Christina Stind's comments (member since Oct 27, 2007)

Christina Stind's comments from the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die group.

I just finished reading Trainspotting and must admit that as far as I remember, I liked the movie better (watched it a couple of times 10 years ago or so). To some extent I think that is caused by the reduced shock value of reading the book when you've already watched the movie.

I had a lot of trouble in the beginning of the book with separating the different characters. I found them all to sort of blend into each other and I found the whole reading experience rather chaotic. But after finishing it, I actually think that Welsh was able to really show how junkies are.

I started to like the book better with the scene with Rent's parents trying to help him get clean. I thought this was so well written how they fought and fought to help their son even though they really knew nothing about drug addiction - and how he just wanted to get out of there, even though he felt sorry for them. Great scene!

For me, the most disturbing scene was the alleged abuse of wee Kevin. Even though I kind of knew nothing happened to him, I still felt the scene was really disturbing - and made even more disturbing by the fact that the guy who was out to get his revenge, seemed so decent in a lot of ways - but just was so depraved and almost a sociopath with his going straight after the revenge and being willing to sacrifice a little child to get his revenge. Even though he felt guilty afterwards, he still just went for it...

I liked the book, didn't love it, but I found it very interesting.

Just started Trainspotting.

Inna wrote: "The Wasp Factory A Novel
by Iain M. Banks"

This is one of those books that I'm not sure if I want to read because I'm not sure I can stand the animal abuse in it. What did you feel about it? Did you like it?

I just found the time to sit down and read through all the comments on this book and as always, it's very enlightening to read and participate in these discussions.

I must say that this being my first Eliot, I was very impressed by her way to write real and believable characters. Neither of the characters are all good or bad - even the 'villain', Mr Bulstrode, is written in a way so you sort of understand how he came to be in the situations he did and why he chose the way he did - and his way of rationalising it to himself are priceless!

Rosamund really annoyed me. I so wanted to shake her for not getting a grip and starting to help her husband deal with their problems. But each time I realised that she was brought up to be that way and to expect a certain way of lifestyle and in no way was she able to be flexible enough to live another way. Her and Lydgrave's marriage must have been so sad in the end.

I do agree with the above mentioned posts that Casaubon was necessary for Dorothea to evolve and grow into the woman she became - and that she was blinded by her ideas about him being a learned and wise man whom she could be taught by. However, I do think that Brooke should have tried harder to prevent the marriage - I don't think it would have worked but I think he failed his duties a bit here. Of course, the book wouldn't have been the same had he succeeded, and he being the adhd man he was, simply wasn't able to put his foot down and concentrate long enough to stop Dorothea.

I was always impressed by all the plot lines Eliot managed to weave together into this very rich tapestry of a novel. Religion, progress, relationships between man and woman, debt, class, love, marriage etc etc etc - she really fit it all in and in a way so it all got it's due attention and nothing was overlooked or only shallowly discussed.

This was one book that I probably wouldn't have read for a long time if it hadn't been chosen for a group read and since I thoroughly enjoyed it, I'm grateful that it did!

So far I've enjoyed the books from the list I've read - or at least found them interesting. Because of that, I might finish the list - if it keeps being this way. However, I have no plans of finishing it soon. I try to read 25 books from the list a year and then it will take about 38 years more. So far I have plenty of books from the list I want to read so I'll just go with the flow and see where it takes me...

Jane Austen 'Sense and Sensibility' - so far I don't like it as much as 'Pride and Prejudice'.

Currently reading John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath. So far it's quite good, a bit depressing, but good and so well-written.

LDB wrote: "Maybe we just switch out the first book in the trilogy for this one. I was going to skip since I would want to read the first two before Ghost Road."

You know, I second that suggestion since vol. 1 in the trilogy (Regeneration) is also on the list. Then nobody is 'forced' to read the entire trilogy but can do so if they like vol. 1.

I just finished the book a couple of days ago and I find that I still think about and wonder what it all means. I really liked the book and I was very impressed with VW's writing skill. However, I do think that I appreciated the book more on an intellectual level than on a pure enjoyment level - which is fine, of course.

After reading it, I came to think of Hegel's thesis - anti-thesis - synthesis structure and to me, this book is written that way. The first part has the house filled with people, life, light, dinner parties, conversation ... Then the second part has the house completely empty and falling to pieces, slowly decaying. And then the third part shows the house somewhat restored to it's former glory and with some of the people back again - but still resonating is the decay shown in part two and the people who were lost. So it's a synthesis of the two first part.

I also think that Mrs Ramsay and Lily are two opposites, that Lily are the beginning of the modern woman fighting with freeing herself from Mrs Ramsay's ideals and ideas on matrimony and a woman's role.

Most of all, I'm just so impressed with VW's writing style and how she could keep it all together and tell this story through her stream of consciousness method.

I would definitely read the two first books in the trilogy before reading 'Ghost Road'. They sound interesting and I can probably easily be persuaded to read all three in October.

I've just finished To the Lighthouse and although I think I feel that it was more of an intellectual joy, I really enjoyed it and was very impressed with Woolf's way of crafting her story. Definitely not my last Woolf.

Margaret wrote: "i don't think Kafka on the Shore should be on there. i really like murakami but i hated this book! i read it after reading the Wind-Up Bird Chronicle which i thought was amazing. Kafka seemed to be..."

Wow, Margaret, Kafka is one of my all time favourite books and I find it to be so amazing all the way through. It was the book that opened my eyes for Murakami and now he's one of my favourite authors! I must admit that I haven't read Wind-up Birds yet - been saving that one a bit - but now I'm even more curious to read it.

I just started 'To the Lighthouse' - so far a good book, but it sure does demand concentration to keep up with it.

Just finished Tarka the Otter His Joyful Water-Life and Death in the Country of the Two Rivers. It's an un-sentimental description of an otter's life from birth to death. Very interesting.

Nina wrote: "shadow of the wind is amazing! can't wait for zafon's new book this autumn "

Nina, the new book is already out: The Angel's Game

Michelle, I think you have a point. Some books you only appreciate on an intellectual level while others you just love. I think it's okay that it is this way and especially with books on a list like this - but I wasn't fan of this book either.

Jerry, it's a very funny book about a man who escapes from Earth just before it's is blown to pieces because of a new galactic freeway.

But Mark and Amanda, isn't it at least with some of these books the case that they are included on the list because of what they started? I imagine this to be the case with Lady Chatterley's Lover and Fanny Hill that were very shocking in their day but are not so much these day whereas a book about very graphic homosexual sex can probably still freak out a huge percentage of the reading public. So they are included because of their importance in putting sex in various forms on the map as a worthy thing to write and read about. Guess the same is true of O's story, Bataille's book about the eye (can't remember the exact title right now) and books by Marquis de Sade...

I must say, I'm disappointed in this book. I had expected a very funny read, an anti-war read and a book I would really enjoy.
But I didn't get that.
I did get a book against war and I did get the occasional humour - but the book was annoying to read. It felt more like series of short stories than a novel and it didn't really engage me. I had a bit of a hard time to finish it.

I did like the whole catch-22 idea:
There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specified that a concern for one's own safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the process of a rational mind. Orr was crazy and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as he did, he would no longer be crazy and would have to fly more missions. Orr would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didn't, but if he was sane he had to fly them. If he flew them he was crazy and didn't have to; but if he didn't want to he was sane and had to.
But besides that, I prefer MASH to this...

Carly wrote: "In prepartion for Tim Burton's newest movie coming out in March 2010, I'm reading Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. "

Is Tim Burton doing Alice's Adventures in Wonderland? Oh, that's so cool! That's going to be amazing!