Which LIST book did you just finish? Showing 5,701-5,750 of 10,248

[Mia]

S.L. wrote: "Waiting for the Barbarians by J.M. Coetzee

The Time Machine by H.G. Wells"

Waiting for the Barbarians is one of my favorites from Coetzee.

[James]

Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison Simply fabulous

[S.L.]

Mia wrote: "S.L. wrote: "Waiting for the Barbarians by J.M. Coetzee

The Time Machine by H.G. Wells"

Waiting for the Barbarians is one of my favorites fro..."

It was definitely better than Disgrace with its opening that gripped and continued on throughout though with a bit much on the self-flagellation by the narrator.

[S.L.]

Leona wrote: "S.L. wrote: "Waiting for the Barbarians by J.M. Coetzee

The Time Machine by H.G. Wells"

I read The Time Machine not too long ago."

I was surprised at how short it was. I finished in two round trips to Atlanta.

[Sean]

Way ahead of schedule, I finished The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad. More about that in a few weeks.

[Amanda]

The Real Charlotte. Really enjoyed it, especially loved its crazy ending. It's strange you don't hear about it more. My review is up at https://1001everything.blogspot.com.

[Diane]

Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger.

[Ian]

Just finished "The Engineer of Human Souls" by Josef Skvorecky. What a gloriously entertaining read. Loved it!

[Mia]

The Autumn of the Patriarch by Gabriel García Márquez.

[Peter]

Thank you, Jeeves by P.G.Wodehouse. Not my favourite of the author's works that I've read.

[Ellinor]

Naked Lunch by William S. Burroughs. I guess you probably have to be on drugs yourself to like this.

[Karen]

Finished all the Beckett on the list!! Not one of my favorite authors and I will probably never reread any of these. That's why I wanted to finish them off -- I would have dreaded picking up another Beckett.

Murphy (1938)
Mercier and Camier (1946, published 1970)
Molloy (1951)
Malone Dies (1951)
The Unnamable (1953)
Watt (1953)
How It Is (1961)
Worstward Ho (1983)

I recommend reading them in chronological order (unfortunately I did not). Murphy and Mercier and Camier are easier to read (they actually have plots you can follow). Molloy, Malone Dies, and The Unnamable are frequently grouped together and referred to as a trilogy.

I also reread Waiting for Godot (for extra credit!) and, yes, I know it is a drama but it should be on the list. It's his best!

[Sean]

Karen wrote: "Finished all the Beckett on the list!! Not one of my favorite authors and I will probably never reread any of these. That's why I wanted to finish them off -- I would have dreaded picking up anothe..."

wow! Well done. this is a task I am also dreading...

[Bryan--The Bee’s Knees]

I could barely make heads or tails out of Watt. I mean, I understood all the words, but what he meant by them is too puzzling for me. I liked the filmed stage presentation I saw of Godot though, so maybe some of the others will resonate more.

[Tim]

Quo Vadis? by Henryk Sienkiewicz - greatly enjoyed this read. It was inspirational as well as informative. 5 stars

[Karen]

Bryan "goes on a bit too long" wrote: "I could barely make heads or tails out of Watt. I mean, I understood all the words, but what he meant by them is too puzzling for me. I liked the filmed stage presentation I saw of Godot though, so..."

Same here! I had to laugh at loud when Watt refers back to the incredibly long speech by his predecessor and says maybe it contained info he needed but he didn't pay attention to any of it.

[Karen]

Mercedes wrote: "Karen wrote: "Finished all the Beckett on the list!! Not one of my favorite authors and I will probably never reread any of these. That's why I wanted to finish them off -- I would have dreaded pic..."

Start with Murphy and Mercier and Camier and then ease into the trilogy. I love Joyce and was looking forward to Beckett.

[Nocturnalux]

Nada by Carmen Laforet

A very gripping, psychologically dense coming-of-age novel that is as much about the teenage narrator's inner life, insane family life, and Spain under Franco.

It's surprising how little traction this one seems to have in Portugal. Right across the border and yet it is virtually unheard of. In fact, despite having been published in 1945 (and one wonders how it got published) it was only translated into Portuguese in 2015.

[Diane]

Ellinor wrote: "Naked Lunch by William S. Burroughs. I guess you probably have to be on drugs yourself to like this."

lol

[Diane]

Karen wrote: "Finished all the Beckett on the list!! Not one of my favorite authors and I will probably never reread any of these. That's why I wanted to finish them off -- I would have dreaded picking up anothe..."

Ha! I am envious... I still have 4 looming over my list.

[Diane]

Diane wrote: "Karen wrote: "Finished all the Beckett on the list!! Not one of my favorite authors and I will probably never reread any of these. That's why I wanted to finish them off -- I would have dreaded pic..."

Make that 5. :(

[Diane]

Finished The Trap, the 8th book in the Pilgrimage.

[S.L.]

The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro

Good run up to the 2019 movie Downton Abbey -- part travelogue of Great Britain and life of a butler in a great house. I enjoyed it immensely.

[Diane]

Finally finished Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson.

Also finished Antic Hay by Aldous Huxley.

[Karen]

Metamorphoses by Ovid.
Just excellent!

[George P.]

Karen wrote: "Finished all the Beckett on the list!! Not one of my favorite authors and I will probably never reread any of these. ....Start with Murphy and Mercier and Camier and then ease into the trilogy...."

Thanks for the advice, I was planning to read Molloy for my 1st Beckett in 10 weeks but will switch to Murphy and put Molloy off a bit. My local library system does have one copy of Murphy.

[George P.]

Mercedes wrote: "2001: A Space Odyssey
Good enough. I was disappointed to read that the book came after the film."

My understanding is that Kubrik, the director, and Clarke, the author, worked on this together and the screenplay and novel were written more or less simultaneously.

[George P.]

Nocturnalux wrote: "Nada by Carmen Laforet
A very gripping, psychologically dense coming-of-age novel..."

Has Nada also been known as Andrea? Andrea is the only title listed by Laforet in my 1001 Google spreadsheet. Or maybe just an error.

[Nancy]

Finally finished Time Regained by Marcel Proust, so I have officially checked that one box off the list as this is #7 out of 7 volumes. Such lyrical writing, but a comprehensive review is beyond me.

[Bryan--The Bee’s Knees]

Nancy wrote: "Finally finished Time Regained by Marcel Proust, so I have officially checked that one box off the list as this is #7 out of 7 volumes. Such lyrical writing, but a comprehensive review is beyond me."


That deserves a pat on the back! I've only read vol 1, but I do plan on getting back to it--maybe after I finish Powell's Dance to the Music of Time series

[Ellinor]

George P. wrote: "Nocturnalux wrote: "Nada by Carmen Laforet
A very gripping, psychologically dense coming-of-age novel..."

Has Nada also been known as Andrea? Andrea is the only titl..."

Yes, it's also known by this title. Andrea is the main character's first name.

[Ellinor]

Nancy wrote: "Finally finished Time Regained by Marcel Proust, so I have officially checked that one box off the list as this is #7 out of 7 volumes. Such lyrical writing, but a comprehensive review is beyond me."

Well done! I still have that ahead of me. I read part of the first volume (Un Amour de Swann) which I liked and want to read again. But I also heard that it's different from the rest so I'm very curious how I'll like the other books.

[Sean]

This weekend I finished Ficciones by Jorge Luis Borges. I could feel myself getting smarter with each page. But ended up not being smart enough. I looked up more words in this book than any other I have ever read. What an interesting guy he is.

I also finished The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. this was a fascinating read that I really enjoyed.

[Mia]

I finished Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. It was ok, don't really know what to say about it.

[Ellinor]

The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien.

[Nancy]

Bryan "goes on a bit too long" wrote: "Nancy wrote: "Finally finished Time Regained by Marcel Proust, so I have officially checked that one box off the list as this is #7 out of 7 volumes. Such lyrical writing, but a comprehensive revie..."

such a big undertaking to tackle a long series...

[Nocturnalux]

George P. wrote: "Nocturnalux wrote: "Nada by Carmen Laforet
A very gripping, psychologically dense coming-of-age novel..."

Has Nada also been known as Andrea? Andrea is the only titl..."

Yes, as Ellinor said, Nada is the original title and the one I wish the English translation had gone with as the word, which means 'nothing', is brilliantly placed across the novel at key moments. 'Andrea' is indeed the English title, though.

[Karina]

I finally finished The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt and it was so unnecessarily long. I didn’t even care about the ending.

[George P.]

Karina wrote: "I finally finished The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt and it was so unnecessarily long. I didn’t even care about the ending."

I didn't like her The Secret History very much so I'm not inclined to read The Goldfinch, even though it got the Pulitzer.

[George P.]

Finished Group Portrait with Lady by Heinrich Boll, translated from German. A very unusual style and somewhat dry at times but it kept my interest pretty well.
It's certainly a new viewpoint for an American to read a novel set in WW2 (mostly) in Germany by a German writer; Gunter Grass' more widely read The Tin Drum has that also, but they are not very similar.

[Bryan--The Bee’s Knees]

I really liked Boll's novel, but I really had a hard time plowing through The Tin Drum. I haven't read any more of either author, though I've got a couple things by both on my shelves still. The one I'd really like to read is Boll's Billiards at Half-Past Nine

[Diane]

Finished 10:04 by Ben Lerner.

[Ellinor]

Finished The Story of the Lost Child by Elena Ferrante. Absolutely wonderful and a definite Must-Read!

[Bryan--The Bee’s Knees]

Mercedes wrote: "After I read The Goldfinch I found out that it had won a Pulitzer. I was aghast. I've lost respect for that prize because several of their winning books, lately, IMO, don't deserve the merit..."

How I feel about the Booker after 10 pages of Vernon God Little

[Karina]

Mercedes wrote: "George P. wrote: "Karina wrote: "I finally finished The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt and it was so unnecessarily long. I didn’t even care about the ending."

I didn't like her [book:The Secret History|..."

I saw that it won the Pulitzer and I said to myself "Really!?"
This is one instance where I am hoping the movie is better than the book.

[James]

I have to say that when one rails on the Booker or Pulitzer and claims that most of what they pick doesn't deserve it, says more about one's reading than it does the prizes. After all, these are all books which were rated very highly by multiple readers, not just one. Every single one discussed here was at a minimum not only a winner of a respected prize but got itself put on Boxall's list. For me personally, while I can't say I've enjoyed every Booker nominated book I've read, there hasn't been one that I though I wasted my time reading it.

[George]

I agree James. Nearly every book has been at least a worthwhile read. Booker, Pulitzer and Boxall have introduced me to books I would never have contemplated reading and helped me in discovering authors. For example, Junky by Burroughs is a very well written book on a morphine addicts experiences that I found surprisingly very interesting and readable! I am looking forward to reading The Naked Lunch. Some authors that I am slowly getting around to reading all their novels that I was introduced to via Boxall include Milan Kundera and Javier Marias.

[Bryan--The Bee’s Knees]

James wrote: "I have to say that when one rails on the Booker or Pulitzer and claims that most of what they pick doesn't deserve it, says more about one's reading than it does the prizes. After all, these are al..."

I'm not sure I understand what you mean by this. What does it say about one's reading if one disagrees with the Booker winner?

"After all, these are all books which were rated very highly by multiple readers, not just one."

So was Twilight

"Every single one discussed here was at a minimum not only a winner of a respected prize but got itself put on Boxall's list."

I think that's the point--if a respected prize starts trending in a direction that is disappointing to some readers, then those readers are probably not going to respect it anymore. Those who feel that it continues to select provocative and interesting literature as its winners are going to continue to respect it.

[James]

George has said what I was trying to say but doing better than I did. What I was taking exception to was the statement "There's very few exceptions from the Booker roster. " When I go back and list the Booker winners that I've read, there isn't one which wasn't a worthwhile read even if I didn't necessarily "love" it. Tell me, which of the following caused you to "lose respect" for the Booker: Lincoln in the Bardo, Bring Up the Bodies, Wolf Hall, Vernon God Little, Life of Pi, True History of the Kelly Gang, The Blind Assassin, Disgrace, Amsterdam, The God of Small Things, Ghost Road, The English Patient, Possession, The Remains of the Day, Schindler's Ark, Midnight's Children, Heat and Dust, The Siege of Krishnapur? Most of these are on Boxall's list and if you find all them to be a waste of your time, then why bother using Boxall's list to guide your reading?

And no, Twilight has not been rated very highly as literature by ANYONE that I know of. That teenage girls find it fun to read is fine but doesn't make it literature.

[Bryan--The Bee’s Knees]

James wrote: "Tell me, which of the following caused you to "lose respect" for the Booker..."

Vernon God Little.