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Books to read before I die

cooksillustrated.com

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Re: Books to read before I die

#21

Post by ellius »

zwieback wrote: post #18
galkk wrote: post #10

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsundoku should be mandatory reminder for every "list of books to read" list

True, but there's a difference between buying books and letting them pile up and just keeping a list. I keep mine on Goodreads now and usually get my books from the library. Also, I sell my books back to the bookstore if I didn't love them. Kindle, on the other hand, never could get into it though it seems great to avoid Tsundoku.

There's a fine line, though. Even keeping a list may interfere with feelings of clarity and direction if you become swamped by feelings of obligation. I once heard someone refer to Marie Kondo's "Magic of Tidying Up" as a philosophy book, and I think that's true for things like this. If keeping a big list is useful and makes you happy, for sure, go for it. But make sure it doesn't just create feelings of shame or incompleteness.

Re: Books to read before I die

#22

Post by ericmcer »

This list and others of its kind have always felt a little off to me. If you read the most famous single book of three different authors I feel like you wouldn’t get too much out of it. I would rather die knowing I read Shakespeare and Faulkner than read Othello and As I lay Dying. This kind of list format takes what should be an organic exploration of other humans who are praised for their writing and turns it into a checklist of disconnected pieces. Maybe you read half a play and hate it, maybe you devour Shakespeare’s entire body of work?

I guess that is also why I dislike a lot of contemporary stuff, the aesthetic life of the artist behind the work is harder and harder to connect with. This all sounds super elitist but it’s hard to discuss books without straying into that territory haha. The breadth of genre is so vast as well, Roald Dahl and Richard Feynman on the same list? It just really lacks a depth of focus to feel like more than ticking boxes.

Re: Books to read before I die

#24

Post by jamesrcole »

ericmcer wrote: post #22

This list and others of its kind have always felt a little off to me. If you read the most famous single book of three different authors I feel like you wouldn’t get too much out of it. I would rather die knowing I read Shakespeare and Faulkner than read Othello and As I lay Dying. This kind of list format takes what should be an organic exploration of other humans who are praised for their writing and turns it into…

I list like this can be taken as "books I want to read, amongst all those I end up reading" rather than "the books I must read to the last, before I read any others".

Re: Books to read before I die

#26

Post by OJFord »

masonic wrote: post #2

All book links are affiliate links (tag=cpk-72books-20)

Seems like as good a place to ask as any - is there an adblock list style solution for stripping not just query parameters (and I suppose they're sometimes needed, can't always strip them) but also e.g. /ref=blah paths that some (Amazon for example) use as well?

Re: Books to read before I die

#28

Post by dawg- »

ericmcer wrote: post #22

This list and others of its kind have always felt a little off to me. If you read the most famous single book of three different authors I feel like you wouldn’t get too much out of it. I would rather die knowing I read Shakespeare and Faulkner than read Othello and As I lay Dying. This kind of list format takes what should be an organic exploration of other humans who are praised for their writing and turns it into…

As a hardcore book lover, I have the deepest hatred for all lists of books. They are pretentious wastes of time, usually written to make the author look like an eclectic and well-rounded person and for no other purpose. This is just about my only strong opinion in the world. I would die a thousand deaths on this hill.

Publishing a list of books like this should be in the same category of social bad habits such as name dropping celebrities you have met, or casually mentioning the large amount of money you make per year ($two hundred Kay), or having a PO Box in a rich neighborhood so you can have an address that impresses people.

Ticking boxes is exactly what it is. If I can be a little overdramatic (yes, now is where that starts), it's a betrayal of the very soul of reading.

Re: Books to read before I die

#29

Post by jamesrcole »

dawg- wrote: post #28
ericmcer wrote: post #22

This list and others of its kind have always felt a little off to me. If you read the most famous single book of three different authors I feel like you wouldn’t get too much out of it. I would rather die knowing I read Shakespeare and Faulkner than read Othello and As I lay Dying. This kind of list format takes what should be an organic exploration of other humans who are praised for their writing and turns it into…

As a hardcore book lover, I have the deepest hatred for all lists of books. They are pretentious wastes of time, usually written to make the author look like an eclectic and well-rounded person and for no other purpose. This is just about my only strong opinion in the world. I would die a thousand deaths on this hill. Publishing a list of books like this should be in the same category of social bad habits such as nam…

> As a hardcore book lover, I have the deepest hatred for all lists of books. They are pretentious wastes of time

How do you keep track of the books you want to read?

There are many books I've heard of, and heard people recommend, that I would really like to read. The only way I can keep track of them is by noting them down in lists.

Re: Books to read before I die

#30

Post by dhosek »

OJFord wrote: post #26
masonic wrote: post #2

All book links are affiliate links (tag=cpk-72books-20)

Seems like as good a place to ask as any - is there an adblock list style solution for stripping not just query parameters (and I suppose they're sometimes needed, can't always strip them) but also e.g. /ref=blah paths that some (Amazon for example) use as well?

Why? I actually make a point of going to an affiliate link before buying anything from the big river. Just doing my part to reduce their profits as much as possible. (My current go-to is kottke.org although I wouldn't object if people wanted to go to http://don.dream-in-color.net/books/ instead)
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