Timesonline has published an article by Richard Wilson listing ten books which one should *not* read. I am relying on one little sentence to bolster my hope that the author is being sarcastic: “The best way to fight the massed ranks of recommended books is with an offensively glib and, if possible, ill-informed reason for not bothering with them.”
Here they are:
10 – Ulysses
9 – Lord of the Rings
8 – For Whom the Bell Tolls
7 – À la Recherche du Temps Perdu
6 – The Dice Man
5 – Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
4 – The Beauty Myth
3 – War and Peace
2 – The Iliad
1 – Pride and Prejudice
Now I’m going to embarrass myself and admit that I’ve only read Lord of the Rings, which I did love. I’m probably the only person in the civilized world who has not seen the movies. I did start War and Peace but daily life intervened. (It was so much easier to read weighty tomes while I was pregnant!) I thoroughly enjoyed the first chapter and want to return to the book.
So here’s my challenge to myself – I’m going to read each of these books (except Lord of the Rings) and write a review of them. This exercise will not only improve my writing, but it should help me develop some skill at the writing of synopses.
