Here is the list. Here is the related NYT article debating it's worth, purpose and agenda. It's too damn big, cumbersome and confounding for any individual personality to accept as a guide to reading, which is good, I guess. I like that it shows a rising respect for writers like Stephen King and John Le Carré, while unfortunately it continues to raise Don Delillo up on a pedestal, a writer who I believe has long been overdue for a re-evaluation for overestimation of his talents. It's all interesting and will get the literary wheels turning nevertheless.
If you were planning on seeing the new Indiana Jones movie, be prepared for a fun nostalgia piece, not much else.
I am heading out. The weather is too great not to be out cycling for at least a couple of hours today.
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When in Spain, I randomly found myself in a bookstore (not sure why as my Spanish is very rudimentary and I'm not able to read any kind of respectable literature in Spanish), but came across a few of these 1,001 books...1,001 Songs...; 1,001 Places To Visit... I'm sure there are other topics as well, but those were the ones I saw. Personally, I'm intrigued by the song book as I'm awful at remembering music trivia.
I have not seen it as a book. I didn't even know it exists in printed form, aside from being on the Net. I like the idea of the list because it put something out there for people to have in common and argue about. It creates some discussion about books, which are not exactly in high demand these days. Even I have an xbox!
I agree; any medium that fosters discussion does serve a purpose! I'm a very tactile person so like the idea of an actual book that I can hold in my hands and flip through whenever the urge strikes. An xbox, eh?...Well, you are a tech geek, so I guess I'm not surprised! ;)
I forget where, but someone, lately, published something of a withering review of this book (New Yorker? New York Times?). I think his/her main message was that a book like this is meant to shame you into thinking you're not a reader, etc. Plays into intellectual guilt. (smile) Interesting about Don Delillo, Pete! He's been getting a bashing in the last decade. Dale Peck, I think it was, really took him to task...
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