“If you’re putting together a list of ‘the greatest books,’ you’ll want to do two things: (1) out of kindness, avoid anyone working on a novel; and (2) decide what the word ‘great’ means. The first part is easy, but how about the second? A short list of possible definitions of ‘greatness’ might look like this:
1. ‘Great’ means ‘books that have been greatest for me.’
2. ‘Great’ means ‘books that would be considered great by the most people over time.’
3. ‘Great’ has nothing to do with you or me — or people at all. It involves transcendental concepts like God or the Sublime.
4. ‘Great’? I like Tom Clancy.”
— David Orr
…I do like Tom Clancy, actually. XD
(In other news, apparently someone had the amazing idea to ask 125 of the “greatest” American and British writers to make a list of the “greatest” works of fiction of all time.)
(Why only American and British writers?)
(Why writers?)
(Why not cooks?)
(Why are people so obsessed with lists?)
(And with the word “great”?)