Boxall's 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die discussion
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Which LIST book did you just start?
Craig wrote: "I understand. I ended up writing up a post-it note just for the years, in order to keep track somewhat of the chronology. Along with multiple other notes throughout the volume. My favorite end no..."That one was great. Untitled. Unfinished. Unreleased.
Jennifer wrote: "Reading (and not fully comprehending) Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon. I can't wait to finish this book... it gives me nightmares."Jennifer, I don't think Pynchon is meant to be fully comprehended. At least that's what I told myself as I waded my way through The Crying of Lot 49...
Katherine wrote: "I just started The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett. My summer of noir is working out nicely!"Enjoy! It was my first noir, and I liked it immensely.
Just starting Out of Africa. I thought this was our August read and I am really late, but can't find the thread for this discussion.
Just started Timbuktu. Hoping I fly through it. I have Lady Chatterley's Lover on deck and Madame Bovary in the hole.
I loaded up on books this week and will be busy for quite a while. All are 1001's, but most also won either the Man Booker or National Fiction Award. I'm on a mission!The Cider House Rules
The Corrections
Disgrace
The God of Small Things
Infinite Jest
The Sea
Sunny in Wonderland wrote: "I'm enjoying it, but it's actually longer than it looks. I fell asleep last night after being referred to end note 39, which referred me to end note 304, which during the 6 pages of THAT referred me to two other end notes. Which is kind of hysterical when you're in the thick of it. I ran out of page markers! LOL! "OK - Infinite Jest will NOT be my next book. You are scaring me. Haha.
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
I just started Trout Fishing in America / The Pill versus the Springhill Mine Disaster / In Watermelon Sugar, and am specifically reading "In Watermelon Sugar." It's better than I expected so far.
I'm reading Cloud Atlas and Brideshead Revisited. I love Brideshead and never would have believed anyone who told me I would. The writing is impeccable. Cloud Atlas is pretty compulsively readable. I wanted to read it before the movie comes out in a couple of months. I meant to pick it up for a few years because I'd enjoyed Mitchell's "Ghostwritten". Oddly, I think I'm enjoying it more because of this whole list thing.
The list has taken me out or my comfort zone and maybe a bit of a torpor I hadn't even realized I had fallen into in my reading life. Consequently, I've read things that made some of the writing styles Mitchell uses in the different parts of the book easier to dive right into. For example, the first story isn't unlike some of the Bronte or Defoe or even Melmoth the Wanderer, another I recently started. The second bears a similarity to Brideshead. The sci-fi portion owes a debt to Huxley and Atwood, etc.
Basically, thank you list. Some of the best books I've read this year are due to the list.
Karina wrote: "Starting Siddhartha by Herman Hesse. Hope it's a good one!"It is, it is! I loved it!
I just finished Rebecca last week and loved it! I couldn't wait for bed at night just to get back to the story!
Just sitting down to start Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson :) Figured I'd get some of the "kid lit" types out of the way :) My edition is a 1948 hardback :) It came home with me from a book sale we did for a rescue group I'm on the Board of Director's for :) It's not in impeccable condition, but the binding is still sound & the color plate illustrations are still vibrant, & the print is easy on my eyes because it's a junior library copy.
I'm very happily immersed in The Remains of the Day. I really enjoyed how thought-provoking I found Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go, and I am enjoying the unfolding of the story in this novel as well, even with the very disparate topics of the two novels. I find myself especially rereading and marking the passages on dignity, which I find are transferable to any profession or walk of life. I definitely would recommend this book--I'm reading it slowly just to savor it a little longer!
I loved Rebecca too... today started Great Expectations on my kindle. I did read it a long long time ago but I have come to realise readng classics as a adult has given me a different perspective. When I reread Wuthering Heights a second time I had a better appreciation for a book I had previously loathed.
Started Robinson Crusoe a few days ago - just under halfway through and loving it.
I'm currently reading Atonement and, because it started so slowly, also began Lucky Jim. Now both books have picked up in interest so it'll be a race to see which I finish first.
Mikela wrote: "I'm currently reading Atonement and, because it started so slowly, also began Lucky Jim. Now both books have picked up in interest so it'll be a race to see which I finish first."I too found Atonement took me ages to get into, to the point where I Put it down for almost a year before continuing it. Glad I returned to it though because it was a great book.
"To Kill A Mockingbird" - I have managed to avoid all conversations/book reviews/movie/you name it for 50 years in order to not ruin this moment!So far, it is charming. Love Scout, Jem, Dill and of course, Atticus.
Wow, Linda, the fact that you've been able to steer clear to avoid spoilers is pretty darn impressive. It's one of my all time favorites, you've got a wonderful experience coming to you!Last night my boyfriend and I started Treasure Island, it should be fun!
Just picked up my copy of Wise Children by Angela Carter. I refuse to read the discussion page until I am finished but I hope this one is good because it wasn't cheap and wasn't available on the Kindle!
Recently finished The Bell Jar and will be starting Out of Africa this weekend.And... STILL slogging through Infinite Jest, which has so many story lines, that I just keep getting lost and confused and have to re-read chapters...
Manda wrote: "I'm just about to start reading Hangover Square has anyone else read and any good?"I enjoyed it. Not my favorite, though.
I'm just a few pages into The Thinking Reed, thinking I'll enjoy it.
Karina wrote: "Just picked up my copy of Wise Children by Angela Carter. I refuse to read the discussion page until I am finished but I hope this one is good because it wasn't cheap and wasn't available on the Ki..."I checked it out of the library, & I absolutely LOVED it!!!!! You will bust a gut laughing at the sarcastic humor...
Sheena wrote: "Madame Bovary by Flaubert" Now THAT was interesting :) You can see why it was considered scandalous for it's time....
Half-way through The Go-Between and enjoying greatly.
Started The Shipyard by Onetti, keeping me occupied but not one of the greats on the list.Bit annoyed with myself for not noticing that Auntie Beeb is showing an adaptation of Parade's end with Benedict Cumberpatch as Christopher, Ahhh!!!
Lisa wrote: "Karina wrote: "Just picked up my copy of Wise Children by Angela Carter. I refuse to read the discussion page until I am finished but I hope this one is good because it wasn't cheap and wasn't avai..."Thanks! It took me a little while to get used to the writing style but it's quite funny! I am definitely enjoying it so far!
Just started (now 20% through) A Prayer for Owen Meany and love love loving it! Going to do a quick, short read next I think...
Reading Wuthering HeightsMost defnitly not my normal sort of book (I am more into science fiction). But this is a Really Good Book!! Strongly recommended for anyone. Some books grow old and some grow better. There is more than 200 years of distance to the world today, and it is felt in many small details. Nelly carrying apples and stopping to enjoy the smell of the air. It doesn’t seem like an old facion thing today – more like a complete other world.
So far I think this book is my greatest find due to the list.
I just began The Feast Of The Goat. Haven't previously read anything by this author so don't know just what to expect.
Will be starting on Casino Royale later today, been meaning to read it for a while so glad I'm finally getting round to it.
Doris Lessings Diaries of Jane Somers... so far very interesting,great observations.
Currently reading The Princesse de Clèves. Somebody linked to openlibrary.org in another goodreads group, and although I usually don't like reading from screen I found several books there that were hard to find for me before, like Euphues the Anatomy of Wit or anything by Tobias Smollett. So I'll be reading those next!
Started The Unbearable Lightness of Being yesterday. Already on part 3, LOL. Very interesting & sometimes thought provoking book, with a good storyline....
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Boxall's 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die
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Sunny in Wonderland wrote: "Craig wrote: "Stick with it! It is so worth it. I have traveled the IJ path twice and each time brought wonders.
Sunny in Wonderland wrote: "Katrina wrote: "Sunny in Wonderland wrote: "Pray for ..."