Kristin's comments
(member since Aug 01, 2008)
Kristin's comments from the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die group.
(showing 1-19 of 19)
I thought the author did a great job getting his point across. Taking a dark, serious subject matter and communicating that in a humorous, lighthearted manner is a difficult and delicate process. For that I commend Welsh wholeheartedly.
Finished One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and I have to say it's one of my favorites off of the list so far. Loved the witty approach the author used to incorporate irony and individualism into the plot.
Went "old school" with my last three reads from this list:Silas Marner, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and The Scarlet Letter.
I thought Silas Marner was absolutely amazing. The other two were good but not great in my opinion.
Mike wrote: I feel stupid for asking this question, and I definitely need to reread the book, but what was the deal with Giles and teeth? I like to think it was a metaphor for something, but then again the book was so disjointed I could be wrong.What I gathered about the teeth scenario is he was so worried about something that in the big picture was the least of his concerns. Another words, he had larger issues in his life and if he gave those as much attention to the rest as much as he did his teeth then he wouldn't have been in the predicament he faced at the end.
Loved it. You can relate easily to one or more character in the book to an individual in your personal life! The author's light, comical style is welcomed as he tackles some tough issues that can be tough to deal with.
Carly wrote: "The Watchmen. It was really amazing how mature and adult the book was. I had assumed that a graphic novel was just like a comic book, but I was way wrong.
Highly recommended!"
I read Watchmen last week and agree with everything you said! Truly phenomenal!
A Dance to the Music of Time by Anthony Powell has to be one of, if not the longest book on the list. 3,000+ pages.
Deanne wrote: "Just reached 63% of the original list which is over 630 but having difficulty tracking down some books on the list."I was just curious on which books you've read so far on the list so I looked at your profile. You "only" have 348 books marked as read from the list. Have you not had the time to add them all to your Goodreads profile yet?
Finished Choke by Chuck Palahniuk, removed from the new list, and thought it was amazing!
This is a book I probably wouldn't have read had it not been for this list/group. I found it pretty similar to Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea except that this novel was on land, wasn't as descriptive concerning animal species, and was a little drier in my opinion.I did appreciate the importance that was stressed in this book concerning geography, evolution, geology, archaeology, science, art, and expeditions. There's still several spots on Earth that has yet to be explored and that's very exciting, especially to all of the scientists out there.
I think the main part I liked was how the penguins have persevered through climate change and predators on that lonely continent. Very impressive how that particular species has adapted throughout time.
Just completed Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut. Quick read and makes you think outside of the box, especially in the areas of religion and patriotism. However, this is the second book I've read from this particular author and his style just isn't well suited for my particular tastes.
Just finished reading The Recognitions by William Gaddis. WOW is all I have to say! Probably the hardest, most difficult book I've ever read but I definitely recommend this book to people who love good literature. It is quite lengthy, extremely random, and takes a secluded place to fully soak in Gaddis' mind. The idiosyncrasies and symbolism of such subjects as religion, books, music, and art and how they influence societies in the world was truly amazing.
Jan 06, 2009 07:31AM
I'd like to read every book from the list but that's highly unlikely! Seriously though, if I start reading a novel I ALWAYS complete it no matter how "bad" I think it may be. One of my pet peeves I suppose.
In the last few weeks I've read the following:White Noise: Very intriguing and thoroughly enjoyable.
Slaughterhouse-Five: A little disappointing but a good read nonetheless.
Mrs. Dalloway: A struggle to get through. Not a big Virginia Woolfe fan.
Lord of the Flies: Pretty good but doesn't even compare to The Catcher in the Rye.
Portnoy's Complaint: Extremely funny. Second book I've read written by Philip Roth and both have been fantastic.
Jan 03, 2009 06:10AM
I read about two or three books a week depending on its length. I've devoured several books last year and was glad that I actually kept my new year's resolution! And to think that I used to loathe reading. Actually, loathe isn't the correct word because I didn't really have enough time and also did other forms of entertainment. I'm proud to say I'm a bookworm now and will hopefully continue to be one for the rest of my life.
I'm currently trying to complete Time magazine's top 100 list and several of those are on this particular list also.When I seriously try to tackle the dubious challenge of reading these 1001 books, I think my strategy is going to be to complete the longest books first. I've already finished five monsters so I've got a good head start.
I've read and completed the following "monsters":--War and Peace
--Infinite Jest
--Gone With the Wind
--The Lord of the Rings
--A Dance to the Music of Time
Just completed A Dance to the Music of Time by Anthony Powell. The book was in four movements and over 3,000 pages in length. However, it was quite good so well worth the effort to read.
1001 Books You Must Read Before You
