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Reading the greatest novels of the 20th century

    I like literature.  For the last several years however I haven't been reading much of it.  Probably due to the complete lack of schooling in my life.  Which I have to say I do not miss at all.  However, I wouldn't mind a little more literature, it's just nice to sit down with a cup of coffee and a book that is hopefully both entertaining and thought provoking.

    I want to give my self a little education in good literature.  I figure the best place to start if you want to learn anything about literature is to just read.  But what to read?  Obviously the best works of fiction out there.  

    I'm particularly interested in novels from the 20th century.  The 20th century arguably is one of the more interesting in history and one from which there is a plethora of good literature.

    I began by searching for "the 100 greatest novels of the 20th century."  I figured that would be a good place to start.  What I found was almost solely a list from Modern Library along with a list voted on by readers.  The complete lack of books by Ayn Rand or Tolkien on the Modern Library list disturbed my and honestly the list looked like some kind of horror high school English literature assignment.  The readers list however had an excessive number of books from Ayn Rand and L. Ron Hubbard which I found equally disturbing...  I figured whatever why not just read both of these lists and throw in the Radcliffe's Rival list also.

    From these three lists of the 100 greatest novels of the 20th century I get some 205 novels.  Some of these books I have read or I'm pretty familiar with the authors.  But many I have never heard of before.

    205 books is pretty daunting for me.  I am a slow and methodical reader usually with lots of time between books.  I'd like to say I could do it in a couple years but it will probably be more like a couple lifetimes...  

The first book I am reading on my list is Dune which so far is awesome.  Dune is one of those books I have been meaning to get to for a long time.  It is regarded by many as one of the greatest sci-fi novels and I think it lives up to the hype.  Novels like Dune are why I included the Reader's List of best novels in my list.

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