1001 books
What’s with all these books obsessed with death and cramming everything in before the grim reaper appears? As my better half observed recently, ‘you’ll be seventy in twenty years’. This has been preying on my mind, but there is no shortage of books that suggest what I can do with my few remaining years, before I die.
Maybe I could go fishing or surfing; play golf or listen to some classical or pop music. I could take in some fine art, appreciate some gardens or catch up on one’s reading.
The only problem is: is there enough time? And that’s before we’ve even tackled the unforgettable places to go to BYD, the 1001 places to visit BYD or the world’s natural wonders before you snuff it and join the choir invisible.
Fortunately, we don’t appear to have bought the book that I recall having a title similar to ‘100 places to take the kids before you die’. That’s taking all this morbidity too far. What next we ask? ‘100 Diseases to Endure Before you Die’?
13 August 2008 at 12:16 pm
There’s something about a list isn’t there … especially music (loved the 1001 albums book). It’s the whole “High Fidelity” thing. I’m not immune. I’ve got The Pitchfork 500 Our Guide to the Greatest Songs from Punk to the Present and Hang the DJ An Alternative Book of Music Lists on hold …
14 August 2008 at 1:42 pm
It’s pretty easy journalism isn’t it? Bit like the Best of the Year/Decade/Millenium stuff we get regularly. My son has the Movies version of it and I must say it has sent him to find many movies that he would not otherwise have even heard of…
18 August 2008 at 11:14 am
How far away is “The 100 blogs you must read before you log off” and would this one be on it?
5 September 2008 at 7:38 am
If you’re interested, there’s a new version of Arukiyomi’s 1001 books spreadsheet. Along with some cool new features, there are lists of both the revised 1001 books and those that were removed from the new 2008 list. That’s right, the list has changed!
If you want a free copy of the spreadsheet, head over to Arukiyomi’s blog.
Happy reading!