106 books of pretension meme

John,

You put the tension into pretension.

Eh. Yeah. Whatever.

Completely off topic for all those who have played Mornington Crescent here; the train has finally reach its destination, Humph has died. The world has definitely become a poorer and sadder place.

Hey, I truly recommend "A confederacy of Dunces", just for the protagonist's bizarre world-view. Oh yeah, and for Burma Jones.

Odd, like you I've read most of these (not all the same ones though); though never managed to finish War and Peace.

I'll have to have a look at the ones I haven't read.
Of the ones you've read which would you rate as worth a peruse?

I've read all the Dicken's, actually enjoyed some of them.
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Middlemarch is dire, though the TV adaptation is bearable.

The Silmarillion I really liked. It is, I suspect, only for die-hard LOTR fans.

Don Quixote, I'm suprised you haven't read this. Takes a while to get into.

The Satanic Verses, no no no. An poorly constructed tale by an overrated scribbler.

Anything by Umberto Eco that is fiction is worth a read. Anything by Neil Gaiman. Neal Stephenson's trilogy is great (to a philosopher and historian of science).

Chris'Wills wrote:

The Satanic Verses, no no no. An (sic) poorly constructed tale by an overrated scribbler.

How tastes differ, a superb book by an excellent author!

The Erudite Ape wrote:

Anything by Umberto Eco that is fiction is worth a read

Almost anything! I found Baudolino boring and didn't finish it, a first for a novel by Eco.

I have read forty of the list and finished all but one, halfway through the Molly Bloom soliloquy at the end of Ulysses I changed into skim modus just to finish it.

What interests me as somebody who considers himself widely read and well informed is how many of these books I have never heard of.

Thony C.
How tastes differ, a superb book by an excellent author!

Well "Haroun and the Sea of Stories" is pleasant/interesting so perhaps calling him a scribbler is a bit strong. "Midnight's Children" was also worth reading and I have "The Enchantress of Florence" in the pile of unread books, perhaps on the next visit home I'll read it.

So many books, so little time.

I'm so glad you labeled this "106 books of pretension meme" rather than the "106 Great Books meme" which it was originally labeled. Pretension is right word here. I have to point out the appalling lack of multicultural representation in this list.

um, you do remember that I got this one from you in the first place, right? "h/t: the silverback" means, un, Snowflake. just sayin'

http://scienceblogs.com/evolvingthoughts/2007/10/106_books_meme.php

Ha! You're right. I forgot. Age causes memory loss, you know...

I remember trying to read The Corrections. I took it on vacation, read 300 pages, gave up and used it as a foot rest on the plane ride home.

I remember reading James Joyce as well Homer in high school (a lifetime ago). I've read 43 books and many of the ones I have not read are sitting on my bookshelf. Someday I will be in the mood to read them.

I highly recommend Kavalier and Clay. Michael Chabon certainly has a way with words.

I've recently finished "The Yiddish Policemen's Union" by Chabon. Different from anything else I've ever read. It's a mystery, it's speculative fiction (I won't call it science fiction), it's alternative history. It's what if, what is, what could have been.

Now I'm reading "Your Inner Fish". Science - much neater, straightforward and easier to understand.

I whole-heartedly agree with #3: "A Confederacy of Dunces" is a must-read. Bizarre, twisted, hilarious, disturbing, and much more (and much less).

Wow! Having blogger's block or something. Too Bad! And to segue to my comment:

I have one of those things, too.

What am I talking about? No, that's ONE wrong: it isn't an opinion. Nope, not an excuse, either.

One more guess to go! I'll give you a hint: I HAVE one, but you are acting like one.

Ta!

Almost anything! I found Baudolino boring and didn't finish it, a first for a novel by Eco.

How tastes differ indeed. I loved Baudolino. I was rather intrigued half way through as how they were going to translate it into English. His use and abuse of the Italian language is most deftly done.

I knew my favorite novel (Gravity's Rainbow) would be on the list. Besides Gravity's Rainbow, I'd recommend (those with asterisks particularly):

Catch-22
One Hundred Years of Solitude*
The Name of the Rose
Moby Dick
Ulysses
American Gods
The Canterbury Tales
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man*
A Clockwork Orange
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest*
Dune
Angela's Ashes : a memoir
Dubliners
Slaughterhouse-five*
On the Road*

I was very disappointed in A Confederacy of Dunces, and don't see what all the fuss is about regarding A Catcher in the Rye.

Why is Guns, Germs, and Steel on this list? I was an avid reader of Natrural History magazine in the mid-80s through late 90s. The entire book had already been published in Natural History, and Marvin Harris's Cannibals and Kings is a better read. I never finished GG&S because I had already read it in a bunch of short articles.

By that logic, Bacopa, you would never read Dickens or Twain, because they serialised most of their stories too, before they became books.

Um: http://metamagician3000.blogspot.com/2007/10/how-many-of-these-books-ha…

> Humph has died

Oh noes!

At least John won't dare to censor us now, out of respect for the dead.

Archway.

Dittos on "Confederacy of Dunces" -

But... Oh! The Poisonwood Bible! I highly recommend, also "Prodigal's Summer" (not on the list, but same author).

RE: #12

I just finished "your inner fish" by Shubin. Great book and it truly is science made easy.

What! Lord of the Rings isn't on the list? I admire you for not even attempting Angels and Demons; it was exactly like the Da Vinci Code but even more so. Two people at work are reading the Time Traveller's Wife and both are complaining about how little happens in it (but they are still reading). Loved the Inferno but never really got into Purgatory. I suppose it is because hell is more fun?