How many of the LIST books have you read?

[BAM doesn’t answer to her real name]

I should probably count mine. I haven’t done that since last year sometime. I’ll make that a project this weekend

[Darren]

BAM - I just did a "select multiple" on your "read" and "guardian-list" shelves, and there are 484
;o)

[BAM doesn’t answer to her real name]

Hey! That's awesome! More than I thought! Thank you so much for doing that for me because otherwise I would literally be counting with tally marks lol

[Terris]

Congrats, BAM! I'm feeling decent at 320 :)

[GW]

I've read 166 I ask what does the Guardian have on the merit of great books. I ask because I've read 307 great classics and many were not on this list.

[Darren]

the thinking behind the list is explained here:
https://www.theguardian.com/books/boo...

also, it's mainly just novels, so v.little in the way of short-stories, non-fiction, poetry or plays

also, there's a supplementary list of "Ones That Got Away" of titles that readers suggested of crucial books that didn't made it onto the initial list

[BAM doesn’t answer to her real name]

You're awesome Terris!! We got this!

[Terris]

BAM wrote: "You're awesome Terris!! We got this!"

Woohoo!! ;)

[BAM doesn’t answer to her real name]

Oh I'm interested in the ones that got away! Because I need another list in my life lol

[Darren]

there are about another hundred OTGA's, including some very good "catches" such as:
Patrick White: Riders in the Chariot (1961)
Leopoldo Alas: La Regenta (1884-85)
Robert Graves: I, Claudius (1934)
Clarice Lispector: Near to the Wild Heart (1943)
Mikhail Sholokhov: And Quiet Flows the Don (1934)
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: Half of a Yellow Sun (2006)
Julio Cortazar: Hopscotch (1963)
Bibhutibhishan Banerji: Pather Panchali (1929)
Mikhail Bulgakov: The White Guard (1925)
Murasaki Shikibu: The Tale of Genji (1021)
Michael Shaara: The Killer Angels (1974)
Marjane Satrapi: Persepolis (2003)
James Hilton: Lost Horizon (1933)
David Nobbs: The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin (1975)
Charles Portis: True Grit (1968)
Charles Dickens: David Copperfield (1849-50)
Thornton Wilder: The Bridge of San Luis Rey (1927)

[BAM doesn’t answer to her real name]

Oooo I've actually read a few of those! Thank you Darren

[Phil]

Darren - is there an actual list of OTGA, or are they just a collection of reader suggestions?

[Darren]

There are 7 sub-links to the OTGA's at the top of the Guardian 1000 main page:

https://www.theguardian.com/books/ser...

[BAM doesn’t answer to her real name]

You know Darren you just added a couple more years to my life since I cannot die until all of my lists are accomplished lol

[Phil]

Odd those OTGA lists - especially as they include at least two books that DIDN'T get away (Friends of Eddie Coyle and Gormenghast are in the 1000 list, aren't they - we've read one of them in this group)

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

I started reading Dashiell Hammett's final novel, the basis for a popular film series during the Great Depression:


The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett

[Dave]

I have read 106 on the list. Comedy- 11, Crime -11, Family and Self - 20, Love -19, Science Fiction and Fantasy -11, State of the Nation 13, War and Travel - 21.

I have a lifetime challenge I have started on the Personal Challenges threads, but I have not gotten around to which books in each category, except comedy.

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

I finished Dashiell Hammett's final novel:


The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett
Rating: 3 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Darren]

another 4 for me in March, making 517 total
namely:
Mister Johnson Cary, Joyce - 2.5 Stars
Anglo-Saxon Attitudes Wilson, Angus - DNF
Long Goodbye, The Chandler, Raymond - 4
Flag For Sunrise, A Stone, Robert - 4

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

I started reading the first Dave Robicheaux novel, starring an alcoholic ex-cop who is obsessed over his dead wife, a character type that I'm not sure has ever been used before...


The Neon Rain by James Lee Burke

[Darren]

2 more for me in April, namely:
Ascent Of Rum Doodle, The Bowman, W. E. - 2.5 Stars
Piccadilly Jim Wodehouse, P. G. - 3.5 Stars

making 519 total

also a re-read:
New York Trilogy, The Auster, Paul - which I upgraded from 4 Stars to 5-Star-Masterpiece

[Darren]

3 more for me in (a v.high quality) May, namely:

Patience And Sarah Miller, Isabel - 4.5 Stars
Life And Fate Grossman, Vassily - 4.5
Radetzky March, The Roth, Joseph - 4

making 522 total

also a re-read:
Death And The Penguin Kurkov, Andrey - 4.5

also 2x"should be on the list":
Imajica Barker, Clive - 5 Stars (perfect fantasy)
Book Of Ebenezer Le Page, The Edwards, G.B. - 4.5

[Pamela]

A good month with 7 list books in May

South Riding by Winifred Holtby - 4*
Main Street by Sinclair Lewis - 3.5*
Patience & Sarah by Isabel Miller - 4*
The Mask of Dimitrios by Eric Ambler - 4.5* (I love spy thrillers)
Bel-Ami by Guy de Maupassant - 4*
Villette by Charlotte Brontë - 3.5*
The Rainbow by D.H. Lawrence - 4*

That takes me to 315 total

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

I finished #118:


A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce
Rating: 3 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

and I started reading #119:


The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton

[Jason]

Mid Year Update: Read 28 books on the official list during the first half of the year. That brings my total to 357.
Favorite Reads:
The New York Trilogy
Wise Children
The Friends of Eddie Coyle
Dune
Call It Sleep

[Pamela]

Is the list of 1000 books by the Guardian - the list they published in 2009? Not sure what list I am to use.

[Darren]

Pamela wrote: "Is the list of 1000 books by the Guardian - the list they published in 2009? Not sure what list I am to use."

That is correct Pamela,
there is a link in the main message at the top of the Group Home page,
which I reproduce here:
http://www.theguardian.com/books/seri...

[Darren]

5 more for me in (a not quite so high quality compared to May) June:

Tropic Of Cancer Miller, Henry - DNF
Murder At The Vicarage, The (Miss Marple #1) Christie, Agatha - 3.5 Stars
Frost In May White, Antonia - 3.5
Manservant and Maidservant Compton-Burnett, Ivy - 3.5
Untouchable Anand, Mulk Raj - 3

making 527 total

also a re-read:
Mrs Dalloway Woolf, Virginia - 5

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

I finished #119:


The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
Rating: 4 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

I finished #120, the third book in one of my favorite fantasy series:


The Farthest Shore by Ursula K. Le Guin
Rating: 4 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

and I started reading the third Narnia book (publication order):


The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis

[Darren]

ooh! forgot to mention...

6 more for me in July:

Schindler's List Keneally, Thomas - 4 Stars
Blott on the Landscape Sharpe, Tom - 4
July's People Gordimer, Nadine - 3
Betrothed, The Manzoni, Alessandro - 4.5
Moviegoer, The Percy, Walker - 3.5
Clarissa (Vol 1 of 9) Richardson, Samuel - 3

making 533 total

also 2 "OTGA"'s:
Way Some People Die, The (Lew Archer #3) Macdonald, Ross - 3.5
Miracle Game, The Skvorecky, Josef - 4

also a "Should Be On The List:
2666 Bolaño, Roberto - 4.5

[Pamela]

After only managing 2 from the list in June, I read 7 during July…

A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole - 4*
Riddley Walker by Russell Hoban - 4*
July's People by Nadine Gordimer - 3.5*
Murder Must Advertise by Dorothy L. Sayers - 4*
New Grub Street by George Gissing - 4.5*
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke - 4* (this was 1006 pages so took me a couple of months!)
Devil in a Blue Dress by Walter Mosley - 3*

That takes me to 324 overall

[Penelope]

I have just finished reading and listening to A Dance to the Music of Time: the 12 book sequence of novels by [author:Anthony Powell the audio books read by Simon Vance. In the lists under Comedy the 12 books are listed under one heading. Under War and Travel there are three separate entries The Valley of Bones, The Military Philosophers (my favourite book) and The Soldier's Art.
Am I able to add 12 books to my total of books read? if so my total now stands at 189. long way to go!

[Penelope]

Correction. My total now stands at 289. Bit better but still a way to go.

[Darren]

Penelope - wrt DanceTTMOT I would take one of the 4 listings for each set of 3 that you read - so all 4 if you've read 12, but in my case I've just read the first 3 so I'm only claiming 1 (!)

[Darren]

meanwhile...
4 more for me in August:

Vicar of Wakefield, The Goldsmith, Oliver - 2.5 Stars
Gilead Robinson, Marilynne - 3
Lord Jim Conrad, Joseph - 3.5
Married Man, A Read, Piers Paul - 3.5

making 537 total

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

#121 - I finished a classic "romantic suspense" novel by the author of Rebecca and The Birds


My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier
Rating: 4 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

#122 - I finished the third book in the Chronicles of Narnia series


The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis
Rating: 3 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

I started reading perhaps the most revered war novel ever


All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque

[Terris]

RJ - Slayer of Trolls wrote: "I started reading perhaps the most revered war novel ever


All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque"

That one is powerful!! It is one of my very favorite books. I wish more people would read it! I think they would learn a lot.
Hope you enjoy it :)
(Not sure if "enjoy" is the right word, but hope you get a lot out of it!)

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

Terris wrote: "RJ - Slayer of Trolls wrote: "I started reading perhaps the most revered war novel ever

All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque

That one is powerful!! It is one of my very favorite books. I wish more people would read it! I think they would learn a lot.
Hope you enjoy it :)
(Not sure if "enjoy" is the right word, but hope you get a lot out of it!)"

Thanks, Terris. I like it a lot so far. You're right, it's very powerful.

[Darren]

6 more for me in September:

Adventures Of Roderick Random, The Smollett, Tobias - DNF
Childhood's End Clarke, Arthur C. - 3.5 Stars
Staying On Scott, Paul - 4
So Long, See You Tomorrow Maxwell, William - 3.5
Tourist Season Hiaasen, Carl - 4
Good Companions, The Priestley, J. B. - 3.5

making 543 total

[Kimberly]

At this time, I've read 112. Ten were read this year. Am waiting for All Quiet on the Western Front and I've been waiting for it for awhile - must be a required book in school somewhere near me.

Am currently reading:
Le Pere Goriot by Honore de Balzac
The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
Justine by Lawrence Durrell

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

#123:

I finished the greatest war novel ever


All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
Rating: 5 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Terris]

RJ - Slayer of Trolls wrote: "#123:

I finished the greatest war novel ever


All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
Rating: 5 stars
R..."

I'm glad you enjoyed this on, RJ. It is definitely a 5 star read!

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

Terris wrote: "I'm glad you enjoyed this on, RJ. It is definitely a 5 star read!"

I agree completely.

[Darren]

A Personal Record 9 more for me in October:

Assistant, The Malamud, Bernard - 3.5 Stars
Trent's Last Case Bentley, E. C. - 3.5
Black Sheep, The Balzac, Honore de - 4.5 (I am claiming this as the "Comedie Humaine" slot, as I think it's unfair to have to wait til read all of them to claim!)
Suitable Boy, A Seth, Vikram - DNF
Melmoth The Wanderer Maturin, Charles Robert - DNF
Condition Humaine, La (aka Man's Fate, aka Man's Estate) Malraux, Andre - 4
Vathek Beckford, William - 2
Quarantine Crace, Jim - 2.5
Cranford Gaskell, Elizabeth - 3.5

making 552 total

plus
one "OTGA":
Poisonwood Bible, The Kingsolver, Barbara - 2.5

and two "should be on the list":
Death of Artemio Cruz, The Fuentes, Carlos - 4.5
To The Wedding Berger, John - 4.5

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

#124 - I finished an addition to my All Time Favorites


Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
Rating: 5 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Darren]

so over the last 3 months I have added twelve more:

Death Of The Heart, The Bowen, Elizabeth - 2.5 Stars
Oscar And Lucinda Carey, Peter - 5
Oliver Twist Dickens, Charles - 2.5
Lanark Gray, Alasdair - 3.5
Legacy, A Bedford, Sybille - 4
Last Seen Wearing (Inspector Morse #2) Dexter, Colin - 3.5
Riddle of the Sands, The Childers, Erskine - 3.5
Sport And A Pastime, A Salter, James - 3
Fun Home Bechdel, Alison - 4.5
Pig Tales Darrieussecq, Marie - 4.5
Vile Bodies Waugh, Evelyn - 3.5
Earthly Powers Burgess, Anthony - DNF

making 564 total

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

#125 (one-eighth of the way through!)

I finished the short story collection


Breakfast at Tiffany's and Three Stories by Truman Capote
Rating: 4 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...