Greatest Novel of All-Time

I fell hard for Steinbeck in junior high and never left. Sure, you can nitpick "East of Eden," but for me it's the perfect story of the second sin and my favorite book.

"Infinite Jest" is easily in my top 10. I could probably read it 10 times and find new things in it each time. It's amazing how much more I picked up when I read it the second time. I've always wondered how it would read to rearrange it in chronological order, but it would take at least 20 copies to accomplish that.

 

This is so true. The whole concept is entirely subjective, for any time, but especially nowadays, in my opinion. Frankly, I can't see hardly any of today's kids -- they of 140-character attention spans -- liking very many of the old classics at all anymore.

I'd even question how many of the books on these lists have even all been read by somebody. Very few people actually get through all of them.

For example, I've tried several times, but I've yet to get all the way through Moby Dick, or many of the Dickens tales. I also disliked Gatsby and Catcher in the Rye, but I loved most of the Orwell and Twain classics and liked Mockingbird.

Some such titles get on lists like these because they are popular, known, pat answers, not because they are actually considered best by those involved.

 

Another thing about today's kids is their inability to stay the hell off my lawn.

 

These suggested reading lists (grabbed at random) don't seem to have changed much in the 40 years since I went to high school.

www.waldsfe.org/highschool/HAHS/hsbl.htm

www.listsofbests.com/list/373-advanced-placement-english-recommended-reading

www.phschool.com/curriculum_support/reading_list/high_school.html

 

I'd comment more on this list, but ever since Twitter came along, my friends and I have given up the classics. In fact, whenever I see a stray copy of Gatsby lying around, I make sure to burn it.

 

I call bullshit. Now way kids these days would put in the time and effort it takes to properly burn a book.

 

All right, fine. I just throw it in the oven and leave it there until it's unreadable.

 

In defense of the younger generation, I haven't found time to read a single book mentioned on this thread.

 

You never had to read any of them in high school, not even Mockingbird?

 

Funny, we were talking about the same thing the other day.

In my bookselling days, high school kids would troop in with their reading list and you could tell right away which school and which teacher's class they were in.

"Separate Peace" was Miss Carpenter from Burlington Central, Grade 13 (Yes, high school used to go to grade 13 here in Ontario)

"Lord of the Flies" was either Mr. Reid, also from Burlington Central or Mr. Middleton from Lester B. Pearson.

"Black Like Me" was from our favourite 70's hippie teacher Hugh Smith.

Some teachers used the same reading list year after year while others would keep a core and introduce two or three new novels every year.

 

You don't really need to burn a book now anyway. Your parents or your school board or Amazon can just delete it from your Kindle.

www.nytimes.com/2009/07/18/technology/companies/18amazon.html

 

They ought to teach a new literary novel or two each year. Just to let kids know that novelists haven't stopped producing this kind of stuff. Assign "Kavalier & Klay" or "Middlesex" or "The Art of Fielding." Update each year. Read "Telegraph Avenue" together. Discuss critical reaction. Predict critical reaction.