Nothing But Reading Challenges discussion
Reading Challenges
>
1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die Challenge
I feel like this may be something I should be joining... 😂Read so far: 425
My sheet:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...
In fact, I just finished
, which was a pretty good collection of shorter stories (some better than others). It was my third Flannery O'Connor from the list (and my favourite so far), and she certainly wrote very vividly!ETA: This book may not be for everyone. There is a LOT of racism in here (most of it to highlight how horrible certain characters are, and some as a product of its time - the '60s). On the upside, there's a lot of come-uppance for said horrible characters.
Mod
I've read ~70 and have another ~80 on my shelves.
I'll update this post as I go along and once I've double-checked the actual number of books I've read from this incredibly huge list.
====
My sheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...
====
Read so far: 58
Books I have on my TBR: 64
Read since this was posted: 5
I'll join, because I'm so curious what the 1001 books can be. I'll update as I go.I've checked the list and I've read only 9 of them, all before I was a member of Goodreads.
I’m here for it! I think I’ve only read 17 (I don’t count books I may or may not have completely read in school). My spreadsheet of goodness…https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...
Mod
68 so far!
Mod
, which was a pretty good collection of shorter stories (some better than others). It was my third Flannery ..."I found that reading Gone With The Wind and had to remind myself that it was a factor of the time the stories were written and the society at the time. In 50 years people will probably look at things written now and wonder how it was acceptable.
Yup. I am in.196 read so far. Wow, that is a lot to still read!!!!
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...
I wonder now how many I have on my bookshelves...
Sophie wrote: "I found that reading Gone With The Wind and had to remind myself that it was a factor of the time the stories were written and the society at the time. In 50 years people will probably look at things written now and wonder how it was acceptable."I think it will probably be a lot less than 50 years!
Surely this is gonna be a 2024 challenge, right :PStart of 2024: 37
Read in 2024
1. The Color Purple
End of 2024: 38
Read in 2025
1. The Three Musketeers
2.
End of 2025:
For anyone planning to read Under the Skin, for the love of all that is good, DO NOT get the audio version.I have never heard such atrocious attempts at Scottish accents in my life. And the book is set in Scotland! It actually made my ears bleed 😂
1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die ChallengeRead in 2024
6/20
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...
Mod
Read before 2024: 370
Read in 2024....
Under the Volcano
Mod
I have never heard such atrocious attempts at Scottish accents in my life...."
Noted on my ss so I avoid this. Thanks!
Mod
I'm in!Will be a slow and steady update as I go and not a focus to finish as many as possible
SS: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...
Read before joining: 18
560 1984
Just finished
Not gonna lie, this was a slow, sloooooooow book, and I can see how people may not like it, but I enjoyed it! Very interesting set-up, even if I did spend the entire book a bit bemused trying to figure out what the eponymous game actually is! 😂
And
done!My 4th Hemingway, and one of my favourites so far (along with The Old Man and the Sea).
Normally I'm not fond of books where I can't find a single likable character, but this one works somehow.
Very pretty cover, but the book itself was a mess. It didn't seem to know what it wanted to be, so in the end was just a lot of blah...
You know, sometimes I re-read a book that I loved as a teen, and am gobsmacked at how much patience I must have had as a youngster.Just finished re-reading Robinson Crusoe, and I realised there's no way either of my kids would have stuck with this one. Not saying they'd consider it boring, but... They'd consider it boring 😂
Mod
Lol, I guess that's also a possibility 😆
- Saul Bellow is pretty hit and miss with me (though even the "hits" haven't been higher than 3 stars yet), and this one was mostly a miss. Nothing that annoyed me or otherwise provoked strong feelings, just struggled to hold my interest.One of those books I'm fairly certain I'll remember nothing of in a couple of weeks' time.
Ahhh, trust the French to have one of their "greatest books" to be one that is basically a free-for-all bonk-whoever-you-can-that-isn't-your-spouse saga. 😂
Mod
Ahhh, trust the French to have one of their "greatest books" to be one that is basically a free-for-all bonk-whoever-you-can-that-isn't-your-spouse saga. 😂"
Fits the stereotype!
Sure does. And not the first of such I've read from that part of the world either, lol.
I find eugenides very readable, even if his subjects tend to be quite heavy (in this one mental illness in the form of manic depressiveness and death, disease and neglect in India in one of Mother Teresa's hospitals).
What got me most is how many books and authors are mentioned in this book. Over 100, easily!
was a fast, engaging read. Set in Italy.Warning: This book is not nice towards children at all. Both adults and other children are involved with kidnap, bullying, neglect and then some.
Didn't enjoy
. I found it messy/disjointed and not particularly well written. I think the only reason it's still read now is because it was an important book for furthering the gothic romance genre.1.5 stars
Mod
I guess that helps too. If it was anyone other than Austen, it probably wouldn't be as pronounced, but she does have a lot of "superfans" who are likely to check it out because of that.
was much better!Part crime thriller, part movie review and part treatise on homosexuality. Something completely different, yet very compelling.
- I didn't love it as much as others (occasionally a touch overblown for my tastes), but I still enjoyed it.One of the very few non-fiction books on the list, but I can see why it was included regardless, as it was very "novelised" for a biography.
Mod
Really enjoyed this. Not recommended for anyone who is squeamish though given the descriptions of the dogs fighting within it.
Sophie wrote: "69 - Really enjoyed this. Not recommended for anyone who is squeamish though given the descriptions of the dogs fighting within it."
I loved that one too.
I am usually fine with violence and gory stuff and such in books, as I'm lamentably often too aware that I am reading fiction. It's probably also why horror books don't scare me (never have, even as a kid). On the other hand, I can't stomach stories of real child abuse, like Cathy Glass stuff at ALL!
Oddly enough it doesn't work that way with stories that bring happy tears (I'm a sucker for long-lost families being reunited and all that, and there will be tissues needed, fiction or not!). Not sure why violence and scary stuff is any different, but there you go, lol.
Based on Robinson Crusoe (which I re-read recently in preparation for this. I hadn't read it in about 30 years!). Honestly, I think this was better than the original, but it still didn't set the world alight, IMO.
Coetzee is a great writer though. I thought Waiting for the Barbarians and Disgrace were both very good.
Possibly 1 more list book to come this month. Depends on how fast I finish it, lol.
A short, compelling read about the dangers of chess 😁
And also
The below is implicit in the blurb, but putting behind a spoiler tag anyway...
(view spoiler)
/rant, lol.
Good story, but the writing style doesn't work for me. Not sure what it is about her writing that escapes me, but I find it extremely difficult to engage with the text. My attention wanders constantly, and it's quite the battle to keep reading. Still, I found this easier than Beloved, so there is hope, lol.
I have it 3 stars, but with a writing style more suitable to me, I'd have rated it much higher.
Not a bad read, but I don't think it has aged very well. For starters it would be pretty impossible to follow his example these days unless you were wealthy enough to buy land, able to secure planning permission for your "shack", and also took a load of dietary supplements with you, because we now know that living off potatoes and (mostly root) vegetables alone for an extended period is far from healthy!
Also scrounging food from the nearby village would not be looked upon as kindly, I'm thinking 😆
Besides, who wants to live without access to books!? I mean, really!
Didn't enjoy it as much as The Human Stain, but it was still a reasonably good read (3-3.5 stars). The part set in the narrator's childhood I thought was much more interesting (and vivid) than when he talked about his adulthood, otherwise the rating would probably have been higher.
It was an interesting format though. Basically the book is one long monologue delivered to ( what the reader can safely assume to be) a therapist or psychiatrist. The writing is very good, and Roth definitely had the ability to paint a vivid picture, even if what he's describing isn't always something you'd want a vivid picture of!!
Mod
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
This can finally be crossed off my list. I've had a copy for a few years and my mother always told me I should read it. It had been required reading at school for her, but not for me, and she enjoyed the story.
So much could be said about this, content-wise. The writing itself flowed nicely and there was always this lingering notion of "something's going to happen... soon..." that kept me wondering what new shit-storm was going to hit the new Mrs. de Winter, the poor naive girl who never even had her name mentioned.
It's not my favourite of hers, but it certainly shows off her skill at creating an atmospheric setting.
was a cracking read, I thought.
I have read 3. Maybe more but In grade school so I dont really remember. 1. Wuthering Heights
2. The Handmaid’s Tale-**my favorite book of all time***
3. Blonde
Here is my google docs.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...
2024:
1.
Nothing But Reading Challenges
Books mentioned in this topic
Money (other topics)London Fields (other topics)
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle (other topics)
The Painted Veil (other topics)
The Razor’s Edge (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
W. Somerset Maugham (other topics)E.M. Forster (other topics)
1001 books you must read before you die...
That's just the ideal lead up to a very long challenge (or less than 5 years given the speed some of you out there read!).
For those of you that haven't come across this before, a Professor of English called Peter Boxall has edited a book with submissions from literary critics of 1001 books they think people should read before they die. Given that the book has been through a few editions with changes to the list, there are now about 1360 books on the list.
There are a number of ways to access this list.
1. 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die the actual book itself.
2. The listopia here
3. The list challenges version (https://www.listchallenges.com/1001-b...)
4. The NBRC spreadsheet (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...)
This thread is a place to chat about the books as you read them and to make a note of your intent to complete the list (eventually and if the shiny new books don't call too loudly!).