Uneasy Rhetoric

Or: Another day, another book list.

Marc of Marc and Angel Hack Life suggests 30 books everyone should read by their 30th birthday. After looking through the list, I’ve concluded a more accurate title might be “30 books other people think are important that I managed to read before I was 30,” but in amongst the usual suspects there are some gems worth mentioning.

I like book lists. I like to see what books other people think are important. I like to see to what extent people believe that books can change lives. I like to get a feeling for how my literary experiences compare to others.  Mostly, though, I like to ponder what led the person to believe the books were important, especially when the list is targeted at a particular demographic.

Maybe I’m being a bit harsh, but I’m not convinced that some of the books on Marc’s list are especially important to read early in one’s life.  For example, “The Origin of Species.” I’m not arguing that this isn’t an important book–it is–but if one wants to learn the elements of evolutionary science,* one would be better served by a quality college-level textbook. “The Origin of Species,” with its Victorian prose, is a difficult read, and in the last 150 years science has shed even more light on the evolutionary process.

In the case of several titles on the list, so many young people read these titles and add them to their must read lists that their mere presence is a cliche.  “Lord of the Rings” is an obvious choice.  So is “Catcher in the Rye” and “A Clockwork Orange.”

Some of the books lends themselves to my alternate title because they were ripped straight off of a high school reading list: “Siddhartha,” “1984,” “One Hundred Years of Solitude,” “Catch 22,” “To Kill A Mockingbird,” “Grapes of Wrath,”and “For Whom the Bell Tolls.”

Others are business-type books that may be important in their given contexts but from a liberal education perspective, I would venture to say one’s attention may be better placed elsewhere: “How to Win Friends and Influence People,” “The Tipping Point,” and “Getting Things Done.” The first may in time become a bona fide classic.  The second I don’t believe will stand the test of time.  The third is a self-help book (one that has helped me, certainly) that I would never recommend everyone read.  Read it if you need it.  If you don’t, read something else.

On the other hand, Marc has some interesting books on his list that come out of left field, and I would argue these books (only one of which I have read) are what makes his list interesting and valuable.  They are “The Wisdom of the Desert,” by Thomas Merton, “Four Quartets,” by T.S. Eliot, and “The Master and Margarita,” by Mikhail Bulgakov.  These additions make the entire list valuable because they are unique, or at least rare, on other short “must-read” lists.

Finally, how did I fare?  Of the 30 books on his list, I have read 16, five of them after my 30th birthday. To be fair, however,  “Getting Things Done” was copyrighted in 2001, so there’s no way I could have read it before I was 30.

Even though I disagree that everyone under 30 should read them, I think this is an excellent list of important books.  If you didn’t read them in high school or college, pick them up now.  Perhaps you’ll be like me and discover a new favorite writer after your 30th birthday.  In my case it was Hemingway.

* I refuse to call it a theory. There are various theories of evolution. The process itself is fact, supported by rigorous scientific observation.