I guess at the end of the day everyone has their own taste and no one will ever be happy with the final list. From what I gather the aurthor is british and the list has most likley stemed from years of reading based on his own reading and most likely study. I for example am 22year old Australian female, I failed english in grade 10 and left school in the early part of grade 11. I would have on my own list of must read books, which would include books that i have already read, for example most books by John Marsden an excellent australian writer for teenagers, and many works by Nicholas Sparkes. Any book (novel) that takes the reader out of their own world and makes them feel like they are in another would be a must for me. However I would have to say that most of these books do not differ from a bar of soap to me personally on the basis that i have never heard of them. so I imagine that the book from which this list was derived is quite esential in the fact that it tells you why it was picked and most likely gives you a brief outline of the plot. I however have not much intension of reading quite that many books in my life time. However from the list I may draw up a list of my own and try to focus on those. I think that perhaps the problem many readers have with this list and the lack of their particularly favorite writers is that less of the books they have already read are on the list and therefore they they have read a smaller percentage of the 1001 books you must read before you die, than they had hoped. Personally I believe that the person who has read all 1001 books would be a fearsome sight to see for sure.
I guess at the end of the day everyone has their own taste and no one will ever be happy with the final list. From what I gather the aurthor is british and the list has most likley stemed from years of reading based on his own reading and most likely study. I for example am 22year old Australian female, I failed english in grade 10 and left school in the early part of grade 11. I would have on my own list of must read books, which would include books that i have already read, for example most books by John Marsden an excellent australian writer for teenagers, and many works by Nicholas Sparkes. Any book (novel) that takes the reader out of their own world and makes them feel like they are in another would be a must for me. However I would have to say that most of these books do not differ from a bar of soap to me personally on the basis that i have never heard of them. so I imagine that the book from which this list was derived is quite esential in the fact that it tells you why it was picked and most likely gives you a brief outline of the plot. I however have not much intension of reading quite that many books in my life time. However from the list I may draw up a list of my own and try to focus on those. I think that perhaps the problem many readers have with this list and the lack of their particularly favorite writers is that less of the books they have already read are on the list and therefore they they have read a smaller percentage of the 1001 books you must read before you die, than they had hoped. Personally I believe that the person who has read all 1001 books would be a fearsome sight to see for sure.