I might do that after I get all my Xmas money. Most of the ones I'm buying now are classics, so it can' hurt to have them in print.
It's a hell of a list. I might quibble with a few selections by particular authors, but it is really hard to fault anything. I'd probably pick something else before doubling up on Vonnegut, but you'll know the answer to that after you read the first book (I'd pick Slaughterhouse.) As for additions, I was really surprised how much I liked both Silas Marner and Madame Bovary. If you are taking a tour of the greatest literature, you probably need to have Don Quixote on the list and something by Faulkner and Joyce (I'd start with Dubliners before diving into anything else.)
-I have Gatsby and Paradise Lost in the mail -feel free to offer any selections you would change on particular authors. -lots of people said Cat's Cradle and lots of others said slaughterhouse... I figured I'd like both. You think it's best to get one and then if I like it, get the other? -I also added both of the Crichton pieces... The Great Train Robbery and Pirate Latitudes -Also added the Tao of Pooh -Added The Sound and th Fury... didn't most people say Joyce would bog me down?
I'd read one Vonnegut before buying the other, but that's just me. I liked Slaughterhouse better than Cat's Cradle, but it isn't the kind of thing I would enjoy reading every day. The Tao of Poo is actually quite good and an easy, quick read. Sound and Fury is very boggable, too, but it is worth it. Joyce's novels are weighty, but Dubliners is a collection of short stories that are much more readable. Ulysses is the master work, Finnegans wake is impossible and might actually just be gibberish. Edit: I actually thought about suggesting Milton, so I'm glad you added it. The story behind his authoring Paradise is almost as amazing as the work.
We should start a Cat's Cradle vs. Slaughterhouse debate. Who was vouching for each? I think IP was saying Cat's Cradle.
What about the two Crichton novels? One or the othr like Vonnegut, or both? Weren't you one person vouching for them? Also, I added Dubliners
I think that was kb. I don't think I've read either. The only Crichton book I remember off the top of my head is Andromeda Strain, which I thought was a cool idea but not great writing.
Looks like Daddy Gee and kpt suggested Crichton. I think I'll just get the Great Train Robbery for now. Damn this is some list. Any other changes you'd recommend? EDI: Kept the Pirates one... it was only $2.15 lol
My favorite Hemingway book is Sun Also Rises. Where Middlemarch is an intertwining of a bunch of stories, Silas Marner is much more straightforward, making it less easy to get lost, so I like it better. I would say the same thing for Anna Karenina over WaP. I'd pick Atlas over Fountainhead. All of this is quibbling and reflects personal preference. You've listed major works by the most fantastic authors in history. Some writers I like better than others, and some works were more enjoyable to me, even if they rank lower on the experts' lists. I like literature, and I've studied it quite a bit, but in the end a lot of it just comes down to personal taste. My advice is to read a summary and pick the story that you think sounds most appealing.
I already put in the order last night. The beauty of it is that even if I don't like some of the ones I've ordered, I can always pick up the next ones. I tried to include examples from everyone's lists though. Like Fountainhead I took from KB, War and Peace from OE, A Farewell to Arms from IP, Slaughterhouse Five from you and a friend, etc. I trust the opinions of most people here, and even if I don't like some of the books, they are still classics. It's always good to have knowledge of classics.
The cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon little boy blue and the man on the moon When ya comin' home? dad I don't know when, but we'll get together then.
Like I said, you've got some of the best literature in history coming. You are going to love some of it and hate some of it and wonder why some is supposed to be anything special, but I'm sure you will at least appreciate what most of it has to offer. I hate just about everything regarding Jane Austen and much of Mark Twain makes me want to dig up his corpse and punch it, but there is no denying that there is a lot of artistic substance in their writing, and I believe that I gained something from reading them.
I read Persuasion for a class a couple semesters ago, and it was pretty enjoyable as far as those kinds of novels go. I read about 60 pages of Gatsby last night. I like it a lot.
Gatsby and Catcher in the Rye are two of maybe 5+ books I read in one sitting. I also read "ghosts of manilla", "Rafa", maybe "Siddhartha", and maybe one or two others I'm forgetting.
Sorry KB, I already went with Slaughterhouse. No one was speaking up. Cat's Cradle is certainly at the top of my next order list.
