Amazon recently came out with its ` ` 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime '' For a great biography , we get Robert A. Caro 's admirable life of Robert Moses . Jay Parini : I was more than a little shocked by the list , which crudely mixes genres . If you 're going to read soon , he suggests ' ` ` Walden '' by Henry David Smith . Parini : Only about a quarter of the books on the Amazon list are in any way must - reads .
Amazon recently came out with its ` ` 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime '' Jay Parini : I was more than a little shocked by the list , which crudely mixes genres . If you 're going to read soon , he suggests ' ` ` Walden '' by Henry David Smith . Parini : Only about a quarter of the books on the Amazon list are in any way must - reads .