Thread: Books that are must reads before you die ?

When I was about 13 I saw the film Lawrence Of Arabia with Peter O'Toole. I loved the movie and soon found out that Lawrence had written a book called The Seven Pillars of Wisdom. I cannot remember how old I was when I got my first copy but probably in the neighborhood of 14.

I was a reader and had read most of what John Steinbeck and James Jones had written. Some of Hemingway, Dumas and Conan Doyle. Dostoevsky and Tolstoy came later. I couldn't read Lawrence in spite of trying time after time. Other books that I wanted badly to read and couldn't get into were Moby Dick by Melville and Don Quixote by Cervantes.

I have had a number of copies of these books over the past forty some years and repeatedly tried and failed to complete them. When I turned 60 the realization that I had a lot more life behind me than ahead of me kicked in. I made a resolution to read the Lawrence, Cervantes and Melville books.

I bought the 1922 reprint edition of Seven Pillars and read the 813 pages. It was a slog at times requiring discipline to persevere but worth it. Winston Churchill was quoted as saying it was one of the greatest books in the English language. I don't know about that but some of it was terrific.

Next came the Samuel Putnam two volume translation of Don Quixote and it too was a slog at over 1,000 pages. I had read one volume 25 years ago but bogged down and never picked up volume two. I had read somewhere that vol 2 was better and so it was. Not that one wasn't good. It was a rewarding read.

Now I am starting out on Moby Dick and I will finish it. Next up is Marcel Proust Remembrance Of Things Past. Another one I tried and failed to read 25 or 30 years ago. Keeps life interesting. Anyone else have books that are must reads before they die ?