James Mustich, a former bookstore owner, once did a thought experiment: If he only had room for 1000 books in his store, which ones would they be? The result is 1000 Books to Read Before You Die. Mustich organizes the books alphabetically by author. This produces some weird juxtapositions. Bryan McGee’s Confessions of a Philosopher rests next to Norman Mailer’s Armies of the Night. George Orwell’s Collected Essays, Journalism, and Letters snuggles up to Ovid’s Metamorphoses. You get the idea. Clearly, 1000 Books to Read Before You Die is a browser’s delight. Plenty of covers and photos of authors to savor! If you have a book lover on your gift list, this book would make a perfect present! GRADE: A
Not for me. I won’t be able to finish all the books on my TBR Mountain. I read for enjoyment now, mainly mysteries, humor and a few bios.
Maggie, good point! I would estimate I’ve read about a third of the books listed in 1,000 BOOKS TO READ BEFORE YOU DIE. I’d say about a third of the remainder I have little or no interest in. I did make a list of about a dozen books I’m planning to read.
GMTA! I will be finishing this today. I was surprised at how many of the books and authors I’ve already read, though of course I did manage to add to my want list.
Jeff, Michael Dirda–the former WASHINGTON POST Book Editor–claims he’s read 75% of the books listed in 1,000 BOOKS TO READ BEFORE YOU DIE.
Any list that doesn’t include Bill Crider is meaningless anyway.
Dan, you are so right!
I would have enjoyed this twenty years ago, but now I know what sort of books i will read and this would include too many classics that I have either read or don’t plan to.
Patti, James Mustich shows what a labor of love 1,000 BOOKS TO READ BEFORE YOU DIE by the attention to detail in this book. I’m sure Phil and Megan would love browsing in this book!
If my library has this I’ll be curious enough to take a look, but I’d be pretty surprised if there are a substantial number of titles that I’m unaware of. The top two books on my Must Read list, “Moby-Dick” and “Middlemarch), have been sitting there for 30+ years and remain unread. But I have a new Val McDermid novel sitting here, so they’ll have to wait.
Michael, I’m a big fan of MOBY-DICK. Deb is a huge fan of MIDDLEMARCH. But both require a time commitment because of their size.
If I judge by the books you name, this is not for me, nor for most readers. Let’s face it: if we didn’t read these before or in college, probably as assigned reading, we won’t ever read them. Mustich may think they are musts, but come on, how many people these days want to read Ovid, or Orwell’s letters? Probably just about none. If books like this are genre specific, and a smaller number, they can work, but this? No.
Rick, the audience for 1,000 BOOKS TO READ BEFORE YOU DIE might be book clubs who are always looking for good books to read. At this stage of our lives, we’re more focused on pleasure reading–mysteries, SF, etc.
Rick, I’ve read collections of Orwell’s letters and essays.
Jeff, I’ve read Orwell’s letters and essays, too. And his novels.
Do I tell him what to read? Shut up, Mustich!
Bob, Mark Lachman would love this book with all its lists!
I’ve looked at this book a couple of times, but the Canadian price of around 50 bucks scared me off. And it hasn’t shown up in our library. It is on a list that I have made of possible books to buy if I luck into any gift cards for Christmas.
Kent, I’m sure used copies (at a discounted price) will show up on AMAZON.CA. Or you can ask your local Public Library to acquire 1,000 BOOKS TO READ BEFORE YOU DIE. I’m on very good terms with the local librarians–I bring them chocolates for Christmas!–and they usually buy everything I ask for.
https://www.c-span.org/video/?453615-1/1000-books-read-die
Todd, thanks for the link!
Not a problem. The interviewer, the owner of the Strand bookstore, is rather attractive.