Which LIST book did you just finish? Showing 3,451-3,500 of 10,247

[Ian]

Oscar and Lucinda by Peter Carey.
Very classy!

[Diane]

Finished The Beautiful Mrs. Seidenman by Andrzej Szczypiorski.

[Eva]

I just finished War and Peace and The Grapes of Wrath.

Loved The Grapes of Wrath and liked War and Peace.

[Maggie]

The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes.

I can see why it's won prizes, although I didn't like it that much.

[Laura]

The Handmaid's Tale

Scary stuff..so many questions..hence why that last sentence in the book I believe?!

It was on one of the groups to read list that I belong to on here, possibly lasts month. I have seen it is being remade and released in April (Possibly only the U.S) In a series.

[Diane]

Finished The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje. Glad to have finally read this. Great book.

[Aileen]

Maggie wrote: "The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes.

I can see why it's won prizes, although I didn't like it that much."

I bought this on a whim today, mixed reviews amongst my friends on here.

[Maggie]

Aileen wrote: "Maggie wrote: "The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes.

I can see why it's won prizes, although I didn't like it that much."

I bought this on a whim today, mixed reviews amongst m..."

Don't get me wrong, it's well-written, and a good read. I just felt I might appreciate it better if I was a 60 year old man.

[J_BlueFlower]

Reread The Invisible Man: Clever guy with bad moral does chemical experiment on himself in order to be even more superior. Does it sound like something from a Marvel comic? The main character is probably H.G. Wells' best. He thinks that due to his superiority, he has a right to do certain things, but at the same time in such a bad position cold and hungry.

I have read the five main books of H.G. Wells, and I would say that The Invisible Man is the best (The Time Machine comes second). It has the invisible idea, and it throughout deals with the consequences of the main idea (as any good sci-fi should).

This is the first 1001-book I have reread. Originally it made quite an impression and I rated it 5 stars. Now it is more a 3½-4 star book.

I am going to reread The Name of the Rose sometime. I rarely reread book, but I was a bit young when I read it the first time.

[Sarah]

Finished Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens. It's slow going at the beginning but picks up steam later on and ends nicely.

[Bryan--The Bee’s Knees]

Finished Coming Up for Air by Orwell. Excellent--far better than I would have guessed. Probably seemed so good because my expectations were low, but very enjoyable. Laughed out loud more than once

[Diane]

Finished The Enormous Room by E.E. Cummings.

[George P.]

Bryan wrote: "Finished Coming Up for Air by Orwell. Excellent--far better than I would have guessed. Probably seemed so good because my expectations were low, but very enjoyable. Laughed out loud m..."

I enjoyed his Keep the Aspidistra Flying last year. Most readers have read Orwell's 1984 and Animal Farm but nothing else of his- his other works are different in style and very much worth reading. Flattering that he liked my name so much, he gave it to himself (real name: Eric) and the protagonist of Coming Up For Air!

[Tim]

Just finished, Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte.

[Diane]

Finished Animal Farm by George Orwell (re-read).

[James]

Darkness At Noon - Arthur Koestler Simply brilliant.

[Bryan--The Bee’s Knees]

George wrote: "Most readers have read Orwell's 1984 and Animal Farm but nothing else of his- his other works are different in style and very much worth reading."

That was one of the things that stuck out--I can't think of an author I've read that has written three so very different books, and all of them excellent: 1984, Animal Farm and now Coming Up for Air. I have read his Homage to Catalonia and some of his essays, but it was as if Coming Up for Air was out of left field. Keep The Apidistra Flying is in my TBR pile, though it might take me a while to read down to it.

[George P.]

Finished Under the Skin yesterday. A sci-fi horror that's not my usual genre. But I liked it to where I had to discipline myself to read my other novels and not just enjoy my guilty pleasure read. Best not to know much about the story and discover it as you go. OK- it's about an alien woman who's been made to look human and captures hitchhikers for nefarious reasons, and it has a theme of empathy.

[Linda]

I just finished The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle. I thought I had read this years ago while in school, but I'm not sure I did since I didn't remember any of the story at all. It was a fun little mystery!

[Tyler]

Just finished The Awakening by Kate Chopin.

[Sarah]

Just finished Daniel Deronda by George Eliot and I'm really glad I left it for last. She articulated the Jewish spirit beautifully and Ezra's zest for his people is touching. And as I read my mind drifted to Shabbat and the numerous holidays I've experienced over the years. It's a oneness which defies explanation but one I was pleased to encounter through her work.

[Sarah]

Mercedes wrote: "I've finished Les Liaisons dangereuses and A Tale of Two Cities recently."

Dickens got me with Tales. Especially at the end when the exchange takes place and he goes to his death with dignity. The tears were flowing fast! :-)

[Mia]

I finished The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. I liked it a lot and now I need to read Tom Sawyer. And I finished Democracy by Joan Didion.

[Birthe]

Just finished "Saturday" by Ian McEwan.

[Sarah]

Mia wrote: "I finished The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. I liked it a lot and now I need to read Tom Sawyer."

I tried reading Huckleberry Finn last year but the local dialect was off putting. I read both Twain novels as a child and enjoyed them but not so much as an adult. I'll have to try again. Are you reading Tom Sawyer for pleasure?

[Diane]

Finished The Trial by Franz Kafka

[Tim]

Finished, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, by Winifred Watson. Very witty and entertaining.

[Karen]

I started the year by re-reading Gone with the Wind which is a fantastic book and one of my all time favourites.

I have also read this year;

Love Medicine which took me a while to get into but I ended up really enjoying.

Keep the Aspidistra Flying which I enjoyed. Very different to his more well-known novels.

The Marriage Plot which I found slow to start with but ended up enjoying.

Cakes and Ale which I detested to start with but grew to like but not love

and so far in April I have read Franny and Zooey which I tried so hard to like but I just didn't appreciate it.

[George P.]

Mia wrote: "I finished The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. I liked it a lot and now I need to read Tom Sawyer. And I finished Democracy by [author:Joan Didion..."

It's funny to picture a Finn like yourself reading Huckleberry Finn. Probably not funny in Finnish though?
Didion has another book in the list more widely read, Play It as It Lays (sorry the link isn't working right). Avg GR rating is similar. Have you read that? A couple of my friends rated it 4 stars.

I want to read Tom Sawyer this year too, I read H. Finn a couple decades ago, but have never read T Sawyer.

[George P.]

Tim wrote: "Finished, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, by Winifred Watson. Very witty and entertaining."

I enjoyed it. The movie with Frances McDormand in the title role is entertaining and mostly faithful to the book.

[Kirsten]

I haven't read the book, but loved the book.

[Sarah]

Just finished Dracula by Bram Stoker. It was really good! And although the story is familiar to many I found it very engaging and a timeless tale I'll probably revisit once more.

[Mia]

Sarah wrote: "Mia wrote: "I finished The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. I liked it a lot and now I need to read Tom Sawyer."

I tried reading Huckleberry Finn last year b..."

Yes I'm reading it for pleasure. Huckleberry Finn was my second book from Twain, I've read The Prince and the Pauper when I was younger and enjoyed it greatly.

[Mia]

George wrote: "Mia wrote: "I finished The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. I liked it a lot and now I need to read Tom Sawyer. And I finished Democracy by [author..."

Hahhah I didn't even realize that x) And no I haven't read Didion's other book yet but I have it in my bookshell. It sounds more interesting than Democracy so I'll probably read it soon.

[Sarah]

Mia wrote: "Yes I'm reading it for pleasure."

I enjoy hearing about pleasurable side reads. I've done the same with several authors from the list and it's given me a greater appreciation for their work. Happy reading! :-)

[Diane]

Sarah wrote: "Mia wrote: "Yes I'm reading it for pleasure."

I enjoy hearing about pleasurable side reads. I've done the same with several authors from the list and it's given me a greater appreciation for their..."

I just read a side read for Ian Mcewan - On Chesil Beach. I liked it better than his list books I have read.

[Diane]

Also just finished The Atrocity Exhibition by J.G. Ballard. Not my favorite by him.

[J_BlueFlower]

Finished Kehlmann Daniel: Measuring the World about the two scientists Alexander von Humboldt and Gauss. I started it to get some easy listening done with I worked in the garden. There is always a lot to do at this time of the year. This book was one of the few shorter books that the library had a Danish audiobook version of. In other word: I had no expectations at all when starting, But it did not take long before I started liking the book.

It is fiction, and it needs to be because the author gets far into the head and under the skin to the two main persons. Humboldt is such a bad-ass hero. He's enthusiasm and his absolute need to measure every thing.... “Whenever things were frightening, it was a good idea to measure them.” Bad-ass scientists are such a rare breed. (Richard Feynman, and eeehh, Walter White....)

I have been looking some key facts in wiki along the way and Kehlmann seems to be loyal to them.

Not only does it have two well crafted persons, it is well-writen and sometimes quite funny. 3½-4 stars.

I listened to/read the Danish translation.

[Diane]

Finished Elizabeth Costello by J.M. Coetzee.

[Mia]

I finally finished Rites of Passage by William Golding.

[Bryan--The Bee’s Knees]

Mia wrote: "I finally finished Rites of Passage by William Golding."

I was surprised to see that book on the list--I read it a couple of years ago and thought it was kind of ho-hum. I never did read the other two books in the trilogy--maybe its worth is in the cumulative effect

[Diane]

Finished Time's Arrow by Martin Amis.

[Peter]

The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham. A fascinating read if you read between the lines.

[Sarah]

Diane wrote: "I just read a side read for Ian Mcewan."

Thanks for the recommendation! He has several titles on the list. I didn't realize it was that many. I haven't tackled him as of yet. Which one did you enjoy most of all?

[Sarah]

Bryan wrote: "I never did read the other two books in the trilogy--maybe its worth is in the cumulative effect."

I've found that to be case in some instances especially where sequels are involved. I did this with Tolkien by reading The Silmarillion and The Children of Hurin before the list books and the series was more enjoyable. I'm doing the same with Trollope too.

[Sarah]

Mercedes wrote: "I even read the introduction. Excellent."

Ditto! It was really good and he was truly off. Stevenson is a good storyteller.

[Diane]

Sarah wrote: "Diane wrote: "I just read a side read for Ian Mcewan."

Which one did you enjoy most of all?"

I have read 6 of his books so far, 5 on the list and one not, and my favorite is the non-list book On Chesil Beach. Of the list books I have read, I think that Atonement was the one I enjoyed most with The Cement Garden being a close second. My least favorite so far is Amsterdam. I thought Black Dogs was also just so-so. I have yet to read Saturday , Enduring Love, or The Child in Time. Overall, I think his books are hit or miss and he is way over-represented on the list (he has 8 list books).

[Sarah]

Diane wrote: "Overall, I think his books are hit or miss and he is way over-represented on the list (he has 8 list books)."

That's a lot of books to be hit or miss. I'm wrapping up Dickens and I've enjoyed his work a great deal and I know he has quite a few titles as well. I'll start with Atonement. Thanks for your advice. Hopefully the next update will address issues like these.

[Diane]

Sarah wrote: "Diane wrote: "Overall, I think his books are hit or miss and he is way over-represented on the list (he has 8 list books)."

That's a lot of books to be hit or miss. I'm wrapping up Dickens and I'v..."

Dickens does have a lot of books on the list, but in my opinion, deservedly so. Unlike some of the newer "over-represented" writers on the list, his writing is consistent and his book have stood the test of time.

What is your favorite Dickens?

[Diane]

Just finished The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri. I can't believe it has taken me so long to finally read it. Great book!