The Guardian List
Not so recently (six months ago? More? 2008?? Yeah that sounds right. Who the hell remembers.) The Guardian put out a bucket list of the 1,000 books everyone should read before they die. At first I sort of rolled my eyes, because unless you’re this girl, it sounds like an impossible feat. But let’s really look at the numbers… obviously you’ll have to adjust the math for your age:
I’m 28 years old. Barring car crashes, swine flu, attacks by flying monkeys, cataclysmic war with one of the countries we’ve pissed off, or the rapture… I say that I should have enough eyesight, hearing capability, and mental acuity to read/listen to audiobooks until I’m 75. Call it 78 and I’ll hope for the best. That’s 50 years to read 1,000 books, or about 1.7 books a month. What the hell, I’m a go-getter.. I’ll read the whole second book and put it into the principle. Two books a month isn’t a ball-breaker right? I’m averaging about 5 a month for my New Year’s resolution self-challenge.
So fine. I can read the Guardian 1,000. It’s like eating any elephant… one bite at a time. And yes, yes, I know, I’m not the first person to dream this up. This dude and quite a few others beat me to it. And they’re trying to do it in 10 years, at 4 books a week. (My first question is, how friggin’ rich is THIS kid to have time to read 4 books a week… but I digress.)
Anyway, I’m going to take the slow-and easy, and read other stuff I want to read that’s not on the list, too. I’ve read 22 of them so far, and a few (like Don Quixote and American Gods) I’ve sort of picked up and put down in the middle. I’m just glad Atlas Shrugged isn’t on there. That was enough to kill someone. (Fuck you Ayn Rand, you’re dead and your Objectivist bullshit is languishing on a bargain rack somewhere, so ha.) Anyway, with a nice little dent in the list, I’m already feeling like a champion.
Now… I thought I saw some weird ones on a list today… such as How to Have Sex Like a Porn Star by Jenna Jameson (Ed says he approves of my reading this one) and Ron Jeremy: The Hardest Working Man in Showbiz I think someone made some adjustments to the list for their own amusement. Hell I might read those anyway!
Anyway, I think I’m going to pick up this not-so-little challenge just for the fun of branching out and reading some things such as PG Wodehouse and Agatha Christie… things I might not otherwise pick up.
Anyone else down?
One Response to “The Guardian List”
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It depresses me to think it would take that long to read 1,000 books. Especially when you figure in all the books coming out between now and then that should be read. Personally, I’m going to keep reading my approximate one book a week, and just enjoy the journey (taking the T is a fantastic time for reading).
Good luck, though!