What a great idea. So, not books you want to keep, but ones you want to get over with. I'd say Ulysses, War and Peace, Brothers Karamazov, Underworld and Pynchon's Mason & Dixon. Sheesh.

Dickens would be in my top five. Pick any of his. I have the hardest time with them. I realize they are supposed to be great, but the sheer number of pages is so daunting!

Here is my ever changing list based upon a recent raid on Cambridge: - The Cross and the Crescent; Christianity and Islam from Muhammad to the Reformation by Richard Fletcher - The Long March by Sun Shuyun - Henry Luce, Time, and the American Crusade in Asia by Robert Herzstein - Decision at Sea; Five Naval Battles That Shaped American History by Craig Symonds - Khomeini: Life of the Attollah by I.B. Tauris

Hmmm... James Joyce's Ulysses The Beatles Anthology (I'm a huge Beatles fan but still haven't read it cover to cover) The Century by Peter Jennings and Todd Brewster The Language Instinct by Steven Pinker X-Ray by Ray Davies

As you indicate, this would be an ever changing list, so here goes. The Faith Club by Ranya Idiby, Suzanne Oliver, Priscilla Warner. What Was Asked of Us by Trish Wood. You Can't Leave till You Do the Paperwork by Marcia Camp, Clarissa Willis. The Gospel According to Sam by William Miller. 8 Weeks To Optimum Health by Andrew Weil.

Interesting...Books that you wouldn't want to miss out on before you die. How much time do I have? And I definitely would not read something I felt I should read because with only enough time to read five, I definitely want to enjoy them. Ok, first I'd say, the 7th Harry Potter because I want to know what happens before I die and always feel sad when I read obituaries because they can't know the ending although they probably know already. 2nd I'd read War and Peace because I read everything else by Tolstoy in grad school but didn't actually read w and P like I should have and I know I would really enjoy it but have never gotten around to reading it. 3rd joe landsdale's the bottoms because it keeps getting added to my to-read list and then I discover it's already there. It must be fate that I read this eventually. 4th Come spring by ben ames williams because my mother has wanted me to read this forever and is clearly a book that will tell me something about her and if i was going to die I would want to do anything i could to feel close to those i love. 5th one last terry pratchett book so i can die smiling. Perhaps when he hears of my sad condition he'll write the next book in the tiffany aching series and I can read that. That would be great! Thanks for the fun forum... Best, Michele

This is such a good question through I can only come up with four books. I know the second I press the 'submit comment' button, I'm going to think of the last one. My four are War and Peace, Crime and Punishment, White Teeth by Zadie Smith and 20,000 leagues under the sea. Ahh!! I thought of my fifth choice which is Of Mice and Men.

I have several comments to respond to here, but I'm travelling today -- so I'll have to come back later and talk about these varied choices... thanks for posting, Michele and Vasilly!

yikes, only 5??? The Art of War by Sun Tzu The Complete Works of William Shakespeare ( I am counting that as a book, as it was lo, so many years ago in college...) Finnegan's Wake by James Joyce ( the maven and I share the same fondness for irish angst) the 7th Harry Potter- absolutely. not sure if these would be considered books, but I would LOVE to get a look at the dead sea scrolls ( translated, mais bien sur) and find out if history got the Jesus thing right. if they don't count, I would add anything by Virginia Wolf.