NPR had a story today about Penguin publishing company selling all 1,082 of their classics as a set via Amazon.com. John and I decided we needed to look at the list out of curiosity and see both what was on the list, and how many of the books on the list we have read. Well, those that we thought would be on it, like 1984, Farenheit 451, Catch 22, Brave New World, and other such newer classics actually did not make the list. They mentioned in the radio interview that there are a number of books that they wanted to put on the list, but couldn't because of copyright issues. It would be interesting to see that list as well. As I expected, all of the books we had to read in school were listed, as well as a number of those that I read in college for my literature course, but nothing that I have read on my own accord. There are, however, a few books on this list that I have wanted to read, namely On the Origin of Species, Das Kapital and Comunist Manifesto.
The books I have read already are listed 'below the fold'. A total of 21 out of the 1,082.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
Beowulf by Anonymous
The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
A Christmas Carol and Other Christmas Writings by Charles Dickens
The Crucible by Arthur Miller
The Epic of Gilgamesh by Anonymous
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift
Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare
Macbeth by William Shakespeare
Medea and Other Plays by Euripides
A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare
The Odyssey by Homer
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Silas Marner by George Eliot
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight by Anonymous
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare