I believe, along with “you are what you say” and “you are what you eat”, that “you are what you read.” So I was curious to read a recent Tribune article1 by Nara Schoenberg that cited Andrew Hill’s The Best Books You Will Never Read…Ever and listed the top ten.
A sampling of books from my book club and from writing classes.
My immediate reaction was to glue my eyes to the list. If they were, indeed, the best books, then, surely, since I believe I am what I read, I should have read them by this time in my life.
I approached the list with apprehension, because I’ve always envied people who have read widely, especially literature, and can quote authors like Augustine, Hemingway, and Updike in the same paragraph. With my publicly declared statement of reading, eating, and sleeping nursing for nearly forty years (Caring Lessons, back cover), I am now, in my retirement, hyper aware that I could be catching up with the people I envy. Note that I didn’t say I should this time, because there are no more “shoulds” in my life.
So here’s the list. See how you do. (1) If you can prove Andrew Hill wrong, take a point for each book you’ve read. (2) If you have intended to read the book, take a point for that too. (3) If Hill is correct, and you’ll never, ever, read the book, you may humbly admit that your reading it is hopeless and be thrilled with any point you may have earned.
2. Remembrance of Things Past by Marcel Proust
3. Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace
4. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
5. Gravity’s Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon
6. Of Grammatology by Jacques Derrida
7. On the Road by Jack Kerouac
8. Moby Dick by Herman Melville
9. Being and Time by Martin Heidegger
10. As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
As usual, I was chagrined to find I’ve read only two of these books, Ulysses and Moby Dick. And those were assigned in the Basic Program of Liberal Education for Adults that I just completed at the University of Chicago.
Required reading for UC’s Basic Program
We could argue that this is only Hill’s idea of the best books, so why should we pay any attention? Hill is a professor at Appalachian State University in NC. But I find that any lists like this show me I have more reading to do than time left.
But, I find that exciting. The thought brightens my day. So much to discover yet. I can’t resist greeting each morning with enthusiasm—and a paperback, or my Kindle, or a walk to Barnes or Noble or Harold Washington Public Library.
Plus, I’ll follow a piece of wisdom from Hill that Schoenberg quotes: his 50-page rule; “if a great book can’t give him reason to continue after that, he’s free to move on.”
And when my time is up, I will have accomplished that I am what I read. A contented reader of a smattering of everything that grabs, and keeps, my attention from Florence Nightingale to Barbara Kingsolver to Frederick Buechner.
***
1 Schoenberg, N. These Books Can Talk – Do the Ones We Haven’t Read–and Won’t – Speak Volumes About Us? (2013, August 3). Chicago Tribune, Section 1, p. 12.
Write Along with Me 
As a word-worker aspiring to get published, there is nothing more daunting to me then the day I pick up a good book I never previously heard of. The reason being, is that just because a book is great, does not mean it will succeed. It is a scary thought for me.
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True, but keep on reading and be inspired to keep on writing!
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I’m supposing you’ve read Dr. Paul Brands books, but if not, I’d add them to your reading list. Yancey co-authors them: In His Image and Fearfully and Wonderfully made. Dr. Brand’s biography is fascinating-google his name for interesting reading.
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I’ve had a copy of In His Image on my to-read pile for ages. I’ll move it closer to the top. Thanks!
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I scored a “zero”. I guess I have some catching up to do with my reading. Where should I begin on this list? Any recommendations? On a related note…I am reading “Dancing on Broken Glass” on my newly purchased Kindle and enjoying it very much!
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I think I’d start with Faulkner, but I have nothing to base this on except he’s American and maybe that would help me understand the story better! By chance, I stumbled on Infinite Jest yesterday in an Oak Park bookstore. It’s about a thousand pages of dense reading. I read three pages and could easily get hooked. Great satire. But that’s for when I’m not on the run anymore. I’m glad you’re liking Dancing… Ka Hancock found my blog and wrote a fun response to that post. Her website is lots of fun, too.
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