While browsing this morning I found this article on 50 Books Everyone Needs to Read, 1963 – 2013. It may be a good list, they may even be important books but I don’t know as I haven’t read any of them, there are two I might possibly have read but so long ago I don’t remember. The issue I have with lists of this nature is that of assumption, the compiler of the list is making assumptions of importance and that what is important to them is important to everyone else. Don’t get me wrong, this is an interesting list and I know many of the books are actually important but I don’t see how one person can make the assumption that they’re important to everyone and that they themselves are the authority.

This list contains books from a wide range of genres including children’s books, holocaust books, Yiddish authors, poetry and also science fiction with one book on fantasy. I don’t understand how one can take one book on, for example, fantasy and say that’s the most important book in that genre. I could make up a list of 50 important fantasy books and several of those would then make my top 50 books, I could do the same with science fiction or children’s books or even biographies.

And, if I did manage to compile that list other people would have problems with it. If I take that fantasy book, Magic for Beginners by Kelly Link, as an example it might make it easier to understand. I’ve read fantasy for most of my reading life, I’ve read far too many authors but they include Ursula le Guin, Terry Pratchett, J. R. R. Tolkein, C. S. Lewis, Joan Aiken, J. K. Rowling and so many more. I would consider le Guin, Pratchett, Tolkein, Lewis or Aiken to be at the top of the list and would be hard pressed to pick out just one book as more important than the others. You’ll notice I’ve included Rowling as an author I’ve read but I wouldn’t include her books in any lists as she’s not good enough as an author whereas other people would say she’s a very important author and has to be at the top of their list.

What I think would be more useful is a series of lists broken down by genre and possibly even by age as children probably shouldn’t read books aimed at adults as the themes, words or images might be inappropriate for them.