Comments on Best Books of the 20th Century - page 9
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Elnathan
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Jan 18, 2017 07:19AM
What of 'A Game of Thrones'?
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Shweta.Shinde wrote: "I am book addict, Read many books online and offline, great book, but I want to tell you, you can also read more and get more exposure.I have recently come across one of the good book which is on ..."
Using this thread to encourage others to purchase a book is generally considered spam. I'm not flagging it, but I am telling you it's not acceptable. If you have favorite Indian books, you can add them and vote for them.
Probably not the first to point this out, but Catcher in the Rye is listed twice...
Rose wrote: "Probably not the first to point this out, but Catcher in the Rye is listed twice..."Alas, there are some listopias that have a bug that prevents us from eliminating duplicates. If it's on twice, it will stay that way unless someone deletes the second one. I am not going to do that because it also deletes the extra votes. It is frustrating.
With the exception of Dune , I don't like books that you have to learn a different language to read even if it is written in English . That is why I have avoided Tolkein. I also don't undertake those that takes an Undergraduate Class in Lit to understand . Gripping prose is what I like but subtext is fine . I forgot the other exception . I had Latin in High School and so I was able to enjoy The Name Of the Rose by Umberto Eco. My favorite book of All Time is Talisman by King and Straub . For the snooty set , I enjoyed The Magnificent Ambersons and thought it far superior to the Orson Welles film . Classic that I put down after 20 pages and found unreadable--------Catch 22 .
Hortwahg wrote: "With the exception of Dune , I don't like books that you have to learn a different language to read even if it is written in English . That is why I have avoided Tolkein. I also don't undertake tho..."Fair enough, if that's how you look at it. But I read The Hobbit out loud to kids in grades 6-8 and they caught on just fine.
Hello Donna . I grew up a literary person but in my later adult years I learned to play guitar and that along with physical ailments caused me to develop a weird kind of ADD and I found it hard to read and concentrate and Stephen King's 11/22/63 was the last book I read but now I am back and I finished The Gate House by Nelson Demille . TGH was a sequel to the excellent The Gold Coast. . I am on a weird quest to read all the Pulitzer Prize Winners for Fiction . Why ? Because it will be fun and they are there . In my lifetime I have read 15 of them and if my tallies are correct there have been 90 of them given out over a Century and so that gives me 75 left . My favorite of the ones I have read . Gone With the Wind ; Magnificent Ambersons ; and the Keepers of the House . Least favorites : Executioner's Song and A Summons to Memphis . Anyway Children can have the ability to do this because their minds aren't congealed . My favorite Children's book is Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet . I see where you enjoyed Catch 22. Yes it gave us that phrase . I understand the Absurdist movement but when Heller got to the part of the young Couple not knowing about sex -well -- I read on but put it down because I knew it wasn't for me.
Hortwahg wrote: "Hello Donna . I grew up a literary person but in my later adult years I learned to play guitar and that along with physical ailments caused me to develop a weird kind of ADD and I found it hard to ..."Heller's denouement was my ah-ha moment about death. That's why it is a favorite. And I also love the WF to the Mushroom Planet.
I think your march through the Pulitzers is great. Now that I am out of the classroom, I am catching up on the reading I promised myself "for later". "Later" is here now. I have a book blog (Seattle Book Mama) and at first was overjoyed that I could get digital review copies free of charge; and although I still like being able to do that, I am increasingly aware of the dozens of excellent books in my possession, some of them recent gifts, others that have been collecting dust and waiting, waiting, waiting for me. Because of this, I am becoming pickier with galleys (I have had somewhere between 400 and 500 in the past 3 years, 400+ from Net Galley, the rest from Edelweiss, Goodreads' First Reads program, which is how I began, and then a small number sent me directly by publishers.) The blog hasn't made me a single dime so far, but they say that we are less likely to develop dementia later in life if we continue to use our brains and learn new things, so I consider it a payment in the form of extended mental health.
Cheers, and thanks for your post.
Children's books cannot be masterpieces. They're shite.
Mr.B wrote: "Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God"I remember that book! I was required to read that book in high school, and although it was my favorite of my required reading for my 11th grade year, the teacher that made me read it was god-awful and presumptuous to a tee. Like, they said that it would be an area I recognize as I read it, but even having grown up in Florida as a child, I never got to know it as much as I do Connecticut, where I live now.
Back to the book though, I will say that was a good book all on its own and it was probably the one book from that year in high school I'd probably go back to if given the chance on my own terms.
Mark wrote: "Mr.B wrote: "Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God"I remember that book! I was required to read that book in high school, and although it was my favorite of my required reading for my ..."
I assigned it to 8th grade honors students a couple of times. It was well received.
Donna wrote: "I assigned it to 8th grade honors students a couple of times. It was well received."Oh nice! I remember S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders being assigned in my 8th grade curriculum, but although I think that was also well-received, that was about it for what I could remember from that particular year.
Nathanimal wrote: "The Book of Mormon? #4? Really guys?It's not even very well written! Despite being published in 1830 (and written, allegedly, mosty in the B.C.E)"
Youre right. Its earlier iteration, the king james bible, is much better.
Kevin wrote: "Nathanimal wrote: "The Book of Mormon? #4? Really guys?It's not even very well written! Despite being published in 1830 (and written, allegedly, mosty in the B.C.E)"
Youre right. Its earlier ite..."j
Okay, shame on me. I respect all holy books. I couldnt resist.
No Thomas Mann here??? ohmahgah!!
Dhoakohime wrote: "No Thomas Mann here??? ohmahgah!!"So did you add it?
Donna wrote: "Dhoakohime wrote: "No Thomas Mann here??? ohmahgah!!"So did you add it?" I think I did....I just discovered lists in Goodreads haha. I voted for them, that's for sure, so I guess they must be somewhere in the list. I expressed myself incorrectly...I wanted to say no Thomas Mann among the first 100 books. I didn't check the rest of the pages of the list
bup wrote: "THE KING JAMES BIBLE!?THE BOOK OF MORMON!?
And it's amazing how many votes Pride and Prejudice has gotten - 30!"
But I would like to add The Good News Bible please
Judy wrote: "The Robe by Lloyd C Douglas"Right. No. Judy, this section is primarily for technical problems with the list. For example, if you saw some titles that don't fit the criteria but are on the list and you want them removed, you could mention the titles and what page they are on. Then I, or some other Goodreads librarian--and we are volunteers--will receive an alert that lets us know there's an issue with the page, and as soon as we can we come to the site to fix the problem.
If you want to add a book to the list, you have to do that yourself. Nobody else will do it. To do that, use the tab at the top of the list. For more detailed instructions, scroll back to earlier in the discussion page here.
If I sound cranky, it's because this issue comes up a lot, and it is a waste of volunteers' time to come out to trouble-shoot a nonexistent problem.
If you want to promote a book using your own words, please review the book. This is not the place to promote a book, whether it was written by yourself or someone else.
These two should not be on this list:
#600 - The Complete Novels by Jane Austen
#671 - The Art of War by Sun Tzu
#600 - The Complete Novels by Jane Austen
#671 - The Art of War by Sun Tzu
MravaWishes wrote: "These two should not be on this list:#600 - The Complete Novels by Jane Austen
#671 - The Art of War by Sun Tzu"
Good eyes, and thanks for the specific reference. Removed from #600 for its 1813 pub date, The Complete Novels by Jane Austen:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
And from #670, with an original date of 500 and a republication date of 2004, The Art of War by Sun Tzu fits this list like a fish fits a bicycle. Now it's gone:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
Sadly, I am not able to check for duplicates due to a bug that will hopefully be dealt with soon.
Also--kudos to my fellow librarians. This is a good, clean list. Now that I've done my public service for the morning, I'm going to revise my own votes, cause I saw some really great titles here that I didn't vote for the first time. Cheers, all!
I've read 58 of the top 100. Therefore, I'd say this list is reasonable, unlike most other list on goodreads.
Greg wrote: "I've read 58 of the top 100. Therefore, I'd say this list is reasonable, unlike most other list on goodreads."Congratulations.
Pity this is one of the lists the duplicate check still doesn't work...(The Catcher in the Rye is there more than once, for instance)
Booklovinglady wrote: "Pity this is one of the lists the duplicate check still doesn't work...(The Catcher in the Rye is there more than once, for instance)"
I know, right? It's exasperating. I tried several times also. We can see them, but we cannot make them go away, at least not without erasing votes, which is pretty much the same thing...
@DonnaMaybe if you leave a comment in the Goodreads Feedback group about this particular list as well, something will get done about it by the GR experts (finally).... It's worth a try :-)
It looks like most of the best books of the 20th century were written in English!
Christine wrote: "It looks like most of the best books of the 20th century were written in English!"The votes are not all that surprising, as Goodreads is an American site, which is undoubtedly why most of the books of the 20th century seem to be in English :-)
Booklovinglady wrote: "Christine wrote: "It looks like most of the best books of the 20th century were written in English!"The votes are not all that surprising, as Goodreads is an American site, which is undoubtedly w..."
Of course, many of these are English translations of books originally written in a different language. All Quiet on the Western Front wasn't originally in English. Same goes for 21st century lists; The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo trilogy wasn't originally in English either.
That said, I had assumed that there might be other lists that are in other languages. Since my own reading is limited to English--not a proud thing, but true--I never checked to see. But though Amazon is a US firm, and the founder of GR is also in the US, GR readership is world wide. If there isn't a 20th century book list in the language you prefer, might it not be possible to start one?
Donna wrote: "If there isn't a 20th century book list in the language you prefer, might it not be possible to start one? ,..."There is a list with
English translations of Dutch Literature
Plenty of 20th century books on this one.
There are other lists with translations as well. Just search for them, I'd say... (Top right hand corner of a Listopia gives you the opportunity to do so)
Donna wrote: " ... GR readership is world wide..."
Although true, for the majority of readers, by far, English is the native language.
Booklovinglady wrote: "@DonnaMaybe if you leave a comment in the Goodreads Feedback group about this particular list as well, something will get done about it by the GR experts (finally).... It's worth a try :-)"
I have to say the Librarian page is labyrinthine. However, I finally found the correct place to note the bug, and it's been done. We'll see if it brings us any satisfaction.
Donna wrote: "I have to say the Librarian page is labyrinthine. However, I finally found the correct place to note the bug, and it's been done. We'll see if it brings us any satisfaction. ..."Should have given you a link to the right page... Sorry.
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Booklovinglady wrote: "Donna wrote: "I have to say the Librarian page is labyrinthine. However, I finally found the correct place to note the bug, and it's been done. We'll see if it brings us any satisfaction. ..."Sho..."
Wow, those people are not real warm and fuzzy, are they? Get the feeling that he pretty much flipped the bird at me. With icy courtesy, of course.
Sorry, but all the liste are far to much focusing on angloamerican literature. Thats not surprising because most visitors might be from those two countries, but still, why would english readers not take good books in their hands which are from foreign authors (France, Germany, ...)
The following should not be on this list (based on the year the database gives, in any case):#496 Franz Kafka's The Castle (Dramatization), published 2003
906 Selected Stories by Anton Chekhov pub. 1900
958 On the Genealogy of Morals/Ecce Homo by Friedrich Nietzsche 1887
1103 The Constant Gardener by John le Carré 2001
1190 Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See 2005
1324 Evangeline: A Tale of Acadie by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 1847
1417 The Bonesetter's Daughter by Amy Tan 2001
1450 Billy Budd and Other Stories by Herman Melville 1853
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
1473 The Children of Húrin by J.R.R. Tolkien 2007
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...
1537 A Season in Hell & Illuminations by Arthur Rimbaud 1873
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
1548 Intuitive Thinking as a Spiritual Path: A Philosophy of Freedom (Cw 4) by Rudolf Steiner 1894
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...
1638 The Awakening / The Struggle (The Vampire Diaries, #1-2) by L.J. Smith 2007
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...
1759 Tales of Mystery and Imagination by Edgar Allan Poe 1849
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
1806 Q & A by Vikas Swarup 2005
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
1825 The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket and Related Tales by Edgar Allan Poe 1844
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7...
1870 Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Other Stories by Lewis Carroll 1865
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7...
1890 Lord of the Silver Bow by David Gemmell 2005
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
1907 Princess in the Spotlight (The Princess Diaries, #2) by Meg Cabot 2001
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4...
1948 The Fury / Dark Reunion (The Vampire Diaries, #3-4) by L.J. Smith 2007
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
2053 The Broker by John Grisham 2005
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
2069 Jackdaws by Ken Follett 2001
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...
2141 After Dark by Haruki Murakami 2004
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
2176 The Other Side of Me by Sidney Sheldon 2005
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4...
2373 خرمگس by Ethel Lilian Voynich 1897
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
2401 Stuart: A Life Backwards by Alexander Masters 2005
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7...
2413 البداية والنهاية by ابن كثير
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6...
2446 The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell 2010
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7...
2446 The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri 2003
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6...
2851 The Flowers of Evil & Paris Spleen by Charles Baudelaire 1857
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...
2877 The Scar by China Miéville 2002
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6...
2891 Fall of Giants by Ken Follett 2010
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7...
2910 Handle with Care by Jodi Picoult 2009
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...
3053 Rachel Plummer's Narrative Of 21 Months Servitude As A Prisoner Among The Comanche Indians by Rachel Plummer 1838
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6...
3240 Dreamcatcher by Stephen King 2001
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
There is also:
#1267 The Book of Sand and Shakespeare's Memory by Jorge Luis Borges 2000 (although those stories were published separately in the 20th century...)
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
(edit: added some links as advised!)
Emrys wrote: "The following should not be on this list (based on the year the database gives, in any case):#496 Franz Kafka's The Castle (Dramatization), published 2003
removed: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
906 Selected Stories by Anton Chekhov pub..."
removedhttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...
Removed from #956 due to pub date: On the Genealogy of Mortals (etc) Nietzsche
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
1101 The Constant Gardener by John le Carré 2001
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
1188 Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See 2005
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
1320 Evangeline: A Tale of Acadie by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 1847 https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...
1414 The Bonesetter's Daughter by Amy Tan 2001
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
Emrys wrote: "The following should not be on this list (based on the year the database gives, in any case):#496 Franz Kafka's The Castle (Dramatization), published 2003
906 Selected Stories by Anton Chekhov pub..."
I got the first few. I appreciate your providing the essential information on where to find these; furnishing a link would speed the process up even further. I'll be back to dispatch the others as time permits.
Emrys wrote: "The following should not be on this list (based on the year the database gives, in any case):#496 Franz Kafka's The Castle (Dramatization), published 2003
906 Selected Stories by Anton Chekhov pub..."
Deleted due to copyright date:
page 15, Billy Budd:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
#1468 The Children of Hurin:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...
#1531 A Season of Hell and Illuminations
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
(Note: the comment above this one that provides the list I am deleting also mentions Steiner; I want to check translation issues there, so am deferring it to last.)
#1631 The Awakening/The Struggle (Vampire Diaries)https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...
#1750 Tales of Mystery and Imagination (Poe)
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
To other librarians: I have taken Emrys's list above in order, apart from the one title mentioned; if anyone else tackles these before I return, can you please leave a comment letting me know what's done, so I won't chase titles that aren't there anymore? Thanks. I do expect to be back to it within the next day or two.
To Emrys: thanks for your research and for the links, which speed things up. I still like this list a lot--despite GR's dilatory behavior regarding the duplicate link. Gleaning the back pages for errant titles, I found myself admiring once more the many wonderful titles legitimately listed here; one of my very favorite lists, in fact, and it's worth my time and effort to preserve its integrity.
Continuing removal of wrong-date publications:Q&A, #1796
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
#1814 The Narrative of Arthur Gordon etc.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7...
#1864 Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Other Stories
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7...
#1878 Lord of the Silver Bow
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
#1894Princess in the Spotlight
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4...
#1933 The Fury/Dark Reunion
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
#2039 The Broker
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
#2054 Jackdaws
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...
Looks to me like I can zap the rest of these in the next sitting or two. By the end of the weekend, we should be good to go.
Removed per E's list , continuing:#2126 After Dark
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
The Other Side of Me #2166
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4...
(English, The Gadfly)
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
Okay, hold up. I am NOT eliminating the book above; someone else has to tackle this one. I came heart-stoppingly close to eliminating the wrong book. The jacket cover to the link shown above doesn't match the jacket covers of the books I find on the approximate part of the list where it should be by now (figure late 2300s or early 2400s, having eliminated enough titles to bump the list back a little bit) and I know NO--uh--Farsi? Persian? I don't even know what language this book is written in! Someone that knows what they're doing with regard to books in this language will have to do this one.
So to continue, deep breath....
#2386 Stuart, A LIfe Backwards
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7...
This title actually had a matching jacket, so my pride is somewhat restored:
#2394 https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6...
#2431 The Thousand Autumns etc:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7...
Continuing with Emrys's list, see comment sections above:#2433 The Namesake
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6...
#2827 The Flowers of Evil &...[the heck? Odd title]:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...
#2855 The Scar, by China Mieville:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6...
#2869 Fall of Giants, which is set in the 20th century, but bears a copyright in the 21st:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7...
#2894 Handle with Care, Jodi Picoult:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...
Note that I am not removing the following title because I cannot find a copyright date for it:https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6...
Last of the big list (above). Removing #3289Dreamcatcher:https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
#1263 The Book of Sand etc:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
Last, returning to the Rudolph Steiner work mentioned in the list, I am going to leave that title to another librarian to delete, or not. I know it's a fine hair to split, but the list's specifications say "published" rather than "first published", and this particular title has been very widely republished in the 20th and 21st centuries. At any rate, this was a meal, and it is satisfying to have the list much cleaner than it was before.
I leave you now; I have books to read.
What about "In Search of Lost Time" of Proust?It is maybe the best book ever and certainly the best in 20th century.
Ali wrote: "What about "In Search of Lost Time" of Proust?It is maybe the best book ever and certainly the best in 20th century."
I don't know, what about it?
If there's a book you think should be on the list and it isn't there yet, you can use the tab at the top of the list to add the title. Nobody else will do this for you.
Where is Dickens? Bust most of all...where is Clemens?
Henthabox wrote: "Where is Dickens? Bust most of all...where is Clemens?"It does seem unjust that Twain isn't anywhere on the first 3 pages (unless I have missed him), but Dickens would be on the Best Books of the 19th Century list.
Henthabox wrote: "Where is Dickens? Bust most of all...where is Clemens?"Twain/Clemens's novels (eg Huckleberry Finn, Tom Sawyer) were published in the 1870s and 1880s mostly, so he is primarily a 19th century writer.
