My book list of shame: books I haven't read that would surprise my friends
If you have reading friends like I do, there are usually those books that people assume you've read, and then they're surprised to find out that you haven't. I created an article list on movies that people would be surprised I'd never seen. I think this list would vary depending on what you tend to read; for example, I tend to read a good bit of sci-fi, and a sci-fi reading friend was horrified to learn I'd never read a book by Asimov (until this past year), though he probably wouldn't care a hoot that I haven't read, say, Nero Wolfe mysteries. As I think of my "shockers," I'll write them down. What haven't you read that would surprise the readers you hang out with?
I have not read...
Any book by Kurt Vonnegut
For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway
Night by Elie Wiesel
Any book by Thomas Pynchon
Anything by Balzac all the way through
Anything by Turgenev all the way through
Anything by H.G. Wells (at least, that I remember)
Anything by Hesse except Siddhartha
Anything by Henry Miller
Native Son by Richard Wright
I, Robot by Isaac Asimov
Anything by Saul Bellow
Anything by Don DeLillo
Anything by Gunter Grass
Anything by John Updike except a few stories
Anything by Martin Amis, I think
Anything by Arthur C. Clarke, I think
Ringworld by Larry Niven
5/15/09: removed Tony Hillerman
Oh my god you haven't read Pynchon?!!! He's the James Joyce of postmodernism. I would highly recommend Gravity's Rainbow.
I know, I know! I had a suspicion you'd be horrified by either the Pynchon or Grass (or both!). The only Pynchon I own is Mason & Dixon, but it would make sense, if I'm going to be introduced, to start with Gravity's Rainbow. Maybe it'll be a 2009 read. Just started I Served the King of England in the wee hours of this morning, by the way, and I'm loving it.
I read War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells, and Seize the Day by Saul Bellow this year and I really enjoyed both of them. I have several Kurt Vonnegut books in my huge stash, but I haven't ready anything by him up to this point, which surprises even me. Maybe this next year I'll get to them...
So, do you plan on reading some of these books you have listed or just letting them remain as your shocking secrets?
I definitely plan on reading them at some point; I love exploring new things, especially when fellow readers feel strongly about them (for better or worse). Saul Bellow is on my near-list to read; I already have a couple of books on my shelves waiting for me. A few of the others...I haven't gotten to them yet, but at some point, I'll probably get there. I'm not deliberately avoiding anything. I had thought about going with Augie March for my first Bellow, but maybe I should look into Seize the Day.