Sunday, June 17, 2012

30 Books Before You're 30?

Flavorwire has a list of 30 Books Everyone Should Read Before Turning 30.  I can't really tell how many of these I read before turning 30 but probably not many - a few didn't even exist when I was 30.  As it stands now I've read 19 and much of what's remaining I'm not sure I will.  Is To Kill a Mockingbird really "complex"?  Maybe but its reputation and the calibre of its admirers suggest not.  As much as I love Bradbury Fahrenheit 451 has always appeared to be a one-note song.  McCarthy's The Road might be worthwhile but it seems like another mainstream author dabbling in science fiction.  Of course without reading them I don't really know.  On the other hand I've started Infinite Jest and have read about half of O'Connor's stories so maybe that counts as 0.6 or something.  The rest of the list is mostly solid stuff though things like Don Quixote seem like odd choices given that even even many people who love the book consider it a slog at times.  And 1984 is one of the weakest of Orwell's works.  Maybe this should have been 30 Books You've Never Heard Of That Might Be Worth Reading Before You're 30.