Who must you have read to consider yourself 'well-read'?

[Elisabeth Wang]

Discuss here.

[Alison]

Funny you ask this question, because I always thought of myself as "well-read", but then I started my book blog! LOL I've been very lucky to have publishers introduce me to some amazing authors that I had not heard of before -- Richard Russo, Margaret Atwood, Lorrie Moore, etc.

Some would insist that you could not be well-read unless you had a certain number of classics on your list (Steinbeck, Bronte, Austen, Dickens, Fitzgerald, etc.). Others would say that you're not well read until you've gone through Shakespeare's works. Another group still wouldn't consider someone well read until they have a decent collection spanning generations, genres, authors, and formats (everything from Harper Lee to George Orwell, Anne Frank to Jeannette Walls, Victor Hugo to Ayn Rand, Oscar Wilde to Arthur Miller, Louisa May Alcott to Rick Riordan, etc.).

I guess my point is, being well-read is too subjective for a concrete answer. Unfortunately, there are too many books and too little time. If you have no desire to read a book like Anna Karenina, who says you should?

[Elisabeth Wang]

Excellent comments, Alison. I agree - there is nothing that will make you question your "well-readness" than being around others who are well-read! And, I think both Bunny & Stacey - commenters from my blog - agree with your last statements. There is too much in the world that we want to read, who says we should read something we don't want to?

I'd like to post your comments on my blog - on the discussion of this - if you will allow.

[Alison]

Already done! I am new to your blog, but I really like what I see so far! Thanks for opening up such a great question.

[Sarah]

Great reply!

[M. J. Macie]

I also agree. So much to read, so little time.

[Patty Woodland]

It's funny. I have had a book at my nose since I was 7. I have read classics, I have read trash and I have enjoyed both. I could not read Shakespeare to save my life. I tried Dickens in high school but he didn't resonate with me until just last year when I read them all again. I didn't read Austen until about 5 years ago and I read them all in a row.

I read a book and it sets me off on a tangent so I read another and another and then I find a new topic. I have done Caesar, Brigham Young, Elizabeth I (although I will never stop reading about Elizabeth I),Jesus, Mary Magdalene and Judas. I read The Count of Monte Cristo and Gone with the Wind at least once a year.

Am I well read? I sincerely doubt it. Am I happy? Oh, yes. I pick a book up. If I like it, I read it. If I don't - I don't waste my time because as it has been said there are too many books and so little time.

[Lynda Parker]

Just this year, I got into Oscar Wilde and absolutely adored his work! I never thought I would; but I do!

However, I read just about anything. I have been reading some Ray Bradbury lately and want more... have tried out Hemmingway and found him a little too plain. But I do enjoy H.G Wells and 'War of the Worlds'... marvelous book! Otherwise, I do get into paranormal romance and vampire action books.

I guess it depends on what I feel like reading.