Which LIST book did you just finish? Showing 3,401-3,450 of 10,247

[Rebecca]

The Stranger by Albert Camus.

This was my first 1001-book in four years! Whoo hoo! I dare say I would have enjoyed it more if I read it in a class; it seemed like I was rushing to the end since I knew it was a short one.

[Sarah]

J_BlueFlower wrote: "Dickens - My list has 10."

Thanks for the list. I've covered seven titles already. If memory serves A Christmas Carol is part of a larger collection of Christmas stories. When I've finished the list I plan to read the remaining novels in his canon. I'm enjoying him quite a lot.

[Sarah]

Finished Adam Bede by George Eliot. I enjoyed the story but didn't care for Adam. He was a little annoying.

[George P.]

Rebecca wrote: "The Stranger by Albert Camus. This was my first 1001-book in four years! Whoo hoo!..."
Welcome Back!

[George P.]

Sarah wrote: "Finished Adam Bede by George Eliot. I enjoyed the story but didn't care for Adam. He was a little annoying."
She has 5 books in the combined list (though Daniel Deronda was dropped from the newer edition), and I've not read any of them- I better add one to my to-read list. Maybe I should start with The Mill on the Floss? Silas Marner is shorter but doesn't seem to be as well-liked as the others.

[George P.]

Sarah wrote: "J_BlueFlower wrote: "Dickens - My list has 10."
Thanks for the list. I've covered seven titles already. If memory serves A Christmas Carol is part of a larger collection of Christmas stories. When..."

I'm a Dickens fan, have read seven also. I plan to read Nicholas Nickleby next. A Christmas Carol is listed by itself in my copy of the 2006 edition (full title: A Christmas Carol, in Prose: Being a Ghost Story of Christmas).
My favorite is probably the one I read most recently, Bleak House, which is not one of his most-popular. Actually my most recent was a re-read of Great Expectations.

[Rebecca]

George wrote: "Rebecca wrote: "The Stranger by Albert Camus. This was my first 1001-book in four years! Whoo hoo!..."
Welcome Back!"

Thank you! Here's to hoping that I don't go through another 4-year drought again.

[Sarah]

George wrote: "She has 5 books in the combined list (though Daniel Deronda ..."

I've read four of the five at present and will finish her by next month. Silas Marner was my first book and I enjoyed it a lot. However, I typically read books in groups according to period. I find that more engaging and the nuances of the time they're composed show up more than once.

Choose the story you're most interested in hearing. Sometimes it's a matter of mood and feel. :-)

[Sarah]

George wrote: "A Christmas Carol is listed by itself in my copy of the 2006 edition..."

In Boxall it is listed alone but I've seen the story included in a compilation of Christmas tales too. I plan to read them for the holiday season this year.

[Sarah]

Luís wrote: "I'm a Dickens's fan also. I already read several books of him."

I have great respect for his storytelling and plotting prowess. What's your favorite thus far?

[George P.]

Nikolai Gogol's The Overcoat and Other Short Stories on Kindle ($1), which includes The Nose, which is in the list, and 3 other stories: The Viy, Memoirs of a Madman, and May Night. I liked them all. The Nose is definitely the most surrealistic.
My previous 2 books finished were not on the Boxall list, but I'm reading several others now that are.

[Ellinor]

Yesterday I finished Annie John which was ok but nothing special. Today I finished Invisible which was the first Auster I really liked, so much better than the NY Trilogy.

[Maggie]

Finished Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded!
does a wiggly dance

[Amber]

Maggie wrote: "Finished Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded!
does a wiggly dance"

Congrats! Not an easy read by any means.

[Maggie]

Wikipedia says that in an English village in 1777, a blacksmith was reading the story to the people, and when they got to the part where (view spoiler)[Pamela agrees to marry Mr B (hide spoiler)], the congregation set the church bells ringing. It made me feel like I'd missed something. Why would they be so happy about that?

[Ellinor]

I just finished The Driver's Seat. I didn't like it until the very last chapter which made all the difference.

[Sarah]

Maggie wrote: "Wikipedia says that in an English village in 1777, a blacksmith was reading the story to the people, and when they got to the part where..."

Because her consent is a reflection of forgiveness. And her stance and refusal to forsake her virtue in deference to his position is the defining reason why he begins to have a change of heart. Also, her character has a similar impact on the people he coerces to cooperate with his misdeeds and the opposition he encountered by his sister (and quite prevalent at the time) about his decision to marry outside of his station.

[Kirsten]

I finished both The 39 Steps by John Buchan and Black Dogs by Ian McEwan last month.

I didn't care for Black Dogs that much, but I have always liked book like 39 Steps (The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie, The Lady Vanishes (Hitchcock), etc).

[Sarah]

Finished The Woodlanders by Thomas Hardy.

[Sarah]

Kirsten *Make Margaret Atwood Fiction Again!" wrote: "I didn't care for Black Dogs that much, but I have always liked book like 39 Steps (The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie..."

If you're a fan of Christie you might enjoy And Then There Were None. After the list title I went on to read forty-nine more and that's a very good story.

[Sarah]

Finished Where Angels Fear to Tread by E.M. Forster.

[Sarah]

Finished The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. I read it straight through!

[Sarah]

Finished The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton.

[Sarah]

Finished The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton. Another author series completed.

[Diane]

Finished Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison

[Bob]

Amsterdam by Ian McEwan. A bizarre and somewhat macabre story of entanglement and revenge.

[George P.]

Beloved by Toni Morrison, this month's "New School" classic for the Catching up with Classics group. I had read Morrison's Song of Solomon 2 years ago- I thought Beloved to be much better. Perhaps it was more my kind of novel also. No coincidence that Morrison got the Nobel 5 years after its publication I think.

[Bryan--The Bee’s Knees]

Just finished Bonheur d'occasion (The Tin Flute) by Gabrielle Roy. Montreal is gearing up for WWII, and the story of a poor family struggling through the depression years is a classic of Canadian fiction. I think it's probably lost some of its power over the years, but some sections were quite good.

[Ed]

I haven't updated since the last of the 2016...and I did a recount that boosted my total by 6. Since January 1, I read:
1. Notes from Underground by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
2. If on a Winter's Night a Traveler by Italo Calvino
3. Flaubert's Parrot by Julian Barnes
4. Roxana by Daniel Defoe
5. The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
6. August Is A Wicked Month by Edna O'Brien
7. Bunner Sisters by Edith Wharton
8. Ulysses by James Joyce
(Total =193)

Mostly good reads...but didn't care too much for Notes From Underground.... and hated Ulysses....such an overindulgent vanity project.

[Maggie]

I read a short story collection recently which included The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman and The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe.

I loved The Yellow Wallpaper. The narrator's gradual downward spiral into madness was so subtly and elegantly done, and it was creepy despite the light tone.

The Fall of the House of Usher wasn't really my kind of thing. But I had a suspicion Poe is the sort of author who is better listened to than read, so I listed to an audio recording of The Pit and the Pendulum on YouTube, and wow!! I'm not sure if it's just better written or if it was the sound effects of the recording, but it's so full of suspense and dread. Poe really understands that the anticipation of something is usually more fearful than the thing itself actually happening. 5 stars.

[Sarah]

Ed wrote: "Mostly good reads...but didn't care too much for Notes From Underground.."

I did not enjoy it either and was happy to reach the end.

[Diane]

Finished The Ogre by Michel Tournier.

[Mia]

I finished The Garden Party and Other Stories by Katherine Mansfield.

[Sarah]

Finished Bleak House by Charles Dickens.

[Sarah]

Finished Excellent Women by Barbara Pym.

[George P.]

I've finished Oscar and Lucinda by Peter Carey, my 2nd book written by an Aussie- the 1st was Schindler's List. Oscar and Lucinda is longish, but worth the time- excellent character depiction and the story got better in the 2nd half.

[Diane]

Finally finished The Man With the Golden Arm by Nelson Algren.

[Dee]

Read Le Petit Prince yesterday. For a children's book, it is so deep and full of meaning. My first re-read since Goodreads added the functionality.

[Karina]

I just finished The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides and I really enjoyed it. Glad to be back on track with the group readings (just about, Cakes and Ales is next)

[J_BlueFlower]

David wrote: "Read Le Petit Prince yesterday. For a children's book, it is so deep and full of meaning. My first re-read since Goodreads added the functionality."

You too. I am re-reading The Invisible Man. I have wanted to do that for some time, but the re-read functionality gave the last push.

[Rebecca]

Just read The Little Prince, too. Easy peasy.

[Mia]

I finally finished Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. It was way better than Notes from the underground.

[Laurie]

I read The Lover by Marguerite Duras. Short but such a roller coaster of emotions.

[Rachel (Sfogs)]

Finished Murphy by Samuel Beckett. Did not enjoy it that much, too lyrical.

[Diane]

Finished Cakes and Ale by W. Somerset Maugham.

[George P.]

Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell. I had already read her other list book, "North and South" which I liked rather better. Her "Wives and Daughters" is also popular among fans of Austen-type classics but isn't on the list.

[Sarah]

Finished Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll.

[Kirsten]

I just finished reading The Riddle of the Sands by Erskine Childers.

Love these old spy thrillers from the days before ISIS, Al-Qaeda, smartphones, and Google!

[Diane]

Finished Jazz by Toni Morrison

[Bryan--The Bee’s Knees]

Finished Mansfield Park by Austen. Pretty good--better than S&S I thought.