The Guardian (@guardian) recently announced its list of “the greatest novels of all time”, as voted by 172 novelists, critics and academics around the world. These books are referred to as “the greatest literature ever published in English”, so they do include titles that were written in other languages and then translated into English.
Out of the 100 books on the list, I reckon I have read less than 10. Do I feel embarrassed by this? Not really. In a related article titled “The story behind our list“, The Guardian quotes Henry David Thoreau as saying, “Read the best books first, or you may not have a chance to read them at all.” Nope, I don’t think I need to subscribe to anyone else’s list of great books. I’m happy with what I read, because I read for myself and for pleasure. It’s lovely to know what other people have been reading, and to learn how they approach, analyse and critique books, but I can only read to the best of my capacities in terms of time, energy and resources.
With that said, i do like this quote from the aforementioned article by Lisa Allardice (@LisaAllardice), The Guardian’s chief books writer:
“Lists are designed to inspire and enrage.”
I love the ideas and inspirations. Thanks @guardian for the image and the articles.
Voices under the Sun 陽光下的聲音 