Tech-savvy though we all most certainly are, being the iGeneration and all, I think I speak for most of you when I say that we heart books. For me, books—the reading of and attempts at writing of—make up the bulk of my most elaborate inner wants.
Which is why The Telegraph’s list of the 110 best books that create the “perfect” library gets on my nerves. Flawed, isn’t it? Kind of reads like a Humanities 151W syllabus, doesn’t it?
Crafted of ridiculousness though it is, it got me thinking: what books do you just have to own for the integrity of your personal collection? How many books are in The Perfect Library?
I’m calling bull on their entire poetry section—not that Shakespeare isn’t essential to any good library, but seriously, could The Telegraph GET any more white, male, and British? Where’s Anne Sexton? Elizabeth Bishop? Seriously?
So I ask you: what’s missing from their list? What shouldn’t be on there in the first place? What essentials are in your personal library?
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I take issue with the fact not a single science, math, or philosophy book is included. With regards to the latter most, though nested within many of the texts is philosophy, the few that could be read in a philosophy course are purely social and political philosophy/theory.
I call bull on the entire list.
Comment by the minute waltz April 25, 2008 @ 12:07 pmI stand corrected: “On the Origin of Species”. Well, that covers everything then.
Comment by the minute waltz April 25, 2008 @ 12:14 pmI just have to put my confession out there. As my daughter will confirm, I have “crap” taste when it comes to literature and I’m damn proud to admit it. It was no surprise to me that the only 2 books on the list that I read was Harry Potter and Gone With the Wind. What kind of list is that with no James Michener, Larry McMurtry, John Jakes or Maeve Binchy! I mean REALLY.
Comment by Debbie April 25, 2008 @ 3:50 pmTo start, take out Romance and Crime. These genres don’t deserve their own catagoies, by any means. Take their best 2 or 3 (the Agatha Christie, Conan Doyle, Hardy) and throw these into fiction classics.
The poetry has some good stuff, but as you pointed out: nothing modern, every thing a safe pick. It would do more good to have a couple good anthologies rather than reading a few complete works. Also, no one likes T.S. Elliot, The Waste Land = teh suck.
Picking TEN novels to represent “Literary Fiction” is never going to turn out pretty, but some how they do a worse job than I would have expected. Why is there stuff I’ve never heard of on this list?
It really annoyed me that while they have a Sci-Fi catagory, they make no place for Fantasy. Instead, they stick all the fantasy into the Children’s section, belittling the whole genre. And Babar? F— that dumb elephant.
The Sci-Fi list is okay. Barely okay. There is no Dune. Or Ender’s Game. Which are usually voted the best Sci-Fi novels. And Fareignheit 451, anyone? Oy.
I don’t read enough history or autobiographies to comment on those catagories. But I just think they’re dumb. It’s like…this list doesn’t know what it wants to be. Like, is this a fiction library?? If so, stick to that…if you want to expend to a general library, then, ya (like Tom said) where is math and science, etc? This list is, like, trying to go for “Humanities” and failing.
The “Books That Changed Your World” is just terrible. Utter trash.
My comments weren’t funny at all. Mostly because I’m too annoyed to be funny. Obviously people are going to dissagree with a list that attemps to tackle this kind of “best of” list, but this bad? Really?? Maybe it’s just cause their British…?
Comment by Megan April 28, 2008 @ 12:56 pmI didn’t even read the whole list because I don’t think abyone can make a universal list. Unless I’m filthy rich, I’m not going to fill my perfect library with books I’m never going to read. Unless they were on sale…for example, I bought Jane Eyre about 3 years ago because it was a nice edition and it was on sale. I just started reading it last week, but it was touch and go there for awhile on whether or not i would ever read it.
Anyway, back to the point. As Tom pointed out, I think everyone has a different idea of what books should be included in the perfect library. Like, mine wouldn’t be complete without 10 or so Biology textbooks and all of my med school texts. I also aspire to have every Vegetarian cookbook ever made (I’m rollin’ with 2 right now). This post hits really close to home for me right now because I’m packing and trying to decide which books can be given to Goodwill. I think so far I’ve only given away the duplicates and some MCAT prep books (who wants to look at them anyway?)
Comment by Nikki April 28, 2008 @ 1:02 pmOh! Also, even though I have outgrown my Stephen King fetish, I refuse to get rid of my collection. He stays.
Comment by Nikki April 28, 2008 @ 1:03 pm@ Nikki:
Totally know what you mean. While I certainly have outgrown (sort of) my Christopher Pike phase, I will never—NEVER—get rid of those books.
Comment by Rachel April 28, 2008 @ 2:32 pmAnd it’s totally true what my mom is saying—she relishes in terrible books. I mean, it’s not that they’re THAT terrible, they’re just unremarkable. Because she loves some good books, she just refuses to read anymore (LIKE MARGARET ATWOOD, MOM).
Comment by Rachel April 28, 2008 @ 2:34 pm@ Megan:
You’re right, they’re basically just taking a list of books important to The Western Tradition and screwing it fantastically. I mean, seriously, where are books from ANY other cultures? C’mon, people, Sundiata: The Epic of Mali is enormously important literature (except not really). But seriously, no Qur’an? I’m not trumpeting the importance of religious texts here, but you’d think you’d throw SOMEONE a bone here.
Comment by Rachel April 28, 2008 @ 2:46 pmGut reactions:
No graphic novels. I don’t know if there’s a magnum opus in that category, but Blankets, Maus, or Watchmen comes to mind.
No plays – not even the Bard!
They put Beloved on there?
No Siddhartha or Art of War. Where is the culture?
And I wonder how Nine Stories or any short story collection didn’t make the cut. Salinger loses out, as do women in general. No “Feminine Mystique,” or a single book by a woman that changed the world? Sure, part of that is history, but seriously?
Final gripe (cause this could go on forever) – no United States Constitution?
Comment by Spencer April 28, 2008 @ 8:28 pm