Which LIST book did you just finish? Showing 1,901-1,950 of 10,319

[Dawnstream]

I just finished The Phantom of the Opera.

[Laini]

Just finished Choke - it's a strange strange book, but I actually really enjoyed it. The writing is very rhythmic and even poetic at times, which made it a really easy read.

[Carol]

Ed wrote: "The Quest for Christa T. by Christa Wolf

Hated it. It's good as a sleep aid though."

So agree, but I gave up early on, life is to short

[Carol]

Read David Copperfield and loved it. Long but you never get bored. Loved all the characters. Hesitated a long time to read it because I thought it would be bleak, but it really was uplifting. One of my new favorites. I'm reading Victorian classics this month so on to A Mill on the Floss.

[Linda]

Carol wrote: "Read David Copperfield and loved it. Long but you never get bored. Loved all the characters. Hesitated a long time to read it because I thought it would be bleak, but it really was uplifting."

I'm about 2/3 of the way through David Copperfield and I also love it. I already know it will become one of my favorites. :)

[Diana]

1984 by George Orwell This one hooked me right from the start, love the twisted yet believable reality he depicted in this one. I look forward to reading more of his books!

[Sandi]

Carol wrote: "Ed wrote: "The Quest for Christa T. by Christa Wolf

Hated it. It's good as a sleep aid though."

So agree, but I gave up early on, life is to short"

Strange, I gave it four stars. But I honestly don't remember much about it, not a book that stays with you long.

[Katherine]

I've slowly been working through Foucault's Pendulum, but just finished a fun interim book: The Nine Tailors by Dorothy L. Sayers. I've read many of the noir mysteries on the list, so a mystery tale filled with small town manners and empathy was pretty welcome.

[Ginny]

I just finished Viper's Tangle. After a string of books from the list that were just okay,I was surprised by how much I loved this book. I loved the writing and was hooked from the first paragraph.

[Elizabeth (Alaska)]

Jude the Obscure, 5 stars.

My review

[Dee]

Finished Home by Marilynne Robinson yesterday. Not sure why this is on the list rather than her earlier Gilead, but both are two of the best novels I've read in recent years. Can't wait now to read her newest book in the series, which came out last year.

[Nicola]

At Lady Molly's & Casanova's Chinese Restaurant 4+5/12 - I read these back to back as I missed my April reading of the 12 book series. I think I might be finally getting a grip on the main players in this work, at least I definitely felt less lost than I was with March's update.

For the books themselves the tone seems to be a little sadder. Marriages and relationships are falling by the wayside as time goes on. Several people have swapped partners at a dizzying rate. Powell certainly does not see any stability in the dance so far.

3 stars for both

[Nicola]

Timbuktu - My first Paul Auster that I've actually truly enjoyed. Many of the themes are the same but seem through dog eyes being an outsider is a natural state of being.

3 stars

[Katherine]

Nicola wrote: "Timbuktu - My first Paul Auster that I've actually truly enjoyed. Many of the themes are the same but seem through dog eyes being an outsider is a natural state of being.

3 stars"

Funny, this book is the one I always reference when explaining why I read books that were removed from the 2006 list. I never would have found it without the list, and found it thought-provoking and entertaining.

[Linda]

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen. My last Austen from the list. I liked it, but it felt quite slow at times and then very rushed at the end. I gave it 3 stars.

[Nicola]

Chocky - Wonderful little story. I started reading it last night and just kept going. If this is a typical example of the authors work I'm going to be hard pressed to stop myself from reading everything he's read all at once.

4 stars

[Bucket]

Just finished Heart of Darkness and I wasn't thrilled with it. The dehumanizing of Africans was so embedded in the "darkness" metaphor that I couldn't really engage with the story.

[Katherine]

I finished The Goalie's Anxiety at the Penalty Kick today. I think I got what I could from it.

[Tyler]

I finished Amsterdam by Ian McEwan. I really enjoyed it, like all of his other novels. A bit disturbing (like a lot of his other novels), but still a good read.

[Dee]

Michelle wrote: "The Poisonwood Bible. It was a slow read at first but it picked up for me after a hundred or so pages. I've read that there is a strong political agenda behind this book. But politics aside, the..."

Same here. It took me several attempts to get in to the story, but once I finally did, I absolutely loved it as well.

[Karina]

I just finished The Sound and the Fury. Such a difficult read. Had to read a companion piece to understand what I was reading. My heart aches for Benjy and Miss Quentin out of all the characters.

[Nicola]

Karina wrote: "I just finished The Sound and the Fury. Such a difficult read. Had to read a companion piece to understand what I was reading. My heart aches for Benjy and Miss Quentin out of all the characters."

I'm listening to this at the moment and it's a bit of a mess, especially since I had no idea what it was about or anything about the structure. After the first couple of hours (once I'd going a bit of a handle as to what was going on) I went on schmoop and read the notes for how far I'd gotten. That's a great online resource for most of the major literary works.

[Katherine]

I just finished Chess Story by Stefan Zweig. While short, every page was compelling. I imagine I will come back to this one again and again.

[Diane]

Katherine wrote: "I just finished Chess Story by Stefan Zweig. While short, every page was compelling. I imagine I will come back to this one again and again."

Fantastic book.

[Diane]

I just finished Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy. Not as gloomy as his typical fare. True, some key characters met with tragic misfortune, but the end was decidedly a happy one.

[Diana]

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess Took me a bit to get into the slang, so i had to concentrate on this one but definitely a good read.

[Leyla]

The Piano Teacher - Elfriede Jelinek.

[Nicola]

Grimus - An iridescent jewel of a book fairly blazing with imaginative flair. Not every ones cup of though.

4 stars

[Dree]

Finished Foe, a very interesting look at storytelling. I am very glad I recently read Robinson Crusoe, because having that fresh in my brain made Foe much easier to follow.

[Diana]

Animal Farm by George Orwell The last sentence summed up the book perfectly "The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again: but already it was impossible to say which was which." Ha! Nice quick little read.

[J_BlueFlower]

Jane Eyre Wow, what a book. If you dislike flat persons, this is a must! Many of the 1001-list books where books I would have done fine without, but reading Jane Eyre is one of those reading experiences that makes me stick to the 1001-list. Being categorised as a love story, I would not normally have read it (Science fiction is my normal genre). But this book is just so rich in persons, moral conflicts and great writing. I half expected a somewhat predictable and boring plot line, but was very pleasantly surprised. It is most definitely not just a love story.

I partly read the book and partly listened to the librivox audiobook. The audiobook is the first good Librivox I have come across:
https://librivox.org/jane-eyre-versio...
read by Elizabeth Klett

[Karina]

Finished To Have and Have Not over the holiday weekend. Not my favorite Hemingway by any means. It started over pretty solid, but the rest of the book felt disjointed and the introduction of characters that you meet fleetingly in a previous chapter get a whole section to their own.

[Ellinor]

J wrote: "Jane Eyre Wow, what a book. If you dislike flat persons, this is a must! Many of the 1001-list books where books I would have done fine without, but reading Jane Eyre is one of those r..."

This is my all-time favourite classic!

[Laini]

Ellinor wrote: "J wrote: "Jane Eyre Wow, what a book. If you dislike flat persons, this is a must! Many of the 1001-list books where books I would have done fine without, but reading Jane Eyre is one ..."
I love it too!!

[Fiona]

Just finished The Adventures of Augie March it started out a bit slow, but got better and better. At first I was frustrated with Bellow's tendency to tell instead of show, but I grew to like it in the end. Reminded me a bit of an American "David Copperfield".

[Diana]

Candide by Voltaire It's not often that a book written in the 1700s makes me laugh out loud. I love how his satire still works today, where so many contemporaries are lost in translation over time. Another nice quick read off the list, not sure why I waited so long to read this one.

[Tyler]

I just finished Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson. A wild and strange trip, though not really my cup of tea. Still, Thompson is a one of a kind writer and this is a unique book worth reading.

[Nicola]

Oroonoko - A story about a noble african who didn't deserve to be a slave. Apparently though he was an exception and the others totally did.

I guess it was progressive for its time. Even so I found it rather boring to read.

2 stars

[Nicola]

The Grass is Singing - Another book which contains a great deal of racism, although in this case it's done as a plot device rather than as accepted practice.

Still, the characters are horrifically unpleasant and I didn't care a brass farthing for any of them. Great writing though.

3 stars

[Kate]

I just read The Master and Margarita and I... what did I just read? I enjoyed it quite a bit, but what was that? I enjoyed all the characters tremendously, particularly the devil's companions.

[Diane]

Finished The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway. It took me a while to get into it, but from then on I was hooked.

[Karen Michele]

I just closed Half of a Yellow Sun. Awesome book!

[Mandy]

Just finished Like Water for Chocolate

[Diane]

Finished Solaris by Stanisław Lem in one sitting. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it (I had friends that gave it particularly low ratings). It reminds me that I really need to read more sci-fi than I typically do.

[Maureen]

Karen Michele wrote: "I just closed Half of a Yellow Sun. Awesome book!"

I really enjoyed that book as well!

[Maureen]

I recently finished In the Forest and it is a haunting book. I feel that the author did a great job of letting us into the mind of the protagonist.

[Ann A]

Diana wrote: "Candide by Voltaire It's not often that a book written in the 1700s makes me laugh out loud. I love how his satire still works today, where so many contemporaries are ..."

I felt the same way about Candide.

[Diana]

Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote This is the first thing I read by Capote and I really enjoyed his writing style and characters. Fav line: "- It's better to look at the sky than live there. Such an empty place; so vague. Just a country where the thunder goes and things disappear." Another great quick read off the list!

[Diane]

Just finished The Kreutzer Sonata by Leo Tolstoy.

[Yrinsyde]

Finished Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep a few days ago - review here. Very thought provoking. Will be watching Blade Runner soon.