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.

Hilde wrote: "The Dispossessed - very interesting book"

Very close to the top of my list. I seem to be on a SciFi tear atm.

This morning I boarded a flight to Foundation by Isaac Asimov.

A graphic novel huh? Not something I ever got into. This will be a fun little departure into something new as I begin Watchmen by Alan Moore.

Labyrinths: Selected Stories and Other Writings by Jorge Luis Borges was a thought provoking break from heavy novels. Of the 3 parts, I liked the Parables best.

I just finished The Player of Games by Iain M. Banks. It was really good and fun to read. I can see why this made the list. There are many parallels (along with commentary) between the "evil" empire and our (real-life human) "faults" mostly in socioeconomic issues but some other cultural traditions as well.

It took me a little while to get into this one. But I ended up liking it very much. I loved the story. I thought it was very well put together. I was only mildly surprised about the ending. (view spoiler)[ All is fair in love and war... literally... both.... And all these questions to ponder. Did Pyle really love Phuong? I think he did. But did Fowler? I am not so sure. Did Phuong really love anybody? Was she built to love? Or just to get married, be a wife, and make opium pipes? (hide spoiler)]

One of the things that I loved about it besides the story is the history. Being an American, most of my knowledge of Vietnam comes from a decade or two later. I never really delved into what was happening before we got there. Even more interesting was realizing that it wasn't just set before the American/Vietnam war, it was actually written before it.

It was very interesting reading this as an American from a British point of view. The Anti-American undertones came through in a number of ways. And the real-life foreshadowing... the foreshadowing...

Finally finished Joseph and His Brothers by Thomas Mann. It was an amazing and sprawling and detailed piece of work. Loved it.

I just started Labyrinths: Selected Stories and Other Writings by Jorge Luis Borges. Many of the stories are the same as the ones in Ficciones but I don't mind rereading them as they were fascinating.

Luís wrote: "Bryan wrote: "Journey to the End of the Night by Louis-Ferdinand Céline"

must be awesome, that one!"

It's top 'o my list! I have it on hold at the library. Been weeks and weeks and weeks and I'm still #2. So it'll be a bit longer, but soon... soon...

Hi. I just thought I would toss up a reminder. Feel free to delete this one when the official one comes online. Or let us know and we can discuss here.

:)

Diane wrote: "Sarah wrote: "Finished The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. I loved the book. Great story!"

One of my all-time favorites!"

Mine too!!

Brian wrote: "Invisible Man"

Which one?

I just finished the bizarre but extremely fun The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov. I feel like I understood it... mostly. But it would take several reads to really get what was trying to be said beyond what was said.

Just barely started The Player of Games by Iain M. Banks

I picked up Native Son by Richard Wright at the library yesterday. Just started it this morning.

Long have I been looking forward to starting The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov. Today is the day

I just finished Martin Eden by Jack London. What a fantastic book. Easily the best book I have read this year... (ha! but really) I loved it!

The two that come to mind are

Blood Meridian, or the Evening Redness in the West
and
All the Pretty Horses

I thought of The Last of the Mohicans but it's a stretch....

Some really good ideas in there. I really like the idea about reading backwards through all the books this group has read. I might have done that If I were about where you are.

Here is how I decide. Depending upon availability in the library or the bookstore, some combination of:

1. Books that this group and my other two groups are reading as group reads take priority (if they are on the list)
2. Books that match the current A-Z Challenge: Myths, Legends, & Fairy Tales - 2020. For example I am reading Martin Eden because the title character shares a name with the Garden of Eden. (I already have 26 books picked out that match each letter of the alphabet).
3. Books in order according to The complet 1001 list sorted in order of Wilson score compiled by J_BlueFlower here in our group.
4. Books the wife happens to pick up at the bookstore completely ignorant to the fact that they are LIST books (which she will do when she sees a good deal even if she knows nothing about the book.)

The Quiet American by Graham Greene. More about that later in the group read thread.