1,000 Books to Read Before You Die: A Life-Changing List
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Encompassing fiction, poetry, science and science fiction, memoir, travel writing, biography, children's books, history, and more, 1,000 Books to Read Before You Die moves across cultures and through time to present an eclectic collection of titles, each described with the special enthusiasm readers summon when recommending a book to a friend.
Mustich provides brief (usually one page) introductions to works of fiction, poetry, science and science fiction, memoir, travel writing, biography, children's books, history, and more. Ranging across cultures and through time, this eclectic collection of works is not a proscriptive list of the 'great works' but a celebration of the glorious mosaic that is our literary heritage. Arranged alphabetically by author, the list is a life-changing list for a lifetime of reading. -- adapted from jacket
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Eclectic list of books chosen by James Mustich, for different reasons, as must reads. Mustich co-founded and published the iconic catalog “A Common Reader” for 20 years which gave me great joy whenever it appeared in my mailbox. I loved the brief book reviews and consequently read many books found in its pages. So, as a bookaphobe and fan, I was curious to see what he had put on his list. I skimmed his reviews, going through the entire book and found I had read about 75 of them It was like a trip down memory lane to remember them in time and place. I also made note of another 15 books (it was hard to limit this list) to add to my reading list. Enjoyed it immensely.
I have to regrettably return this to the library, as it was a 14-Day loan limit. I have not read many titles within the recommendations but I have read some and I'm definitely interested to read more. Moreover, I think the book was created very well with full-color images inserted throughout. I would love to own a copy one day. The website is also very useful.
A personal, curated list of books the author thinks are some of the best books ever written, across pretty much all genres. But it's not a list scraped from other lists. Mustich has opinions and a point of view that are uniquely his own. There are also far more than 1000 books in here, because he adds other related works at the end of each review, which can lead readers down wonderful rabbit holes.
I did not read this cover to cover, but I have not been able to put it down for the past few days, dipping in and out of the book I borrowed from the library. I liked it so much I went out this morning and got my own copy, which I will refer to for the rest of my reading life.
