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Title: Which of the Top 100 Novels of the 20th Century have you read?
Post by: ulthar on December 22, 2010, 08:49:21 PM
Wikipedia lists two Modern Library lists (the editor's list and the reader's list) voted to be the top 100 novels of the 20th century (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_Library_100_Best_Novels).

I have only read 2 of the top editor's picks, but 10 of the top reader's picks (as novels...I've read "Ender's Game" short story).

Some of the editor's ones are true classics that I am kicking myself for never having read.  Now I have a goal to use to put my library card back to work...

So, how many on these lists have you read?


Title: Re: Which of the Top 100 Novels of the 20th Century have you read?
Post by: RCMerchant on December 22, 2010, 08:58:37 PM
How do I found this top 100 list? :question:


Title: Re: Which of the Top 100 Novels of the 20th Century have you read?
Post by: ulthar on December 22, 2010, 09:05:40 PM
How do I found this top 100 list? :question:


Ooops, wow.  Sorry about that.

I've added the link to the original post, but here it is:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_Library_100_Best_Novels


Title: Re: Which of the Top 100 Novels of the 20th Century have you read?
Post by: El Misfit on December 22, 2010, 09:15:52 PM
Lord of the Flies, Animal Farm, To Kill a Mocking Bird, Fahrenheit 451

I'll be reading Native Son in January for school (Engrish 3)


Title: Re: Which of the Top 100 Novels of the 20th Century have you read?
Post by: RCMerchant on December 22, 2010, 09:43:22 PM
OK. They have aN EDITORS choice and a READERS choice on this list thing-Here are the ones Ive read-
BRAVE NEW WORLD- Eh. Dull. Preachy.
STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND-Heinlan.Favorite.
CATCH 22-Great! Makes you take inventory of your values.
ANIMAL FARM-A good parable-doesnt hold up well.
LORD OF THE FLIES-GREAT! What would you do?
MALTESE FALCON-Classic modern whodunit-turned into litature!
TO KILL A MOCKING BIRD-  f**k  the movie. The book is much-MUCH better! And I love the movie!
MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS- HP LOVECRAFT.....gimme a break. Lovecraft is my favorite aurhor next to...
the HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE-...Shirly Jackson. Read her short stories. Change yer life.
All the Bradbury stuff. Ima geek. How would I not read Bradbury?
...and they list more Heinlan -love Heinlan-and moer Bradbury....any how! Looks like Heinlan and Bradbury are the top of the lists! O f all authors! WE WON!!!  :thumbup: :cheers: :drink: :hot: :cheers: :twirl:  :cheers:


Title: Re: Which of the Top 100 Novels of the 20th Century have you read?
Post by: Couchtr26 on December 22, 2010, 09:47:29 PM
I have read 5 on the editors and 7 on the readers (To Kill a Mockingbird and Dune as they are not on the editors list.)  Of the ones I have read (To Kill a Mockingbird, Dune, Brave New World, Heart of Darkness, Slaughterhouse Five, Lord of the Flies, and The Catcher in the Rye), I enjoyed Heart of Darkness most of all.  The story is a very interesting looking at us and when the thoughts of guilt are removed how would we act.  The same is present in the Invisible Man but less interesting to have been explored.  I must confess that Brave New World is the one I remember least as I read it in 10th grade.  Dune is rather fun, however, long at times.  



Title: Re: Which of the Top 100 Novels of the 20th Century have you read?
Post by: RCMerchant on December 22, 2010, 09:50:50 PM
Im gonna post a thread on what THEY SHOULDA HAD! The REAL Top novels of all time! (When I sober up an can type. )Ugh. Gnight,people. I am drunk. Yup.


Title: Re: Which of the Top 100 Novels of the 20th Century have you read?
Post by: ulthar on December 22, 2010, 10:18:23 PM
Im gonna post a thread on what THEY SHOULDA HAD! The REAL Top novels of all time! (When I sober up an can type. )Ugh. Gnight,people. I am drunk. Yup.

That's a good idea...virtual karma for you! 

Still, though, any list I compose would include "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" and other Heinlein titles.  Bradbury, too.

I was stuck by the number of novels on the editor's list that I had heard of (or seen movies of) that I had never read...


Title: Re: Which of the Top 100 Novels of the 20th Century have you read?
Post by: Rev. Powell on December 22, 2010, 11:28:15 PM
15 of the editors novels, 25 off the reader's list (although a lot of those were repeats).  That's actually not too great considering I was an English major.  I also read the last sentence of "Ulysses" (which is about 13,000 words). My favorite of them all: "Lolita."

Like Ulthar, I also read "Ender's Game" as a short story. 


Title: Re: Which of the Top 100 Novels of the 20th Century have you read?
Post by: akiratubo on December 22, 2010, 11:29:57 PM
Editors' List
The Great Gatsby
1984
Animal Farm
Lord of the Flies
The Call of the Wild

Readers' List (in addition to the ones above)
To Kill a Mockingbird
Brave New World
Shane
The Stand
At the Mountains of Madness
Watership Down
The Hunt for Red October
IT


Title: Re: Which of the Top 100 Novels of the 20th Century have you read?
Post by: Derf on December 23, 2010, 12:02:27 AM
15 of the editors novels, 25 off the reader's list (although a lot of those were repeats).  That's actually not too great considering I was an English major.  I also read the last sentence of "Ulysses" (which is about 13,000 words). My favorite of them all: "Lolita."

Like Ulthar, I also read "Ender's Game" as a short story. 

You did better than I did, and I majored in English, too. I read 14 from the editor's list and 15 from the reader's list. I was familiar with more of them, but I can't honestly say I've read them. I have read Slaughterhouse 5 two or three times. Can I count that?  :smile:


Title: Re: Which of the Top 100 Novels of the 20th Century have you read?
Post by: Allhallowsday on December 23, 2010, 01:58:26 AM
23 off Editor's list that I'm sure, 14 off the reader's list that weren't repeats (I think).  Do multiple reads count?  :question:  I read at least one from each list three times.  :smile: :wink:


Title: Re: Which of the Top 100 Novels of the 20th Century have you read?
Post by: Newt on December 23, 2010, 03:15:56 AM
20 on the editors' list and 49 on the readers' list.  I'm a bit of a bookworm.


Title: Re: Which of the Top 100 Novels of the 20th Century have you read?
Post by: The Burgomaster on December 23, 2010, 11:22:02 AM
Editors' list:

* Nineteen Eighty-Four
* Sister Carrie
* All the King's Men
* Lord of the Flies
* Deliverance
* On the Road
* The Catcher in the Rye
* Heart of Darkness

Readers' list:

* Nineteen Eighty-Four
* The Catcher in the Rye
* The Stand
* On the Road
* Heart of Darkness

There are a few on these lists I will be reading over the next couple of years because they are part of the 100 Greatest Books Ever Written collection published by the Easton Press and I am a subscriber. 



Title: Re: Which of the Top 100 Novels of the 20th Century have you read?
Post by: Paquita on December 23, 2010, 12:30:55 PM
I only read Call of the Wild and A Clockwork Orange.


I'll be reading Native Son in January for school (Engrish 3)


I had to read Native Son for school too.  I didn't do it.  I got through 3 pages and I was done.  The book is like 4 inches thick!  Somehow I still passed.

I'm a VERY slow reader.


Title: Re: Which of the Top 100 Novels of the 20th Century have you read?
Post by: Mofo Rising on December 23, 2010, 12:49:24 PM
I'm actually making my way through both of those lists, from the bottom up. Of course, I've been at it for about two years now and have only read three, plus a current reading of The Cunning Man, in that fashion. (I've got a lot of reading lists.)

Anyway:

EDITOR'S LIST
3. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man - Read as a young man, mostly went over my head.
10. Grapes of Wrath - Read for high school English, hated it at the time. Will give it another try; I liked East of Eden.
13. Nineteen Eighty-Four - Loved it. Great idea book.
18. Slaughterhouse-Five - Not my favorite Vonnegut. It's good, but there are better.
31. Animal Farm - Eh.
41. Lord of the Flies - Also loved it. Amuses me no end this makes it on so many teen reading lists.
64. The Catcher in the Rye - Liked it, but don't care for teen malaise.
99. The Ginger Man - Didn't care for it.
100. The Magnificent Ambersons - Pretty good, not amazing.

READER'S LIST
4. The Lord of the Rings - Some day I want to out-and-out study all of Tolkien's Middle-Earth.
5. To Kill a Mockingbird - Great book.
6. Nineteen Eighty-Four
14. Dune - Love Dune, not so much the sequels.
19. The Catcher in the Rye
20. Animal Farm
21. Gravity's Rainbow - If I had to pick, Gravity's Rainbow would be my favorite book.
22. The Grape's of Wrath
23. Slaughterhouse-Five
25. Lord of the Flies
29. The Stand - I liked it when I read it in middle school.
42. On the Road - Not a Kerouac fan (but a big William S. Burroughs fan).
45. At the Mountains of Madness - Lovecraft deserves all the recognition he gets.
51. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Great books.
54. Blood Meridian - I seriously question the Editor's List for not having Blood Meridian on it.
57. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
59. Ender's Game - Great book. Card really, really needs to stop revisiting it.
62. Starship Troopers - Also a great book. Military propaganda for young folks, but in a good way.
77. Farenheit 451 - Only so-so.
84. IT - King's magnum opus. More so than The Stand.
85. V. - Easier to read than Gravity's Rainbow, not as much fun.
90. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - Good.
98. Illusions - I enjoyed it in high school, would probably pitch it across a room now.
100. The Satanic Verses - Not nearly as good as the controversy would attest.

The reader's list seems to be ballot stuffed by author's with cult's attached (L. Ron Hubbard, Ayn Rand). If you got rid of those two, I'd say I like it better than the editor's list.

But really, no Blood Meridian on the editor's list? That's criminal. And neither liked Infinite Jest?


Title: Re: Which of the Top 100 Novels of the 20th Century have you read?
Post by: Couchtr26 on December 23, 2010, 04:31:30 PM
14. Dune - Love Dune, not so much the sequels.

I love it as well.  Just not a fan of how long it takes to really get going into things.  However, I understand that certain introductions and build ups are needed.  Took me 3 attempts at reading to finally finish. 


Title: Re: Which of the Top 100 Novels of the 20th Century have you read?
Post by: Trevor on December 28, 2010, 07:55:08 AM
23 on the editors' list and 22 on the readers list.

I had several of these as set works in school too, like Lord of The Pies.  :smile:


Title: Re: Which of the Top 100 Novels of the 20th Century have you read?
Post by: Ed, Ego and Superego on December 28, 2010, 06:35:44 PM
22 on the editors list, 8 of them for classes and hated them, the rest for pleasure.
47 on the Reader's list.

-Ed


Title: Re: Which of the Top 100 Novels of the 20th Century have you read?
Post by: InformationGeek on December 28, 2010, 08:01:39 PM
Looking over all of these books:

Brave New World (Only one chapter.  Never interested me in the slightest)
Animal Farm (Only school assigned novel that I ever enjoyed)
1984 (So not my type of story. Could barely make it through 2 chapters)
Invisible Man (Read a verison of it that had illustrations.  Alright, but it has been a while)
Lord of the Flies (I've read up to 6 chapters, but never anymore.  Really sad to because I wanted to like it)
Fahrenhiet 451 (Read a bit, but never got into it.  I've even tried reading the graphic novel verison of it, but still)
To Kill a Mockingbird (Couple of chapters, but never made it to the court part.  Movie was good though)

Hmm, never finished any of these books besides Animal Farm.  Speaking of which, since I liked it so much I saw both film adaptions.
It (Still working on it)


Title: Re: Which of the Top 100 Novels of the 20th Century have you read?
Post by: RCMerchant on December 28, 2010, 09:21:56 PM
Im gonna post a thread on what THEY SHOULDA HAD! The REAL Top novels of all time! (When I sober up an can type. )Ugh. Gnight,people. I am drunk. Yup.

That's a good idea...virtual karma for you! 

Still, though, any list I compose would include "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" and other Heinlein titles.  Bradbury, too.

I was stuck by the number of novels on the editor's list that I had heard of (or seen movies of) that I had never read...

I AM composing such a list-but its taking time and thought. And YES-Heinlan-Bradbury-and Stephan King are there! ( I mean-this is 100-I gotta think about it!)


Title: Re: Which of the Top 100 Novels of the 20th Century have you read?
Post by: AndyC on December 28, 2010, 09:49:19 PM
Only a couple on the editor's list for me, but I've read ten of the readers' list.

Lord of the Rings
Dune
Animal Farm
Lord of the Flies
At the Mountains of Madness
Ender's Game
Starship Troopers
Fahrenheit 451
Watership Down
IT

And there are quite a few that have been on my "been meaning to read" list for some time.