Boxall's 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die discussion
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Which LIST book did you just finish?
Just finished The Guermantes Way - Vol. 3 of Proust's In Search of Lost Time. This was the best volume yet, and I'm really excited to get started with Sodom and Gomorrah!
Hima wrote: "Kate S wrote: "Hima wrote: "Animal Farm...somehow not as good as I remembered from HS 12 years ago."I read this over the weekend and had the exact same thought!"
I'm glad someone feels the same ..."
I re-read 1984 not very long ago and really completely enjoyed it, I completely feel you! I am not sure when I will get to my next Orwell, but I hope I am able to enjoy it. :)
Does getting halfway-ish through "Vile Bodies", and then getting fed up with it count as "read"? I marked it as "read", and don't even feel bad about not having read the whole thing. With so many better books out there, why should I waste my time on something I really, truly loath?
Hima wrote: "Does getting halfway-ish through "Vile Bodies", and then getting fed up with it count as "read"? I marked it as "read", and don't even feel bad about not having read the whole thing. With so many b..."Consider adding an abandoned shelf to your shelves. works for me.
I actually have a shelf called "I'm sorry, I can't, don't hate me". (Quote from the television show "Sex and the City".) All the books that I either end up not really liking/loving, and anything that there is no way I would ever be able to finish.
Just finished Pastoralia by Saunders, a collection of stories and a quick read.
On the Eve -TurgenevThis one did not grab me. The writing itself was quite good, with a few stand-out portions, but just not one that I feel will stay in my memory as good.
Just finished Perfume: The Story of a Murderer. I found it stunningly evocative, just a little disappointing at the end.
Hima wrote: "Does getting halfway-ish through "Vile Bodies", and then getting fed up with it count as "read"? I marked it as "read", and don't even feel bad about not having read the whole thing. With so many b..."You may have just missed out on or didn't like the humor in this light-hearted novel. (That has certainly happened to me in a few books from the lists!) You might try to redeem it just a bit by renting the movie version called "Bright Young Things". I thought it was quite enjoyable.
The Absentee - Maria EdgeworthGreat fun for romance and adventure lovers. The last third of the novel is quite a romp!
Just finished The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler. Excellent writing style. Overall, very good.
la wrote: "Just finished The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler. Excellent writing style. Overall, very good."I loved this one. You should read The 39 Steps by John Buchan too if you haven't already. It is very good as well.
The Poisonwood Bible and So Long a Letter. Liked both. You can see my comments at http://bethslistlove.wordpress.com
Megan wrote: "I just finished A Bend in the River. V.S. Naipaul by V. S. Naipaul. It was the first of Naipaul's books that I've read, and I thought it was brilliant and engrossing. If you're lookin..."Ah. I loved that novel. Naipaul's writing is amazing. I'm slowly working my way through everything he wrote ...
Finished Love's Work by Gillian Rose, who was dying of Ovarian cancer at the time of writing. Rose talks a lot about love and death as you would expect from someone facing their own mortality. Rituals by Nooteboom was also a quick read and revolves around three decades and three men. Both books are quick reads but thought provoking.
So glad to find more Naipaul fans! I loved A Bend in the River - the first one of his I read. I would not have picked up Naipaul if it wasn't for this list. Horray!
Just finished Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. The story line did not really differ from the one everyone knows so well, but it was interesting to read the book (finally!) for the details and tone it sets. Plus, it was a super quick read.
Living by Henry Green.Descriptions of working class poverty I find quite arduous reading (I'm thinking Germinal, New Grub Street, Sons and Lovers) but the books do stay with me a long time. I think this will be the same.
To paraphrase Peter Cook: I don't read books to learn about poverty, misery and despair. I can get all that at home!
Finished In Search of Lost Time by Proust, may have been the translation but I found this a much easier to read than I thought it would be.
Yesterday I finished The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera. Thought-provoking, but not my style. My review is here.
I pretty much made out, quality-wise, last week. I polished off Animal Farm, July's People, The Elegance of the Hedgehog, and The Invention of Curried Sausage.
Jude the Obscure One of the most terrible books I've read, but undoubtedly a masterpiece. How gutsy of Hardy to have written such a straightforward book in terms of sex during the Victorian age
Completed Bleak House which I very much enjoyed. thought the beginning was a little slow but it had my interest throughout. Tension and speed pick up and by the last 3rd of the story I was reluctant to put it down. About 25% through Nicholas Nickleby on audio. Very enjoyable.
I finally got through The Electric Kool Aid Acid Test. Ugh..... Also recently finished The Temple of my Familiar, which I loved.
Denise wrote: "Completed Bleak House which I very much enjoyed. thought the beginning was a little slow but it had my interest throughout. Tension and speed pick up and by the last 3rd of the story I..."I've just borrowed Nicholas Nickleby from the library.
It will be my first of Dicken's works
Had a long drive and finished Man Who Loved Children andThe Year of the Hare. Liked both and reviews are here: http://bethslistlove.wordpress.com/20...
Virgin Soil - Ivan TurgenevI recommend this one for it's realism...about the historical times in which it is set and human nature.
Well done!
The Mill on the FlossGreat book! It is the first I read by George Eliot, but I will definitely be reading more.
Flaubert's Parrot, by Julian BarnesI enjoyed this book more than I had originally anticipated. It was witty and kept my interest, and I had to read with a notebook in hand so I could write down all the asides that caught my attention; it made me want to do a whole lot more reading and fact-checking, both of Barnes and Flaubert.
Megan wrote: "I really enjoyed your review..."Thanks, Megan, and thanks for 'like'-ing it too.
I'll wager your feelings about it will change as you age; whether up or down will be interesting. I would speculate that it would appeal most to someone who has been living long enough to have some experience under their belt, but your love of it at the tender age of 19 might indicate that I'm off base.
Enjoy your re-read!
Finished Martin Eden by London, a slow start but the more I read and the more I liked Martin the quicker I found the read.
Hi Brianna!I just finished Life and Times of Michael K by J.M. Coetzee. My review is on my blog at http://bethslistlove.wordpress.com/20...
Jane Eyre. I had tried to read it a couple of years ago and hated it and now I love it.
Just finished Dicken's Oliver Twist. Initially I will admit to finding it hard to block the film version from my mind to concentrate on the real story but once I managed that I loved it. In the end there was only one thing to say 'Can I have some more'.
I really liked Jane Eyre as well. I thought it was going to be along the same lines as Pride and Prejudice, but thankfully it was not. A (semi) strong female, who is NOT hung up on marriage and kids and the "white picket fence". The ending annoyed me a little though, so I could only give it 4 stars...4.5 if that was an option.
Just finished The Time Machine by H.G. Wells last night. An enjoyable read. I look forward to reading more of his stories.
Karina wrote: "Just finished The Time Machine by H.G. Wells last night. An enjoyable read. I look forward to reading more of his stories."I read it a few weeks ago, & also enjoyed it (review). I need to start combing the shelves of my local secondhand bookshop for more Wells titles.
What do you plan to read of his next?
Just finished The Golden Ass, translated by PG Walsh. Very readable, very fun! Reminds me of what Milan Kundera said about Rabellais, that since he wasn't reading him in the original French and struggling with dated, difficult language, he was able to really enjoy the stories as they were translated and updated into Czech.
Alice in Wonderland -Carroll (aka Dodgson).Interesting introduction in the version I read, lightly comparing Carroll to Humbert Humbert from Lolita. "lightly" being the key modifier as the intro's author claimed that Carroll loved young girls but not carnally or lasciviously as the character Humbert did. The work of "Alice" is fun, odd, and ridiculous, and subject to a legion of interpretations.
Just finished Doctor Zhivago which took me quite some time, now if i could get passed page 16 The Riddle of the Sands perhaps i might make some list progress.
My list of 'finished' 1001 books is slowly growing
Just finished The Nose. Fun and quick, if you need a REALLY short one. Here is my review: http://bethslistlove.wordpress.com/20...
I *finally* finished "On the Road" by Jack Kerouac. There were times when I just wanted to stop reading it altogether, but I did finish the actual story part. I didn't want to read the essays, especially after I read online that one of the "authors" of one of the essays, had never bothered to read the book/scroll at all.
I just finished Foundation!Interesting Sci-fi with themes of Politics, power through religion Power, Power through money..
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Boxall's 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die
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I read this over the weekend and had the exact same thought!"
I'm glad someone feels the same way! But, the thing is that I actually really like "1984". I think I'm done with George Orwell for the time being though.