‘100 Books To Read Before You Die’ Lists: Just say NO
Sunday, February 26, 2012 at 10:00AM 
Whoever initiated the whole ‘before you die’ list culture needs a serious talking-to, don’t they? 100 places to visit before you die, top 10 dare-devil adventures to have before you die, top 10 cheeses to try before you die. The foundation of these odious lists is that we’re all RUNNING OUT OF TIME. There are always far too many items on the list, so many that you find yourself getting into a panic as you look through them, with a clammy bleakness that only a combined preoccupation with DEATH and THINGS TO DO can provoke.
And of course, as a middle-class person, it’s the list of 100 books to read before you die that makes your heart sink most profoundly. Because the fear of coming up short intellectually is something that lurks in the back of your mind every day anyway. The last thing you need is a reminder that you’re somehow going to have failed in life if you haven’t read To Kill a Mockingbird by the time you shuffle off.
You must reject these monstrous lists and not let them prey on your mind. Keep things in perspective and think about the small, manageable goals. This list of 50 Amazingly Achievable Things is a good place to start.
Reader Comments (3)
what's so insidious is the idea that there's a Gove-like set of 'correct' knowledge and a wasteland of wrong or pointless knowledge outside of that. No study or experience is wasted. Your personal curriculum may be off message or off beat but you've got it down. If you made lists of where you'd actually already been and what what you'd read you may be surprised at their length and variety. Should have read To Kill A Mockingbird though.
Can't believe you haven't read To Kill a Mocking Bird
I think you're LUCKY to have not read TKAMB - when you do, so many pop references are going to make sense, and you're going to love it.