Boxall's 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die discussion
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Which LIST book did you just start?
Just picked up "The Lonely Polygamist" at the library. Always like to read about the kookier aspects of the Mormon religion and this novel should be offer a comedic look at one family. However I do not think this title is on the list for this book club. Are members allowed to post discussions about books not previously listed?
Asa wrote: "I've started reading Kafka's The process and Gaskell's North and south."I envy you. I loved reading North and South for the first time. Make sure you check out the BBC miniseries when you're finished
Persuasion After reading the comments on the Favorite Austen thread, I decided I'd better get to this one!
Just started The Grapes of Wrath, which I remember hating in high school, but so many have recommended a reread as an adult, thought I'd give it a go.
I just started Never Let Me Go. Very excited for it.
The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham (audio version)
just a few pages into "The History of the Siege of Lisbon" and trying to get used to the lack of end punctuation, quotation marks, spacing, etc. Saramago writes in one long paragraph!
Just started The Plague by Albert Camus
Allison wrote: "Just started The Grapes of Wrath, which I remember hating in high school, but so many have recommended a reread as an adult, thought I'd give it a go."My experience exactly - I thought it was so boring in HS, but actually enjoyed it when I read it later as an adult.
candace wrote: "I just started Never Let Me Go. Very excited for it."Warning, Candace, don't do what I did - I read a review of the book and it gave away the circumstances in which the kids are in and it rather ruined it for me, I think. I'm about halfway through now.
Lisa wrote: "Just picked up "The Lonely Polygamist" ...Are members allowed to post discussions about books not previously listed?"The idea in this Group is to talk about books that are specifically listed on the "1001 Books You should Read" list, but every once in a while someone tells us here that they are reading a book that's not on that list. Shocking, I know... :)
Just started:
TROPIC OF CANCER
by Henry Miller
Shockingly beautiful or beautifully shocking!
I'm just beginning Ivanhoe. I have high hopes of really enjoying this book. I don't know if anyone remembers the PBS show "Wishbone," but I loved that show as a child. The one episode that sticks out clearly in my mind is the Ivanhoe episode. I don't remember the details very clearly now, but remember loving the story at the time.
Martin Chuzzlewit and Rabbit Is Rich. I normally don't like books like "Rabbit"- I really don't like books that are kind of "smutty". But, Updike is really good at being both compelling and repulsive at the same time.
The Death of Artemio Cruz. This was recommended to me by a good friend several years back. I'm finally pulling it off the shelf to read it!
Amy wrote: "I'm just beginning Ivanhoe. I have high hopes of really enjoying this book. I don't know if anyone remembers the PBS show "Wishbone," but I loved that show as a child. The one episode t..."Oh, I loved Wishbone! I'll have to look up that episode. I enjoyed Ivanhoe, although I had a hard time getting through it, just because I'm not used to the old-timey writing & speech of the characters.
Amanda wrote: "Oh, I loved Wishbone! I'll have to look up that episode. I enjoyed Ivanhoe, although I had a hard time getting through it, just because I'm not used to the old-timey writing & speech of the characters."I'm having the same difficulty. I didn't think I would because I've been reading quite a few classic novels recently, but I am struggling here. Sometimes, during the chivalry contest especially, I couldn't follow the action.
Amy wrote: "Amanda wrote: "Oh, I loved Wishbone! I'll have to look up that episode. I enjoyed Ivanhoe, although I had a hard time getting through it, just because I'm not used to the old-timey writing & speech..."The contest was hard to follow. I just couldn't really picture it all in my head and kept having to look up words. It did get a little bit better once I got used to it though. There's even a little humor, with Wamba. :)
Shay wrote: "Martin Chuzzlewit and Rabbit Is Rich. I normally don't like books like "Rabbit"- I really don't like books that are kind of "smutty". But, Updike is really good at being bo..."I've been wanting to start the Rabbit is Rich series but haven't gotten around to it yet. I just found out that John Updike wrote a short story called "A&P' (sidenote - does anyone remember A&P? There used to be one around the corner from where I lived as a little kid) that I read in my college english class and it was written with really wonderful descriptions. Let me know if you are liking Rabbit is Rich so far, maybe despite it's 'smuttiness'
Heading off on vacation and tucking A Fine Balance in with me... It has been staring at me from my shelf for a long time and I will be glad to finally get a long trip to enjoy it. =)
Sissy wrote: "Heading off on vacation and tucking A Fine Balance in with me... It has been staring at me from my shelf for a long time and I will be glad to finally get a long trip to enjoy it. =)"I have this on my dresser which means it has moved up to the top 5 now! ENjoy and let me know what you think of it when you are finished.
Sissy wrote: "Heading off on vacation and tucking A Fine Balance in with me... It has been staring at me from my shelf for a long time and I will be glad to finally get a long trip to enjoy it. =)"One of my co-workers read and loved "A Fine Balance". It's on my "To Read" list also.
The Lost Language of Cranes by David Leavitt. I hope this is a good one. I had started reading The Children's Book by A.S. Byatt however I am 300 pages deep and bored.
Vanessa wrote: "Shay wrote: "Martin Chuzzlewit and Rabbit Is Rich. I normally don't like books like "Rabbit"- I really don't like books that are kind of "smutty". But, Updike is really goo..."There are 4 books in the Rabbit series. The first three are on the 1001 list. I've read the first two n the past month or so and found them really compelling. I read the last two in college- so completely out of sequence and context. The sex, although there's quite a bit of it and to me it's graphic, is not gratuitous. It serves a purpose, especially in Rabbit Redux which is set during the "Sexual Revolution". But, Updike really does an amazing job of making you want to keep reading when his characters are often so repellent.
just started the novel Innocent Traitor by Alison Weir.
I'm still working on The Handmaid's Tale, which I'm really liking. I've also started Ulysses as a read-along with another group (probably the only way I'll be able to get through it), and I just started The Return of the Soldier which looks to be really good.
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
I've got 3 on the go right now: Aesop's Fables, which I'm about 60% of the way through and is totally bizarre, A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole, which got me laughing out loud around page 60, and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, which I just started the other day.
Tracey wrote: "just started the novel Innocent Traitor by Alison Weir."Not a list book. Sorry.
Tara wrote: "I've got 3 on the go right now: Aesop's Fables, which I'm about 60% of the way through and is totally bizarre, A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole, which got me laughing out loud around p..."
Three great books. Dunces left me in tears of laughter every day. Loved every word of it. He was brilliant.
Three great books. Dunces left me in tears of laughter every day. Loved every word of it. He was brilliant.
Just started this morning:
TALES FROM THE THOUSAND AND ONE NIGHTS
by
Anonymous
One of the oldest book in the 1001 List. The one that started them all. I'm excited!
K.D. wrote: "Just started this morning:
TALES FROM THE THOUSAND AND ONE NIGHTS
by
Anonymous
One of the oldest book in the 1001 List. The one that star..."
Great book KD. Loved it.
TALES FROM THE THOUSAND AND ONE NIGHTS
by
Anonymous
One of the oldest book in the 1001 List. The one that star..."
Great book KD. Loved it.
I'm about to start The Great Gatsby.
I hope you like it. I still love it but I'm seeing more & more people who don't. Actually, many who hate it.I wish I could have been there for Andy Kaufman's act when he got up on stage & played a recording of Gatsby. Although I probably would have been angry that I paid money for that.
But I still, for some reason, find it hilarious.
Just started Lord of the Flies and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. One of the reasons I like the list is that it's forcing me to read books I would never have read. For whatever reason, "Hitchhiker" is a book that I had an irrational dislike toward- at some point I just got it in my head that I wouldn't like it and have stubbornly refused to read it for decades. But, I'm really enjoying it.
I loved Their Eyes Were Watching God. Luckily I read it long before Oprah's club existed or I might have missed out on it. :)The hurricane scene in particular is still vivid in my memory. I felt almost as if I were there-I had nightmares for years.
Just about to start 2001: A Space Odyssey
@Ellie & Megan - I very much enjoyed Their Eyes Were Watching God. @Shay - I finished The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy last week...and wondered why I'd avoided this book for 20 years! I gave it 5 Stars, and I'm stingy with the stars.
I'm nearly done with Drop City by T.C. Boyle (which I think was eliminated after the 2006 list). Oooh, it is a great story and quite well written.
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Boxall's 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die
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All the Oprah hype turned me off the idea of ever reading this book, but when I saw it was on the 1001 list, I decided to give it a try."
Good for you - I think you will enjoy it; at least I did.
I just started Never Let Me Go on audio.