Original Note for The Book List:


First, there was the Bob Dylan List.  But more people read books than like Bob Dylan.  So before Jake & Freez start singing to make fun, I figured I'd add a Book List.  Almost everybody likes to read.  I want to know what you like to read.

When I had the oldschool booklist up, I'd periodically get e-mails from angry wanderers saying that my list was childish, absurd, & how dare I call them the "best books of all-time"?  Ought I not just say "favorite" or some equally mitigating word?  I didn't think so, but they did.  Now they have a chance to rebut my list.  Or ideally just throw in their favorites.

I encourage everyone (especially my friends, but all visitors are of course welcome) to submit to this list.  Here's the submission rules:
1.  All genres welcome.  No distinction here between fiction or non, poetry or prose, or any other such silliness.
2.  Compilations strongly discouraged.  Just as a greatest-hits album doesn't really count in an all-time best albums list, so should the Complete Works of William Shakespeare not compete with other single volumes.  Try to pick your favorite Shakespeare plays (or whatever the individual volumes may be) & rank them head-to-head with other things.
3.  NO series (as one entry).  I know the old list had series combos.  I was wrong.  I don't care if Tolkien wanted the Lord of the Rings series published as one volume.  It wasn't.  Deal.
4. All lists should be a ranked list of 25 books.  No others shall be accepted.

A couple notes on recent changes, circa December 2004:
1.  The Bible is now being considered by the List as one book.  Previous submissions of separate books of The Bible have been incorporated into entries as The Bible.
2.  This is not the version of the List that the Book Quiz was based on in February 2004.  That list was current as of the first 25 submitters, with 468 total books.

That should be it.  One list per customer, obviously.  Yeah, so start sending 'em!  (storey@bluepyramid.org)