Poll

Jun 28, 2009 at 2:13 PM
3 comments

I was reading the Baltimore Sun's book blog (which, incidentally, I love) and someone left a comment with this question: "I'm reading Entertainment Weekly's 25 new classic books, but I've read some of the authors before and didn't like them. Do you think I can substitute the books I've already read for the ones on the list?" (That's a paraphrase, but the essence is the same.)

My stance: Um, no. Because it's not a best authors list, it's a best books list. I also pointed out that On Writing is totally different than Stephen King's other books, for example, so it's not like you can say "Well, I read Pet Sematary, so..."

But what do you guys think?

3 comments

Comments

That's ridiculous. No one is forcing that person to read every book on the list. If they don't think they'd enjoy reading every book on the list, then don't choose that list as a guide. Or read the ones you'd like, and skip the rest. Or make your own list.

I also agree with you that one book by an author can be completely different. I haven't looked at EW's list in a while, but wasn't Middlesex on that list? Middlesex is completely different from The Virgin Suicides, and in my opinion - a lot better.

I don't believe substitutions are warranted in this situation. Just like Emily said: authors write differently for each book, some may seem very formulaic---but there are differences.

If the blog commenter wants to read the newest 25 Classics and doesn't like this particular list---they should go find a different list. Because every list has a person (or two) behind it and each person would list the new classics differently than the next. (does that make sense?)