What do you have to read to be "well read"?

pmcleanj · Jan 19, 2008

Having some concern about the quality of English Literature education available at my daughters' school this year, I have been checking out various Literature curricula. One resource I came across is the College Board's "101 books to read before college." Frankly, though, it's a flawed list: skewed toward American classics rather than a cosmopolitan selection, and missing some significant classics while choosing others that are well-known but lacking in true classic value.

If you were in charge of assembling such a list, what five books would be at the top of it? Don't say "the Bible" -- that's a no-brainer, and it's not something you "read before college", it's something you read daily for the rest of your life if you're a Christian.

Solomon Kane · Jan 19, 2008

After reading your post I went up to check my shelves to see which of the classics I've held on to, and re-read, since I first purchased them.

The hard part was limiting myself to just five books. While all of them might not fall into the definition of literature, I have found them to be enlightning.

"The Picture of Dorian Gray", by Oscar Wilde
"The Republic", by Plato
"Moby Dick", by Herman Melville
"Heart of Darkness", By Joesph Conrad
"On the Road", by Jack Kerouac

mrscplus · Jan 19, 2008

I think being well read in not reading the "right books", as much as it means reading books of all genres. reading outside your comfort zone.

I try to read things that are historical, and fictional, self help and biblically challenging. I always learn from what I read, and try not to spend too much time in any one type of literature.

pmcleanj · Jan 19, 2008

mrscplus said:
I think being well read in not reading the "right books", as much as it means reading books of all genres. reading outside your comfort zone.

I try to read things that are historical, and fictional, self help and biblically challenging. I always learn from what I read, and try not to spend too much time in any one type of literature.

Could you recommend a title from each of the genres you suggest, perhaps something you've read recently, or your favourite example?

It's a good suggestion: I think one of the flaws of the typical "college reading list" is that they're heavily slanted toward a single genre.

KellyLeigh · Jan 20, 2008

I agree, being well read means having read from a variety of subjects. Christian Fiction, romance, mystery, history fiction, biographies, classics, history novels, contemporary social/society reflections, Christian help books, etc. You could have read every single mystery novel ever written, but if that is all you have read you are not well read. I would just try to influence your daughter to read both novels that she enjoys and books that will help her grow.

ptsofathrty · Jan 20, 2008

I can agree with that. It really makes me think and my brain work the most when I read outside of my comfort level.

Jadis40 · Jan 20, 2008

What about some of the books by Jane Austen?

Emma
Pride and Prejudice
Northanger Abbey
Sense and Sensibility
Mansfield Park

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

I'd also say Dante - The Divine Comedy (A side note, even though this is a work of poetry, Dante's descriptions of hell still freak me out.)

Or, what about Greek and Roman works?
The Illiad, The Odyssey, and the Aeneid by Virgil

Also, I took a British Literature class in college, you might be able to find a reasonably priced anthology. I still have my copy of The Norton Anthology English Literature from that class, along with my textbook from the World Literature class I took. (Still have the textbook from American Literature class too.)

The Canterbury Tales by Chaucer comes to mind.

Can't fail to mention Charles Dickens either:
Great Expectations
David Copperfield
Oliver Twist
A Tale of Two Cities

And, of course, Shakespeare.

Even though the unabridged version is a mammoth book, I'd also say The Count of Monte Cristo.
Also, Alexander Dumas' book The Three Muskeeters

Barnes and Noble has a classics series that covers a wide range, you could start there, as they include many of the above.

Just thought of another one: All Quiet on the Western Front

ptsofathrty · Jan 20, 2008

Jadis40 said:
What about some of the books by Jane Austen?

Emma
Pride and Prejudice
Northanger Abbey
Sense and Sensibility
Mansfield Park

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

I'd also say Dante - The Divine Comedy (A side note, even though this is a work of poetry, Dante's descriptions of hell still freak me out.)

Or, what about Greek and Roman works?
The Illiad, The Odyssey, and the Aeneid by Virgil

Also, I took a British Literature class in college, you might be able to find a reasonably priced anthology. I still have my copy of The Norton Anthology English Literature from that class, along with my textbook from the World Literature class I took. (Still have the textbook from American Literature class too.)

The Canterbury Tales by Chaucer comes to mind.

Can't fail to mention Charles Dickens either:
Great Expectations
David Copperfield
Oliver Twist
A Tale of Two Cities

And, of course, Shakespeare.

Good selection. I just started David Copperfield. All the rest in your list are going on my to-read list.

Pogue · Jan 20, 2008

Argh, this is really difficult!
Just off the top of my head (I can't think properly because it's 1.30am) I'd suggest:
1. Metamorphosis, by Kafka
2. War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy
3. One Hundred Years of Solitude, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
4. The Power and the Glory, by Graham Greene.
5. Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë

These choices definitely reflect my own personal tastes in books, especially my third choice, which happens to be my favourite book ever But that said, it's probably near impossible to objectively define classic novels. On some levels, it's just personal opinion.

quiller · Jan 20, 2008

Let's look at the question from a different angle. Why do we want to be "well read" or why is this something that should be encouraged? From my perspective, the idea of being "well read" implies a general knowledge about literature. It doesn't matter what kind of literature, or from when, but the "classics" are in that position because they have remained interesting, unique, and generally contain some form of message about humanity.

Other posts have outlined some of the basics. If you're reading English literature, you have the advantage of being able to read "all" works originally written in English. That's a great place to start. Once you have a basic idea of "modern" works you can start on the ancients... or vice versa. The methodology and particular works don't matter.

Cover the major categories, the history, and strive for a variety of perspectives and ideologies. Only by understanding the past and the alien can you understand the present!

Barnabas71 · Jan 24, 2008

X 1 Shakespeare preferably one of the great tragedys (Hamlet Othello Lear or Macbeth)
X 2 Charles Dickens - A tale of two citys raises the greatests philosophical questions.
X 1 George Orwell - animal farm is an easy read yet entertaning.
X 1 A well authored biography of a British prime minister - Disraeli was an interesting one.

A few years back I was seriously working on a novel when I first got this computer. It was about two brothers being estranged from birth, their father was a British spy with an interesting background shall we say, while the mother was a German women serving in the war effort (shall we say&#8230 It was going to work over several decades and involve organised crime. But time was a problem. To write a novel you need lot of time. I also worried a bit being a Christian; what was right to include in it? Basically writing about crime and bad characters sells, but it was raising moral question marks in my mind ??? This was the major reason why I did not pursue it any further. Though it is perfectly possible to write I good crime novel without blasphemy or swearing.

Jadis40 · Jan 26, 2008

Remembered some others:

Don Quixote by Cervantes
Crime and Punishment - Dostoyevsky
The Brothers Karamazov- Dostoyevsky
Confessions - St. Augustine

corvus_corax · Feb 1, 2008

What do you have to read to be "well read"?

I don't understand the statement in quotes, above.

Or is this just some 'college level' expectation or social expectation?

I read well, and I read in abundance, but I don't understand what "well read" means, seeing as how I see the term as a pre-defined definition that holds meaning that I have yet to see.

An explanation would be helpful.

Thanks in advance

What do you have to read to be "well read"?

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