Three questions about books on the groups Listopia list

[J_BlueFlower]

Over in the March 2022 Revisit the Shelf Nominations Lynn pointed to the group's Listopia list:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

The list:
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/9...

1) What is your top most book, you have not read? Why not?

2) What is your top most book, you have not read, but intend to read some day?

3) What is holding you back from nominating it in March 2022 Revisit the Shelf Nominations?

My answers:
1) Top most book, I have not read: Persuasion by Jane Austen. I read two other books by Jane Austen. That was enough.

2) Top most book, I intend to read some day: Les Misérables by Victor Hugo

3) I have nominated it.
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

[Lynn, New School Classics]

LOL Thank you J.Blueflower.

[Luke]

1. And Then There Were None - Agatha Christie: I'm not one for mysteries, and reading Murder on the Orient Express didn't convince me to commit any further to Christie's bibliography. However, there's a high chance this work will come in handy for one reading challenge or another, so I'm letting it sit till then.

2. Far From the Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy, Breakfast at Tiffany's and Three Stories - Truman Capote, and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz - L. Frank Baum are all on my docket for 2022. The top one that isn't after those is The Prince - Niccolò Machiavelli, which is a singular enough work to be worth saving for challenges of future years.

3. I've less incentive to do so since two of my 2022 challenge works that I nominated last month made it through the gauntlet and made the '2022 group read' bingo category an easy fill in. However, if the atmosphere is favorable, I might.

[Annette]

1. Great Expectations-- I read lots of Dickens in high school but I remember almost none so I did not mark as read. I am re-reading or doing a first read on some others but they are a lower priority to me. (I guess this could be an answer to the second question as well.)

2. All Quiet on the Western Front is the second book on the list that I have listed as want-to-read. It's in my challenges this year.

3. March wasn't on my radar yet. I'm still trying to realize it's 2022. I likely won't nominate either of the above books because it hasn't been very long since they were revisited. I usually go for something that was read longer ago. I'll take a look and nominate something :)

[Janelle]

1. Jillian is going to kill me! Gone with the Wind . I just can’t imagine that I’ll enjoy it, it’s just not my thing.

2. Les Miserables

3. It’s so long!

[Kathleen]

1. I thought I'd find some "definitely never" on the list, but I wouldn't mind reading most of them. I'll ditto what Aubrey said about mysteries, so I'll probably never get to And Then There Were None. Truth be told, the chances aren't good for The Moonstone either (I read The Woman in White and that was enough). And if I die before I ever read a Harry Potter book, I'm okay with that. I tend to have an aversion to overly-hyped books that lasts a long time, and the amount of hype for this one I'm afraid will make that aversion last forever.

2. Four on my list for this year! The Razor's Edge, Bleak House, The Secret Garden and Alias Grace

3. The first is a January group read--yay! What often holds me back from nominating is, even though we nominate far ahead, I'm usually already over-committed, and given the way this year is starting, that trend will probably continue. :-/

[CindySR]

1) What is your top most book, you have not read? Why not?

Anything by Homer or Tolstoy, life is too short! Shakespeare and Dickens are still on the table.

2) What is your top most book, you have not read, but intend to read some day?

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
I'll be reading it this year, this month or next.

3) What is holding you back from nominating it in March 2022 Revisit the Shelf Nominations?

I'm not that into the monthly noms, sorry, I tried! Guess I need to go at my own pace.

[Lynn, New School Classics]

My answer to all three questions is Lonesome Dove because it is long.

1) What is your top most book, you have not read? Why not?

2) What is your top most book, you have not read, but intend to read some day?

3) What is holding you back from nominating it in March 2022 Revisit the Shelf Nominations?

There is one nemesis book right now on the shelf, Lonesome Dove. I bought it and put it on challenge lists for two or three years. The length intimidates me, and I am afraid to try. I watched the mini series on TV as a teenager so I am sure I will like it.

[Laurie]

1. My top book I never plan to read: A Clockwork Orange. It has never interested me and the odd fictional language is not something I want to try to parse.
2. My top book(s) I plan to read soon: A Wizard of Earthsea, East of Eden, and Much Ado About Nothing are all probable reads for bingo this year.
3. I am not really one to nominate. I will read the books when it seems best with my schedule and I don't know when that is at nomination time.

[Lori]

Lynn wrote: "My answer to all three questions is Lonesome Dove because it is long.

1) What is your top most book, you have not read? Why not?

2) What is your top most book, you have not read, bu..."

Lynn, you will get so engrossed that the length will just melt away. It is an easy to read novel with such richly developed characters. Oh my, I'm jealous that you are starting with fresh eyes. It's worth it! I can't wait to read it again someday, but it will be a while since I just read it in June 2021.

[Sara, Old School Classics]

Lynn, I was going to say exactly what Lori said. It is the shortest long book you will ever read. It is so riveting that it just flies.

[Sara, Old School Classics]

1. Siddhartha or Thus Spoke Zarathustra. I have really read all of this type of book I ever wish to read.

2. The Portrait of a Lady - I dnf'd it once but knew I would want to try again. Reading The Wings of the Dove discouraged me from trying any time soon...I'm still in recovery. I'm sorry I missed the group read, but it just wasn't possible.

3. The group just read it and I know I need to be in the exact right frame of mind when I tackle it. But, I'm committed in my head to doing it this year.

[Kathleen]

Sara wrote: "2. The Portrait of a Lady - I dnf'd it once but knew I would want to try again. Reading The Wings of the Dove discouraged me from trying any time soon...I'm still in recovery. I'm sorry I missed the group read, but it just wasn't possible."

Sara--if you do get to Portrait, I hope you comment in the group read thread. I think those of us who read it would love to hear your thoughts and have the chance to discuss it w/you.

[Sam]

Sara wrote: "1. Siddhartha or Thus Spoke Zarathustra. I have really read all of this type of book I ever wish to read.

2. The Portrait of a Lady - I dnf'd it once but knew ..."

Sara, I feel your pain. James can give one headaches but when you get in sync with his work, just like with any novel, it is bliss. Edith Wharton is seen as a female mirror of Henry James and I had difficulty reading House of Mirth the first two tries. This third time, last month, I found Wharton's groove and was enthralled. Perhaps you will find that with James someday. But don't feel bad about quiiting when you and your book are not getting along.

[Sara, Old School Classics]

Kathleen - Thanks, I will.

Sam - I love Wharton, she is one of my favorite authors. James I have loved and hated in equal measure. Wings of the Dove was torture. I think The Turn of the Screw might be the most perfect ghost story ever written. I dnf'd Portrait because of a death in the family that took me away, but I intended to pick it up again. I will, I know, but after Wings, I didn't feel brave enough to not take a break first. :0)

[Natalie]

1) What is your top most book, you have not read? Why not?
Sorry Jillian, I'm with Janelle. :p I had to DNF Gone with the Wind and I don't plan on ever trying it again. I can't stand Scarlett.

2) What is your top most book, you have not read, but intend to read some day?
Of Mice and Men is the the top-most on the list that's also on my "to-read" list.

3) What is holding you back from nominating it in March 2022 Revisit the Shelf Nominations?
I don't like Steinbeck. The only reason this book is still on my list is because it's short and I may be willing to give it a try someday.

(On that note, I'd actually rather give Gone with a Wind another try than Grapes of Wrath which I also DNF'd.)

Thanks J BlueFlower! This is a fun question!

[Natalie]

Sara - After reading Portrait of a Lady I don't think I can ever read another James. I've read several of his other shorter books but that one did me in. I can't even imagine attempting another long book by him.

Sam - I hadn't heard that about Wharton but it makes since seeing how I feel about The House of Mirth. I read it a long time ago and decided to give it another read. The further in I get the less I like it which is exactly what happened with Portrait of a Lady.

[Natalie]

Kathleen - The Woman in White was a lot better than The Moonstone, in my opinion, so if you didn't like Woman in White that much, I wouldn't bother. :) (Though the audiobook is extremely well done on Audible.)

[Greg]

Sara wrote: "1. Siddhartha or Thus Spoke Zarathustra. I have really read all of this type of book I ever wish to read."

These two books are so different from each other Sara!

I can totally understand the Nietzche one. His perspective is extremely offputting to me, and his reasoning seems almost so deliberately self-contradictory that it's headache inducing. I read it, and I will never read anything by him again if I can help it.

Siddartha from what I remember is just a lovely and straightforward story though. Which books have you read like it that put you off this one? Just curious. It might not be what you think. The Goodreads description makes it seem like a religious treatise, but it isn't - it's a story of a man's life and choices told in a mythopoetic sort of way, like a fable maybe. Unless I'm remembering it terribly! I did read it a long time ago.

[Nidhi]

I read Siddhartha last year and liked it very much. I would like to know ( read biography) how Hesse got this much knowledge on Buddha’s principle of Nirvana ( ultimate release from the cycle of birth) ( And India)
May be the book is based on his journey to India.

What I liked about the book is Hesse showing us the way between Asceticism and worldliness, for ultimately reaching Nirvana .

I intend to read it again soon.

[Greg]

Nidhi wrote: "I read Siddhartha last year and liked it very much. I would like to know ( read biography) how Hesse got this much knowledge on Buddha’s principle of Nirvana ( ultimate release from the cycle of bi..."

I liked it too Nidhi!

But the thing was that it was told as an engaging story of a man rather than as an abstract explanation of philosophy, it was the story of his journey. And it wasn't told in a self-indulgent new-agey way but as a heartfelt journey. The story itself had a beuatiful simplicity, to me anyway. As I said I read it long ago.

Not being of that religion myself, I was not recessarily the ideal reader for that story, but regardless I found it quite touching on a human level. I really liked it.

[J_BlueFlower]

Natalie wrote: "Thanks J BlueFlower! This is a fun question!"

Thank you. I was just trying to get some more activity over in Revisit the Shelf Nominations
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
but all the answers turned out to be quite interesting.

I don't know if it helped the nominations, but at least there are more than 7 now.

[Kathleen]

Natalie wrote: "Kathleen - The Woman in White was a lot better than The Moonstone, in my opinion, so if you didn't like Woman in White that much, I wouldn't bother. :) (Though the audiobook is extremely well done ..."

Thanks, Natalie--I feel better about letting The Moonstone go. :-)

[siriusedward]

1. War and Peace and Brothers Karamazov..
Read 30 to 50% ... a year back.. will read again this year.

2.Daphne du Maurier

3. Maybe someday feeling about reading it.. too many other books to read first or currently reading