# How many Of EWs 100 New Classics Have You Read? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 25, 2012, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-ews-100-new-classics-have-you-read/623114 "2012-05-25T21:52:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-ews-100-new-classics-have-you-read/623114/1 "2012-05-25T21:52:49Z")
Here is the [link to the list](http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20207349,00.html). I have read 15 1. The Road 2. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire 3. Maus 4. Into Thin Air 5. Blindness 6. Watchmen 7. Rabbit at Rest 8. Lonesome Dove 9. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Klay 10. The Bonfire of the Vanities 11. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night 12. A Prayer for Owen Meany 13. Friday Night Lights 14. High Fidelity 15. America (The Book) ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-ews-100-new-classics-have-you-read/623114/2 "2012-05-25T22:03:57Z")
I’ve read 16 of them. There are probably other things wrong with the list, but one thing that jumps out at me is that it makes no friggin’ sense to single out that one Harry Potter book to put on the list, particularly when there were a couple of other series that made it on as series (_His Dark Materials_ and _Sandman_). ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Righteous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Dr.Righteous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Righteous)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-ews-100-new-classics-have-you-read/623114/3 "2012-05-25T22:04:31Z")
Kind of surprised Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil isn’t on the list. And to answer the question: 18. ---
**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-ews-100-new-classics-have-you-read/623114/4 "2012-05-25T22:04:54Z")
4, The list seems very female centric. I can’t think of a good reason why it shouldn’t be. It just makes me wonder how much influence Oprah’s book club has on that list. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-ews-100-new-classics-have-you-read/623114/5 "2012-05-25T22:05:25Z")
I think I’ve read 13: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Maus The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle Watchmen A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius The Handmaid’s Tale The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay The Bonfire of the Vanities The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time A Prayer for Owen Meany Fast Food Nation The Da Vinci Code America (The Book) ---
**Author:** ![Sudden\_Kestrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecd19e/32.png) [@Sudden\_Kestrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sudden_Kestrel)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-ews-100-new-classics-have-you-read/623114/6 "2012-05-25T22:22:34Z")
I’ve read 11 of them, and that surprises me. I’d expect my number to be even lower because I’m a mostly random reader. I just pick stuff up at the library or the Goodwill or on Amazon that looks interesting, and my idea of interesting rarely intersects with anybody’s idea of good or even popular literature. I should probably take points of for having read _Bonfire of the Vanities_ and absolutely despised it. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-ews-100-new-classics-have-you-read/623114/7 "2012-05-25T22:55:19Z")
1. I rarely read anything modern, though I’ve obviously heard of almost all of these (through NPR, EW, movie adaptations etc.) ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-ews-100-new-classics-have-you-read/623114/8 "2012-05-25T22:56:32Z")
27, but what a strange list. ---
**Author:** ![eclectic\_wench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ac91a4/32.png) [@eclectic\_wench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eclectic_wench)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-ews-100-new-classics-have-you-read/623114/9 "2012-05-25T23:02:55Z")
1. And I agree: deeply weird list. It kind of reads like they were trying to make sure they covered absolutely every type of book. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-ews-100-new-classics-have-you-read/623114/10 "2012-05-25T23:05:46Z")
I have read fifteen of these. I am a little gobsmacked at some of the selections considered to be “classics,” considering some of the conspicuous omissions. Whaddya want from Entertainment Weekly, I guess. 3. Beloved, Toni Morrison (1987) 6. Mystic River, Dennis Lehane (2001) 7. Maus, Art Spiegelman (1986/1991) 13. Watchmen, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons (1986-87) 14. Black Water, Joyce Carol Oates (1992) 16. The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood (1986) 17. Love in the Time of Cholera, Gabriel García Márquez (1988) 21. On Writing, Stephen King (2000) 25. The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan (1989) 26. Neuromancer, William Gibson (1984) 36. Angela’s Ashes, Frank McCourt (1996) 46. Sandman, Neil Gaiman (1988-1996) 73. A Prayer for Owen Meany, John Irving (1989) 94. Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser (2001) 100. America (the Book), Jon Stewart/Daily Show (2004) ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-ews-100-new-classics-have-you-read/623114/11 "2012-05-25T23:09:26Z")
Three. I mostly read newspapers and magazines. From the list I’ve read: “Naked,” “Nickel and Dimed” and “Fast Food Nation.” I also prefer non-fiction to fiction. ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-ews-100-new-classics-have-you-read/623114/12 "2012-05-25T23:10:20Z")
These. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J.K. Rowling Beloved, Toni Morrison Mystic River, Dennis Lehane Maus, Art Spiegelman Into Thin Air, Jon Krakauer The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood On Beauty, Zadie Smith Bridget Jones’s Diary, Helen Fielding On Writing, Stephen King (2000) The Ghost Road, Pat Barker Lonesome Dove, Larry McMurtry The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan Neuromancer, William Gibson Naked, David Sedaris Case Histories, Kate Atkinson The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold Persepolis, Marjane Satrap His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman The Corrections, Jonathan Franzen Waiting to Exhale, Terry McMillan The Bonfire of the Vanities, Tom Wolfe The Giver, Lois Lowry The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini Fun Home, Alison Bechde Secret History, Donna Tartt Cloud Atlas, David Mitchell The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, Ann Fadiman The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Mark Haddon A Prayer for Owen Meany, John Irving A Sight for Sore Eyes, Ruth Rendell The Remains of the Day, Kazuo Ishiguro Bright Lights, Big City, Jay McInerney Atonement, Ian McEwan And the Band Played On, Randy Shilt Close Range, Annie Proulx Presumed Innocent, Scott Turow The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown America (the Book), Jon Stewart/Daily Show Weird list. ---
**Author:** ![Skara\_Brae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Skara\_Brae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skara_Brae)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-ews-100-new-classics-have-you-read/623114/13 "2012-05-25T23:30:18Z")
I have read 16. 1. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J.K. Rowling (2000) 2. Into Thin Air, Jon Krakauer (1997) 3. Bridget Jones’s Diary, Helen Fielding (1998) 4. The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan (1989) 5. Bel Canto, Anne Patchett (2001) 6. Sandman, Neil Gaiman (1988-1996) 7. The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver (1998) 8. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Michael Chabon (2000) 9. Nickel & Dimed, Barbara Ehrenreich (2001) 10. The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini (2003) 11. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Mark Haddon (2003) 12. The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell (2000) 13. Presumed Innocent, Scott Turow (1987) 14. A Thousand Acres, Jane Smiley (1991) 15. Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser (2001) 16. Practical Magic, Alice Hoffman (1995) I also started another 5, but found them so boring/unreadable/annoying, I gave up and/or skipped to the end. Those were: 1. Case Histories, Kate Atkinson (2004) 2. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman (1995-2000) 3. The Giver, Lois Lowry (1993) 4. Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert (2006) 5. The Ruins, Scott Smith (2006) ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-ews-100-new-classics-have-you-read/623114/14 "2012-05-25T23:37:30Z")
> [@sitchensis](#): > > The list seems very female centric. I don’t think so. I do think they should have either inlcuded more non-fiction books, or left them off the list altogether. The list as it is is so heavily weighted toward fiction that the non-fiction entries look at bit anomalous. The other thing that makes it a weird list is that they restricted themselves to one work per author, which meant that they had to leave out some books that, without that restriction, would certainly be more “classic” than those that made the list. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2012, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-ews-100-new-classics-have-you-read/623114/15 "2012-05-26T00:06:02Z")
1. Watchmen, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons (1986-87) 2. The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood (1986) 3. Love in the Time of Cholera, Gabriel García Márquez (1988) 4. Lonesome Dove, Larry McMurtry (1985) 5. The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan (1989) 6. Neuromancer, William Gibson (1984) 7. Sandman, Neil Gaiman (1988-1996) 8. Waiting to Exhale, Terry McMillan (1992) 9. The Bonfire of the Vanities, Tom Wolfe (1987) 10. A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again, David Foster Wallace (1997) 11. A Prayer for Owen Meany, John Irving (1989) 12. And the Band Played On, Randy Shilts (1987) More than I thought. Although I seriously doubt more than one or two of these will be read 100 years from now. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2012, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-ews-100-new-classics-have-you-read/623114/16 "2012-05-26T00:19:25Z")
1. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, Dave Eggers (2000) 2. The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood (1986) 3. Possession, A.S. Byatt (1990) 4. Naked, David Sedaris (1997) 5. The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold (2002) 6. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman (1995-2000) 7. World’s Fair, E.L. Doctorow (1985) 8. The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver (1998) 9. Waiting to Exhale, Terry McMillan (1992) 10. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Michael Chabon (2000) 11. Nickel & Dimed, Barbara Ehrenreich (2001) 12. Fun Home, Alison Bechdel (2006) 13. Secret History, Donna Tartt (1992) 14. Cloud Atlas, David Mitchell (2004) 15. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Mark Haddon (2003) 16. A Prayer for Owen Meany, John Irving (1989) 17. A Sight for Sore Eyes, Ruth Rendell (1998) 18. The Remains of the Day, Kazuo Ishiguro (1989) 19. Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert (2006) 20. The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell (2000) 21. Presumed Innocent, Scott Turow (1987) 22. Kaaterskill Falls, Allegra Goodman (1998) So, 22. Very weird list. Agree on oddness of the few nonfiction entries. And _Waiting to Exhale_ is #52 and _Cloud Atlas_ is #70? I don’t think so. ---
**Author:** ![Farmer\_Jane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Farmer\_Jane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Farmer_Jane)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2012, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-ews-100-new-classics-have-you-read/623114/17 "2012-05-26T00:33:51Z")
[ol] [li]7. Maus, Art Spiegelman (1986/1991)[/li][li]22. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Junot Díaz (2007)[/li][li]25. The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan (1989)[/li][li]31. The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien (1990)[/li][li]34. The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold (2002)[/li][li]36. Angela’s Ashes, Frank McCourt (1996)[/li][li]48. The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver (1998)[/li][li]60. Nickel & Dimed, Barbara Ehrenreich (2001)[/li][li]67. The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini (2003)[/li][li]72. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Mark Haddon (2003)[/li][li]94. Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser (2001)[/li][li]96. The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown (2003)[/li][li]100. America (the Book), Jon Stewart/Daily Show (2004)[/li][/ol] For someone who reads a lot, I apparently don’t read the “right” books. :dubious: Still, I should get extra credit for reading _The Joy Luck Club_ and _The Poisonwood Bible_ a hundred times. Thanks, Oprah. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2012, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-ews-100-new-classics-have-you-read/623114/18 "2012-05-26T00:40:08Z")
I’ve only read six of 'em. ---
**Author:** ![MadTheSwine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MadTheSwine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadTheSwine)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2012, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-ews-100-new-classics-have-you-read/623114/19 "2012-05-26T00:42:19Z")
I clicked on the list figuring zero,but have read one…Fast Food Nation. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2012, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-ews-100-new-classics-have-you-read/623114/20 "2012-05-26T00:46:20Z")
1. It’s an odd list unless you re-title it “Books Read by Book Clubs in the Last 10 Years”, and though that’s not perfectly descriptive, it’s closer. That said, there are some wonderful books on the list, and I bolded somefavorites. 2. The Road , Cormac McCarthy (2006) 3. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J.K. Rowling (2000) 4. Mystic River, Dennis Lehane (2001) 5. Blindness, José Saramago (1998) 6. The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood (1986) 7. Love in the Time of Cholera, Gabriel García Márquez (1988) **18. Rabbit at Rest, John Updike (1990)** 8. On Writing, Stephen King (2000) 9. Lonesome Dove, Larry McMurtry (1985) 10. The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan (1989) 11. Neuromancer, William Gibson (1984) **27. Possession, A.S. Byatt (1990)** \*\*30. Case Histories, Kate Atkinson (2004) 12. The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien (1990)\*\* 13. The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold (2002) **38. Birds of America, Lorrie Moore (1998)** 14. Interpreter of Maladies, Jhumpa Lahiri (2000) 15. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman (1995-2000) 16. World’s Fair, E.L. Doctorow (1985) **48. The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver (1998)** 17. Clockers, Richard Price (not sure I finished) **53. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Michael Chabon (2000)** 18. The Night Manager, John le Carré (1993) 19. The Bonfire of the Vanities, Tom Wolfe (1987) **66. A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again, David Foster Wallace (1997)** 20. The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini (2003) 21. Secret History, Donna Tartt (1992) 22. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Mark Haddon (2003) 23. A Prayer for Owen Meany, John Irving (1989) **75. Cathedral, Raymond Carver (1983)** (this is a short story 24. The Remains of the Day, Kazuo Ishiguro (1989) 25. Bright Lights, Big City, Jay McInerney (1984) **82. Atonement, Ian McEwan (2002)** 26. The Stone Diaries, Carol Shields (1994) 27. High Fidelity, Nick Hornby (1995) 28. Presumed Innocent, Scott Turow (1987) 29. The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown (2003) 30. Practical Magic, Alice Hoffman (1995) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-ews-100-new-classics-have-you-read/623114.md?page=2)