My wife facilitates a book club and has read 43, and she does not love some of these choices.
Also, apparently my number is 25 because she told me we did one of these books in book club in the early oughts, but damned if I remember it.
There’s quite a few (like Catch -22) that I can’t recall if I’ve read or if I just saw the movie. I think it would be hard for anybody who graduated from an American high school to not have read at least ten or fifteen off the list.
I’m pleased to see some speculative fiction on there. That said, if they’re willing to include a fantasy-horror roadtrip-slash-journey into the soul of America, American Gods does that better than The Stand, IMO.
I’ve read 24 of the list.
DEI lists like these are ridiculous. Although I will give them credit for calling the list “100 Great” instead of the usual “100 Greatest.” Just call the list “Books you haven’t read but might enjoy.”
I’ve read six of these books.
I started another four and never finished. Obviously they aren’t on my top 100 list.
No, it isn’t. American novels weren’t big in my school. Chicago public school too. Books from classic English literature, one French guy, and one South African. We did do Slaughterhouse Five. I counted that one as started, never finished.
I’ve read ten, counting Portnoy’s Complaint, which if I read, and finished, was when I was a mid-teenager. I don’t remember a thing about it, except the obvious subject that made it infamous.
The most recently written is Housekeeping from 1980. Don’t remember much about it, either.
But several of the ones I have read, I’ve read many times: Gatsby, Catch-22, Fahrenheit 451, Slaughterhouse Five.
I am miffed that Mockingbird isn’t there, and not just because it would raise my miserable total by 10%. My wife, who teaches middle-school English, will be outraged by that omission.
Maybe I’ll read I Love Dick just for the fun of carrying it around my workplace.
I hate to say this, but judging by what books were recommended on this list, To Kill a Mockingbird might come off as too “white savior-ey” to be included.
I get real “more socially aware than thou” vibes from this collection.
I’ve read 27 of them. It helped that I was a longtime subscriber to the Library of America, otherwise I likely wouldn’t have read the Theodore Dreiser and John Dos Passos books, for example (they’re both well worth reading). I do appreciate lists like this. They help introduce me to books and authors of which I should probably be aware.
I was shocked that Gilead from Marilynne Robinson wasn’t on there… but then I saw they had her first novel Housekeeping listed… and the blurb read like the guy liked Gilead more but was forced to write about Housekeeping instead lol
I’ve read 20 on the list… mostly the newer ones as well.
I think Fante is greatly overrated and perhaps no one would have ever heard of him if he hadn’t been a favorite of Bukowski’s. But I would recommend any of the latter’s novels over any of the former’s.
I’ve read around 26 of them; “around” because there are a couple that I know I started and think I finished but can’t remember , like The Group. There are others (All the King’s Men) that I know I had to read in school, but all I remember is the author, title, and topic. At least 6 of them I know I started and didn’t finish; a few of them like The Secret History, Native Speaker, How the Garcia Girls Lost their Accents I know I want to complete.
And some that I did read, I disliked intensely and think they’re overrated (Oxherding Tale, Portnoy’s Complaint)
I’ve read Maxine Hong Kingston’s Tripmaster Monkey and didn’t like it anywhere near as much as Woman Warrior and China Men. And if Colson Whitehead’s The Intuitionist is really as good as his Pulitzer-winning The Underground Railroad and The Nickel Boys, then I should get hold of it.
Finally, To Kill a Mockingbird is a strange omission, considering some of the other books that made the cut.
And, nitpick, it’s 136 (not 100) great novels of the past 100 years.
You’re in good company! See post #18.
I think I read 25, but they have almost that many books I never could get through - *coughInfinite Jestcough* - so I know I’m not their prime audience.
I also know that the Philip Dick novel should be The Man in the High Castle.
What’s the deal with complaining about DEI and these book lists? Is that the go to thing these days if there’s too many of a “certain type” included in a list?
Right? It might just be…and I know this might sound crazy…they’re asking a more diverse group of scholars for their opinions.
Over a third of these titles’ main theme is the culture clashes between a minority and the mainstream.
Maybe the omission of “To Kill a Mockingbird” was just an oversight. But you never know.
No John Irving but two by Faulkner? GTFOH.
I liked Garp when it came out, very much, and I really like Cider House Rules and especially A Prayer for Owen Meany. And I’m sure I could have found room for Owen Meany at least on this list.
But I do think the two Faulkner books are even better. Fascinating how opinions can differ!
I’ve read 45 and have another 20 or so in the house. I agree with some and disagree with others.