The Reading “Bucket List”

Due to the popularity of the movie Bucket List about two terminally ill men who leave  a cancer ward  to take a road trip with a list of things they want to do before they die, people have been giving more thought to uncertainty of their future existence and the importance of not postponing the things they want to do.  Of course, this idea has been done many times before such as in the 1960’s TV series Run For Your Life in which a successful lawyer is told by his doctor that he will die in one to two years and then has all sorts of neat adventures.

Peter Boxall has prepared a book entitled 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die which sets forth a “reading list” for basically the rest of your life.  Here is a description of the book:

For discerning bibliophiles and readers who enjoy unforgettable classic literature, 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die is a trove of reviews covering a century of memorable writing. Each work of literature featured here is a seminal work key to understanding and appreciating the written word.The featured works have been handpicked by a team of international critics and literary luminaries, including Derek Attridge (world expert on James Joyce), Cedric Watts (renowned authority on Joseph Conrad and Graham Greene), Laura Marcus (noted Virginia Woolf expert), and David Mariott (poet and expert on African-American literature), among some twenty others.Addictive, browsable, knowledgeable—1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die will be a boon companion for anyone who loves good writing and an inspiration for anyone who is just beginning to discover a love of books. Each entry is accompanied by an authoritative yet opinionated critical essay describing the importance and influence of the work in question. Also included are publishing history and career details about the authors, as well as reproductions of period dust jackets and book designs.

For an interesting review of this book, see William Grimes, Volumes to Go Before You Die, NY Times, May 23, 2008.  Here is an excerpt from the review:

Two potent factors make “1001 Books” * * * compelling: guilt and time. It plays on every serious reader’s lingering sense of inadequacy. Page after page reveals a writer or a novel unread, and therefore a demerit on the great report card of one’s cultural life. Then there’s that bullying title, with its ominous allusion to the final day when, for all of us, the last page is turned. * * *

Assume, for the sake of argument, that a reasonably well-educated person will have read a third of them. * * * That leaves 698 titles. An ambitious reader might finish off one a month without disrupting a personal reading program already in place. That means he or she would cross the finish line in the year 2063.