Boxall's 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die discussion

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message 5101: by Liz M (new)

Liz M Kristin Lavransdatter, Part 1: The Wreath by Sigrid Undset which seems charming so far and The Tin Flute which is quite good; I am enjoying the narrative voice.


message 5102: by Danyellemastro (new)

Danyellemastro | 170 comments Started and failed to get past the first forty pages of the water babies - and its my second attempt! Now racing through the Handmaids tale which has thankfully lived up to the praise thus far.


message 5103: by Mikela (new)

Mikela | 378 comments Ivy wrote: "I started The Lord of the Rings at lunch today. Does this count for 3 books? No? OK, didn't think so. It's 1008 pages, plus appendices A to F and my goal is to finish by Easter. Wish..."

The trilogy is so good that I think I've read it 5 or 6 times over the years and discover something new with each reading. Enjoy!!


message 5104: by Rachel (Sfogs) (new)

Rachel (Sfogs) | 226 comments Mikela wrote: "Ivy wrote: "I started The Lord of the Rings at lunch today. Does this count for 3 books? No? OK, didn't think so. It's 1008 pages, plus appendices A to F and my goal is to finish by E..."

I counted it as three books, but one for the 1001 list.


message 5105: by Chel (new)

Chel | 380 comments I just started The Adventurous Simplicissimis and I think it's going to be great. I am also reading book three of Kristen Lavransdatter and love it.


message 5106: by Jonpaul (new)

Jonpaul Just started "The Time Machine" and "A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian".


message 5107: by David (new)

David Williams I just started Moby-Dick yesterday, I'm about 200 pages in and loving it!


message 5108: by Lauli (new)

Lauli | 263 comments Starting Howards End


message 5109: by Tara (last edited Jan 10, 2012 09:29AM) (new)

Tara A (quartinsession) | 59 comments About 1/3 of the way into Smilla's Sense of Snow by Peter Hoeg and enjoying it so far. It took me a couple of tries to really get going on it, but now I'm definitely intrigued.

I also started Clarissa today - trying to read along with the dates of the letters (ie first letter in the book was written on January 10, so I started today, next one is January 13 so will read it then). Means I'll be done in November, but allows me to read other things in the meantime. :)


message 5110: by Glynis (new)

Glynis  (missgmad) Started Middlemarch by George Eliot for the 'Reading the Chunksters' Goodreads group.


message 5111: by Katherine (new)

Katherine (katats) | 150 comments I finally started my first term as an official English major, and some of my classes cover 1001 list books. So...I am starting War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy and To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf this week.

War and Peace will be read over ten weeks, and luckily I am reading it with a group of very excited students from diverse backgrounds. I think that is the best way to attack such a long book.


message 5112: by Danyellemastro (new)

Danyellemastro | 170 comments Katherine wrote: "I finally started my first term as an official English major, and some of my classes cover 1001 list books. So...I am starting War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy and [book:To th..."


Best of luck! I did it between Oct - December and it was worth the effort, parts of it are really, really engrossing.


message 5113: by Deanne (new)

Deanne | 681 comments Started The Guermantes Way The Guermantes Way (In Search of Lost Time Book 3) by Marcel Proust , taking me longer to get into than the previous two.


message 5114: by Genia (new)

Genia Lukin | 205 comments Started The Age of Innocence. I'm only two chapters in, but so far I am enjoying it more than House of Mirth.


message 5115: by Shelley (new)

Shelley (book_drunkard) | 24 comments I started That They May Face the Rising Sun, by John McGahern. Anyone read it? What did you think? I just grabbed blindly from my trunk this morning as I was flying out the door so I have little to no idea what it is about. But I kind of like that too. That way I am fresh going into it and not carrying around any pre-suppositions about the book.


message 5116: by Kirsten (new)

Kirsten (kirsten48) | 35 comments I've just started A Tale of Two Cities and for some reason I'm having a hard time getting into it. I'm a Dickens fan, so I'm not sure if I'm just in the wrong frame of mind but it is feeling really sluggish. I'm not sure if I should give up for now and go back to it...


message 5117: by Judith (new)

Judith (jloucks) | 1202 comments The Last Temptation of Christ - Kazantzakis

A re-read from years ago for me.


message 5118: by Melissa (new)

Melissa (mmbirch3) | 38 comments Kirsten wrote: "I've just started A Tale of Two Cities and for some reason I'm having a hard time getting into it. I'm a Dickens fan, so I'm not sure if I'm just in the wrong frame of mind but it is feeling really..."

It's slow at the beginning but as the story goes on, it gets more "sensational" and interesting. Or at least, that's how it was for me. The ending is worth reading the whole book.


message 5119: by Dana (new)

Dana Arbelaez (danas_reads) | 25 comments Just started A Boy's Own Story by Edmund White...so far, it reads like a memoir, and since it's an autobiographical novel, and being gay was extremely "taboo" in 1950s American society, I'm intrigued to see where it goes.


message 5120: by Mikela (new)

Mikela | 378 comments Just started Cloud Atlas and am finding it very interesting up to this point, page 67.


message 5121: by Ann (last edited Jan 13, 2012 08:57AM) (new)

Ann (bookwoman247) | 6 comments I'm just starting The Charterhouse of Parma by Stendhal. It's far too soon to judge, but, so far I'm liking his tone, which seems slightly sardonic.


message 5122: by Bea (new)

Bea | 110 comments I may be alone here, but I'm a big Dickens fan and I find A Tale of Two Cities the most uncharacteristic of all his books. It lacks the humor that lightens even his most melodramatic novels. It does pick up as it goes along and the French Revolution stuff can get the blood racing.


message 5123: by Elizabeth (Alaska) (new)

Elizabeth (Alaska) Bea wrote: "I may be alone here, but I'm a big Dickens fan and I find A Tale of Two Cities the most uncharacteristic of all his books. It lacks the humor that lightens even his most melodramatic n..."

Bea, not a list book, but I'm currently reading Scaramouche, and it occurs to me that it could easily be read in close proximity to Tale of Two Cities. More of a swashbuckler, but in the same time period - very fun!


message 5124: by Clare (new)

Clare (clarepenelopeliggins) Bea wrote: "I may be alone here, but I'm a big Dickens fan and I find A Tale of Two Cities the most uncharacteristic of all his books. It lacks the humor that lightens even his most melodramatic n..."

I agree. I also found the characters weren't as well developed as in other books. I wanted it to be longer and more in depth.


message 5125: by Donna (new)

Donna (donnareadstheworld) | 0 comments Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Bea wrote: "I may be alone here, but I'm a big Dickens fan and I find A Tale of Two Cities the most uncharacteristic of all his books. It lacks the humor that lightens even his most me..."

It's a list book if you're following the original 1001 books list (2006 edition). It was removed in the 2008 edition.


message 5126: by Ann (new)

Ann (bookwoman247) | 6 comments It's a list book if you're following the original 1001 books list (2006 edition). It was removed in the 2008 edition.

Dang! That was going to be my read in honor of Dickens' 200th birthday! It's in the edition that I own, which appears to be 2006, so even if it doesn't count for the purposes of this group, I'll still count it on my personal list.


message 5127: by Elizabeth (Alaska) (new)

Elizabeth (Alaska) Donna wrote: "It's a list book if you're following the original 1001 books list (2006 edition). It was removed in the 2008 edition."

Hmmm. Scaramouche appears neither on the Arukiyomia combined list nor on this group's bookshelf.


message 5128: by Lauli (new)

Lauli | 263 comments Ann wrote: "It's a list book if you're following the original 1001 books list (2006 edition). It was removed in the 2008 edition.

Dang! That was going to be my read in honor of Dickens' 200th birthday! It's..."


Many people in the group are following the three combined lists, so go right ahead and tick it!


message 5129: by Donna (new)

Donna (donnareadstheworld) | 0 comments "Hmmm. Scaramouche appears neither on the Arukiyom..."

Oh, you're talking about Scaramouche - I thought you were talking about A Tale of Two Cities! Sorry, my bad!


message 5130: by Elizabeth (Alaska) (new)

Elizabeth (Alaska) LOL And I saw later what you were talking about! Still, for a bit of breadth on the French Revolution they make nice companions.


message 5131: by Ann (new)

Ann (bookwoman247) | 6 comments Lol! I sure didn't read the original post well enough! Sorry for the confusion!

Eventually I'd like to read Scaramouche as well. Unfortunately, niether it, nor A Tale of Two Cities seem to be in my edition of 1001 books. How disappointing, and in the latter case, shocking ... at least to me!


message 5132: by Deanne (new)

Deanne | 681 comments A Tale of Two Cities was in the 2006 list, but got knocked off.
As for Scaramouche, really must read my copy, read Captain Blood by Sabitini and really enjoyed it.


message 5133: by Karina (new)

Karina | 401 comments Just started The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri last night on the kindle. I hope it's a goodie.


message 5134: by Judith (new)

Judith (jloucks) | 1202 comments The Red Room by August Strindberg


message 5135: by Chel (last edited Jan 15, 2012 01:02PM) (new)

Chel | 380 comments I just started Barrabas.


message 5136: by Bea (new)

Bea | 110 comments Just starting Villette as part of the Brontë read in the Victorians! group.


message 5137: by Tara (new)

Tara A (quartinsession) | 59 comments Started and almost finished Sense and Sensibility this weekend. Am enjoying it more than Pride and Prejudice, but less than Emma, which I think makes me a bit of an odd duck amongst Jane Austen readers.


message 5139: by Marialyce (new)

Marialyce Bea wrote: "Just starting Villette as part of the Brontë read in the Victorians! group."

Me too! along with The Tenant of Wildfell Hall and a re read of Wuthering Heights, a big favorite of mine.


message 5140: by Rachel (Sfogs) (new)

Rachel (Sfogs) | 226 comments Tara wrote: "Started and almost finished Sense and Sensibility this weekend. Am enjoying it more than Pride and Prejudice, but less than Emma, which I think makes me a bit of an odd duck amongst Jane Austen re..."

I can't say I liked Emma as much as Austens other works


message 5141: by M (new)

M (masanobu) | 110 comments Just started The Killer Inside Me, by Jim Thompson. I'm not a great fan of noir, so I don't think this will be a favorite.


message 5142: by Eve (new)

Eve B. (partyp) | 4 comments The Poisonwood Bible.


message 5144: by Rachel (Sfogs) (new)

Rachel (Sfogs) | 226 comments Eve wrote: "The Poisonwood Bible."

This one I like more after reading it, and thinking back on it.


message 5145: by Craig (new)

Craig | 241 comments Moby Dick -Melville

First time for this one and despite its nefarious history for readers, I am looking forward to this read.


message 5146: by Craig (new)

Craig | 241 comments and

The House of the Seven Gables -Hawthorne


message 5147: by Mike (new)

Mike | 78 comments Don Quixote is the one I just started. Is Book 2 on the list too?


message 5148: by Tara (new)

Tara A (quartinsession) | 59 comments I started on Possession by A.S. Byatt the other day. 140 pages in, I'm still kind of on the fence. Victorian poetry and academia are not exactly my favourite subjects, so it's been a bit of a slog so far but sometimes there will be a few pages that really grab me. Meh.


message 5149: by Elizabeth (Alaska) (new)

Elizabeth (Alaska) Tara wrote: "I started on Possession by A.S. Byatt the other day. 140 pages in, I'm still kind of on the fence. Victorian poetry and academia are not exactly my favourite subjects, so it's been a bit of a slo..."

Tara, I found the story itself fascinating enough to keep reading. But I'm not ashamed to admit I skipped all the poetry.


message 5150: by Mekki (new)

Mekki | 171 comments Never Let me go.

So far i'm on chapter 4...Its not too interesting so far but lets see.Never Let Me Go


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