The Big List of Lists
It's the Official 50 Books 2007 List Challenge! Here's how it works: You give me a list title. I will compile this list of list titles and keep a running list here on this post. (See? Things are getting excitingly meta already.) Each week, or as often as I feel like, I will run with one of these lists in my own imitable way. You, as always, are welcome to join in.
Trust me. It's going to be AWESOME.
Here's the list-in-progress:
Let's keep the list love alive in '07! Boo-ya! Also, let's keep "boo-ya" alive in '07! BOO-YA!
Trust me. It's going to be AWESOME.
Here's the list-in-progress:
- Worst Books Ever, or Five Hours of My Life I'll Never Get Back
- Books I Have Lied About Reading
- Books I Have Lied About Liking
- Book-to-Movie Adaptations Where, Frankly, the Movie Was Better
- Books I Used to Love, of Which I Am Now Ashamed
- Best Book Titles of All Time
- Books That I Expected to Be Dirtier
- My Real Guilty-Pleasure Reads, and Not the Decoys I Talk About Openly
- Books You Must Read Before You Die, but Would Rather Die Than Read
- Books I Refused to Read for a Long Time Because too Many (or the Wrong) People Recommended Them
- Books I Read Only After Seeing the Movie
- Books I Most Often Try to Persuade Other People to Read
- Authors I Wish Had Written More Books Already
- Overused Plot Points That Drive Me Nuts
- Books I Have Lied About Hating
- Whiskey Tango Foxtrot? Plots Gone Wild
- Books in Which I Liked the Secondary Characters Better Than the Main Character, or Books in Which I Wanted to Beat the Main Character Senseless with a Tire Iron
- Books I Lied About Reading and Then Wrote an A+ Term Paper On
- Books I Lied About Reading/Liking Solely to Look Smart/Pretentious
- Books I Wish I Hadn't Finished, or Worst. Ending. Ever.
- Books I Read after Oprah Recommended Them
- Books I Will Never Read Precisely Because Oprah Recommends Them
- Literary Characters I've Developed Crushes On
- Books I Only Read to Impress Other People
- Books I Consider It My Duty as a Parent to Shield My Child from Reading
- Books I've Caught Rusty Reading That Made Me Lose Respect for Him
- Parenting Books That Are Full of Shit
- Best Books Not to Read from Start to Finish, or Best Bathroom Books
- Books I Shouldn't Admit Made Me Cry Like a Baby
- Books I Only Read for the Title
- Books I Re-Read When I Have Nothing Else to Read
- Knee-Jerk Recommendations
- Books People Keep Recommending That, Frankly, Sucked Ass
- Books My Teacher Made Me Read That I Really, Really Liked
- Books My Teacher Made Me read That Made Me Question the Value of My Education
- Books That Made Me Want to Have Sex with at Least One Character
- Books They Let Children Read for Reasons Passing Human Understanding
- Books I Actually Read but Got a Poorer Grade on the Paper I Wrote on the Subject Than My Best Friend Who Did Not Read the Book
- Books I Read Because the Author Looked Hot
- Books I've Read Aloud
- Books I Use as a Booster Seat for My Child
- Books I Love Even Though the Last Twenty Pages Made No Damn Sense
- Books I Have Written a Prequel/Sequel to in My Own Head
- Books I Keep Meaning to Read, but Then I See Something Shiny
- Books I Will Go to the Mattresses for, Even Though I Hate the Writer
- Books You Must Read Because You Must Mock
- Worst How-To Books Ever
- Books That Were on the 'To Be Read' List the Longest
- Books I Hated Having to Read in School, But Love Now
- Books Whose References Have Worked Their Way into My Household Lexicon
- Books I've Never Read But Have Read the Cliffnotes Version
- Books I've Read Because I Liked Their Cover Design/Font
- Books Which, When It Comes Right Down to It, I Would Have No Problem Burning
- Books Which I Read Only for the Sex Scenes
- Books I Pretend to Like So People Won't Think I'm a Snob, or Books I Pretend to Like So I Won't Hurt Your Feelings
- Books with Covers So Embarrassing You Can't Read Them in Public
- Books You Keep Checking out of the Library and Then Not Reading
- Books That Gave You a Hangover
- Books You Are Sorry You Didn't Read Decades Ago
- Books I Have Read at Least Four Times
- Books I Adored as a Child But My Son Thinks Are Boring
- Books That Friends Gave Me That Make Me Question Our Friendship
- Books I Bought More Than Once Because I Forgot I Already Owned It
- Books My Friends Should Give Back: It Was Just a Loan
- Books That I Have Spilled Food On
- Books That Make Me Eat While I Read
- Books I Ruined By Reading Them in the Bathtub
- Books I Read, Then Tried to Imitate While Writing My Book
- Books I Will Never Read but Have a Great Title
- Weird and Wonderful Autobiographies Given to Me by the Author
- Books That Made Me Wish I Was Drunk and/or High While Reading It
- Books That Should Be Made into Movies
- Books That I Have Physically Torn Up Because They Were So Bad
- Books That Make Me Highlite Again
- Books That People Need to STFU About Already
- Movies That Would Have Been Better as Books
- Books I Read Because They Were Alluded to in Other Books
- Books That I Would Tear the Pages out of and Use in a Collage
- Books That Make Me Wish I Could Have Lunch with the Author
- Books That Have Had an Impact on Me and Changed Me or the Way I Think in Some Fundamental Way
- Books I Used to Own, Then Got Rid of Without Ever Reading, but Now Wish I Still Had Because I've Since Heard They Were Good
- Books I Only Picked Up Because the People/Person on the Cover Was Hot
- Books I Only Picked Up Because the Cover Was Sparkly (don't judge me!)
- Books I Only Read Because They're on Every Must-Read List in Existence, Didn't Like at the Time, but Later Grew to Appreciate
- Books I Keep Re-reading, but Only After Enough Time Has Passed That I've Forgotten the Ending (Which Means I Must Not Like Them THAT Much and Should Therefore Not Even Bother)
- Books You've Returned to the Bookstore Because They Blew
- Books You Hope Oprah Never Recommends Because You Love Them and Don't Want Them Ghettoized by Her Sheep-like Audience
- Books That I Have Dreamed Myself Into
- Books That I Read Far Too Young. Why Didn't My Parents Stop Me?
- Books That Affect My Emotional State for Days After Finishing
- Books That I Was Sad to Finish Because I'd Never Get to Read Them Again for the First Time
- Books a Man Has Given Me That Made Me Swear to NEVER Go on Another Date with Him EVER Again
- Best Books to Read on Public Transportation
- Best Books to Take to Jury Duty
- Books I Have Read for Work and Enjoyed/Not Enjoyed
- Books You Have Panned in Your Blog
- Books I Have Hated So Much I Have Alienated Nice People (Who for Some Reason Have the Incredibly Poor Taste to Like These Books)
- Books That Are Better Read While Travelling and/or Away from Home
- Books You Feel Compelled to Own in Two Versions (A Beat-Up Paperback You Read Over and Over and a Handsome Leather Version You Keep on the Shelf)
- Food That Makes You Think of a Specific Book/Character/Author Every Time You Eat It
- Best Places to Read a Book
- Favorite Thing to Do (Other Than Reading) While Reading
- Books You've Put Notes in (or Added to Existing Notes) Warning Other Readers Not to Bother
- Books You Read Despite Finding Notes from Previous Readers Warning You Not to Bother (and Then Wished You Hadn't)
- Books That Are So Terrible, Either in Style or Content, That They Inspire You to Turn Them Over or Put Another Book in Front or on Top of Them at Bookstores in a Guerrilla-Style Effort to Keep Others from Reading Them
- Books Too Depressing to Finish
- Books with WAY Too Many Characters
- Books I've Borrowed and Never Returned
- Books Bought for Me by Loved Ones
- Books That Live in the Bathroom
- Series You Used to Like but Have Now Given Up On
- Books You Wish You Had Written That Make You Question Why You Think You Could Be a Writer
- Books You Put Off Reading Because You Were Afraid They Weren't Going to Live Up to Your Expectations
- Books You Continued to Read Even Though You Would Have Rather Eaten Glass
- Stupid Books That I Have Read and Forgotten but Would Totally Read Again (Despite the Fact That They Are, As I've Already Mentioned, Stupid)
Let's keep the list love alive in '07! Boo-ya! Also, let's keep "boo-ya" alive in '07! BOO-YA!
Labels: Lists
posted by Doppelganger at 12:42 AM
67 Comments:
How about: Books you must read before you die, but would rather die than read.
Books I refused to read for a long time because too many (or The Wrong) people recommended them; Books I read only after seeing the movies; Books I most often try to persuade other people to read; Authors I wish had written more books already; Overused plot points that drive me nuts.
I think you need to go with Books I Have Lied About Hating too.
How about:
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot? Plots Gone Wild.
Books in which I liked the secondary characters better than the main character!
Or, stated another way, "Books in which I wanted to beat the main character senseless with a tire iron."
How about "Books I Lied About Reading and then wrote an A+ Term Paper On" and "Books I Lied About Reading/Liking Solely to Look Smart/Pretentious"
Books I wish I hadn't finished, or Worst. Ending. Ever.
How about:
Books I read after Oprah recommended them
Books I only read to impress other people
Literary characters I've developed crushes on
Books I Consider It My Duty As A Parent To Shield My Child From Reading
Books I've Caught John Reading That Made Me Lose Respect For Him
Parenting Books That Are Full Of Shit
Best Books Not To Read From Start To Finish (less-classy list title: "Best Bathroom Books")
I think you're right, it IS going to be awesome...
Books I Shouldn't Admit Made My Cry Like a Baby
Books I Only Read For The Title
oops--I need to read posts more carefully before I respond. I thought we were supposed to make our own lists.
Books I Re-Read When I Have Nothing Else to Read:
Anne of Green Gables
Emily of New Moon
Persuasion
Pride and Prejudice
A Girl Named Zippy
Welcome to My Planet, Where English is Sometimes Spoken
"Knee-jerk recommendations." The books that when you first find another bibliophile are your default recommendations, not to be confused with your favorite books (which may not have the same applicability in a recommend-to-others capacity). If not as recommendations they are the first questions asked to test that person's literary mettle. "Have you read this one?" "But what about this one?" Touche reader.
This? Is awesome. I'll reciprocate. Every list you post, I'll post. :)
How about "Books people keep recommending that, frankly, sucked ass."
"Books that were really great until they peetered out at the last minute."
"Books my teacher made me read that I really, really liked."
"Books my teacher made me read that made me question teh value of my education."
"Books that made me want to have sex with at least one character."
I love reading. :)
How about, also "Books that they let children read for reasons passing human understanding?"
(I'm looking at you, Where the Redfern Grows, yes I am.
Also, books I actually read but got a poorer grade on the paper I wrote on the subject than my best friend who did not read the book:
Crime and Punishment
The Crying of Lot 49
Books I Will Never Read Precisely Because Oprah Recommends Them
Books I Read Because the Author Looked Hot
Books I've Read Aloud
Books I Use As a Booster Seat For My Child
How about...
Books That I Love Even Though The Last Twenty Pages Made no Damn Sense
Books I Have Written a Prequel / Sequel to In My Own Head
Books I Keep Meaning to Read, But Then I See Something Shiny
Books I Will Go To the Matresses For, Even Though I Hate the Writer
Books You Must Read Because You Must Mock
Worst How-To Books Ever
Books That Were on the 'To Be Read' List the Longest
Books I Hated Having to Read in School, But Love Now
Books Whose References Have Worked Their Way into My Household Lexicon
Books I Leave on Tables So People Want to Have Sex with M--I Mean, Think I'm 'Cool'.
How about, Books Ive Never Read But Have Read the Cliffnotes Version?
Books Ive Read Because I Liked Their Covers?
Books Ive Read Because the Cover Font Looked Cool?
Books which, when it comes right down to it, I would have no problem burning.
Books which I read only for the sex scenes.
I don't think this one has been said yet:
Books I pretend to like so people won't think I'm a snob. Or, books I pretend to like so I won't hurt your feelings.
Books with Covers so Embarrassing You Can't Read Them in Public
Books You Keep Checking Out of the Library and Then Not Reading
Books That Gave You a Hangover
Books You Have Destroyed So No One Else Ever Suffers through Them
Books That You Are Sorry You Didn't Read Decades Ago
Books I have read at least four times.
Books I have tried to read at least three times but they suck so bad I put them back in the bookshelf.
Books I have stopped reading halfway through cause they really aren't going to get better.
Books that me and my mom both read. (scary)
Books I Adored as a Child But My Son Thinks Are Boring. (But that I insist on reading to him anyway because he's five and what does he know?!)
Neat idea!
Books that friends gave me that make me question our friendship.
Books I bought more than once because I forgot I already owned it.
Books my friends should give back: it was just a loan.
I forgot to add:
- Books That I Have Spilled Food On
and the related category,
- Books That Make Me Eat While I Read
I'm really looking forward to the Real Guilty Pleasures, I have to say!
Hmmm...How 'bout Books I Ruined By Reading Them in the Bathtub or Books I Read About in Another Book, Then Read for Curiosity's Sake? Even better: Books I Read, Then Tried to Imitate While Writing My Book.
Wow, all books aside, this is the funniest collection of comments ever! There are too many funny ones here!! I might just bookmark the comments...
Ok, and what about "Books I will never read but have a great title" (lazy momma's antithesis of Annon's 'Books I Only Read For The Title')
Or "Weird and wonderful autobiographies given to me by the author" (or am I the only one who seems to have collected 4 of them - from the cool n' crazy priest living with the Dene Nation in the Canadian Artic to a woman doctor who set up the first medical school in India.)
How about:
Books that made me wish I was drunk and/or high while reading it
Books that should be made into movies
Books that I have physically torn up because they were so bad (Oh, sorry, was that just me?)
Books that make me highlite again
Books that people need to STFU about already
Movies that would have been better as books
Books I Read Because They Were Alluded to in Other Books.
Books that I would tear the pages out of and use in a collage (I just did that yesterday).
Books I wish I had wrote.
Books that make me wish I could have lunch with the author.
Books that have an impact on me and change me or the way I think in some fundamental way.
The good ones are already taken, but here's a couple more to add:
Books I Used to Own, Then Got Rid of Without Ever Reading, but now Wish I Still Had Because I've Since Heard They Were Good
Books I Only Picked Up Because The People/Person on the Cover Was Hot
Books I Only Picked Up Because The Cover Was Sparkly (don't judge me!)
Books I Only Read Because They're On Every Must-Read List In Existence, Didn't Like at the Time, but Later Grew to Appreciate
Books I Keep Re-reading, but Only After Enough Time has Passed that I've Forgotten the Ending (Which Means I Must not Like Them THAT Much and Should Therefore not Even Bother)
Books/Authors with which You Judge People Based on Their Liking or Not Liking.
Books You Not Only Wanted to Destroy But Actaully Did. On Purpose.
Books You've Read But Whose Plot You've Totally Forgotten.
Books You've Returned to the Bookstore Because They Blew (I've only done this twice, I think. If it's a truly unsatisfactory product I think I should get my money back.)
Books You Hope Oprah Never Recommends Because You Love Them and Don't Want Them Ghettoized by Her Sheep-like Audience.
I think I may follow along in my blog, too, posting my own entries to the lists. I like lists.
Books that I have Dreamed Myself Into
Books that I read far too young, why didn't my parents stop me
Books That affect my Emotional State for Days After Finishing (for good or for bad)
Books that I was Sad to Finish because I'd Never Get to Read Them Again for the First Time
Books a Man Has Given Me That Made Me Swear to NEVER Go on Another Date with him EVER Again.
Boooks I Regret Getting Rid Of
Best Books to Read on Public Transportation
Best Books to Take to Jury Duty
I love this idea; do you mind if we post along with you?
Books I have read for work (I'm a children's librarian) and enjoyed/not enjoyed
How about "Books You Have Panned in Your Blog" and the subset of those, "Books Whose Authors Have Gone Psycho on You After A Bad Review" (for me, this latter subset is limited to Happy Housewives, by Darla Shine).
I was going to add Books You Re-Read For The Sex Parts, but you may already have that one covered.
How about: Books You Wish You Had Written?
Books I Have Hated So Much I Have Alienated Nice People (Who For Some Reason Have The Incredibly Poor Taste To Like These Books)
A few ideas:
1. Books that are better read while traveling and/or away from home.
2. Books you feel compelled to own in two versions - a beat up paperback you read over and over and a handsome leather version you keep on the shelf.
Slightly off topic:
1. Food that makes you think of a specific book/character/author every time you eat it.
2. Best places to read a book
3. Favorite thing to do (other than reading) while reading.
Books I especially selected in editions WITHOUT Oprah's damned logo on the cover:
East of Eden (replacement copy)
House of Sand and Fog
I Know This Much is True
Where The Heart Is
Books you've put notes in (or added to existing notes) warning other readers not to bother.
Books you read despite finding notes from previous readers warning you not to bother (and then wished you hadn't).
Oh! I forgot one...
Books which are so terrible, either in style or content, that they inspire you turn them over or put another book in front / on top of them at bookstores in a guerilla-style effort to keep others from reading them.
Books I've read because someone talked about them on their blog.
P.S. What's wrong with Oprah? Honestly?
This post has been removed by the author.
Love the lists...here's more:
Books Too Depressing to Finish
Books with WAY Too Many Characters
Books You've Read More than Once, Even If You Have Something Else to Read
Books I've Borrowed and Never Returned
Love this idea! How about, books that weren't as good as the movies made from them.
Love this list. Hope these haven't been covered already:
Books your friends love but I secretly hate
Books bought for me by loved ones
Books I have borrowed and never given back
Books that live in the bathroom.
If I think of any more, I'll let you know...
Here's another one: Series you used to like but have now given up on.
Hey.
Cool idea! My suggestions are: Books you wish you wrote that make you question why you think you could be a writer; Books you put off reading because you were afraid they weren't going to live up to your expectations; Books you continued to read even though you would have rather eaten glass; and Books that make you wonder how the hell they got published in the first place.
Cheers!
Jennifer
Hi,
You can evaluate books or post customer reviews on the pages of this site
Consumer Reviews @ www.pissedconsumer.com
or you can also visit our blog at
Consumer Reviews Blog @ www.pissedconsumer.com
Regards,
Books where the movie was better: Must Love Dogs.
Books you thought were amazing for their time and so imaginative in their style but now that you've seen the movie you can't re-read the book:
Joy Luck Club, How to make an American Patchwork Quilt.
Books you only read after seeing the movie: Persuasion (I love both) , Three Musketeers (I love both), Freaky Friday (so very different, but I love them both)
Or how about, Books Given as Gifts by parents, so you felt compelled to keep them but could not get past the first page.
Books where the author made you so made because of what they did to a character, that you refuse to read any of their books anymore.
how about: books that you only read once or twice, and never again because it brings out emotions that you'd rather not feel? :)
Books that I would have enjoyed more had the writing been more mature
Books I only read because I was on a trip and they were the only ones available to me, otherwise I wouldn’t have made it halfway through…
Books I own but have yet to read
Hi! I've come avross your website a few times, and I just love it. I got here via a link from The Grub Report, one of the affiliated TWoP sites. As a former English major, may I humbly recommend:
Books I've Only Said I've Read for Class(although this might fit already under Books I Lied About Reading and Then Wrote an A+ Term Paper On)
Such as: Jane Eyre
Mrs. Dalloway
Oh Pioneers!
Native Son
Etc.
Books I've Started But Haven't Finished Yet
Such as: Jane Eyre
Mrs. Dalloway
The Odyssey
Etc.
Best Books to Read If You Are High on Something/Best Books to Read While High: (Not that I'm actually endorsing drugs, mind you, I'm just kidding)
Such as: T.S. Eliot's The Wasteland
Naked Lunch
Of Mice and Men (for the last 20 pages or so)
Etc.
Thank you for taking the time to take suggestions and read this!
-Autobiography at TWoP
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the lists! I posted a link with a small sample at my blog.
How about:
Books English Teachers Love To Hate
Books About Bitchy Women (both real and fake)
Books I wouldn't read again if I were handcuffed to a desk with only that book
Books to read aloud to a secret lover.
Here's my post for when Books That Should Be Made Into Movies goes up.
How about, Books that deserve not to be called books.
what do you have for inspirational kick ass self help books?
please add Beth Jannery's new release: Simple Grace - Living a Meaningful Life (think oprah or dr. phil but for a more hip generation)
check out www.bethjannery.com
or her blog
www.myspace.com/bethjannery
Books that should have read before turning 18.
Book you bought from www.flipkart.com
Good Lord this is brilliant.
And inspirational. Ah, well, better a year late than not at all. I'll be reading you...
Thnaks...
Canan Eoy
SELF HELP
Could I BE more behind the curve on this one; and yet, I staggered across this meta-work of meta-genius and immediately thought: Books Which Are Secretly Tests for Potential New Mates. As in, if s/he doesn't adore Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis (e.g.), this person is OUT of my running. And now to read the completed posts--thank you thank you!
How about ... 50 Books for Everyone Should Read. The intent: to give people who aren't very well read, but are interested in becoming so (i.e.: ME) a place to get started.
books of big discount and new books at www.bookadda.com
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