cajun.classical Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 The National Endowment for the Arts put out this book list and claims that the average American has only read 6 of these titles. I posted the booklist on my blog. Some of these titles are a bit suspect, but what can we expect from the National Endowment for the Arts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny in Florida Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 It's fun to feel smart, isn't it? I can honestly claim 53, leaving off things like the complete works of Shakespeare, because I don't think I've read all of them. One teeny correction, though: Although the NEA does have a program called "The Big Read," this list is from a different program run by the BBC a few years ago. They're not related, as far as I can tell. And the BBC list was generated by the public. If you want to keep playing, you can check out these lists from the Modern Library: http://www.randomhouse.com/modernlibrary/100bestnovels.html There are two lists, one from the publisher's board and one from readers. In the interest of full disclosure and fair play, I'll admit that I scored only 23 on the Modern Library Board's List and 31 on the Readers' version. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagira Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 (edited) 26, and I'm not a born American. Of course I don't see all the books I've read in Dutch, Spanish (Love in the Time of Cholera was there -- yay), or French (Madame Bovary, yeah!). But I thought you're supposed to read quite a few of these in Literature class in high school? How come most Americans have only read 6? :confused: **1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen (the book I've read the most times) % 2 The Lord of the Rings - J.R.R. Tolkien **3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Brontë **4 Harry Potter series - J.K. Rowling * 5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee * 6 The Bible **7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Brontë % 8 1984 - George Orwell % 9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman % 10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens * 11 Little Women - Louisa May Alcott 12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy 13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller 14 Complete Works of Shakespeare **15 Rebecca - Daphne du Maurier %16 The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkien 17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks # 18 Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger 19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger % 20 Middlemarch - George Eliot * 21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell # 22 The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald 23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens % 24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy 25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams - 26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh - % 27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky * 28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck * 29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll % 30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame % 31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy % 32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens 33 Chronicles of Narnia- C.S. Lewis % 34 Emma - Jane Austen % 35 Persuasion - Jane Austen * 36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - C.S. Lewis - 37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini 38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis de Bernières - % 39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden (I liked the movie!) % 40 Winnie the Pooh - A.A. Milne ** 41 Animal Farm - George Orwell ** 42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown % 43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez 44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving 45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins - % 46 Anne of Green Gables - L.M. Montgomery 47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy 48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood ** 49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding 50 Atonement - Ian McEwan % 51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel % 52 Dune - Frank Herbert 53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons % 54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen 55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth 56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon % 57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens % 58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley 59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon ** 60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez ** 61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck % 62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov 63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt 64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold % 65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas 66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac 67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy 68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding 69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie * 70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville * 71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens ** 72 Dracula - Bram Stoker % 73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett 74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson 75 Ulysses - James Joyce 76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath (parts) 77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome 78 Germinal - Émile Zola 79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray 80 Possession - A.S. Byatt * 81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens 82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell % 83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker 84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro * 85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert 86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry % 87 Charlotte’s Web - E.B. White 88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom % 89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton * 91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad ** 92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery 93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks 94 Watership Down - Richard Adams 95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole 96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute ** 97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas % 98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare % 99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl ** 100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo Edited October 10, 2008 by sagira Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joannqn Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 Cool list! I've read 18 and there are several I intend to read, probably as part of school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H.S. Burrow Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 But I thought you're supposed to read quite a few of these in Literature class in high school? How come most Americans have only read 6? :confused: Most read only *portions* of the complete work. I did not count any that I've only read a portion - and there were about 20. There are several on *my* list for this school year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suzf242 Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 Interesting list. I read 32, intend to read about 6 more. Suzanne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeacherZee Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 I've managed 35:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 There were about 5 or 6 that I think I may have read, but I didn't count those. I can't always remember titles. I was surprised that you thought "The Color Purple" should be banned. I thought that that was a master work. It broke new ground on several levels when it was published, and it was outstandingly well written. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer in NH Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 39. And I was surprised at all the ones I read in high school. Don't they do that anymore? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonia Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 The Big Read BBC titles are here and the list is a bit different than the one posted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SFP Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 69. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hen Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 I got 39, it was a pretty good list. I posted it at my blog with a few comments. thanks for sharing this Angelica! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom to Aly Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 I've read 69. What's sad, is most are the old ones, except for Harry Potter, of course :). And the French ones I've read in French. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amber in SJ Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 It was easier to count the ones I hadn't read and that number was 19. I sent the list to my DH and I think he is one of the Americans who have read 6 on the list. We balance each other out! Amber in SJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perry Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 Do you have a link to the original list? I can't find it. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoughCollie Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 NEA list = 27 books BBC list = 26 books Modern library board = 15 books Reader's list = 20 books I've read a lot of really great books that didn't make the list, and I was glad to see Sinclair Lewis' books on a couple of the lists. Some of the list books I read were awful, IMO. I never read more than 50 pages of books I find boring and more than a few of those were on the lists (I didn't count them). There are too many books I enjoy, and I only have time for those. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newlifemom Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 I thought I was doing so well until I counted. Only 30. Some were indeed interesting. Was this supposed to be great books b/c things like DaVinci Code while mildly entertaining does in.no.way belong up there with things like Jane Eyre, The Grapes of Wrath, To Kill A Mockingbird etc. There were a good many I did not recognize either. I am just not well read enough for these people I guess. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle T Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 Interesting mix of books. Michelle T Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6packofun Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 33 and a few are actually on my 888 list to be read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WTMindy Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 I've read 78 of them, actually. Many of them are on other book lists that I'm working my way through. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kalypso Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 I've read 37 of them and most of them I read in high school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yslek Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 33, with one more currently being read (Great Expectations) plus several on my "to-read" list (I currently have Cold Comfort Farm on hold at the library...loved the movie!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcconnellboys Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 Wow, it feels good to be doing school the WTM way, LOL! Even though I felt my education was lacking in terms of good literature, since we've started hsing, I think I've made up for it (at least according to a list like this one)! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cajun.classical Posted October 10, 2008 Author Share Posted October 10, 2008 Okay, the numbers you guys have posted are impressive. But...this leaves me wondering. How many people have to have read ZERO for the average to be 6! That's depressing!:crying: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caroline Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 I've read 39, mostly in high school and college. A couple I read in book clubs. I need to start reading more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeacherZee Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 Okay, the numbers you guys have posted are impressive. But...this leaves me wondering. How many people have to have read ZERO for the average to be 6! That's depressing!:crying: Yup. The list did the round amongst my friends earlier this year. We had all read quite a few of the books. Many for school. One wonders why everyone has not read at least some of them in high school:glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 28. Though I cannot remember for sure if I read all of Great Expectations. I think so. There are at least 5, maybe more on my list to read right now. I was surprised to see the Bill Pullman books on the list. Aren't they fairly new? I didn't feel it was in the same category as the others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andie Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 One teeny correction, though: Although the NEA does have a program called "The Big Read," this list is from a different program run by the BBC a few years ago. They're not related, as far as I can tell. And the BBC list was generated by the public. Do you have a link by any chance? Or a name? Thanks! :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Debbie in IL Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 41 for me. Many more are on my future reading lists! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarenNC Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 42 from the first list. 6 from the Modern Library Board list. 24 from the Modern Library readers' list 42 from the BBC list Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 The National Endowment for the Arts put out this book list and claims that the average American has only read 6 of these titles. I posted the booklist on my blog. Some of these titles are a bit suspect, but what can we expect from the National Endowment for the Arts? I made 43, but then I was an English major in college and several were required. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TraceyS/FL Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 I didn't count - makes my head hurt more to think about doing that right now. BUT, i have a decent amount i have read. Some i've TRIED to read.... LOL! HOwever, i can bet that my DH hasnt' read ANY of them! NOthing like getting diagnosed with dyslexia very late in your school career. He's probably ask if watching the movie counted! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lighthouseacademy Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 15 here... and my son has read 2- Charlotte's Web and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I read a LOT of twaddle in my teen years... I am making up for it now with classics. BTW I HATED Handmaid's Tale. What an awful book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dangermom Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 59, not counting the ones I've read half of, or all of Shakespeare (but I've read about half of that!). I'm sending it to my mom, I bet she wins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audrey Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 The National Endowment for the Arts put out this book list and claims that the average American has only read 6 of these titles. I posted the booklist on my blog. Some of these titles are a bit suspect, but what can we expect from the National Endowment for the Arts? 98. The only ones I HAVEN'T read are: 17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks 74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson But.... I was a double Lit and Theatre major in university AND I'm a librarian now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy22alyns Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 I'm trying to figure out how Bridget Jones' Diary ended up on any list with Ulysses. :confused: I read BJD and it was fun and funny, but... I don't see any sort of connection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzie in Ma Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 But shouldn't I be able to count each work of the Bard as 1 by themselves? And The Chronicles of Narnia? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardening momma Posted October 11, 2008 Share Posted October 11, 2008 (edited) I've read 16 of them. 2 The Lord of the Rings - J.R.R. Tolkien 4 Harry Potter series - J.K. Rowling (shouldn't this count as 7?) 6 The Bible (but not all) 9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman 12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy (almost finished it...it's around here somewhere) 14 Complete Works of Shakespeare (several, anyway) 16 The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkien 33 Chronicles of Narnia- C.S. Lewis (several books included here) 36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - C.S. Lewis (wouldn't this count as one of the books in Chronicles of Narnia series?) 41 Animal Farm - George Orwell 46 Anne of Green Gables - L.M. Montgomery 48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood (pretty heavy propaganda) 57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens 73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett 83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker 94 Watership Down - Richard Adams 100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo (didn't read this, but saw it performed in Paris, France) Edited for a recount and to add the list of what I've read. Edited October 11, 2008 by gardening momma Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardening momma Posted October 11, 2008 Share Posted October 11, 2008 Yup. The list did the round amongst my friends earlier this year. We had all read quite a few of the books. Many for school. One wonders why everyone has not read at least some of them in high school:glare: I read a couple of these in high school (A Tale of Two Cities and Animal Farm), but there are others I read in high school that are not on this list (Romeo & Juliet--well, maybe that would count toward Shakespeare, Shane, maybe some others). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anissarobert Posted October 11, 2008 Share Posted October 11, 2008 I've read 56 of the original list. I didn't take the time to count the others. I agree with a few other posters that this is a weird list of books. There are no older great books, and classics are mixed with things I wouldn't normally choose to read. I have a feeling I know a few people who would score a zero. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonia Posted October 11, 2008 Share Posted October 11, 2008 The Big Read BBC titles are here and the list is a bit different than the one posted. I posted the original source above. It's a compilation of the best-loved novels (according to BBC) - that's why Bridget Jones is on the list with lots of classics :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tutor Posted October 11, 2008 Share Posted October 11, 2008 part of the Complete Works of Shakespeare... just askin'... I don't mind double credit... it just seemed odd that it was listed separately :confused: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hillary in KS Posted October 11, 2008 Share Posted October 11, 2008 Thanks for posting this! I needed to feel "above average" today! :) I've read 36, which is not spectacular, but it's better than the average. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Needleroozer Posted October 11, 2008 Share Posted October 11, 2008 I have only read 25 of these. Could be worse, I guess. But there are many that I have read that aren't on the list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaik76 Posted October 11, 2008 Share Posted October 11, 2008 (edited) I didn't go through the whole list...only the first twenty. Out of those twenty, I've read 17. ETA: Total: 73...I counted the ones that were whole series, or whole collections, as they did...as only one. ETA2: Only 54 of the BBC list. 19 from the Modern Library Board List. 30 from the Modern Library Readers List. Edited October 11, 2008 by chaik76 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E_Edgerton Posted October 11, 2008 Share Posted October 11, 2008 Thanks for posting this. I, like the other posters, now feel quite above average.:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soph the vet Posted October 11, 2008 Share Posted October 11, 2008 I've read 34. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Academy of Jedi Arts Posted October 11, 2008 Share Posted October 11, 2008 Holy cow- my dd7 has read more than 6 of these. I don't know how you can graduate high school without having read more than 6!!!! I know I read more than 6 of them in middle school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFSinIL Posted October 11, 2008 Share Posted October 11, 2008 (edited) I have read 46 of them. I agree - some of the titles are odd. Ok - looked at the Modern lib lists and only have read 18 of the Board's list - 17 of the Reader's list. Edited October 11, 2008 by JFSinIL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChemMommy Posted October 11, 2008 Share Posted October 11, 2008 I've only read 15 of them and that was counting that Bible (I never got through Ezekiel---sorry!). I've got a ways to go..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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