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Sean 
"Necrosphenisciform anthropophagist."
New Zealand
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 Posted - 25/01/2011 : 00:45:14
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quote:
Originally posted by lamhasuas
Who on earth has read the entire Bible
I'd say it's a safe assumption that numerous Christians will have done so, some will have read it many times.quote:
or the complete works of Shakespeare?
My Dad, for one (he's owned a copy for 50+ years. It's only 1229 pages, a mere 100 pages longer than LOTR. I'd also hazard a guess that AC also has.quote:
Here�s a Guardian article from the time:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2007/mar/01/topstories3.books
Ah, thanks. I thought it was the usual passed-through-many-hands hodgepodge. It makes sense now.  |
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ci�nas 
"hands down"
Brizzle
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Posted - 25/01/2011 : 01:21:31
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quote:
Originally posted by Se�n
quote:
Originally posted by lamhasuas
Who on earth has read the entire Bible
I'd say it's a safe assumption that numerous Christians will have done so, some will have read it many times.quote:
or the complete works of Shakespeare?
My Dad, for one (he's owned a copy for 50+ years. It's only 1229 pages, a mere 100 pages longer than LOTR. I'd also hazard a guess that AC also has.[quote]
Number of pages isn�t a guide to word count & of course has no relation to reading difficulty. Total word count for Shakespeare�s output (including the disputed ones but excluding the Sonnets & oddments like �The Phoenix and the Turtle�) is apparently c 929,000. Word count for LOTR is c 454,000. I�ve read about 2/3 of Shakespeare myself & of course complex Elizabethan blank verse demands a hell of a lot more concentration than Tolkien�s fantasy.
I wasn�t seriously saying that nobody has ever read the entire Bible � I know at least one person who has � or the whole of Shakespeare; I was just making the point, by way of exaggeration, that these represent incongruously substantial accomplishments in an otherwise fairly straightforward list.
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AC 
"Returning FWFR Old-Timer"
Canada
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Posted - 25/01/2011 : 01:32:34
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| I've read all of Shakespeare, no doubt about it, in the course of my work. I can say so with certainty because my PhD thesis was based around Quarto-Folio variance so I read all sorts of variations on the same pieces (such as the many versions of 'Hamlet' and 'Lear'). I only finished the canon a few years ago, but it was a concerted effort to dig my way through the more obscure works, just so that I didn't get caught out at conferences. With that said, it is my specialty, so the point stands that most casual readers would never get the chance to read the canon or the Bible. |
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Sean
"Necrosphenisciform anthropophagist."
New Zealand
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Posted - 25/01/2011 : 02:36:12
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Yep, I guess I could read LOTR three times (at least) in the time it'd take me to wade through the Bard's every word. But if I was stuck on a desert island with only 10 books then one of them may as well be the Complete Works.
I guess though - given this list is based on "books I can't live without" - numerous people would pick the Complete Works (why exclude anything and just list a play?) and the bible, even if they never got around to reading every word.
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ci�nas
"hands down"
Brizzle
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Posted - 25/01/2011 : 08:05:17
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quote:
Originally posted by Se�n
Yep, I guess I could read LOTR three times (at least) in the time it'd take me to wade through the Bard's every word. But if I was stuck on a desert island with only 10 books then one of them may as well be the Complete Works.
I guess though - given this list is based on "books I can't live without" - numerous people would pick the Complete Works (why exclude anything and just list a play?) and the bible, even if they never got around to reading every word.
Absolutely. The list is completely misrepresented on FB.
As for asking people (especially people on FB) about what books they claim to have read:
http://www.examiner.com/book-in-national/top-10-books-people-lie-about-reading-and-the-10-authors-they-actually-are-reading
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SixFourian 
"Four ever European"
The European Union
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Posted - 25/01/2011 : 11:14:32
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@lamhasuas:
My degree was in English and linguistics as well (and maths) but I didn't really enjoy the English, because/therefore it was my weak subject. I just got by on things I'd studied for A-level until my final year when I plumped for all Old English just to get away from the main part of the department, and to be more linguisticy, and that was a breath of fresh air. |
Edited by - SixFourian on 25/01/2011 11:17:48 |
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Classic/popular fiction to read/watch.
