These type of lists always depress the hell out of me. I like to think I'm reasonably well read, but lists of great literary works always make me feel like I'm an illliterate. I haven't even heard of about a third of the books on this list. Dear lord.
One of the most depressing aspects of moving to Iqaluit was how many of my books (novels and graphic novels, never mind the 10,000 comics I have in storage) I had to leave behind. At a $1 a pound, it was too expensive to ship everything up, so only favourites could make the trip. Plus, well, we got a lot of Chapters money as wedding gifts, so we'll be stocking up quite a bit in the coming years.
I was pleased to see so much sci-fi/fantasy in the list, though. And the inclusion of Watchmen is astonishing, albeit pleasently so. If a comic was going to make that list, I would have guessed it would be Maus, which won the Pulitzer prize. But both are great literary works.
As for which books I've read on the list: Animal Farm, Beloved, Catch-22, The Grapes of Wrath, The Great Gatsby, Lolita, Lord of the Flies, Neuromancer, 1984, To Kill a Mockingbird, Watchmen.
Eleven isn't that great. I do have a copy of Snow Crash here that I've been meaning to read. And I'm sure Cathy would be thrilled if I read Lord of the Rings, but it's a point of honour at this point that I not bother. I've tried, it's crap. Good thing the movie is there to entertain me instead.
However, there are books on the list that sound interesting enough for me to consider picking up in the coming months. Something to check back on when I'm wondering what to order next from Chapters.
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