Great Book Lists

Guides to Reading and Discussing
Masterpieces of World Literature

CSB/SJU Great Books List

Great Books Seminar 2002-2003

The following books may be helpful to you in creating your own library and for getting ideas of what you might like to read next. Clicking on "Barnes and Noble" or "Amazon" after a title allows you to receive more information about the book. If you have suggestions for adding to this page please e-mail me mthamert@csbsju.edu

1. How to Read a Book. The Classic Guide to Intelligent Reading by Mortimer J. Adler and Charles Van Doren. Original 1972 Edition.....Barnes and Noble $10.40. From MT: This book fascinated me when I first read it and then taught it my first year out of college. I have gone back to it many times. The reading list at the end of the book includes the Western classics up to Freud. For some readers the list will seem a bit outdated, but the book as a whole is a great introduction to getting the most out of your reading. Publisher's Comment: Originally published in 1940, has become a rare phenomenon, a living classic. It is the best and most successful guide to reading comprehension for the general reader. And now it has been completely rewritten and updated. You are told about the various levels of reading and how to achieve them--from elementary reading, through systematic skimming and inspectional reading, to speed reading. You learn how to pigeonhole a book, X-ray it, extract the author's message, criticize. You are taught the different reading techniques for reading practical books, imaginative literature, plays, poetry, history, science and mathematics, philosophy and social science. Finally, the authors offer a recommended reading list and supplemental reading tests whereby you can measure your own progress in reading skills, comprehension and speed. Other reader reviews from Amazon.

2. How to Read a Book: The Classic Bestselling Guide to Reading Books and Accessing Information by Mortimer J. Adler and Charles Van Doren 1992 Edition, Hardcover......Barnes and Noble $8.98......Amazon $8.98......... From MT: I have not read this book, but it looks like a revision of the book described above. It's available only in hardcover so far. A Reader's Review: "After I read How to Read a Book, I wanted to re-read every important book I've ever read. It is a $40,000 liberal education in a $8.95 book. How to Read A Book is an elegant guide to the lost arts of Active Reading, Conversation, and Intellectual Etiquette. Learn how to fairly and methodically assess an author's intentions and how the author fulfills (or doesn't) what they set out to do with the book. Learn how to interact with the book and make it your own...absorb its contents completely. Learn how to analyze and argue. Learn how to talk about disagreements. This is one of those books you want to re-read every once in a while. It's a great gift for a high-school or college bound student. It should be required reading freshman year."

3. A Lifetime's Reading: 500 Great Books to Be Enjoyed Over 50 Years by Philip Ward....... 1982 Edition Barnes and Noble $19.95......1984 Edition Amazon $29.95.......... From MT: The purpose of this book is to guide a young reader in which books to choose and in what order so that he or she could "most of the masterpieces of the world's literature." Publisher's Comment: "A Lifetime's Reading is a ranged year by year over fifty years, judging ten great works to be a good annual average. The selection is balanced between novelists, poets, essayists, playwrights, biographers, and religious and philosophical teachers from China to India, from the U.S.A. to [Russia], from England to Morocco, Columbia, and Iran. Translations are evaluated and guidance is offered on music, art and travel, arranged generally speaking in the order of the books' complexity and the reader's maturity.

4. Bloomsbury Good Reading Guide by Kenneth McLeish....1998 Amazon $20.00 ....... 1991 Barnes and Noble $12.95........... From MT: Note that there are two editions. The one offered by Amazon may not be available until later in 1998. I love this book. Publisher's Comment: "If you have ever wondered what to read next, your search is over. Over 350 authors and over 3,500 works. If you loved Anna Karenina will you like Sophie's Choice? If you enjoyed Margaret Drabble, will you like Doris Lessing? If you have devoured every P.D. James, Thomas Keneally, Raymond Chandler or Catherine Cookson you can get your hands on, what's next? The Reading Guide's unique cross-referencing system leads you from one specific work to a wealth of intriguing suggestions of works by the same and other authors."

5. The Reading List. Contemporary Fiction. A Critical Guide to the Complete Works of 110 Authors by David Rubel (Editor)....1998 Amazon $12.76.......Barnes and Noble $12.76.......... Publisher's Comment: "Reflecting a broad range of literary styles and traditions, the authors covered include such lions of late-twentieth-century literature as Thomas Pynchon, Susan Sontag and John Updike; rising stars like Dorothy Allison, T. Coraghessan Boyle, and Edwidge Danticat; and acclaimed writers from around the world -- Gabriel García Márquez, Milan Kundera, and Naguib Mahfouz, for instance."

6. The Book Group Book. A Thoughtful Guide to Forming and Enjoying a Stimulating Book Discussion Group by Ellen Slezak ...... 1995 Barnes and Noble $9.60........Amazon $9.60......... About 25 reading lists in part II of the book. Some of the Essays in Part I: Communion By Robin M. Neidorf; Reading Big By Wendy Underhill; When Book Club Becomes Community By Linda Francis, Dorothy Leland, Andrea Mason ; What We Talk about When We Talk about Books By Cindra Halm; Thirty Years of Treasures: Books and Friends By Carolyn Sosnoski; We Are Mighty By Carol Huber; A Journey down the River By Robert Waxler; Serious Reading By David Wellenbrock; Let Your Goals Determine Your Guidelines By John W. Hasbrouck; Becoming and Being A Book Group Leader By Karen L. Thomson; Contemporary Books Discussion Group By Hedy N. R. Hustedde; Confessions of a Bookaholic By Suzanne Hales; Hard Work and Rich Rewards By Clare Peterson, Marie Dench; Brown-Bagging and Mind Stretching By Ruth H. Kuehler; Dangerous Book Groups By Susan P. Willens; Where Are All the Men? By Bob Lamm; Gentle Reader By Noelle Sickels; A World Open to Chance By John McFarland; Transported By E. Shan Correa

7. The Reading Group Handbook: Everything You Need to Know to Start Your Own Book Club by Rachel Jacobsohn..... 1998 Barnes and Noble $11.95......1998 Amazon $9.56. Publisher's comment: "Jacobsohn is a professional reading group leader who has put her two decades of experience into this guide on organizing and running a productive, harmonious group. Beyond the basics of newsletters, fees, and food (recipes included), Jacobsohn discusses personality types and how they can blend or clash within a reading group. Finally, the essentials of book selection are covered, including pages of book lists." Other reviews of this book from Barnes and Nobel.

8. The Reading Group Book: The Complete Guide to Starting and Sustaining a Reading Group, With Annotated Lists of 250 Titles for Provocative Discussion. By David Laskin, Holly Hughes (Contributor).......1995 Amazon $8.76.....1995 Barnes and Noble $8.76. Publisher's Comment: "Reading groups have skyrocketed in popularity, and now there's a complete guide to starting and sustaining a reading group--with annotated lists of 250 titles for provocative discussion. Filled with funny and insightful stories from book group members, independent booksellers, and even a sociologist, this guide will inspire the start-up of new groups."

Suggestions: mthamert@csbsju.edu