Are you well-read?

It’s no surprise that I like to read or that I read a lot.  So when Inc.com published an article entitled 30 Books You Need to Read to Earn ‘Well-Read’ Status, I was intrigued.  Feel free to grade yourself at home and please report your findings.

Western Classics — Forced to choose four books to represent the western world, I’m sure I would produce a different list.  But this one is pretty good.  Note that Russia used to be part of the West, now it most definitely is part of the other.

The Odyssey – I’ve read an English translation.  That’s one point.  Give yourself two points if you read it in Homeric Greek.  Maybe only Stephen will qualify.

A Tale of Two Cities – How did an Englishman capture the emotion of the French Revolution so well?  Another point.

Pride & Prejudice – It was a long time ago and part of a class I took.  Not the kind of thing I would read today, though it gives some insight into the English Victorian world.  3/3.

Anna Karenina – It is surprisingly good, though not as good as War and Peace, which is more readable than its length suggests.  Again, I read the English translation.  Russian readers get two points.  4/4.

Dystopia – Given my penchant for this topic while in college, I’m surprised I missed one.  I will rectify that oversight.  Adding Fahrenheit 451 to the list would enhance it.

1984 – It’s as good and almost as prescient as you’re heard.  5/5.

Brave New World – Also outstanding, also scary.  6/6.

The Handmaid’s Tale – I just ordered this from the library and will read it soon – after one of the 130 copies the library system has is returned.  Quite a recommendation, every single copy is checked out. 6/7.

Science Fiction & Fantasy

Lord of the Rings – Of course I’ve read it — more than once.  And the three movies were the best I’ve ever seen.  Another friend named Steve stated at the time the movies were released that they were the best movies of all time – past, present, and future.  7/8 (9/10 if we count it as three books).

The Foundation series – This is a revolutionary series.  The three law of robotics are cited today by scientists and scholars studying artificial intelligence.  That’s pretty heady stuff for a novelist who wrote them over 50 years ago.  8/9 or 16/17 (I’ll stop that now).

Neuromancer – never read it, never heard of it.  If someone recommends it, I’ll read it.  8/10.

Great American Novels

The Great Gatsby – It must be included, I guess, but I probably prefer This Side of Paradise. 9/11.

Bonfire of the Vanities – This is a terrible choice.  Especially when you realize that the list doesn’t include anything by Mark Twain.  The book isn’t horrible, especially if you’re into self-indulgence, but give me Huck Finn any day.  Or Uncle Tom’s Cabin.  10/12.

The Grapes of Wrath – So good, so evocative.  A true must read. 11/13.

Literary Heavy Hitters – Stuff only a masochist would read.

Ulysses – I’ve tried.  I really have.  The book remains on my bookshelf, taunting me.  11/14.

Infinite Jest – I haven’t tried.  I don’t intend to.  Twenty-five of the library’s 52 copies are available.  Over 1000 pages of unconventional narrative is the stuff of literature classes, not my rarer-by-the-minute reading time. 11/15.

Gravity’s Rainbow – as unreadable and unenjoyable as Ulysses (and presumably Infinite Jest).  I read it for a class.  12/16.

Popular Fiction – this is really not my bailiwick.

A Song of Ice and Fire series – People like the show, the books must be pretty fun.  12/17.

The Hunger Games – People like the movies, the books must be pretty good.  12/18.

Fifty Shades of Grey – Not on a dare.  12/19.

Immigrant Experience – From a US/UK perspective.

Interpreter of Maladies – I’ve heard it’s pretty good.  12/20.

Joy Luck Club – This strikes me as the type of book that most women have read and that most men haven’t.  12/21.

How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents – never heard of it.  12/22.

Non-Western Classics (Ancient) – This doesn’t bode well.

Ramayana – Never heard of it, which probably says more about me than the book.  12/23.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms – At least I’ve heard of it.  12/24.  Remember to give yourself two points if you read it or Ramayana in the original language.

Non-Western Classics (Modern) – I would have liked to see something by Borges.  He was a much more influential writer than the three listed.

One Hundred Years of Solitude – This is quite good.  It’s been so long that I might reread it, which would fit in well with the theme of redundancy.  13/25.

To Live – Never heard of it.  13/26.

Things Fall Apart – Another must read, makes you think on both a global and a personal level.  14/27.

Satire – I’m not sure this warrants its own category.

Cat’s Cradle – I enjoyed this and every other book Kurt Vonnegut wrote.  15/28.

Catch-22 – I remember this as one of the funniest books I ever read.  When I tried to reread it, it didn’t work as well.  16/29.

The Hitchhiker’s guide to the Galaxy —   Everybody I know who has read it has recommended it – to no avail.  16/30.

Overall I consider this a pretty good list, though I would certainly make a different one.  But would take too long to proper consider all the books I’ve read and even longer to properly consider all the books I haven’t read.

Two things I like about the author:

1. She abandoned a career in law (I appreciate a kindred spirit), and
2. She concludes by stating that any self-respecting well-read person, never considered him or herself to be well-read.

My current read percentage is 50% plus one.  I don’t consider that well-read.  After finishing The Handmaid’s Tale, I will indisputably vault into the well-read stratosphere, losing my sense of self-respect at the same time I become insufferably smug about my well-readness.  I await your scores and your recommendations.