1,000 Books to Read Before You Die

Temptation. I should never have picked up a copy of James Mustich’s book titled, 1,000 Books To Read Before You Die. In recent years, I’ve been reading at the pace of about a book a day. My focus has been to try to drink from the fire hose of newly published books and try to select an eclectic sample to match my interests. I was curious to see how many of Mustich’s selected 1,000 I’ve read during my six decades of reading. While I did not read everything Mustich had to say about each book he selected and referenced (actually about 6,000 altogether), I turned every page and was alarmed by how many authors he chose who were totally unfamiliar to me. I think I’ve read over a third of his selections. Now I am tempted toward the two-thirds. I sensed a kindred spirit in Mustich when I read his take on diversity in reading appetite: “No matter their pedigree, inveterate readers read the way they eat – for pleasure as well as nourishment, indulgence as well as education, and sometimes for transcendence, too. Hot dogs one day, haute cuisine the next.” (p. ix) Any reader looking for something interesting to read can use this book to fulfill reading appetites of all sorts. Will I abandon my focus on new books and turn toward the past to recover what I’ve missed along the way? Time will tell. Rating: Four-star (I like it) Click here to purchase 1,000 Books from amazon.com.