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[Earthquake Damage]

Not to knock your quest, because it is a fine idea, but I still fail to see how this forms some sort of definitive test for whether someone is well read.  Seriously, I'm pretty sure there is no reasonable metric for determining how well read someone is.  If there is, it sure as hell shouldn't include Harry Potter.  The Bible being there is a joke, despite the assurances of one old codger from my past that it is "the greatest story ever told".  I also see a distinct lack of philosophy and the like (e.g. Aristotle, Voltaire, Nietzsche, Adam Smith, Karl Marx).

In short, this is more a list of "good books we think you should read, primarily for your entertainment" than a list of "books that will help you become wiser and better educated" (which AFAIK is pretty much the point of being well read).

[Heron TSG]

I've read around a third of these, but I don't intend to embark upon this quest.

What really blew the list's chance with my 'Hell yeah, let's do this!' center was the lack of stories that were truly epic. (The Epic of Gilgamesh, The Iliad, The Odyssey, etc)

[Cthulhu]

Maybe, I'll find a smartypants list after this one is complete.

I find it kind of ironic that a large number of girls say "Mr. Darcy gave me unrealistic expectations" with pride, as if it were clever to be unhealthily attracted to a fictional character, when Mr. Darcy totally burns Mr. Bingley for pretty much the same thing (Taking pride in being unable to write a decent letter)

[Cheddarius]

I think the list is "Books that are recommended, for one reason or another". Some are intellectual, some are fun to read, some are so strongly referenced that you won't understand a lot of stuff if you don't read them (1984 maybe, Hitchhiker's)

[Vester]

Creaca's right, some of the epics should be on there.

I just read Le Morte d'Arthur (translated, of course) and it was a bit... bland. Probably part of it was the translation's fault, but another part of it was how exactly like the Iliad some parts were.

[Earthquake Damage]

The Epic of Gilgamesh, The Iliad, The Odyssey, etc

I was just coming back to name a few more glaring omissions, like Homer, Milton, the Koran (esp. if you include the Bible), the Four Books and Chinese Classics (relevant to the Confucian tradition), and so forth.

[Cthulhu]

This is a starting point, when I finish this I'll go on to make myself so well-read even I won't be able to stand being around me.

[Taco Dan]

This is apparently going to be extra challenging because I need to rely on someone else for books, since I cannot library at the moment.

[Mr Tk]

Also 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen ( ) ->Does Pride and Prejudice and Zombies count?
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien (x)
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte ( )
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling (x) -> If only to see what the fuss was about.
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee (x) -> I was made to read this for English at school. Despite that it's good.
6 The Bible - ( )
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte ( )
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell (x)
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman ( )
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens ( )
11 Little Women - Louisa M 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 - JRR Tolkien (x)
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk ( )
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger (/) -> All ready reading now!
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 (x)
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh ( )
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky (/) -> Didn't get to finish this before I left for Korea. Only half way through.
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck ( )
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll (x)
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame (X)
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy ( )
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens ( )
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis (x) -> I read this years again but can't remember it. Does that count?
34 Emma - Jane Austen ( )
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen ( )
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis (x) -> See 33
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini - ( )
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres ( )
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden ( )
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne (x)
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell (x)
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown (x) -> (But never again)
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez ()
44 A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving ( )
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins ( )
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM 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 (x)
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 (x)
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas (x)
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 Inferno - Dante ( )
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome ( )
78 Germinal - Emile Zola ( )
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray ( )
80 Possession - AS 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 - EB 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 (x)
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 (x)
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo (x)

[JoshuaFH]

I totally have Catch 22 on my computer, I should really read it sometime.

I haven't read a book in so long, it's really disgusting.

[Taco Dan]

I totally have Catch 22 on my computer, I should really read it sometime.

I haven't read a book in so long, it's really disgusting.

I haven't actually completed a book in a couple months, that last book I completed was Truckers by Terry Pratchett.

[piecewise]

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen ()  Boring as hell, not worth it.
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien () If you've played dwarf fortress you pretty much know this
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte () Boring as hell not worth it (but I did read it)
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling () Every book has pretty much the same plot. Never trust dark arts teachers apparently
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee () OH NOES THE SOUTH IS RACIST?!
6 The Bible - () I have better things to do then brush up on bronze age superstition
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte () Boring and in the end meaningless. Everyone's a bastard. read it
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell () good, read it
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman () CATHOLICS IS MAGICS
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens () I don't expect much
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott () No, no and oh guess what? No.
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy () Never heard of it
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller () read it. Awesome
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare () Classic but rather boring on anything but a historical level to be honest. The play "rosencrants and guildenstern are dead" was good though
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier () Never heard of it
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien () It's like LOTR, except not as good
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk ( ) Never heard of it
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger () read it. Twas good
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger ( ) Considering they made chickflick from it, nah
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot ( ) Never heard of it
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell () You want me to read "Cats" the novel too?
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald () Twas alright, But I swear it's overrated
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens () never heard of it
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy () TIS LARGE AND FAMOUS, never read it.
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams (x) Of course, who hasn't
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh ( ) Heard of it, probably not going to read it
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky ( ) heard, probably not
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck () HILLBILLIES! it's a period piece, not terribly interesting on it's own
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll () HIDDEN MATH MEANING!
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame (x) ehhhhh?
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy ( ) what?
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens ( ) Nope
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis (/) I have better things to do then brush up on bronze age mythology via thinly disguised children's tales
34 Emma - Jane Austen () Dunno it
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen ( ) Still no
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis (X) Didn't I just do this one?
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini - () RAPE RAPE RAPE
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres ( ) A book about mandolins apperently
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden ( ) Same girl overcoming adversity story we've heard a zillion times. ONLY THIS TIME WITH MORE JAPAN!
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne (x) Aren't we a bit old for this?
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell () Eh, it was alright.
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown () ANGRY EYES AND WRINKLED BROW! you are bad and should feel bad
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez () Odd, I've been told to read this before, I was under the impression it was rather rare to find in english
44 A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving ( ) Never heard of it
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins ( ) Never heard of it
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery () No
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy ( ) Nuh-Uh
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood ( ) Nerp
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding () Yay more allegories eh? Read it
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan () No
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel () The history of Pi was better
52 Dune - Frank Herbert () Never read it but it's scifi classic so maybe
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons ( ) Heard, never seen or read though
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen () NO
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth ( )Um No
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon ( ) YOUR TITLE IS IMPOSSIBLE
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens () zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley () Yes. Read
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon () Never heard
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez ( ) The "love" part annoys me, but the Cholera intrigues me
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck () DURRRRRRR GIANT MAN
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov ( ) Sexy sexy little girl
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt () Secret history of?
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold () movie looks stupid, book might be alright, not holding my breath though
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas ( )heard, never read
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac ( ) Maybe
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy ( ) Book: The obscure
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding () No
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie ()never heard, most likely don't care
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville ()Call Me boring, read it
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens () OLIVER  HAS PASSED OUT x 50 times. YAWN
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker () When vampires didn't sparkle
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett () Whats up with all these little girl books?
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson () Never heard, probably don't care
75 Ulysses - James Joyce () If it's anything like his other books he's sacrificing readability for pompousness
76 The Inferno - Dante () Read it, it's neat but it's a period piece too.
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome () nah
78 Germinal - Emile Zola ( ) what?
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray ( ) don't care
80 Possession - AS Byatt ( )never heard
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens () I think we know that one
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell ( )Never heard of it
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker () Don't care
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro ( ) Never heard
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert ( ) Nope
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry ( )Never heard
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White () WILBURRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom ( ) EG no one
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle () Flargle, good but not interesting to me
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton ( ) I hate both trees and faraway's
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad () Heard it was good, never read it
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery ()eh?
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks ()eh?
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams () RABBITS AND CHAUVINISM!
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole ( ) Never read
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute () nope
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas () THERE ARE 4!
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare () Everyone is nuts! Now everyone is dead! read it
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl () not interested
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo () ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!

I think I got maybe 20 off the list, maybe more. Your lack of both Pratchett and Vonnegut Disturb and infuriate me. Where's the non-fiction anyway? Parasite Rex is pretty damn neat.

[Taco Dan]

1. I would prefer lists to be spoiler'd, that way posts don't take up so much space.
2. I think you should be able to add and subtract books from the list, as long as it's still around 100.

[piecewise]

1. I would prefer lists to be spoiler'd, that way posts don't take up so much space.
2. I think you should be able to add and subtract books from the list, as long as it's still around 100.

In that case, done. I've read more like 1000 books in my lifetime then 100 smeh. But really, the da vinci code?

[Cthulhu]

Some of them don't have much business being there, I admit.  So The Bible and Chronicles of Narnia are bronze-age superstition but The Inferno isn't?