Play Book Tag discussion
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Fun Post from Goodreads Newsletter
I checked it out sometime earlier and found a lot of interesting titles for me to read. So far I've read 13 of them.There are a few 5-star reads among them but I think the best one for me is Gone Girl. And I didn't like Never Let Me Go
Wow, this was a walk down memory lane. I've read so many books through the years. Of this group, I've read 13 books, all at different periods of my life.- I remember reading "The Stranger", "1984" and "Brave New World" in high school.
- During college years, I was much enamored with "The Prophet" and "The Little Prince".
- As a young adult, "The Joy of Cooking" was a go-to book for recipes.
-Later, my brother-in-law directed plays of "The Glass Menagerie" and "The Robber Bride Groom".
-I have a memory of reading and loving "The Goldfinch" with a close friend.
-"The Hate U Give" reminded me so strongly of an office-mate at work. She spoke the same way as the characters in the book and had experienced similar things.
I can't pinpoint a favorite book. I'm glad I read them all.
I've read 41. There were 6 on my want to read list and a couple on my DNF list. The one I would most l want to read is Invisible Man.
I enjoyed seeing that list too. I have read 65, but I have been at it longer than most of you. I noticed a gap in not having read Richard Wright or Ralph Ellison, though I own at least one of each.
I've read 44 - or 45, I can't remember if I read 1984 in my teens. Several others are on my TBR.For The Joy of Cooking, though, does it count if you haven't read the whole thing? Does anyone ever read an entire cookbook? Still, it was a go-to of my mother's and when she gave it to me I used it too.
A very interesting list, for sure. I have read a great many of them, have a few in the TBR. There were a very small handful I had never heard of. There are quite a few I will not read for one reason or another.I also did not necessarily like all that I did read.
I've read 25, more the of the recent ones than the older. The older ones I've read because of my personal goal to read Amazon's 100 books to read before you die. The Joy of Cooking is STILL a go to book for me on several recipes and things.
Not sure which is my favorite... maybe Charlie and the Chocolate Factory or Dune.
I have found that I am NOT a big fan of magical realism. Other than a couple of authors, it's my least favorite genre and I usually struggle through the books. Needless to say I read One Hundred Years of Solitude but was not a fan.
Only 9 read for me, quite a few DNF's among them too.
I've read 36. I'd be hard pressed to pick a favorite. The Fellowship of the Ring is probably the one I've reread most often. I was lukewarm about I Capture the Castle. It did have a great opening line, but I didn't find anything really special about the rest of it.
I've read 30 plus two DNFs (and a couple that should have been DNF, but school)The earliest dated book for me was The Great Gatsby. I read in college, and then again after the most recent movie came out.
I have read 45, have another dozen or so on my TBR, and at least 6 more where I have read different books by same author. There are at least 10 books I don't recognize either title or aurhor.Favorite might have to be Le Petit Prince. I still use Joy of Cooking as my go-to cookbook. Least favorite, hands down is Wolf Hall.
I've only read 6 of them. Of those I would say that my favorite was The Handmaid's Tale and my least favorite was 1984. I think I've got Malibu Rising and The Vanishing Half on my Amazon wish list.
I have read 63.My 5-star reads:
The Goldfinch
The Book Thief
Wolf Hall (sorry, Anita) :-)
The Golden Compass
The Handmaid's Tale
Catch-22
To Kill a Mockingbird
The Grapes of Wrath
There are 10 more on my TBR. I need to check out the others.
Looks like I've read 36 of them. Many were ones I really didn't like. They (mostly) get better with the newer books, but not completely. :-)
annapi wrote: "I've read 44 - or 45, I can't remember if I read 1984 in my teens. Several others are on my TBR.For The Joy of Cooking, though, does it count if you haven't read the whole thing? Does anyone ever..."
I counted it because I read significant parts of it. It was one of the first cookbooks I ever got in college and I read some of the "About" sections, like "About Cakes" or whatever, as well as descriptions around recipes that interested me. I doubt anyone has ever read it all the way through.
I've read 36 of them and a few more that were DNF. It's tough to choose a favorite but:
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
and To Kill a Mockingbird are definitely at the top.
My least favorite is The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. Ugh. That was a struggle and I only finished it due to the fact that one year I asked my co-workers at the library to suggest their favorite book for me to read and that one came from a very sweet young clerk.
There are several I would like to read eventually but I have no burning desire to get to them soon.
I've read 37 ... two of the plays were when I was in college and involved in theatre productions. Of course, the Goodreads staff who put this together didn't only pick the most popular book of each year. They "fiddled" with it:
Mostly we wanted to curate a list that would cover a range of genres and suggest the breadth of reading interests over time. And OK, full confession, it tickled our fancy to be able to put Ulysses and Malibu Rising on the same list.
TBR - 22
Read - 34
DNF - 2 - Dr Zhivago and Grapes of Wrath
Favourites - Song of Solomon and The Bluest Eye, The Poisonwood Bible
Least Favourites - The Handmaid's Tale, Never Let Me Go, Gone Girl
A few would have been DNF if not for school.
Read - 34
DNF - 2 - Dr Zhivago and Grapes of Wrath
Favourites - Song of Solomon and The Bluest Eye, The Poisonwood Bible
Least Favourites - The Handmaid's Tale, Never Let Me Go, Gone Girl
A few would have been DNF if not for school.
The two I gave 5 stars to were To Kill a Mockingbird and The Goldfinch. My least favorites were Gone Girl and The Secret History. Interesting that one of my most and least favorites were by the same author, Donna Tartt.
Robin P wrote: "The two I gave 5 stars to were To Kill a Mockingbird and The Goldfinch. My least favorites were Gone Girl and The Secret History. Interesting that one of my most and least favorites were by the sam..."That is interesting! I have both on my shelf to read at some point. I've been intimidated by them because they are both chunky. Although I'm ahead on my main reading goals for the year so maybe I'll finally pick up one of them.
I've ready 19. Not too shabby. 8/10 from the 2010-2020 section of the list.
I can definitely see this turning into a yearly challenge!!!
Robin P wrote: "The two I gave 5 stars to were To Kill a Mockingbird and The Goldfinch. My least favorites were Gone Girl and The Secret History. Interesting that one of my most and least favorites were by the sam..."Super interesting- I'm the opposite. Secret History is one of my tops from this list, and Goldfinch was eh for me.
I liked Secret History when I read it -I think I still own the first edition hardcover I read too, though I leant it out a lot and it may be worn. But I did not consider it that awesome. Have not read Goldfinch - just did not interest me and still doesn't.Hated Gone Girl. Though not as much as I hated Wolf Hall.
Many of the books on the list I have not read are for younger readers - Howl's Moving Castle, I Capture the Castle, The Westing Game. I am gradually reading those - challenges like Popsugar always have a prompt or two that fit.
LoL Theresa-I think it's going to take a real stinker to beat out Wolf Hall, for both of us. I also hated Gone Girl. Read it back in the day when I thought the book police would show up if I did not finish a book.
@JoAnne - I believe the reason Wolf Hall will be hard to beat for our stinker award is because it should have been one we enjoyed - great idea, interesting historical period, etc. But the writing was so bad ... it earned its All-Time Stinker award.
Diana H. wrote: "I checked it out sometime earlier and found a lot of interesting titles for me to read. So far I've read 13 of them.There are a few 5-star reads among them but I think the best one for me is [boo..."
Never Let Me Go does seem polarizing! I enjoyed it, but I know so many people who didn't . . .I liked Gone Girl too!
Holly R W wrote: "Wow, this was a walk down memory lane. I've read so many books through the years. Of this group, I've read 13 books, all at different periods of my life.- I remember reading "The Stranger", "1984..."
I enjoyed looking through all the selections as well! It's interesting how the titles evoked such specific memories for you. Love that!
Booknblues wrote: "I've read 41. There were 6 on my want to read list and a couple on my DNF list. The one I would most l want to read is Invisible Man."
I definitely recommend Invisible Man. Not necessarily the easiest read (in style nor content), but I personally thought it was very well done.
Robin P wrote: "I enjoyed seeing that list too. I have read 65, but I have been at it longer than most of you. I noticed a gap in not having read Richard Wright or Ralph Ellison, though..."65 is impressive, Robin! I don't think I have read Richard Wright either . . .not sure what is his most famous book?
annapi wrote: "I've read 44 - or 45, I can't remember if I read 1984 in my teens. Several others are on my TBR.For The Joy of Cooking, though, does it count if you haven't read the whole thing? Does anyone ever..."
I feel Joy of Cooking counts as being "read" if you ever owned it or cooked out of it. I don't think people actually read a big fat cookbook like that! I'm counting it.
Charlotte wrote: "I've read 25, more the of the recent ones than the older. The older ones I've read because of my personal goal to read Amazon's 100 books to read before you die. The Joy of Cooking is STILL a go ..."
Lol, you and me both on the Magical Realism. One Hundred Years of Solitude is definitely way down on my list as well. I am going to answer my own question in a bit, but I really disliked it, and it's waaaaay down there.
Joanne wrote: "Only 9 read for me, quite a few DNF's among them too."That's very interesting. It's funny how one can be an extensive reader and yet a particular list doesn't jibe with you at all.
Jgrace wrote: "I've read 36. I'd be hard pressed to pick a favorite. The Fellowship of the Ring is probably the one I've reread most often. I was lukewarm about I Capture the Castle. ..."I Capture The Castle has been on my TBR forever. After your comment forever might become literally forever.
Theresa wrote: "I have read 45, have another dozen or so on my TBR, and at least 6 more where I have read different books by same author. There are at least 10 books I don't recognize either title or aurhor.Fa..."
As you know, Wolf Hall won't be high on my list either . . .but it was better than One Hundred Years of Solitude . . .so probably not dead last.
Joy D wrote: "I have read 63.My 5-star reads:
Wolf Hall (sorry, Anita) :-)
There are 10 m..."
Ha ha, at least I understand why! But Grapes of Wrath is one of my top reads, so we can at least share that . . .
Ann☕ wrote: "A fun question, Anita. I've read 24 books. My least favorite was The Great Gatsby, which I read in high school. Among my highest rated are Wolf Hall, [book:The Handmaid's..."Glad you enjoyed the question! I would love to see the list you DO read from the challenge. Maybe post it here with the years you have read, the years you have a plan, and the years you need help with . . .it would be fun to plan for that challenge!
Ellen wrote: "I've read 36 of them and a few more that were DNF. It's tough to choose a favorite but:
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
and To Kill a Mockingbird are ..."
I have never read Haruki Murakami even though I keep thinking I should. I won't start with The Wind-up Bird Chronicle that's for sure.
Book Concierge wrote: "I've read 37 ... two of the plays were when I was in college and involved in theatre productions. Of course, the Goodreads staff who put this together didn't only pick the most popular book of ea..."
Yeah, I wish they included the most popular as an aside just so we could see. So what if Stephen King won 8 years in a row . . .
Jenny wrote: "TBR - 22Read - 34
DNF - 2 - Dr Zhivago and Grapes of Wrath
Favourites - Song of Solomon and The Bluest Eye, The Poisonwood Bible
Least Favourites - The Handmaid's Tale, Never Let Me Go, Gone Gir..."
The Bluest Eye was terrific -- I need to try Song of Solomon for sure. But you DNF'd Grapes of Wrath ... *sob*. I love Steinbeck, lol.
Robin P wrote: "The two I gave 5 stars to were To Kill a Mockingbird and The Goldfinch. My least favorites were Gone Girl and The Secret History. Interesting that one of my most and least favorites were by the sam..."Fascinating that you found the Donna Tartt books polarizing. I loved Secret History, but I was very young when I read it. I'm afraid to re-read it for fear it won't stand up to closer scrutiny. Goldfinch was fair for me, but I do love how Tartt crafts sentences period. I think she's super talented. But unfortunately, not at plotting.
Joi wrote: "..Super interesting- I'm the opposite. Secret History is one of my tops from this list, and Goldfinch was eh for me.."Same!
So, I read 51 of these titles. I gave The Poisonwood Bible only one star, but honestly I must have been grumpy that day because there are definitely a couple of books that stand out to me as worse. First, One Hundred Years of Solitude was miserable, but I was able to get through it. The book I really think might have been worse is House of Leaves. If I had to pick the one of these three I really really wouldn't want to re-read - -it's House of Leaves. Contrived and boring.I gave 18 of these books a 5 star rating, and it's really hard to pick a favorite, but I'm going to have to say The Road. It just touched me deeply, and I'm not sure any of the others made me feel as emotional . . .
There aren't a lot of books that I haven't read but feel a strong drive to . . .Catch-22 seems like a gap in my education. Malibu Rising and The Virgin Suicides appeal to me the most.
[Anita wrote: "Robin P wrote: "I enjoyed seeing that list too. I have read 65, but I have been at it longer than most of you. I noticed a gap in not having read [author:Richard Wright|9657] or] Anita - I would say Native Son is Richard Wright's most famous. I read it in high school and was totally caught up in it. That was 50 years ago. I was thinking it is past time I read it as an adult with a lot more knowledge and experience.
Anita wrote: "Joanne wrote: "Only 9 read for me, quite a few DNF's among them too."That's very interesting. It's funny how one can be an extensive reader and yet a particular list doesn't jibe with you at all."
Haha! I suppose it's the old "everyone loved it" and that shy's me away from a book. If the general public like it, chances are I won't. And classics-ugh remind me of being told to read a book for that reason only. Tell me not to read a book and I probably will pick it up.
Anita wrote: "Booknblues wrote: "I've read 41. There were 6 on my want to read list and a couple on my DNF list. The one I would most l want to read is Invisible Man."
I definitely recommend Invisible Man. Not..."
Anita and Theresa, Native Son is on my TBR as well. It is in fact on my coffee table. It is a first edition from 1940 and was in my house growing up. My mother read it when she was going to night school for her bachelors and she wrote notes in it. It was one of the things, I claimed when we were moving her into memory care.
I still haven't read it. I remember a bit of what she told me about it and I keep putting off reading it, even though I think I should.
Anita wrote: "65 is impressive, Robin! I don't think I have read Richard Wright either . . .not sure what is his most famous book..."Anita, I think Richard Wright was one of the authors chosen in the Author Author group way back. But maybe you were no longer involved in that group by then?
As more commentary vs the number I posted that I've read. The ones I liked best, I think (4 stars or higher):
- Rebecca
- The Poisonwood Bible
- Girl With a Pearl Earring
- The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
- Gone Girl
- The Hate U Give
- Educated
- Kindred
The ones I didn't like:
- The Great Gatsby
- As I Lay Dying
- Their Eye Were Watching God
- Fahrenheit 451
- I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
- The Color Purple
- The Alchemist
- Wolf Hall
Play Book Tag
Books mentioned in this topic
Native Son (other topics)Native Son (other topics)
The Virgin Suicides (other topics)
Malibu Rising (other topics)
Catch-22 (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Richard Wright (other topics)Haruki Murakami (other topics)
Richard Wright (other topics)
Ralph Ellison (other topics)
Richard Wright (other topics)
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