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tree_and_leafI suppose everyone's seen the Books you can't live without list - I have to say, I'm surprised by some of the choices (I would never have thought that 'To Kill A Mocking Bird' would come so high, not because it isn't a worthy book, but because I hadn't realised it had reached that level of cultural exposure over here). Of course, it appears that the list is quite skewed towards school reading (Lord of the Flies, anyone?)
On the other hand, I feel that anyone who regards 'The Da Vinci Code' as indespensible really, really needs to read some other books, stat.
This makes me wonder - what ten books, oh flist, couldn't you live without?
ETA: My top ten, also in no particular order.
1. Gaudy Night.
2. The Lord of the Rings.
3. Buddenbrooks (Thomas Mann)
4. Die Aula (Hermann Kant). Definitely the most obscure book on my list, it's a Bildungsroman and an apologia for the East German state. The latter aspect doesn't quite work for me - though it's certainly a fascinating insight into another mentality - but it's also an unforgettable portrait of how education changes you, for good or ill, and very funny and evocative to boot.
5. Willehalm (Wolfram von Eschenbach), even if it is unfinished. A story about faith, doubt, intolerance, love, and war, and one which is quite seriously worried about the theology of crusading. Has a fantastic heroine, too.
6. The Divine Comedy (in Sayers' translation, although I do intend to attempt the Italian some time).
7. The Bible, probably in Luther's verion (though in practice, I use the New Jerusalem most often; and obviously the KJV is important to the development of English literature)
8. Barchester Towers.
9. Pride and Prejudice. Yes, I know, predictable...
10. We didn't mean to go to Sea (or almost any other of the Arthur Ransome books)
(Harry Potter probably should be round about 11, as should 'Effi Briest' by Theodore Fontane. That definitely is cheating, thogh)
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In other news, apparently Auden was married to Erika Mann. I feel bad that I haven't heard about it from either side, although I'm assuming it was a marriage of convenience more than anythig else. But still, how did I fail to notice Auden marrying into the Mann clan, who are now definitely the most screwed up family of the literary world - although I suppose the whole thing turned out better than one might have expected.
On the other hand, I feel that anyone who regards 'The Da Vinci Code' as indespensible really, really needs to read some other books, stat.
This makes me wonder - what ten books, oh flist, couldn't you live without?
ETA: My top ten, also in no particular order.
1. Gaudy Night.
2. The Lord of the Rings.
3. Buddenbrooks (Thomas Mann)
4. Die Aula (Hermann Kant). Definitely the most obscure book on my list, it's a Bildungsroman and an apologia for the East German state. The latter aspect doesn't quite work for me - though it's certainly a fascinating insight into another mentality - but it's also an unforgettable portrait of how education changes you, for good or ill, and very funny and evocative to boot.
5. Willehalm (Wolfram von Eschenbach), even if it is unfinished. A story about faith, doubt, intolerance, love, and war, and one which is quite seriously worried about the theology of crusading. Has a fantastic heroine, too.
6. The Divine Comedy (in Sayers' translation, although I do intend to attempt the Italian some time).
7. The Bible, probably in Luther's verion (though in practice, I use the New Jerusalem most often; and obviously the KJV is important to the development of English literature)
8. Barchester Towers.
9. Pride and Prejudice. Yes, I know, predictable...
10. We didn't mean to go to Sea (or almost any other of the Arthur Ransome books)
(Harry Potter probably should be round about 11, as should 'Effi Briest' by Theodore Fontane. That definitely is cheating, thogh)
+++++
In other news, apparently Auden was married to Erika Mann. I feel bad that I haven't heard about it from either side, although I'm assuming it was a marriage of convenience more than anythig else. But still, how did I fail to notice Auden marrying into the Mann clan, who are now definitely the most screwed up family of the literary world - although I suppose the whole thing turned out better than one might have expected.