Which LIST book did you just finish? Showing 4,951-5,000 of 7,922

[Ginny]

Haven't been on here in a while, but since the last time I was on, I've finished American Pastoral, American Rust, and To the Lighthouse.

[Yrinsyde]

Ellen wrote: "Yrinsyde wrote: "I finished reading Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco last week " Hi Ellen - I read The Name of the Rose when I was about 18 and read one of his essays (this one was about blue jeans) a few years ago. You are right - he is wonderful and yes, I want more!!

[Sissy]

Cloud Atlas. Debate b/t 3 and 4 stars.... Just felt like it needed more of a finish? Still confused. Enjoyed the read though.

[Darcy]

I just finished Everything Is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer.

[Pilvinetaevas]

Lord of the Flies by William Golding

[Inder]

Just finished an audio version of Slaughterhouse-Five, or The Children's Crusade: A Duty Dance with Death narrated by Ethan Hawke (who was excellent, btw). Kurt Vonnegut is brilliant and his writing is surprising and amazing, but his vision is so dark and fatalistic sometimes, it takes me a while to recover from his books. Still, Slaughterhouse really deserves all of the acclaim - it's really stunning at times. Definitely five stars, although it's not as cleanly perfect as Cat's Cradle.

(One of the best parts about the audio version is an interview with Vonnegut at the end, and then a segment with Vonnegut narrating the "backwards bomber movie" scene in the book that took my breath away.)

[Lisa]

Just finished Confederacy of Dunces. it was different, that's for sure, LOL. Kind of like watching a train wreck, you don't want to look, but you have to! I didn't want to keep reading because I didn't like or identify with the characters, but I just couldn't help myself, LOL.

[Kerem]

Lisa wrote: "Just finished Confederacy of Dunces. it was different, that's for sure, LOL. Kind of like watching a train wreck, you don't want to look, but you have to! I didn't want to keep reading because I..."

Really?? I couldn't keep reading that book, i'd agree it is a train wreck but after a while it just good annoying for me. Everyone says it's a classic but i just didn't get it.

[Karina]

Just finished A Room With A View by E.M Forster and I absolutely love it. I lost power here in Rhode Island due to Irene so I plan on getting lots of reading done!

[Kate S]

Karina wrote: "Just finished A Room With A View by E.M Forster and I absolutely love it. I lost power here in Rhode Island due to Irene so I plan on getting lots of reading done!"

Sorry to hear you have lost power, glad you are safe!! Happy reading!

[Lisa]

I just finished The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende. It's a WONDERFUL story :)

[Lisa]

Carol wrote: "Ijust finished The Shining by Stephen King. "

The book was SO much better than the movie :)

[Lisa]

Bronwyn wrote: "The Picture of Dorian Gray. I liked it. Wilde's prose loses focus at times but overall a good read."

One of my favorites from childhood :) Creepy but riveting :)

[Lisa]

Ph wrote: "Farewell to Arms...For Whom The Bell Tolls it wasn't, but it was ok."

I'm a Hemingway fan, but I wasn't a fan of either of these.

[Lisa]

I just finished Breakfast At Tiffany's. Quick, easy, cute read.

[Chel]

I just finished Untouchable by Mulk Raj Anand about a day in the life of an untouchable caste member in India circa 1935. I really liked it alot and understand aspects of that caste and of the main character more.

[Lisa]

I am a dummy. I realized 3/4 of the way through Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison that the reason the characters & the story were SO familiar to me & why I knew what was going to happen is that: I've already READ it, LOL. I still thought it was a good book this time through too!

[whimsicalmeerkat]

I hate it when that happens

[mark]

finished A Maggot a bit ago. fascinating. lots to think about. the prose was not as dense as i expected for my first book by Fowles; it was very easy to follow what was happening, nothing seemed purposely obscure or lost in metaphysics. however it was pretty dense with challenging themes. the juggling of various genres was intriguing. there was certainly no sort of traditional ending either, which could be frustrating to some.

[Danyellemastro]

Vernon God Little. Oh, my God. I sobbed for the last fifteen pages, and couldn't believe how different each quarter of the book is. The ending really comes into its own. Many may be put off by the youthful narrator, and the huge amount of swearing but stick with it! My 51st list book, and instantly one of my top 5 so far.

[Inder]

I enjoyed Confederacy of Dunces: It's totally absurd, and I think that's the point. The main character is definitely supposed to be annoying, but overall, I thought it was hilarious and crazy in an enjoyable way.

Just finished Murder Must Advertise by Dorothy Sayers. It's a fun mystery novel and an interesting portrait of an advertising firm in Britain in the 20s. I enjoyed it, although I admit I am still wondering why this is considered to be something you must read before you die. I don't think anyone who misses this one will feel any regrets as they approach the pearly gates, but it was fun enough.

I also knocked some of the Edgar Allen Poe short stories off the list. I'm pretty sure he single-handedly invented the horror segment of genre-fiction. Not my thing, but fascinating to see it in its infancy.

[Genia]

The reason the Sayers books are on the list is because the Wimsey mysteries transformed the genre. Sayers didn't just write whodunits with a clever twist; she expanded the genre into realms of touching upon other issues, like advertising, social mores, and so on. She also was the one to really institute the idea of a developing, dynamic, character-detective who changes and grows from book to book, rather than the static detectives that leave the scene into some detective museum once the curtain falls.

Basically, a lot of the more modern, gritty, realistic and psychological mysteries we owe a great deal to Sayers, so Sayers gets her place on the list.

[Inder]

Oh, I like Dorothy Sayers, don't get me wrong. But if I had to choose, I would pick one of the later Lord Peter Wimseys, with Harriet Vane, partly because I think it was in those ones that he developed a richer and more complex character - in Murder Must Advertise, I kept wishing he would be bad at something, just to prove he's human, you know?

Still, this one was a really interesting look at an advertising office. I read the blurb in 1,001 Books, and it brought that up as well. Sayers was a copywriter for a while, apparently, and it shows - that aspect of the book was flawless.

[Anne]

Genia wrote: "The reason the Sayers books are on the list is because the Wimsey mysteries transformed the genre. Sayers didn't just write whodunits with a clever twist; she expanded the genre into realms of touc..."

Her characters, Peter and Harriet, were so well-drawn that I really missed them when I read the last book.

[Genia]

I just finished Busman's Honeymoon, and am now a sad, sad person.

[Anne]

Genia wrote: "I just finished Busman's Honeymoon, and am now a sad, sad person."

I so understand! There are no words.....I still miss them.

[Joy]

I just finished War and Peace, I enjoyed it, but I am glad I am done with it finally!!

[Tatiana]

The Razor's Edge. Maugham rarely disappoints.

[Kerem]

Tatiana wrote: "The Razor's Edge. Maugham rarely disappoints."

I read of Human Bondage and thought that was a lot better. Although, that was the first Maugham novel i read.

[Judith]

Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen

I'm a late-comer to the Austen fan club. I enjoy her more now than when I was young. For one thing, I don't think I had the patience earlier to fully appreciate the dialog.

[Sissy]

Just finished The Namesake. Didn't mind it but don't think it needs to be on the list.

[Sandi]

Finished Effi Briest and Vathek and am now reading Pavel's Letters.

[Lisa]

Last night I finished The Devil and Miss Prym Although normally I'm not into "religious" books, I liked this one from a socio & psychological standpoint. VERY well done in a simple way. Reads very quickly, and it's a shorter book as well, & it's one of those that is hard to put down because you WANT to know what happens next!

[Deanne]

Read The Year of the Hare by Paasilinna, short read set in Finland. I liked it, and the tour of Finland was interesting, but not sure if it deserved to be on the list.

[Nicole]

Fingersmith and Schindler's Ark. Both were very good.

[Mariana]

I just finished 2 list books:
1984, by George Orwell
The Color Purple, by Alice Walker
Both of them amazing reads!

[Lisa]

Mariana wrote: "I just finished 2 list books:
1984, by George Orwell
The Color Purple, by Alice Walker
Both of them amazing reads!"

I'm reading another one of hers now, also on the list, Possessing the Secret of Joy. If you loved Purple, you'll also love this one :) I have NO idea how I ever missed growing up never reading 84, LOL, but it's going to be in the next bag of books I bring home from the library :)

[Lisa]

I just finished Possessing the Secret of Joy last night. Wow......right now that's all I can say. It gives you a LOT to think about.....

[Amanda]

I just finished Ethan Frome. Really short.

[Laura]

Just finished Les Liaisons Dangereuses by Pierre A.F. Choderlos de Laclos. I wasn't sure I would like the epistolary structure but ended up really enjoying it.

[Yrinsyde]

Loved Cold Comfort Farm!!! It was just delicious and I revelled in it. I loved the names of the farm animals and the discussions about sex and inhibition (of course young women are ...) and of course the 'something narsty in the woodshed'. Sad that I've finished reading it! This is one that I will be re-reading for sure.

[Deanne]

Finished Quo Vadis, love history and the descriptions of Ancient Rome and the aspects of Roman life.

[Bea]

I finished Diary of a Nobody. It's an amusing look at the daily life of a lower middle-class clerk, living in a suburb of London in Victorian England. Very little action or plot but it is interesting to see how little some things have changed.

[Danyellemastro]

The Human Stain by Philip Roth. A book that demands your undivided attention - sometimes painfully so. The last half was better than the first, but I'll be taking a great before getting back on the Roth ride!

[Ashley]

Karina wrote: "Just finished A Room With A View by E.M Forster and I absolutely love it. I lost power here in Rhode Island due to Irene so I plan on getting lots of reading done!"

I just finished this too! Absolutely loved it and can't wait to get to some more Forster soon, although next up in my TBR pile is Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

[Judith]

Bea wrote: "I finished Diary of a Nobody. It's an amusing look at the daily life of a lower middle-class clerk, living in a suburb of London in Victorian England. Very little action or plot but..."

I read this one recently also. That type of humor doesn't wear well on me after the first few chapters, but there is also a film version of it I thought you might like to know about.

[Bea]

Thanks for the film tip. I'll look it up. It's kind of hard to imagine as a movie without a lot of added story lines.

[Grada (BoekenTrol)]

I just finished The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

[James]

I just completed "Summer" by Edith Wharton.

[Deanne]

The Sound of the Waves by Mishima, not a huge book but really enjoyed the story set on a remote Japanese island.