Boxall's 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die discussion
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Which LIST book did you just finish?
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Nathan
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Jan 09, 2016 04:12PM
I finished The Castle by Kafka. But if I read an unfinished book, did I really finish it?
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I finally finished my interlibrary loan last night! It's now a day late, so I hope I don't owe too much of a fine.
Money: A Suicide Note by Martin Amishttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished Adam Bede and now I've started Of Human Bondage - it's a bit of a culture shock jumping forward through 70 years of British culture! :-)
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Finished Ulysses on Audiobook yesterday - still don't have a clue to be honest.
Laini wrote: "Finished Ulysses on Audiobook yesterday - still don't have a clue to be honest."Yeah... :-)
Laini wrote: "Finished Ulysses on Audiobook yesterday - still don't have a clue to be honest."Been there as well. :)
Angelo wrote: "Just finished "The Satanic Verses." I have to say that although I understand the basics of why this was controversial, It just wasn't that great of a book. There was way too much work the author wa..."Totally agree. Too high on the "weirdness" scale.
Kirsten *Dogs Welcome - People Tolerated" wrote: "Megharp wrote: "Finished Christie's 'The Murder of Roger Ackroyd' last night. Loved the twist at the end."You did? That book ruined 1st person narratives for me for YEARS! I've only recently star..."
I made the mistake of reading the back cover which stated the book was "controversial". I immediately guessed what that meant and it took away a lot of the enjoyment of reading it.
Just finished "2001: A Space Oddysey". I didn't enjoy it much to be honest.
I've managed to pulverise quite a few this month already, but some were on the smaller side.Story of O by Pauline Reage - not a fan at all. The description of the torture didn't knock me about as much as the inclusion of the younger, more impressionable character at the end. Not my bag.
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides - LOVED! He's such a fantastic writer. A real page turner. I would turn the light off and go to sleep, only to turn the light back on and smash another 10 or 15 pages. Couldn't put it down.
Unless by Carol Shields - disappointing. I love this author but this did nothing for me. I doubt it will be a novel to stand the test of time and believe its actually been taken off later lists.
Cannery Row by John Steinbeck - beautiful prose, loveable rogue characters and a party to end all parties. What's not to love?
Starting Cakes and Ale by Somerset Maugham, enjoying thus far!
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:) I love it, Janet! I read Gone With the Wind for the first..."
The Goodreads Group "Classics Without All the Class" is reading it for Jan 2016.
The last book I read from the 1001 list was Aesop's Fables. Here was the review that I posted on Shelfari. "I've tried starting this several times but always gave up on it--I just couldn't get into it! But recently I discovered a site (http://www.openculture.com/freeaudiob...) where you can access many audios for books that are in the public domain. I was able to download this to my iTunes account and then listen to it while I was cooking or on line gaming. So I was finally able to finish it!!! I wasn't wild about it but I did enjoy hearing the various tales--sometimes I was familiar with them and sometimes not. I'm just glad that I finally got it read and am able to check it off my 1001 list of books to read! The quality of this particular recording was not the greatest and there was a disclaimer at the beginning of every story that was annoying. I am listening to A Christmas Carol now (since we're reading it for one of my book groups next month) and the quality is wonderful." This doesn't show up in my list of reviewed books yet because I am just recently moving over from Shelfari since they are merging with Goodreads.
Just finished reading
Martin Eden by Jack London. A classic from 1909 which counts against my 1001 Books to Read Before You Die challenge.https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Dangerous Liaisons - I've been meaning to read this for a while and kept putting it off so I'm pleased that I finally put the time into it. It was well worth the trouble but it takes a bit of effort as the flowery language and relatively slow start can be a bit off putting. But I persevered and it certainly picked up its pace.
4 stars
Animal's People by Indra Sinha. This is an interesting novel about the Union Carbide catastrophe in Bhopal (Khaufpur of the story) told from a very human point of view rather than a clinical, historical perspective. I like that the story brings out what it means to be human, to care about others when you have little to offer. A very worthwhile read.
I just finished "The Enchanted Wanderer" - by Nikolai Leskov. It was entertaining, because the story was just so absurd. I'm sure the comedy was intentional -- it was told in episodic chapters as the narrator recounts his life story, chock full of a colorful cast of characters -- gypsies and Tatars, princes and mystical drunks --all the time ending up with terrible prospects and each time, narrowly escaping with his life, until he eventually ends up in a monastery, in atonement for his sins. I think if you're reading through this list, please give it a go, it's a novella and can be read in two days.
Since my last post here I have finished Remembering Babylon (hated it), The Devil's Pool and Other Stories (liked it), and The English Patient (5 stars)...bringing me to 142
Lynecia wrote: "I just finished "The Enchanted Wanderer" - by Nikolai Leskov. It was entertaining, because the story was just so absurd. I'm sure the comedy was intentional -- it was told in episodic chapters as t..."It's good to read some of the more lighthearted books on the list. It gets a bit 'heavy' at times.
Lynecia wrote: "I just finished "The Enchanted Wanderer" - by Nikolai Leskov. It was entertaining, because the story was just so absurd. I'm sure the comedy was intentional -- it was told in episodic chapters as t..."I read this a couple weeks ago and already it is fading from my mind. I am glad you liked it, but it didn't leave much of an impression on me.
I just finished The Temptation of Saint Antony by Flaubert. I was expecting something along the lines of A Sentimental Education or Madame Bovary. If you read it, I would advise not going in with that mindset. I was quite disappointed.
The Black Dahlia by James Ellroy. This is a good 40's crime novel, pre-forensic emphasis, with the emphasis on police work and interrogations, roughing up the perps.
Jody wrote: "I just finished Jude the Obscure, and holy crap was it depressing. I loved it though!"I felt the same way. Depressing, but wonderful!
A Sentimental Journey - a rather bawdy book although it's covered under many layers of innocent protestations and words with double meanings. A shame that he died before finishing it.3 stars
The Elegance of the Hedgehog with my book club in town.
The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul - strictly speaking a re read. Not as good as the first Dirk Gently book but after having now read the first one it made a lot more sense than I remember it making.3 1/2 stars.
Finished "What I Loved" today. Random thoughts on this book: I found that a woman writing a male character in the first-person disturbing. I gave a four star rating as apposed to a five because stories that end with questions annoy me. I understand the use of ambiguity and believe it works here but it still annoys me. I really enjoy books like this one that help me understand art better. The story builds slowly then gets hard to put down after the first half.
Today I finished The House of Mirth. I liked the writing, but I wanted to smack the main character, Lily.
They shoot horses, don't they. Quick read very intense.
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Finished Brave New World and found it surprisingly interesting and ahead of its time. Read Far From the Madding World last week and loved it.
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You probably meant to type Far from the Madding Crowd ? I'm just about to start it.
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The film is well-known but the book it's based on not read very much- from the 1930s. I might add it to my list.
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I read this last year; I thought the female author writing in 1st person as male character was unusual but not disturbing. I think it's more common in the reverse. I thought the character depictions were especially good and the art theme was engrossing, but overall about 3.5 out of 5 stars.
Yes - most definitely meant Far From the Madding Crowd - must have been too tired from reading to type correctly
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier What a book! This book has all I look for in a good book: Well written, good plot, attention to details, characters, tempo, dont-tell-show-it.... (Take Mrs. Van Hopper and how finely her character is draw from the things she says. ) Well, maybe not that much humour, but that simply would not fit.
I loved all the small details of how the author is helping Rebecca dominate. The first-person teller is not even allowed to have her own name!
In 1979 BBC made a 4 part TV-series from the book. It is more or less the book cut into 4 one hours pieces. Jeremy Brett plays Max de Winter. He looks older then when he played Sherlock Holmes even though the filming was 10 years earlier.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSAMY...
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In 1979 BBC made a 4 part TV-series from the book.."
The old (1940) movie is excellent, starred Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine, Hitchcock's first American film (and his only Best Picture winner), avg rating 8.7 on Rotten Tomatoes. I read the paper book and enjoyed it more than I expected to- I plan to read more du Maurier.
12 Years a Slave - Astonishingly powerful. It rated a 4 star purely on that as the writing was pretty simple.I also finally finished avoiding Dictionary of the Khazars which has been looking reproachfully at me for a solid year. It really wasn't my sort of thing, far too nonsensical. It rated a 1 1/2 star because, although I didn't like it, the writing style does appeal to some people and it certainly isn't just able to be dismissed as a 'bad book'.
The Luminaries - read as part of a book group which was absolutely the wrong way to read something like this. It was too complicated to be read in any way other than constantly. Once I'd given up trying to read it in fits and starts and finished it off in about one go it was much easier to follow and so much more enjoyable.4 stars
The Forsyte Saga: The Man of Property - The first book of the Forsyte Saga and it was great. I'm really looking forward to reading the next two and I'll make sure they are on my reading schedule for next month.4 stars
The Bridge on the Drina - Another really good read. I took this one very slowly as it was quite dense and needed to be savoured. It was divided up into easy reading sections of about 10 pages for each snippet so that made it easy.
4 stars
Nicola wrote: "The Forsyte Saga: The Man of Property - The first book of the Forsyte Saga and it was great. I'm really looking forward to reading the next two..."The Forsyte Saga is one of my favorites. :)
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I didn't find this in my 2006 edition of "1001 Books..." or an online listing of the 2012 edition. Was it in another? The movie was excellent.
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I didn't find this in my 2006 edition of "1001 Books...."
It's not listed in any version of the list. The Luminaries also isn't.
George wrote: "Carol wrote: "They shoot horses, don't they. Quick read very intense."The film is well-known but the book it's based on not read very much- from the 1930s. I might add it to my list."
Haven't seen the movie but would like to.
Ellinor wrote: "George wrote: "Nicola wrote: "12 Years a Slave - Astonishingly powerful. It rated a 4 star purely on that as the writing was pretty simple...I didn't find this in my 2006 edition ..."
Oh yeah, I'm messing up my lists. I've got 4 on the go.
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