rorqual: (Default)
[personal profile] rorqual
So, apparently, Penguin Books has decided to sell, as a package, all its Penguin Classics, for the actually quite reasonable sum of $7989.50 (w/free shipping). Since that's 1,802 books, which they will not only send you but also carry in to your house and I think unpack for you, it's definately a bargain. As I am a huge book dork, and also intellectual snob, I decided to take some of my time (which should better be spent on sorting out my fantasy football draft plans), and count the ones I'd read. Yeah, I know.

Leaving out multiple titles, collected works (ie I counted each listed play, but not the collected Shakespeare), and anything titled "Selected" or "Portable", I have read, in whole or in substantive part....

170 books.

That's less than I had thought. Not, mind you, because I'm a supergenius. But because I went to school for a really long time, during which my major was Reading Books. In fact, I actually have a degree in Reading Classic Books. There's a lot of Henry James on here, which I am apprently devoid of. Not to mention all the things I can't remember if I read. Did I read Coriolanus? Do you underline plays or put them in italics? Was it a play? Did I read Common Sense? Or did I just want to read it? Didn't I read any Henry James? I'm pretty sure I read Washington Square - or did I just see the movie? Did I even see the movie, or do I just remember there was a movie? See how hard this is?!?

Book I Initially Didn't Note Because It Was Titled Differently: The Schreber Case (aka The Psychotic Dr. Schreber, a much better title. My edition also had the case of the Wolf Man, and Rat Man, who was nuts, lemme tell ya.)
Book I Never Read But Want To Read Now: Ancient Sorceries and Other Weird Stories
Book I Know I Read But Can't Remember: Grundrisse. It's Marx, and I know I read it for Marx class...and I suspect it is about economics, or possibly society, or both. That's a guess, though.
Book I Am Gratuitously Showing Off With: The Mabinogion. Not in the Welsh, though. I'm not that fancy.
Book Which Is Not On There But I Read: The Bible. I mean, not a shocking thing to read, but it isn't a Penguin Classic. It will be next year, though, and then I'll have one more book!

I'm going back to football.

Date: 2005-08-26 01:06 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] jeffxandra.livejournal.com
You've probably read a lot more of them than I have. It's incredible how dorky-cool it'd be to have that.

Date: 2005-08-28 06:41 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] rorqual.livejournal.com
One of my super-dorky online friends counted hers, and she's read 349. I am both jealous, and honored to know her....:)

Profile

rorqual: (Default)
rorqual

August 2011

S M T W T F S
 123456
78910111213
14151617181920
212223242526 27
28293031   

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags
Page generated Feb. 17th, 2026 10:19 pm
Powered by Dreamwidth Studios