Which LIST book did you just finish? Showing 3,551-3,600 of 10,248

[Sarah]

Finished The Last Chronicle of Barset by Anthony Trollope. The series was delightful and I'm glad I read them all!

[Tim]

Finished, Crome Yellow, by Aldous Huxley. I enjoyed it much more than Brave New World. I highly recommend it.

[Tim]

Finished, Crome Yellow, by Aldous Huxley. Witty, insightful and funny, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I highly recommend it.

[Winter]

Maybe I need to take a look at it. I was underwhelmed by Brave New World.

[Peter]

The Collector by John Fowles. Seriously creepy.

[Tim]

Winter wrote: "Maybe I need to take a look at it. I was underwhelmed by Brave New World."

I, too, was "underwhelmed" by Brave New World. I contributed my lack of excitement to having read 1984 just before having begun Brave New World. In my opinion, I feel there is no comparing the two works. 1984 is a masterpiece. Brave New World is an alsoran.

[Winter]

Tim wrote: "Winter wrote: "Maybe I need to take a look at it. I was underwhelmed by Brave New World."

I, too, was "underwhelmed" by Brave New World. I contributed my lack of excitement to having read 1984 jus..."

I actually read Brave New World first, but I agree that there isn't really any comparison. But I might just think that because I didn't get it? I was blown away by 1984 though. One of my three 5 stars this year.

[Dee]

I finished The Blithedale Romance last weekend. I enjoyed it, even if I wasn't entirely convinced by some aspects of the novel.

[Bob]

Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell. Well written and flowed smoothly, but not very interesting. I rated it only a 2.

[Tyler]

Just finished Jane Eyre. I liked it a lot, though I didn't think I would.

[Mia]

I finished Under the Skin by Michel Faber. It was way better than I thought it would be. 4 stars. Now I want to read more Faber!

[George P.]

Mia wrote: "I finished Under the Skin by Michel Faber. It was way better than I thought it would be. 4 stars. Now I want to read more Faber!"

I just recently read this and also rated it 4 stars. Creative.

[Bryan--The Bee’s Knees]

Finished Midnight's Children. A lot of parallels between this and The Tin Drum, I thought, though The Tin Drum never really resonated with me. Mercedes recommended Freedom at Midnight as a resource before reading this one--I think it could be very helpful to bone up on Indian history before starting Rushdie's book. Thankfully I was able to get by without too much trouble, but Rushdie writes as if the reader already is familiar with the social and political history of India, so take that for what it's worth.

[George P.]

Diane wrote: "Finished At Swim-Two-Birds by Flann O'Brien."

I also have just finished At Swim-Two-Birds, our group's monthly group-read. Apparently only a few others are also reading it- a shame, because he had a great flair and the creative structure was rather marvelous once I got the hang of it.

[George P.]

Sarah wrote: "Finished The Last Chronicle of Barset by Anthony Trollope. The series was delightful and I'm glad I read them all!"

Apparently the last volume is considered the best- is that your opinion?

[Sarah]

George wrote: "Apparently the last volume is considered the best- is that your opinion?"

It's well written but I grew tired of the complaints and whining from two characters. To the degree where their sudden death would have been pleasant! Too much victimization and when it hails from a man it's pretty hard to swallow. I'll be curious to see what you think when you read it.

[Maggie]

Finished The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov. It far surpassed my expectations.

[Bryan--The Bee’s Knees]

Finished Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar. Still turning it over in my head--very affecting book. I liked it quite a bit.

[Mia]

Finished The Lusiads by Luís de Camões.

[Dee]

Finished Persuasion. I've not yet read Mansfield Park or Emma, but I think this may be my favourite Austen so far.

[Laurie]

I finished White Teeth by Zadie Smith. I liked the beginning and the end, but I thought the middle was kind of a muddle.

[Sarah]

David wrote: "Finished Persuasion. I've not yet read Mansfield Park or Emma, but I think this may be my favourite Austen so far."

I believe it's more affecting due to the protagonist's maturity and our capacity to relate to her plight much more.

[Karen]

Last month I finished The Lover which I found really interesting

and I also read Cider With Rosie which I really enjoyed.

[Bob]

Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto. Good look into grieving the loss of a loved one.

[Sarah]

Finished Martin Chuzzlewit by Charles Dickens. It had a slow start but ended on a good note with the redemption that escaped a similar character from Nicholas Nickleby.

[Nicola]

Spring Torrents - My first Turgenev and I wasn't greatly impressed. The characters seemed both stilted and over dramatic, the whole plot was pretty unbelievable. It felt a little like an unrealistic play put on by a third rate acting troupe.

2 stars

Brighton Rock - English noir. Far more grounded in realism than all of the American noirs I've read and that made it more enjoyable. It wasn't very subtle in its message of pagan good vs catholic bad though.

3 stars.

Titus Groan - It'd been really looking forward to this one and was disappointed. It's amazingly well written - the prose is incredible. A little too much so at times and the little plot there was rather blundered along after the writing.

3 stars

[Linda]

Nicola wrote: "Titus Groan - It'd been really looking forward to this one and was disappointed. It's amazingly well written - the prose is incredible."

Oh, that's too bad! I was surprised by how much I liked this book, perhaps because I was so hesitant about reading it in the first place. Are you going to power on with the second book since it's also on the list? I might have liked it more than the first, and there is more of a plot.

[Nicola]

Linda wrote: Oh, that's too bad! I was surprised by how much I liked this book, perhaps because I was so hesitant about reading it in the first place. Are you going to power on with the second book since it's also on the list? I might have liked it more than the first, and there is more of a plot.

Oh yes I definitely am. I gave it a 3 star which means I think it was 'good' it was just that I was rather expecting to rate it 'excellent' or 'absolutely fantastic!' and so was a bit disappointed that I didn't like it all 'that' much.

[Tricia]

I feel huge sense of accomplishment after finishing Bleak House and The Brothers Karamazov yesterday.

I read Bleak House on serial reader over about 5 months, and I listened to The Brothers Karamazov on audio. I enjoyed both of them.

[Diane]

I feel like I haven't posted in such a long time thanks to the behemoth book I have been reading for the last 2 1/2 weeks. I feel a huge sense of accomplishment at having finally read and completed Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace.

[Bryan--The Bee’s Knees]

Diane wrote: "I feel a huge sense of accomplishment at having finally read and completed Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace..."

But did you like it? I thought some of it was absolutely fantastic. Some not so much. Some of it downright silly, but some laugh out loud funny. What they hey, it's a big book. It ought to have all that in there.

[Linda]

Nicola wrote: "I was rather expecting to rate it 'excellent' or 'absolutely fantastic!' and so was a bit disappointed that I didn't like it all 'that' much. "

I think each of our expectations and final feelings of the book are reversed of each other. I was the opposite.

[George P.]

Tricia wrote: "I feel huge sense of accomplishment after finishing Bleak House and The Brothers Karamazov yesterday. I read Bleak House on serial reader over about 5 months..."

I took about that long to read Bleak House also, and when my reading of it was over, I missed it. You're very ambitious to read 2 long ones at once. I'm reading Moby Dick and Dead Souls now and sometimes wish I hadn't taken on both at once.

[Diane]

Bryan wrote: "Diane wrote: "I feel a huge sense of accomplishment at having finally read and completed Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace..."

But did you like it? I thought some of it was absolutely fantasti..."

I felt exactly the same way as you described. Parts of it were absolutely brilliant, but other parts were just okay. I noticed that most people gave it a 5 rating. I gave it a 4. I am glad to have read it, but it really was taxing on the brain and I am happy to have it behind me.

[J_BlueFlower]

Infinite Jest was already on my to-read, but it just jump up some 150 places.

[George P.]

Finished Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams of England. Very off-the-wall scifi-mystery-ghost story. This is a group read this month for the "Read, Share, Enjoy" Goodreads group. We read a book from a different genre each month and next month we're reading The Heart is a Lonely Hunter if anyone cares to join in.

[Nicola]

Diane wrote: I felt exactly the same way as you described. Parts of it were absolutely brilliant, but other parts were just okay. I noticed that most people gave it a 5 rating. I gave it a 4. I am glad to have read it, but it really was taxing on the brain and I am happy to have it behind me. ."

I read it with a fantastic book group and most of us gave it a 5 star rating but at least one person dropped out and one other didn't like as much as the rest of us.

For me it was a book that I found almost impossible to describe. I could throw every superlative at it and still not convey how much I enjoyed it :-)

[Diane]

Nicola wrote: "Diane wrote: I felt exactly the same way as you described. Parts of it were absolutely brilliant, but other parts were just okay. I noticed that most people gave it a 5 rating. I gave it a 4. I am ..."

It is impossible to describe. It is more of an experience than a novel, if that makes sense. I enjoyed it immensely the majority of the time. I think I got antsy in the end because it was the only book I read in almost 3 weeks. I usually read a few books simultaneously, but I couldn't with this one. It demanded by undivided attention.

[Diane]

Just finished Story of O by Pauline Réage. Definitely cringe-worthy, but not nearly as much as I anticipated.

[Nicola]

Diane wrote:It is more of an experience than a novel, if that makes sense.

Oh yes...

This was the last comment in my very inadequate review:
I can't really explain this book and its impact on me. It was an experience to be lived through and I'm so very glad I did.

[Bryan--The Bee’s Knees]

George wrote: "Finished Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams of England. Very off-the-wall scifi-mystery-ghost story. This is a group read this month for the "Read, Share, Enjoy" Go..."

I was surprised to find both of Adams' Dirk Gently books on the list. I liked them (the first much more than the second) because they appeal to my sense of humor in the same way the Hitchiker series does, but I never would have put them in a 'must-read' category. I can support the Hitchhiker series, and can probably even go along with this first Dirk Gently book, but I wouldn't be surprised if The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul doesn't get sacrificed in later editions.

(Actually, I'm referencing a list that has all 1300+ entries on it, so I suppose Tea-Time could have already been cut, and I wouldn't know it.)

[Diane]

Nicola wrote: ".

Oh yes...

This was the last comment in my very inadequate review:
I can't really explain this book and its impact on me. It was an experience to be lived through and I'm so very glad I did. "

That really does sum it up perfectly.

[Sarah]

Tricia wrote: "I feel a huge sense of accomplishment after finishing Bleak House and The Brothers Karamazov yesterday. I read Bleak House on serial reader over about 5 months."

Good for you! Eliminating the longer reads is very satisfying. Brothers Karamazov was on my list of possible reads this month. Right now I'm up in the air and haven't had anything jump out just yet.

[Sarah]

Diane wrote: "Just finished Story of O by Pauline Réage. Definitely cringe-worthy, but not nearly as much as I anticipated."

It's brainwashing 101 with physical theatrics for good measure. ;-)

[Diane]

Finished Waiting for the Barbarians by J.M. Coetzee.

[Karen]

Finished The Country Girls by Edna O'Brien.

[Bob]

Diane wrote: "Finished Waiting for the Barbarians by J.M. Coetzee."
How was it? I'll be reading it soon for a book club.

[Bob]

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote. Very well written and very engaging.

[Mia]

I finished I, Robot by Isaac Asimov which I loved and Junky by William S. Burroughs.

[George P.]

Bryan wrote: "...but I wouldn't be surprised if The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul doesn't get sacrificed in later editions...."

My web site reference for the 2012 Boxall edition lists 2 books for Douglas Adams: The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy and Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency. So you're right, The Long Dark Tea-Time was in the earlier edition, dropped from the later one.