Lisa's list and progress

[Lisa]

42) A Christmas Carol
I have never considered Dickens 'light' reading, nor have I read Dickens. This book hearkens to mind the Disney version, I kept picturing Scrooge Mc Duck. Really enjoyed this heartwarming tale

[Lisa]

37) Life of Pi
I didn't read this when it came out because of the hype. Then I saw the movie and found I had to read the book.
Pi has incredible defense mechanisms and endurance!
This book is my halfway point.

[Lisa]

10) Hamlet
I read MacBeth and A Midsummer Night's dream as school set works. I 'helped' my brother to read Romeo and Juliet and Twelfth Night. Reading entailed sitting with the book while listening to the audiobook then watching a filmed theatrical production.
I am sad that I did not repeat this ritual with Hamlet, Shakespeare's plays were meant to be performed, and not merely read.

[[deleted user]]

You are certainly working your way quickly through the list.
I agree with you, you have to watch Shakespeare performed. I had to read, dissect and examine every word of Romeo and Juliet, MacBeth and A Winters Tale at school. However, it wasn't until I saw those plays performed that I really enjoyed them.

[Lisa]

43) The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Mark Twain wrote,'Classic- a book which people praise and don't read.'
That was how I felt about Huck Finn, it is considered a Great American Classic for its boyhood adventures and social commentary.
Yet that is not what I saw. And wondered if those who call it a classic have ever read it.
All I couldidentify with was the frustration that the adults dealing with Huck and Tom must feel.
I expected more

[Buck]

I read Huck Finn years ago and liked it, but I don't remember it as being great. It is about the best Mark Twain I've read. I've read some of Twain's short stories that were complete disappointments.

[Lisa]

I kept thinking that if I'd read it as a kid, I might have enjoyed it more.

[Lisa]

15) Brave New World
Although 1984 is the far superior book, I would argue that Huxley's dystopia is equally as distressing.

[Lisa]

4) The Grapes of Wrath
I read this with a fist in my throat. What awful, terrifying circumstances.

[Buck]

The Grapes of Wrath is a great book of a terrible time. It won the Pulitzer prize, obviously for Steinbeck's writing, but also, I think, for the timeliness of his portrayal of the plight of the hapless victims of the dust bowl.

I recommend also East of Eden and Of Mice and Men by Steinbeck.

[Lisa]

It's both a good and terrible book. It's well written and a fantastic depiction. What it depicts is so terrible. The futility got to me.

[Lisa]

I'm glad I've read it and will definitely recommend it!

[Lisa]

45 One flew over the Cuckoo´s Nest by Ken Kesey
I really don't understand the hype surrounding this book

[Lisa]

8) A Passage to India
A very complex social commentary about India under British rule. Not a topic a know much about but I could see parallels with my own country. A good book. Just a warning- this is not a light, fluffy read like A Room with a View.

[Lisa]

39 The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells
One of the first 'alien invaders' novel ever written. I enjoyed the first person narrative and the idea that this was where it all started because there are so many alien books like this one.

[Karlyne]

Lisa wrote: "8) A Passage to India
A very complex social commentary about India under British rule. Not a topic a know much about but I could see parallels with my own country. A good book. Just a warning- this..."

It's not, is it, Lisa? But it is one of those books that sticks with you.

[Lisa]

Karlyne wrote: "Lisa wrote: "8) A Passage to India
A very complex social commentary about India under British rule. Not a topic a know much about but I could see parallels with my own country. A good book. Just a..."

Definitely. Glad I read it.

[Lisa]

35 The Outsider by Albert Camus
I enjoyed this. It's a beautifully written depiction of someone who does not understand social norms and seems to view a horrific situation in their own life with clinical precision.
For the shrink in me, it shows how easily someone possibly on the autistic spectrum can appear psychopathic to the casual observer.

[Lisa]

19) The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
This was one of the first, if not the first, books written in English. It is a lyrical collection of tales of pilgrims.
I enjoyed the satire but think this would be so much better read aloud or performed.

[Lisa]

49 The Divine Comedy by Alighieri Dante
I really enjoyed the Inferno. This may be because I am familiar with the story.
I'd like to reread this at a later date

[Lisa]

21 The quiet American by Graham Greene

[Lisa]

38) Frankenstein
I think that because Frankenstein has crept so irrevocably into our subculture, I have built this story up in my mind into something of epic proportions. I'm sad that I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would. Sort of like War of the Worlds

[Lisa]

22 Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks

Although I enjoyed the premise, I found this pretty slow- going

[Lisa]

44) Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Dafoe
The very first stranded-on-an-island book. Part adventure, part life philosophy.
It's fun, but sadly long winded.

[Lisa]

33 Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
A trip up the Congo River. While the plot is interesting, it is somewhat lost in the telling of the tale.

[Buck]

I read Heart of Darkness not long ago, Lisa. When it was done, I felt as if some great part of it were missing. I just didn't get it.

[Lisa]

I think I read this in std 8- (grade 10) but I remember nothing of it. I read it and it faded from my mind. Usually I have more memory than this of a book.

[Lisa]

25 Moby Dick by Herman Melville
I live near to False Bay. In summer, the whales move in. The gorgeous creature frolic in the waves and are incredible to watch.
Really didn't enjoy this novel of whale massacre.

[Lisa]

32 On the Road by Jack Kerouac
Very disappointed! I've always thought that this book was meant to embody the journey of the free spirit, but found it promoted addiction and recklessness

[Martha]

Disappointing. I've been wanting to read it.

[Lisa]

Martha wrote: "Disappointing. I've been wanting to read it."

I've realized that I'm often disappointed by the books that I look forward to.

[Buck]

Lisa wrote: "These are the named books that I have not read

11 A Bend in the River by V. S. Naipaul
17 Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
20 Ulysses by James Joyce
23 Money by Martin Amis
34 The Way We Live Now by Antony Trollope
41 Gulliver´s Travels by Jonathan Swift
46 Catch 22 by Joseph Heller
47 The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas"

A Bend in the River, Ulysses, Money - These I did not like.
Catch 22 is good. Gulliver's Travels is okay.
The County of Monte Cristo - I haven't read it, but everybody else seems to like it.

[Linda]

Buck wrote: "Lisa wrote: "These are the named books that I have not read

11 A Bend in the River by V. S. Naipaul
17 Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
20 Ulysses by James Joyce
23 Money by Martin Amis
34 The..."

Spoiler tag just so my post doesn't take up so much room.
(view spoiler)[Don Quixote - I read it this year and really liked it, although I think I would have enjoyed it better if I had read it at a quicker pace than with the group's slower pace I was reading it with. Don Quixote and Sancho Panza are near the top of my favorite literary characters. Lisa, how far into DQ did you read and why did you stop, just out of curiosity?

The Way We Live Now - I have yet to read any Trollope, but am excited to give him a go. This book I actually watched as a mini-series before I knew who Trollope was and the mini-series made me look up the book and who wrote it. So, I'm looking forward to reading this one.

The Count of Monte Cristo - I haven't read this either, but agree with Buck that everyone else has positive things to say about it.

Ulysses - Well, I've been intrigued by this book by obvious reasons - the supposed difficulty and it's either strongly liked or disliked. One of my groups just voted this to read starting in January, so I will probably try to at least start and see what it's like. The moderator who will be leading has read it several times already, so it seems like the perfect opportunity to try it out. (hide spoiler)]

[Lisa]

Linda wrote: "Buck wrote: "Lisa wrote: "These are the named books that I have not read

11 A Bend in the River by V. S. Naipaul
17 Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
20 Ulysses by James Joyce
23 Money by Marti..."

Hi Linda,
I'm joining that Ulysses read next year, even if I only read two books next year!
I was reading both DQ and The Count when my father in law became so ill. I dropped out of both discussions and was not able to return to either book without associated sadness for dad.
I'll get there at some point.

[Linda]

Lisa wrote: "I'm joining that Ulysses read next year, even if I only read two books next year!
I was reading both DQ and The Count when my father in law became so ill."

I'm sorry to hear about your father-in-law's illness. And books will do that, bring you back to the time and place you were reading them so it is understandable they are difficult for you now.

I kept waffling back and forth about joining in the Ulysses read. I was excited at first, but then as I did more reading about it and sampling the text I have become more hesitant. Anyway, I will at least start the group read and see how it goes. It sure would be nice to have that one checked off the list.

[Lisa]

Linda wrote: "Lisa wrote: "I'm joining that Ulysses read next year, even if I only read two books next year!
I was reading both DQ and The Count when my father in law became so ill."

I'm sorry to hear about yo..."

I think it's the best opportunity to read Ulysses that has presented itself thus far.

[Falina]

Lisa wrote: "35 The Outsider by Albert Camus
I enjoyed this. It's a beautifully written depiction of someone who does not understand social norms and seems to view a horrific situation in their own life with cl..."

This is a really interesting insight! I struggled to figure out some "category" for the protagonist as I read. I had trouble figuring him out.

[Lisa]

Falina, I've seen patients like this in practice. There's something very unsettling about that level of detachment, especially to the uninformed outsider.

[Lisa]

So I finished Ulysses on my third attempt. Joyce was obviously incredibly clever and well read. I found myself focussing more on structure and style than on content. I think it's a book that you read to have read it...

[Joy]

"A book that you read to have read" -- I have felt this way often. War and Peace comes to mind. Ulysses is on my list tbr.

[Lisa]

Joy wrote: ""A book that you read to have read" -- I have felt this way often. War and Peace comes to mind. Ulysses is on my list tbr."

I actually loved War and Peace, but read it with an exciting group at a time where I had lots of free time.

[Buck]

Lisa wrote: "So I finished Ulysses on my third attempt. Joyce was obviously incredibly clever and well read. I found myself focussing more on structure and style than on content. I think it's a book that you read to have read it..."

I agree. Haven't read war and Peace, but if it's anything like Anna Karenina, it's far better that Ulysses, Or at least not as terrible. I called Ulysses 'a hoax' when I read it.