Sean’s Comments (group member since Jan 30, 2019)

Sean’s comments from the Boxall's 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die group.

I didn't want to wait, so I used Naguib Mahfouz's Miramar for this one.

ميرامار

Fun stuff to copy and paste Arabic. Everything around it gets reversed!

I finished Miramar by Naguib Mahfouz. I liked it much more than I thought I would. Loved the way it was put together.

Starting Midaq Alley by Naguib Mahfouz.

Nocturnalux wrote: "For those who, like me, ."

We all like you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:P

From Book 1, M. Myriel had to undergo the fate of every newcomer in a little town, where there are many mouths which talk, and very few heads which think.

How true is that? And I see it in one way or another in a lot of LIST books. Human nature I suppose.

Lianne (The Towering Pile) wrote: "Sean wrote: "Steven wrote: "I have read 627/705 in the core now."

Are you calling "the core" the ones remaining from the original 1001? or what do you mean?"

On the spreadsheet, books that have b..."

Steven wrote: "Yes, the core is those that are in all versions."

Very cool way to tackle the list.

Time to discuss.

Anybody planning to join us for the March group read can put Midaq Alley here.

Ivo Andrić was born in Bosnia. I read Bridge on the Drina. Also, Bosnian Trilogy is high on my TBR list.

Sean's Hunt

12/12. Challenge complete!

I'm going to try for one per month. But may end up filling in by the end of the year.

1. In honor of Don Quixote, read a book set BEFORE the advent of windmills (1185).
April - Alamut
2. Read a book with an LGBTQ character.
September - Tipping the Velvet
3. Read a book written by an author and set in a country south of the equator.
October - Dom Casmurro
4. Read a book originally published in a language that doesn’t use the Latin alphabet (e.g., Greek, Chinese, Russian, Arabic, Hebrew, etc.).
February - ميرامار
5. Read a book with a long title of at least 5 words (language doesn’t matter, but don’t count subtitles).
June - In Search of Lost Time
6. Read a book from the decade in which you were born.
August - Dispatches
7. Read a book with a reference to animals.
July - Everything That Rises Must Converge: Stories
8. Read a book written by an author of color.
December - Queen Margot, or Marguerite de Valois
9. In honor of Scarlett O’Hara, read a book with a colorful title.
November - Blood Meridian, or the Evening Redness in the West
10. Read a book written by an author whose country of birth begins with the letter B.
January - The Bridge on the Drina
11. Read a book with a reference to transport.
May - Promise at Dawn
12. Read a book with a character you find irritating.
March - Midaq Alley

Nocturnalux wrote: "I have question, can Clarice Lispector be used for this task? She was born in the Ukraine but went to Brazil at the age of two months old and wore extensively in Portuguese. Technica..."

Ultimately it's your challenge. You can make the rules. Also, I am all about being creative. I would say that perhaps her personality, her being, her essence was born in Brazil.

Karen wrote: "
To B, or not to B, that is the question;
Seek ye the answer in the Boxall Bookshelf.
"

:D

Cosette wrote: "I'm reading a version by Lee Fahnestock and Norman MacAfee based on the classic C. E. Wilbur translation. 1987. I wonder which version my mother read that led her to pick out my name. Hmmm."

Oh now this is cool. So glad you are reading with us!!! Almost like being in the presence of a celebrity :P

Petra wrote: "I like this thread. I was wondering how I would know if a character is irritating or not, before I've read the book. Now I can see what other people think and choose a book on the chance that they ..."

haha. This would be very funny if not for this scavenger hunt. Imagine looking for a book with an irritating character on purpose...

S.L. wrote: "For this one, I read Cutter and Bone. Both Cutter and Bone were annoying but Cutter more so."

100% agree, Throw in Mo as well. I may use this too

Steven wrote: "I have read 627/705 in the core now."

Are you calling "the core" the ones remaining from the original 1001? or what do you mean?

The books removed in 2018 were:

Forever a Stranger and Other Stories
The Life of Insects
Dirty Havana Trilogy
Soldiers of Salamis
The Successor
Your Face Tomorrow
The Blind Side of the Heart
Kieron Smith, Boy
The Children's Book
There but for the

Update


I - Ibiza - Cutter and Bone - 2/11/21

I went to the library to pick up Midaq Alley for March's group read. I was pleased to see that the copy they had also contained Miramar. So, since I am a bit early for the March read. I will start with Miramar and read it next.

I finished Cutter and Bone by Newton Thornburg. More on the group read page in a few days.