of the Wild" or Thomas Hardy's "Tess of the d'Urbervilles," to give two very common examples). I figure that if you made up a list of 100 "classic" novels, most people would be doing pretty well to have read 20 of 'em.

[morna]

Seems to me I read an article on him in the Georgia Straight once. Was he from BC?

getting a bit off topic here but ..

nah he was American I had assumed he was Californian but apparently he was born in Chicago

[howyadoin]

getting a bit off topic here but ..

nah he was American I had assumed he was Californian but apparently he was born in ChicagoSpeaking of which, have you read Sweet Thursday as well as Cannery Row?

[Cactusakic]

The List - Which have you read?

1) Homer
- The Iliad y
- The Odyssey y

2) Sophocles
- Oedipus Rex y
- Other n

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

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

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

6) John Milton
- Paradise Lost y
- Other

7) Charlotte Bronte
- Jane Eyre n
- Other n

8) Emily Bronte
- Wuthering Heights n

9) Nathaniel Hawthorne
- The Scarlet Letter n
- Other

10) Henry David Thoreau
- Walden n
- Other n

11) Walt Whitman
- Leaves of Grass n
- Other n

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

13) Herman Melville
- Moby-Dick y
- Other n

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

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

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

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

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

19) Jack Kerouac
- On the Road y
- Other y

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

21) Harper Lee
- To Kill a Mockingbird y

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

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

[GremlinClr]

E. None of the above.

Although I would like to one day read Twains stuff and To Kill a Mockingbird. I have no interest in the rest.

[JeffreyWKramer]

E. None of the above.

Although I would like to one day read Twains stuff and To Kill a Mockingbird. I have no interest in the rest.

Really? You've read nothing from that list?

What was your educational background, if you don't mind my asking? Public or private or homeschooled?

[Ed Cunard]

Speaking of which, have you read Sweet Thursday as well as Cannery Row?

Cannery Row is just beautifully written. I love that book.

On Catcher in the Rye... that book completely throws anything I've ever said into question, because it's a book I dislike solely on the basis of a large part of its audience--I have trouble separating in my mind the book from the teenagers who read it and latch onto it as if it was some kind of weighty precedent for their faux-rebellion. When I can dull the sound of a million straw teenagers shouting a contemporary equivalent of "phoney!" that rings in my ears when I think of Catcher, I tend to appreciate the book a lot more.

[Lone Ranger]

1) Homer
- The Iliad
- The Odyssey

2) Sophocles
- Oedipus Rex
- Antigone
- Electra

3) The Bible (authors unknown/various)
- Old Testament
- New Testament
Probably read 50% of the whole thing. I was not raised as a Christian so have just read various books of the Bible our of curiosity.

4) Dante Alighieri
- The Divine Comedy I: Inferno


5) William Shakespeare
- Romeo and Juliet also acted in it
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream
- Hamlet also acted in it
- Othello
- King Lear
- Macbethalso acted in it
- The Taming of the Shrew
- As You Like It - my favourite of his comedies
- The Tempest
- The Merchant of Venice
- Much Ado About Nothing
- Richard III - my favourite Shakespeare play
- Other plays
- Sonnets - probably most of them at some point
Actually, I have read most, if not all and seen 50% performed. In school we read at least one play a year starting from Grade 7 (Julius Ceasar) to the end of high school. I also took a Shakespeare class in undergrad.

6) John Milton
- Paradise Lost
- The two books he did on Religion and Reformation - can't recall titles.

7) Charlotte Bronte
- Jane Eyre
- Other

8) Emily Bronte
- Wuthering Heights

9) Nathaniel Hawthorne
- The Scarlet Letter


10) Henry David Thoreau
- Walden
- Some essays - the one about John Brown of the Harper's Ferry raid comes to mind

11) Walt Whitman
- Leaves of Grass


12) Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
- Tom Sawyer
- Huckleberry Finn
- Prince and the Pauper
- A Tramp Abroad
- A Conn Yankee in King Arthur's Court
- Frog of Caleveras County


13) Herman Melville
- Moby-Dick
- Billy Budd


14) F. Scott Fitzgerald
- The Great Gatsby
- The Beautiful and the Damned - my fave
- Tender is the Night

15) Ernest Hemingway
- A Farewell to Arms - One of my top 5 books of all-time
- The Old Man and the Sea
- For Whom the Bell Tolls
- Complete Short Stories
- Hemingway At War (?) - collection of his war reports


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

17) John Steinbeck
- Of Mice and Men
- The Grapes of Wrath
- In Dubious Battle - my favourite
- Pearl/Red Pony - part of Grade 8, I think.
- Tortilla Flat
- East of Eden
- Homage to Catalonia


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


19) Jack Kerouac
- On the Road
- Dharma Bums

20) JD Salinger
- A Catcher in the Rye


21) Harper Lee
- To Kill a Mockingbird

22) Robert A. Heinlein - None


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



I think that's it.

[Dom]

My list, roughly. I'm sure I dropped some stuff out that was hardly considered classic or even essential reading. Most of it is on my own, I didn't include the french books I had to read, because I don't even know which are classics or not.

JRR Tolkein
- Lord of the Rings Trilogy
- The Hobbit

Richard Adams
- Watership Down

Homer
- The Iliad
- The Odyssey

Sophocles
- Oedipus Rex

Henrik Ibsen
-A Doll’s House


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

Dante Alighieri
- The Divine Comedy
-
William Shakespeare
- Romeo and Juliet
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream
- Hamlet
- Othello
- King Lear
- Macbeth
- The Taming of the Shrew
- Titus Andronicus
- Sonnets

John Milton
- Paradise Lost

George Orwell
-Animal Farm
-1984

Isaac Asimov
-I, Robot

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

Herman Melville
- Moby-Dick


F. Scott Fitzgerald
- The Great Gatsby


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


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

Arthur Miller
- Death of a Salesman


Jack Kerouac
- On the Road


JD Salinger
- A Catcher in the Rye


Harper Lee
- To Kill a Mockingbird

No Author
- Beowulf

[Lone Ranger]

George Orwell
-Animal Farm
-1984


Seeing Dom mention George Orwell got me to thinking about 20th Century greats.

Two names that always come to mind for me are Orwell and Aldous Huxley.

When I was young, 1984 and Animal Farm are part of the Toronto School Board's curriculum - not sure if they still are.

I am very fond of some of Orwell's less known works - Coming Up For Air, in particular.

Huxley's Brave New World was also part of the high school curriculum here, but my favourite is Antic Hay, and I also enjoyed Island.

[GremlinClr]

Really? You've read nothing from that list?

What was your educational background, if you don't mind my asking? Public or private or homeschooled?

Really.

I went to public school, I took Basic English courses in High School since it wasn't my favorite subject. The only book on the list I was supposed to read in High School was As I Lay Dying. I read maybe the first couple of chapters but never finished it.

I've read various passages from the Bible but not enough to count. I started reading Paradise Lost, it didn't hold my interest.

I'm not much of a "classics" reader. I've got stacks of books now that actually interest me that I don't have time to read, I'm not going to read things that I have no interest in on the off chance I might like them. There's just not enough hours in the day.

[Dom]

Seeing Dom mention George Orwell got me to thinking about 20th Century greats.

Two names that always come to mind for me are Orwell and Aldous Huxley.

When I was young, 1984 and Animal Farm are part of the Toronto School Board's curriculum - not sure if they still are.

I am very fond of some of Orwell's less known works - Coming Up For Air, in particular.

Huxley's Brave New World was also part of the high school curriculum here, but my favourite is Antic Hay, and I also enjoyed Island.

Well, I was looking for something new to read. I was about to embark on rereading Tolkein.

Aldous Huxley is it!

[JeffreyWKramer]

Really.

I went to public school, I took Basic English courses in High School since it wasn't my favorite subject. The only book on the list I was supposed to read in High School was As I Lay Dying. I read maybe the first couple of chapters but never finished it.

I've read various passages from the Bible but not enough to count. I started reading Paradise Lost, it didn't hold my interest.

I'm not much of a "classics" reader. I've got stacks of books now that actually interest me that I don't have time to read, I'm not going to read things that I have no interest in on the off chance I might like them. There's just not enough hours in the day.

It astounds me that someone could get through school without having read Shakespeare.

[Lone Ranger]

It astounds me that someone could get through school without having read Shakespeare.

That does sound weird to me, too.

In grade 7, everyone in my class had to wrap a sheet around them toga-style and recite Mark Antony's eulogy from Julius Caesar.

From that point on, Shakespeare became a very important part of each year's English class.

[Dr. Hfuhruhurr]

4) Dante Alighieri
- The Divine Comedy I: Inferno


16) William Faulkner
- The Sound and the Fury


23) Toni Morrison
- The Song of Solomon
- Beloved

I'm embarrassed to admit to not having read Dante. It's one of those things on my list of things to read (which seems to get longer every month). Can't recall reading "The Sound and the Fury" either. Most of the rest I read as a part of either college or high school English courses, although I read "Moby Dick," most of the works of John Steinbeck, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Mark Twain and Hemmingway outside of school. I also never read Heinlein until well after college, upon the recommendation of a friend. I just finished reading "Pride and Prejudice" a couple weeks ago. It was in a stack of books my grandmother gave us when she moved out of her house and I had never read it.

[macul]

Of that list I've read:

The Iliad
The Odyssey
Jane Eyre
Scarlett Letter
Moby Dick
The Old Man and the Sea

Not on the list (not sure if these are considered literary greats, but they are well known for the most part):

Frankenstein
Red Badge of Courage
War of the Worlds
Time Machine
1984
Lord of the Flies
War at Troy (not so well known, but it is rather old and bridges the gap between Iliad and Odyssey)
Caesar's Civil War (I read this off and on. One day I'll finish)
Don Quixote (I don't recall if this was the name of the book...)
Fahrenheit 451
various Lovecraft books/stories
various Conan books/stories by Doyle
various Sherlock Holmes books/stories
Canterbury Tales (don't believe I finished, though)
Beowulf

[Michael P]

Canterbury Tales (don't believe I finished, though)

That's OK. Neither did Chaucer.

[Grazzt]

That's OK. Neither did Chaucer.

Yeah, but I'm going to assume he got farther than macul. :p

[Matthew E]

The List - Which have you read?

1) Homer: flipped through both the Iliad and the Odyssey a long time ago; never actually read either all the way through

2) Sophocles: read Oedipus in school. When was that? Man. I only half-remember reading it, but I know I did.

3) The Bible : I've read parts of it. I keep meaning to read the whole thing but haven't yet.

4) Dante Alighieri: never read it.

5) William Shakespeare: I've read *lots* of Shakespeare, including some sonnets, all the plays listed here and more

6) John Milton: never read him

7) Charlotte Bronte: never read her

8) Emily Bronte: never read her. Do I get some credit for having read a couple of Jane Austen's books?

9) Nathaniel Hawthorne: never read it, although I have read 'Tanglewood Tales'

10) Henry David Thoreau: never read him

11) Walt Whitman: I read a couple of excerpts from Leaves of Grass in a poetry collection in school and did not care for it

12) Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens): I've read lots of Twain, including the two listed

13) Herman Melville: I read Moby-Dick, but nothing else of Melville's. However, I didn't skip over all the cetology and stuff.

14) F. Scott Fitzgerald: I read Gatsby but nothing else by him.

15) Ernest Hemingway: I've read some Hemingway, including A Farewell to Arms, which is my favourite by him, but not The Old Man and the Sea.

16) William Faulkner: All I've read of Faulkner's is As I Lay Dying, which I *hated*, but I did start into The Reivers once, which seemed to be not too bad, and I may try it again sometime

17) John Steinbeck: I've read some Steinbeck, including Of Mice and Men, but not Grapes of Wrath, although I do want to try it sometime

18) Arthur Miller: I read The Crucible.

19) Jack Kerouac: I read On The Road and didn't like it.

20) JD Salinger: I read Catcher in the Rye several times, but when I read Franny and Zooey I realized that he just does this poor-alienated-genius-kid-too-good-for-our-world thing over and over. Enough.

21) Harper Lee: I read To Kill a Mockingbird several times.

22) Robert A. Heinlein: I've read lots of Heinlein, including Stranger in a Strange Land.

23) Toni Morrison: haven't read any of her stuff

(And all my schooling has been in Canada also.)

I also read Animal Farm, 1984 and Lord of the Flies.

My first [Stephen King book] was The Gunslinger, which I thought was just too boring to get through.
You have to stick with The Gunslinger. It gets better. And subsequent books in the series are even better than that.

So if I was putting together this list, what else would I have on it?

1. Dumas: The Three Musketeers
2. Hugo: Les Miserables; Notre-Dame of Paris
3. Austen
4. Dickens
5. Wodehouse
6. Tolkien
7. Agatha Christie
8. Dashiell Hammett
9. Conan Doyle
10. Raymond Chandler
11. Rex Stout
12. Jules Verne
13. H.G. Wells
14. Graham Greene
15. Asimov

...a lot of stuff that may not be too literary but certainly should be read. It's hard to not just list favourites. Should Donald Westlake be on the list? Neal Stephenson? Dorothy L. Sayers? I can't be objective about it.

[Spackling Compound]

Of those listed by Kramer:

The List - Which have you read?

1) Homer
- The Iliad Yes. In some fashion. 9th grade.

- The Odyssey Ditto.

2) Sophocles
- Oedipus RexYes.


3) The Bible (authors unknown/various) Yes (but not as a book, but I have read certain books more than others. Can't see Leviticus being a "must read")


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


5) William Shakespeare :All of these-
- Romeo and Juliet
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream
- Hamlet
- Macbeth
- The Taming of the Shrew
and Henry V

6) John Milton
- Paradise Lost


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



14) F. Scott Fitzgerald
- The Great Gatsby



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


17) John Steinbeck
- Of Mice and Men


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



20) JD Salinger
- A Catcher in the Rye


21) Harper Lee
- To Kill a Mockingbird



Good choices. I graduated before Toni Morrison was considered important reading.

[jessecuster3]

I have read:

1) Homer
- The Iliad
- The Odyssey
Add in Virgil's Aeneid, which I not only read but had to translate from Latin.

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

5) William Shakespeare
- Hamlet
- Titus Andronicus

9) Nathaniel Hawthorne
- The Scarlet Letter

10) Henry David Thoreau
- Walden

11) Walt Whitman
- Other- only his poetry.

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

13) Herman Melville
- Moby-Dick

14) F. Scott Fitzgerald
- The Great Gatsby


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

16) William Faulkner
- The Sound and the Fury


17) John Steinbeck
- Of Mice and Men
- The Grapes of Wrath
- Travels With Charley

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

19) Jack Kerouac
- On the Road

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

21) Harper Lee
- To Kill a Mockingbird

Almost every one of these was because I had to read them.

I also read:
Lord Of The Flies
Friday
Swiss Family Robinson
and a few others for a class in college about life in a microcosm.

And then I read and loved: John Knowles' A Separate Peace.

[Justin D.]

The stuff I have read is in bold.

The List - Which have you read?

1) Homer
- The Iliad
- The Odyssey

Don't remember having read the whole of either of those, but I have read different pieces of each.

2) Sophocles
- Oedipus Rex
- Other

I've also read the other two in the Oedipus trilogy. Oedipus is one of my favorite literary works.

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

I only put this in bold because I'm sure I've read different parts of The Bible at some point in my life, most likely during times I was dragged to church as a kid and read The Bible when I was bored, but I don't remember anything specific.

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

Sadly, I've never read anything by Dante.

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

I can't believe anyone can go through high school or college without reading some Shakespeare. Romeo and Juliet is required reading for most eighth or ninth grade English classes. Iago, from Othello, is one of the best villains ever created.

6) John Milton
- Paradise Lost
- Other

Again, sadly, I've never read anything by Milton.

7) Charlotte Bronte
- Jane Eyre
- Other

8) Emily Bronte
- Wuthering Heights

I've read excerpts from both of these, but not the full novel of either of these.

9) Nathaniel Hawthorne
- The Scarlet Letter
- Other

I was assigned to read this in junior high, high school, and college. I refused to read it in college.

10) Henry David Thoreau
- Walden
- Other

11) Walt Whitman
- Leaves of Grass
- Other

Like others on this list, I don't remember having read the whole of either of those, but I have read different pieces of each.

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

Love them. Love the discussion that broke out about them in this thread. I own a huge book that contains the complete works of Mark Twain and have ready many of the short stories within.

13) Herman Melville
- Moby-Dick
- Other

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

Another set of books that I'm sure I read a long time ago, but can't remember much about them.

15) Ernest Hemingway
- Other

I picked up a complete works of Hemingway book a few years ago and couldn't drag myself through more than two stories. I remember reading Hemingway's Hills Like White Elephants in college because every line in the story is supposed to be a metaphor or some other form of figurative language.

16) William Faulkner
- Other

Only a short story here or there, but no full-length novels. One of my professors in college is known as one of the country's foremost experts on Faulkner. Let's just say I stayed away from writing essays on Faulkner when I took his classes.

17) John Steinbeck
- Of Mice and Men


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

19) Jack Kerouac
- On the Road
- Other

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

I only read this a couple years ago. I liked it, but like others, wanted to slap Holden more than once.

21) Harper Lee
- To Kill a Mockingbird

Out of all the books, I think I may be most ashamed I haven't read this. I haven't even seen the movie.

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

There's a good discussion of good science fiction books, this one included, on the Books forum right now.

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

Never read Toni Morrison, but have read Alice Walker's The Color Purple and think more people have read that as opposed to Toni Morrison's book. Maybe even more have read Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes are Watching God.

[Slam_Bradley]

The List - Which have you read?

1) Homer
- The Iliad
- The Odyssey

I've read both.

2) Sophocles

No Sophocles.

3) The Bible (authors unknown/various)

I've read bits and pieces but never the whole thing.

4) Dante Alighieri

nope.

5) William Shakespeare
- Romeo and Juliet - Yes
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream - no
- Hamlet - Yes
- Othello - no
- King Lear - no
- Macbeth - yes
- The Taming of the Shrew - yes
- Other plays - I've read Julius Ceasar.
- Sonnets - Yes.

6) John Milton
- Paradise Lost - Yes


7) Charlotte Bronte

Nope.

8) Emily Bronte
- Wuthering Heights - I've read parts of it...skimming to get through a British Lit class.

9) Nathaniel Hawthorne
- The Scarlet Letter - no
- Other - I have read Fall of the House of Usher.

10) Henry David Thoreau

nope.

11) Walt Whitman

Nope.

12) Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
- Tom Sawyer - Yes
- Huckleberry Finn - Yes.
- Other - A number of short stories.

13) Herman Melville

No

14) F. Scott Fitzgerald

No

15) Ernest Hemingway

I've read almost everything of Hemingway's.

16) William Faulkner

No.

17) John Steinbeck

- The Grapes of Wrath - Yes.


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


19) Jack Kerouac

Nope.

20) JD Salinger

Nope.

21) Harper Lee
- To Kill a Mockingbird - one of my favorite books.

22) Robert A. Heinlein

I've read the vast majority of his works.


23) Toni Morrison

Nope.

[Subotai]

When I was young, 1984 and Animal Farm are part of the Toronto School Board's curriculum - not sure if they still are.

They still are. The theme of the grade 11 curriculum is utopia/dystopia; a lot of the fun reads.

[Dom]

They still are. The theme of the grade 11 curriculum is utopia/dystopia; a lot of the fun reads.

I hate Toronto more than anything, but their education system, in terms of a classical education, has Quebec beat.

I had to read; A Separate Peace, which was shit. MacBeth, which the professor completely misinterpreted and a bunch of French books that are of no consequence to history or education.

They value Quebec authors whose work is a bunch of nationalistic propganda over actual classic works.

[Justin D.]

BTW, a couple of general comments.

First off, I'm pleased this thread of mine has generated so much response, and a good bit of discussion.

Second, though I implored Brian to not bump this thread to the Books forum - and I thank you for heeding my wishes on that, Brian - I very much want to encourage those of you who are enjoying this thread and who don't already post at Books to check it out and be more involved there. In no way do I wish my request, or my posting this here, to be seen as any sort of slam or slight to the Books forum. Chris and Ben, the Mods there, are wonderful people, and Books is a neat forum - but it's rather a neglected one, certainly not as active as the topic deserves. If you don't find many threads there that match your interests, by all means start some.

As someone who hasn't visited the Books forum much considering the amount I read, I have to agree with everything Jeffrey says here.

[Ed Cunard]

As someone who hasn't visited the Books forum much considering the amount I read, I have to agree with everything Jeffrey says here.

I try, but I'm not much of a thread starter, and the taste of the forum seems to trend towards science fiction, fantasy, and horror--stuff I don't read much of.

[JeffreyWKramer]

21) Harper Lee
- To Kill a Mockingbird

Out of all the books, I think I may be most ashamed I haven't read this. I haven't even seen the movie.

You really should correct this particular oversight, Justin. The novel is pure goodness, and the movie is excellent as well. Peck's performance is awesome.

[Slam_Bradley]

You really should correct this particular oversight, Justin. The novel is pure goodness, and the movie is excellent as well. Peck's performance is awesome.


Atticus Finch is what every attorney should aspire to be.

[Lone Ranger]

Atticus Finch is what every attorney should aspire to be.

There is no way I could cope with being a single Dad.


Seriously, the character of Atticus Finch (and Gregory Peck's portrayal in the film) did more to improve the way lawyers are perceived than all other fictional lawyers combined.

[Bouncing Boy]

The List - Which have you read?

1) Homer
- The Iliad
- The Odyssey

No to both.

2) Sophocles
- Oedipus Rex
- Other

I have read Oedipus Rex, and Antigone (that's the one about Oedipus' daughter right?), I think I may have read other Sophocles, but I can't remember for certain.

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

Bits and pieces of both, but haven't read the entire thing

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

Nope, I'm afraid not.

5) William Shakespeare
- Romeo and Juliet

Yes
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Definately yes, I've been in it as well. It's my favorite of his comedies.

- Hamlet

Yes

- Othello

Never read the whole thing, I did a scene from it once, and I've read bits and pieces of it.

- King Lear

No, I haven't gotten around to that one I'm afraid to admit.

- Macbeth

Yes, and I've acted in that one too. It's probably my favorite of the Tragedies.

- The Taming of the Shrew

Yes, and I've been in that one too (I played Baptista in both Taming of the Shrew and Kiss me Kate)

- Other plays
Let's see, I've read, Julius Ceaser which I've also been in (as the title character no less), Comedy of Errors (which I've been in twice) and As You Like it (in which I played the male lead, Orlando)...I know I've read a couple more that I haven't been in, but I can't think of them right now. I've seen Twefth Night, Richard III, Perecles Prince of Tyre, and Muck Ado About Nothing but never actually read them.

- Sonnets

I've read a couple of them, Sonnet 18 I used to have memorized

6) John Milton
- Paradise Lost
- Other

Never read any Milton
7) Charlotte Bronte
- Jane Eyre
- Other

8) Emily Bronte
- Wuthering Heights

Never read anything by either of the Bronte Sisters (they were sisters right?)

9) Nathaniel Hawthorne
- The Scarlet Letter
- Other

I was supposed to read The Scarlet Letter in High School, I was never able to finish it.

10) Henry David Thoreau
- Walden
- Other
Nope

11) Walt Whitman
- Leaves of Grass
- Other

Never read any Whiteman

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

I've read most of Huck Finn (I think I skimmed parts, it was a long time ago)

13) Herman Melville
- Moby-Dick
- Other
Never read Melville

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

The Great Gatsby was one of the few non shakespeare books I was supposed to read in High School that I finished.

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

I started to read The Old Man and the Sea, but couldn't get into it.

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

Never read any Faulkner

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

I love Of Mice and Men. Never read Grapes of Wrath, but I saw a stage version of it (I know, it doesn't count). I started to read East of Eden but wasn't able to finish it.

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

Read both of those, I think those may have been the only Miller I've read though. Love both of those books, I would love to play Willy Loman one day

19) Jack Kerouac
- On the Road
- Other

Um, am I a bad person because I've never heard of this book?

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

I tried to read it a couple of times, but never was able to finish it for whatever reason. It has one of my favorite opening paragraphs ever.

21) Harper Lee
- To Kill a Mockingbird

I've read that many times. I couldn't belive that Rally hadn't read it until I forced her to.

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

I think I've read something by Heinlein, but I couldn't tell you what it was. It wasn't Stranger in a Strange Land though.

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

No I haven't.

[Bouncing Boy]

You really should correct this particular oversight, Justin. The novel is pure goodness, and the movie is excellent as well. Peck's performance is awesome.
Agreed!

As I hinted at before, at the time of Gregory Peck's death, I discovered that Rally had never read the book or seen the movie. I then went out and bought her a copy of the book, after she read it, we rented the movie.

Gregory Peck's performance is one of those performances where you swear that the character actually jumped out of the book and portrayed himself. (I would put J. K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson in the Spider-Man moves in this category too)

[howyadoin]

I had to read; A Separate Peace, which was shit.We did that in highschool, too. I've often thought about rereading it, 'cause at the time I really dug it.

[howyadoin]

15) Ernest Hemingway

I've read almost everything of Hemingway's.And yet only one Steinbeck book?

[Valmore]

The List - Which have you read?

1) Homer
- The Iliad - YES
- The Odyssey - YES

2) Sophocles
- Oedipus Rex - YES

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

4) Dante Alighieri
- The Divine Comedy I: Inferno - YES
- I've also read Purgatorio and Paradiso.

5) William Shakespeare
- Romeo and Juliet - YES
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream - NO
- Hamlet - YES
- Othello - NO
- King Lear - NO
- Macbeth - YES
- The Taming of the Shrew - NO
- Other plays - Julius Caesar
- Sonnets - Various

6) John Milton
- Paradise Lost - YES

7) Charlotte Bronte
- Jane Eyre - NO

8) Emily Bronte
- Wuthering Heights - YES

9) Nathaniel Hawthorne
- The Scarlet Letter - YES

10) Henry David Thoreau
- Walden - YES
- On the Duty of Civil Disobedience

11) Walt Whitman
- Leaves of Grass - YES

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

13) Herman Melville
- Moby-Dick - YES

14) F. Scott Fitzgerald
- The Great Gatsby - NO

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

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

17) John Steinbeck
- Of Mice and Men - NO
- The Grapes of Wrath - YES
- Other The Pearl

18) Arthur Miller
- Death of a Salesman - NO
- The Crucible - YES

19) Jack Kerouac
- On the Road - NO

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

21) Harper Lee
- To Kill a Mockingbird - NO

22) Robert A. Heinlein
- Stranger in a Strange Land - NO

23) Toni Morrison
- The Song of Solomon - NO
- Beloved - NO

I have read some other stuff, uncluding Theordore Dreiser's An American Tragedy and Sinclair Lewis' Babbitt.

[Rob Allen]

1) Homer
- The Iliad
- The Odyssey
yes, I've read them.

2) Sophocles
- Oedipus Rex
no, haven't read it.

3) The Bible (authors unknown/various)
- Old Testament
- New Testament
never read the whole thing.

4) Dante Alighieri
- The Divine Comedy I: Inferno
no.

5) William Shakespeare
- Romeo and Juliet - yes
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream - no
- Hamlet - yes
- Othello - no
- King Lear - no
- Macbeth - yes
- The Taming of the Shrew - no
- Other plays - can't think of one
- Sonnets - one or two

6) John Milton
- Paradise Lost
no.

7) Charlotte Bronte
- Jane Eyre
no.

8) Emily Bronte
- Wuthering Heights
no.

9) Nathaniel Hawthorne
- The Scarlet Letter
yes.

10) Henry David Thoreau
- Walden
no.

11) Walt Whitman
- Leaves of Grass
no.

12) Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
- Tom Sawyer
- Huckleberry Finn
yes to both.

13) Herman Melville
- Moby-Dick
yes.

14) F. Scott Fitzgerald
- The Great Gatsby
no.

15) Ernest Hemingway
- A Farewell to Arms
- The Old Man and the Sea
no.

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

17) John Steinbeck
- Of Mice and Men - yes
- The Grapes of Wrath - no

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

19) Jack Kerouac
- On the Road
no.

20) JD Salinger
- A Catcher in the Rye
yes.

21) Harper Lee
- To Kill a Mockingbird
no.

22) Robert A. Heinlein
- Stranger in a Strange Land
yes, and a whole bunch of his other books.

23) Toni Morrison
- The Song of Solomon
- Beloved
no.