Boxall's 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die discussion
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Which LIST book did you just finish?
Elective Affinities by Johann Wolfgang von GoetheI listened to this on LibriVox - probably not a good idea.
I just finished The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
What a great read! I am now off to find more of the Richard Hannay books. This book was of course the basis of the excellent Hitchcock film. Reading also has me wanting to watch the film again. It's interesting to see what changes Alfred Hitchcock and screenwriters Charles Bennett and Ian Hay made.
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The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton.Wharton’s elegant prose provides an modicum of irony that gives a certain poignancy that lends itself well to the serious nature of this book. Yet despite all of this, the story ultimately failed to really grab me meaning that I found it an OK read rather than a particularly memorable one
Orlando by Virginia Woolf and The Reveries of the Solitary Walker, Botanical Writings, and Letter to Franquières by Jean-Jacques Rousseau
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Another doorstopper out of the way.
Vineland by Thomas PynchonDid not particularly enjoy. It could be that this is one I shouldn't have listened to as an audiobook (but my library only had the audiobook for this one). It's confusing and hard to follow, because it's told almost entirely through flashbacks, but never really tells you outright that it's doing that. And I always find confusing books even more confusing in audio format.
Bright side: I can use this for the scavenger hunt for the irritating character prompt, because most of the characters were irritating.
The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
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Did not particularly enjoy. It could be that this is one I shouldn't have listened to as an audiobook (but my library only had the audiobook for this one). ..."
I'm having the same problem with Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow!! I started the audiobook (37 hours) and finally had to also get the Kindle edition of the book so I could go back and check on what was happening. Even resorted to one of the Study guides on Hoopla for the book!! At least I only have 2 more Pynchon's to go.
Karen wrote: "Lianne (The Towering Pile) wrote: "Vineland by Thomas PynchonDid not particularly enjoy. It could be that this is one I shouldn't have listened to as an audiobook (but my library onl..."
I probably could have used a study guide for this one! Half the time I was like, wait, who is this person?? And, what's their connection to everyone else?? This was my first Pynchon. Might wait a bit before I try another one!
The Passion According to G.H. by Clarice Lispector. I think I have to read this in Finnish at some point to understand it better.
The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins. I liked it but I read The Woman in White earlier this year and I think I preferred that.
Mia wrote: "The Passion According to G.H. by Clarice Lispector. I think I have to read this in Finnish at some point to understand it better."I didn't get much out of it either.
Finished Testament of Youth by Vera Brittain. While I can appreciate the magnitude of her experiences, I thought this one just went on and on and on.
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. I found it delightful. It makes a good palate cleanser after some of the trudgier works on the List.
The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks. When I got to the end I kind of felt like I needed to go back and read it again and see if it made more sense now I know what happens
Mod
It would definitely be a better reading experience if it were edited down by about a third- If I were the editor I would chop off the whole last quarter. As a nurse I found her medical experiences of special interest and would have liked more detail there though.
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Is that the one with the cockroach? Definitely weird.
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The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
Invisible Man…surprisingly did not like it
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I really enjoyed this one! It consists of 6 stories, the first beginning in the 1800s, moving forward to the sixth story set in the far future in a post-apocalyptic Hawaii. Each of the first 5 stories ends abruptly at a rather climactic moment. The sixth story is told completely and then the author concludes the first 5 stories working backward in time.
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick
The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami
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Which one? Wells or Ellison?
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. I'm a little disappointed that I was a bit too young to read this back in 2005 when the subject matter was much more topical, but I'm excited to read Ishiguro's other List books.
The Diary of a Nobody by George and Weedon Grossmith - found myself laughing as I read it - very funny.
Mod
I also finished The Siege of Krishnapur by J.G. Farrell, which I enjoyed very much. I will probably read The Singapore Grip, another of his 3 list books someday.
Boxall's 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die
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An important book, undoubtedly, and there are many phrases and sentences which bear the touch of off-kilter genius. However, it's also not exactly an enjoyable read, although of course that was clearly not Burroughs' intention.