Okay, here it is. I posted this on Facebook, but some of you are not there (Tam...) and I mean for this to be a discussion and so I would love to hear feedback from anyone. Argue with me, tell me which ones you have read that have also been influential to you, agree with me (but I prefer argument!), whatever, but let me know your thoughts. I should clarify that this was not easy and I never could narrow it down to just 100 and I had to stick in a number of series and "complete" works to make it something that I could be comfortable with.Also, I could not even begin to put it in order of importance, well I could begin, but I could not end, so it is presented in alphabetical order. Those of you who know me, know full well which ones are at the top...maybe... But it was a fun exercise!
5000 Year Leap, The by W. Cleon Skousen
84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff
Adam Bede by George Eliot
Agony and the Ecstasy by Irving Stone
Ah Wilderness by Eugene O'Neill
All Creatures Great and Smal by James Herriot
All My Sons by Arthur Miller
Amelia Peabody Mysteries by Elizabeth Peters
An American Childhood by Annie Dillard
Anti-Federalist Papers by Various
Apocrypha
Approaching Zion by Hugh Nibley
Art of War by Sun Tzu
At the Back of the North Wind byGeorge MacDonald
Atlas Shrugged byAyn Rand
Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin by Benjamin Franklin
Bhagavad-Gita
Book of Mormon
Brief History of Everything, A by Ken Wilber
Building a Character by Constantin Stanislavski
Centennial by James Michener
Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
Cheaper By the Dozen by Gilbreth/Carey
Christmas Carol, A by Charles Dickens
Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
Color Code, The by Taylor Hartman
Color Me Beautiful by Carole Jackson
Common Sense by Thomas Payne
Complete Fairy Tales and Stories by Hans Christian Andersen
Complete Grimm's Fairy Tales by Brothers Grimm
Complete Poems of Hafiz by Hafiz/Daniel Ladinsky
Complete Poems of Robert Frost by Robert Frost
Complete Stories of Anton Chekhov by Anton Chekhov
Complete Works of E.A. Poe by Edgar Allen Poe
Complete Works of Ralph Waldo Emerson by Ralph Waldo Emerson
Confronting the Myth of Self Esteem by Ester Rasband
Constitution of the United States of America
Count of Monte Cristo, The by Alexandre Dumas
Cross Creek by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
Cultural Literacy by E.D. Hirsch
Dark is Rising series by Susan Cooper
Dear and Glorious Physician by Taylor Caldwell
Declaration of Independence by Thomas Jefferson
Diary of Samuel Pepys by Samuel Pepys
Discworld Series by Terry Pratchett
Duncton Wood by William Horwood
Fairy Books series by Andrew Lang et al
Federalist Papers
Feynman's Rainbow by Leonard Mlodinow
Great Brain series by John D. Fitzgerald
Great Divorce, The by C.S. Lewis
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
Gulliver's Travels by Jonathon Swift
Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
Holy Bible
How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah by Richard Bach
Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell
Josephus by Josephus
Joy of Cooking, The by Various
Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
Lessons From Great Lives by Sterling W. Sill
Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Lord of the Rings series by J.R.R.R. Tolkien
Magna Carta
Magnificent Obsession by Lloyd Cassel Douglas
Major Works of John Donne by John Donne
Man Who Mistook His Wife For a Hat, The by Oliver Sacks
Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Once and Future King, The by T.H. White
Papa Married a Mormon by John D. Fitzgerald
Persian Poets by Peter Washington
Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc: The Complete Version by Mark Twain
Peter Pan by James Barrie
Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard
Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren
QED: The Strange Theory of Light and Matter by Richard Feynman
Qur'an
Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary
Republic by Plato
Respect for Acting by Uta Hagen
Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving
Screwtape Letters, The by C.S. Lewis
Secret Life of Plants by Tompkins/Bird
Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket
Shakespeare, Complete Works by William Shakespeare
Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior by Chogyam Trungpa
Silas Marner by George Eliot
Spoon River Anthology by Edgar Lee Masters
Stories of Ray Bradbury by Ray Bradbury
Story of Civilization Series by Durrant, Will and Ariel
Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The by Robert Louis Stevenson
Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynman! by Richard Feynman
The Sojourner by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
Thomas Jefferson Education, A by Oliver van DeMille
Thurber Carnival by James Thurber
Tipping Point, The by Malcolm Gladwell
To Kill A Mockingbird by Lee Harper
Torah
Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
Wonder Book, The by Nathaniel Hawthorne
.
Well, since you mentioned me specifically by name, I guess I better comment! Here comes my rambling response...I do appreciate that you did this (for me!) and I think it would be a fun and interesting exercise. I am a little ashamed that I have only read 35 of those on your list. I think I could more easily compose a 100 favorites list than a 100 most influential. I think that my shame comes from the fact that I have not read as many of our founding/revolutionary documents as I should have. They are on my list! I also think that I should probably read the koran...know your enemy and all that. I have seen (my new hero) Lt. Col. Allen West shoot down some naive rainbows and unicorns types with very well informed and educated responses to their attacks based on the koran. If I were a revolutionary, I would be more like Sam Adams than John Adams. I think I would be more the tar and feather type than the attorney type. A revolution needs both, I think. I am going to have to think a little more, then come back again to add some coherent thoughts.
ReplyDeleteI will add that my love of reading and especially of reading good books has been extremely influential in many ways, but most notably lately in the fact that I know a lot of words. I can spell. I recognize and understand literary, historical, and cultural references in other media and conversations. It is shocking to me as I tutor online to see how many students can't spell. I think they rely on spell check, which is certainly a good tool, but they don't recognize when the spell check is wrong. That's because they don't read enough, I think. Also, because I read, I am familiar with a handful of widely used foreign words and phrases. I am shocked, again, at how many people think that "voila" is spelled "walla." While I am not the most widely and well read person on the planet, I am at least not ignorant. I'll probably be back later.
ReplyDeleteI'm baaack...I'm not going to attempt a list of 100, but I would say in addition to the 35 that are included in your list and at least 20 that I have not read (but recognize the influence they've had in my life i.e. the Magna Carta) my list would include the children's story Nothing At All, because it was my first favorite story. That story taught me to love characters and to empathize with them. It is the first story I remember. I read it over and over and over and cried and cried and cried. I would also include The Yearling, 100 Years of Solitude, Life of Pi (because I choose the better story) and East of Eden. These books have influenced my thought processes, my perspective, and my imagination, as well as an appreciation for beautiful words. I think that the definition of "influence" is very broad with subcategories that identify the specific influence. Obviously, the BoM and the Bible influence morality, faith, character and action. The Series of Unfortunate events have an entirely different influence. You might be able (given the time, motivation and curiosity) to make a list of the 100 different areas of influence and the 100 books which influence those areas!
ReplyDeleteI think I would have to add 1984.
ReplyDeleteYep, I did pretty much trapped you into responding! I will admit that composing this with "influential" as the criteria did make it more difficult. I am toying with the idea of making a favorites or a classics list as well. It would easier to create this list I think than the one that I just posted.
ReplyDeleteI do wish that more people would at least have those founding documents on their list to read. As Elder Oaks just reminded us, desire is the first step!
Your second comment speaks about something that is a real soapbox for me. In fact, one of the books on my list is titled "Cultural Literacy" and it breaks my heart that we are losing our American foundational culture. Actually, not even losing, it is pretty much lost. You are the exception and it is so refreshing!
I am intrigued by the challenge you offer to break the influence down even further and create sub lists. I have enjoyed this process and I may continue to tweak and readjust. I love the additions that you suggest. I would also add Animal Farm to go with your 1984 suggestion. And Walden. And something from Leon Uris. And Tolstoy. And Dostoevsky. And Herman Wouk. So many books have touched me!
But thanks for your thoughts and discussion. I am awfully glad that I posted this list here and used your name in vain!