Boxall's 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die discussion
note: This topic has been closed to new comments.
Archives
>
Which LIST book did you just start?
Cindy wrote: "I haven't started it just yet, but I just got The Swarm: A Novel (881 pp), and holy cow it is a mega-brick! Pretty funny considering I picked up The Time Machine (86 pp) at..."It certainly is a mammoth book, Cindy, but its a blazing fast read - I started it a week ago and am already half way through. Loving it!
Jay wrote: "Cindy wrote: "I haven't started it just yet, but I just got The Swarm: A Novel (881 pp), and holy cow it is a mega-brick! Pretty funny considering I picked up [book:The Time Machine|24..."Oh, good! Thanks, Jay, now I'm really looking forward to starting it. :)
Cindy wrote: "Oh, good! Thanks, Jay, now I'm really looking forward to starting it."I'm looking forward to reading what you think of it, Cindy.
Dan wrote: "Working my way through Jane Austen's novels and The 120 Days of Sodom for now. "Those are quite contrasting reads, Dan!
Cindy wrote: "Dan wrote: "Working my way through Jane Austen's novels and The 120 Days of Sodom for now. "Those are quite contrasting reads, Dan!"
Yeah. My brain and reading habits get a little strange every so often...like reading
and
at the same time. Keeps me on my toes and everybody else wondering. :-)
Dan wrote: "Cindy wrote: "Dan wrote: "Working my way through Jane Austen's novels and The 120 Days of Sodom for now. "lol, brilliant! I dig it.
Jay wrote: "Lianna wrote: "Middlesex. I blew through the first chapter. Chapters two and three are a little more sluggish... "I have to admit I found Middlesex harder and harder to read as it went along.
"
Still working on Sherlock Holmes and loving it more with each Adventure. Also, got The Time Machine stalled on the Kindle, must finish it. I'm trying to cross-efforts with my reading 50 books in a year goal, as well.
Marsha wrote: "Jay wrote: "Lianna wrote: "Middlesex. I blew through the first chapter. Chapters two and three are a little more sluggish... "I have to admit I found Middlesex harder and harder to read as it we..."
Middlesex was difficult for me to read as well. It's got one of the best 1st lines of any novel and it grabbed me, but I really wanted it to be more about the struggles of someone who is a hermaphrodite(sp?) as opposed to the family history. I live just north of Detroit and work downtown and interestingly, my boss's grandfather's car company is mentioned briefly in the book (R.C. Hupp motor company they built the Huppmobile). So there was a lot that should have interested me, but I just felt that the 1st 3/4 of the book were really trying.
I wouldn't say 'just started' but I've returned to reading One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and am hoping to finish it today.
Jay wrote: "Lianna wrote: "Middlesex. I blew through the first chapter. Chapters two and three are a little more sluggish... "I have to admit I found Middlesex harder and harder to read as it went along.
"
I loved the book and could not put it down....
Finished One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and am now onto Junky: The Definitive Text of Junk by William S. Burroughs, and so far, so good. Should be a quick, easy read.
I'm starting Lolita. I'm grateful that this group understands this is not the same as Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books. I haven't read the latter, but I've run into a number of people that seem a bit confused that they are different...
I'm a little more than half way through The Invention of Curried Sausage but I'm not sure that I ever posted when I started it.
Far from the Madding Crowd.Which I was amused to note in the 2008 edition is listed as "Far from the Maddening Crowd." Um, oops.
Cindy wrote: "I'm starting Lolita. I'm grateful that this group understands this is not the same as Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books. I haven't read the latter, but I've run in..."Yer kidding, right? Oh my lord. I guess on the one hand it's good that through that book, more people have learned about this "Lolita" thing and gone to check it out. On the other hand, it shows that even readers have no appreciation for literature that doesn't appear currently on the NYT best seller list.
One of my favorite books of all time--just rebought a copy I had lost of this book, the one that is annotated. I highly recommend that if you want to understand all the allusions and world play that Nabokov makes use of. Fun fact: Nabokov was famously quoted as saying that Lolita was "a lover letter to the English language." That's right--English was his second language (most of his earlier works were written in Russian), and he still managed to produce one of the best-written novels of all time. Wow.
Gini wrote: "Far from the Madding Crowd.Which I was amused to note in the 2008 edition is listed as "Far from the Maddening Crowd." Um, oops."
That's actually pretty funny. I wonder if some over-eager proofreader saw "Madding" and "corrected" it :-)
I will now start Everything is Illuminated. I am also 2/3 done with Kristin Lavransdatter and 9/10 done with Outlaws of the Marsh (aka The Water Margins) and am reading those also. I am also about 2/3 done with Anna Karenina but will save the rest for a later date.
Powell's Books just posted a review of Anna Karenina, thought people that were interested in reading it might want to check out the review:http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/biblio...
BTW, if you like book reviews, you can sign up for Powell's review service, and every day you will get a new review sent to you (both classics and great new books). They come from Powell's, but also from the New Republic, Yellow Taxi (a journal), and other great sources. I highly recommend it!
I'm about 100 pages into The Master by Colm Toibin, with Edith Wharton's Ethan Frome on deck. Obviously subconsciously pursuing a New England thing here...
I don't have the list on me to double-check at the moment but I believe Marquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude is on the list...anyways, I started reading it yesterday and it's been interesting so far *nods*
Li wrote: "I don't have the list on me to double-check at the moment but I believe Marquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude is on the list"Yup, it's definitely on the list!
I have started Lolita finally...a few chapters in & it's ok so far. I saw this movie many years ago..so the book is a nice refresher. I will most likely be trying to squeeze in Chillwater Cove that I picked up at the library today.
just started Os Maias by Eca de Queiroz - i think it's on the list, but i'm too lazy to check. so far a great family saga set in one of my favourite cities, Lisbon - i'm looking forward to how it's going to develop.
Just started 'A Clockwork Orange'... had to source the glossary off the Web because I was simply missing too much.
Cindy wrote: "Li wrote: "I don't have the list on me to double-check at the moment but I believe Marquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude is on the list"Yup, it's definitely on the list!"
Awesome, thanks for the confirmation Cindy! =)
This topic has been frozen by the moderator. No new comments can be posted.
Books mentioned in this topic
City of Bones (other topics)Bouvard and Pécuchet (other topics)
Lolita (other topics)
O Homem Sem Qualidades (other topics)
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Barack Obama (other topics)Mario Vargas Llosa (other topics)
Iain Banks (other topics)
Chinua Achebe (other topics)
V.S. Naipaul (other topics)
More...











I love that book! Jane Eyre is my favourite heroine of 1800s literature. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. :)