Which LIST book did you just finish? Showing 1,751-1,800 of 7,922

[Mike]

Kristi wrote: "Finished Dead Babies last night. I was actually liking it until the end. "

I didn't like the ending either. But in its own strange and demented way it fit with the story

[Deanne]

Just finished Our Mutual Friend by Dickens. Really enjoyed the plot and numerous sub plots, so glad I didn't have to read it in 20 parts over 19 months.

[Eva]

Just finished Animal Farm by Orwell. Liked it.

[Jennifer]

White Teeth by Zadie Smith

[Tani]

City of God by E. L. Doctorow. I think it was taken off the revised 2008 list, but I saw it at the library and was intrigued, so I took it out. I had pretty mixed feelings about it, but I won't deny that it was an interesting experience.

I think that as soon as I finish If on a winter's night a traveler by Italo Calvino, I'm going to give the list a rest for a little while, though. The books I'm picking off it are starting to annoy me. Time for something a bit more lighthearted. :)

[Chel]

Jennifer wrote: "White Teeth by Zadie Smith"

Did you like White Teeth??

[Anna]

Stulecie detektywów. Drogi i przygody kryminalistyki | Jürgen Thorwald

[Kristi]

I just read The Big Sleep. I really liked it, and Farewell, My Lovely has been added to my to-read list.

[Adam]

Breakfast of Champions. Last Vonnegut for me on the list. 34 down, 967 to go.

[Mike]

Finished The Wasp Factory A Novel.

Wasn't too impressed by it, but fortunately I've already read The Crow Road by Banks, so I know he's capable of writing amazing stuff. Plus it was his first novel, and for a first novel it wasn't too shabby

[Feeownah]

Mike wrote: "Finished The Wasp Factory A Novel.

Wasn't too impressed by it, but fortunately I've already read The Crow Road by Banks, so I know he's capable of writing amazing stuff..."
really? I adored it!

[Lyn (Readinghearts)]

Just finished The Grapes of Wrathand am starting Robinson Crusoe

[Mike]

Fiona wrote: "Mike wrote: "Finished The Wasp Factory A Novel.

Wasn't too impressed by it, but fortunately I've already read The Crow Road by Banks, so I know he's capable of writing ..."

I dunno...he just didn't do anything for me. I know some people thought the things Frank did were too graphic, but that wasn't my issue. Banks just seemed to go on for pages describing Frank's arsenal of weapons, which never interested me.

And then when I read the twist at the end, I didn't really care. I wasn't as attached to the characters as I was at the beginning. To be honest, the only reason I kept reading was to see what was in Angus' study.

[Paula]

Tani wrote: "City of God by E. L. Doctorow. I think it was taken off the revised 2008 list, but I saw it at the library and was intrigued, so I took it out. I had pretty mixed feelings about it, but I won't den..."

I felt entirely the same way and actually picked up another random list on listsofbest.com, and some other random lighthearted books from my local bookstore. These were some depressed literary experts when they put this list together!

[Deanne]

The feast of the goat by LLosa, fantastic book but jumped around a lot.

[Paula]

The Stranger, by Albert Camus

So that's existentialism, huh?

[Elhara]

I think generally we all hope to live a long full
life. At around age 50, thoughts of our own
mortality surface and the childlike, carefree
belief of living forever and a "that isn't going to
happen to me" attitude seem to slip away. Still
Alice, by Lisa Genova, is a stark reminder that no
matter how we choose to live our lives, anything can and usually does happen. There's no way to stop
death. This inevitable fate of all life is buffered
as we begin to take pride in our wisdom gained via
living these long 50+ years. I can't even count
the number of times I have uttered "If I only
knew then what I know now." Genova's
interpretation of what life could be like to suffer
the thievery of Alzheimer's Disease is frightening.
Her character's case cruelly strikes as Early Onset
Alzheimer's, robbing her still healthy and fit
body of the enjoyment, satisfaction and pride in
her life's accomplishments. It also strips away so
many things she should be able to look forward
to in her later years. Her yesteryears are gone
and as this disease swiftly ravages her body so
are her tomorrows. Our experiences shape us
into the people we become. When we cannot draw
upon what life has taught us we tragically lose ourselves. This story is told through the victim's eyes. The devastation this horrid disease leaves both victims and their families is tragic. An important, as well as frightening read.

[Laura]

I just finished Aesop's Fables.

[Coalbanks]

Lyn wrote: "Just finished The Grapes of Wrathand am starting Robinson Crusoe"


Betteredge the narrator of "The Moonstone" considers a chapter of Robinson Crusoe ( and a pipe of tobacco) all that he needs to set the world right & to give him guidence.

[Coalbanks]

Eva wrote: "I finished The Catcher in the Rye and The Picuture of Dorian Gray"

For "...Cathcher..." : Take a handful of aspirin, lie down, sleep. You will feel better in the morning. Ha Ha! Just not my favourite book!

[Anna]

Ultra Montana | Witold Horwath

[Dini]

Dead Air by Iain Banks.I liked this very much but Wasp Factory remains my favourite...

[FromAna]

Coalbanks wrote: "Eva wrote: "I finished The Catcher in the Rye and The Picuture of Dorian Gray"

For "...Cathcher..." : Take a handful of aspirin, lie down, sleep. You will feel better in the morning. Ha Ha! Just..."

Not mine either at all - I've given it two tried
Just finished Picture of Dorian Gray and I'm very disappointed it just dragged on and on

[Deanne]

A void by Georges Perec, frankly I'm amazed. Not just with the plot, but with the fact that it's nearly 300 pages long and not a single E.

[Karina]

Neuromancer by William Gibson

[Julie]

Just finished Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie. I have to say that I picked up this book because so many people in this group enjoyed it. I loved it (thanks, everyone!), and I can't wait to read more by Rushdie. I also finished Fall On Your Knees by Anne-Marie MacDonald (good book club read) and Mrs. Dalloway (a bit too scattered, but I want to try it again when I am more focused).

[Rebecca]

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller. It was refreshing to read a novel that really makes you laugh-those are hard to come by.

[Meera]

The last books I read were Lord of the Flies and Giovanni's Room. I liked Lord of the Flies but boy was it depressing.

Giovanni's Room I liked less because of the main character.

I'm happy to have found this group because most of the books in the list are depressing and I'll be more motivated to read them if I know I have people to discuss them with.

[Deanne]

Invisible man by Ellison

[Paula]

Meera wrote: "The last books I read were Lord of the Flies and Giovanni's Room. I liked Lord of the Flies but boy was it depressing.

Giovanni's Room I liked less because of the main..."

I have to say - I wasn't a fan. It was just so... wrong. I can't imagine that that is really what would happen to a group of boys stranded on an island.

[Anna]

622 upadki Bunga | Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz

[Meera]

Paula wrote: "I have to say - I wasn't a fan. It was just so... wrong. I can't imagine that that is really what would happen to a group of boys stranded on an island."

I was prepared for things to go wrong because my husband had read it in high school. Also, if you notice whenever young boys get together, eventually something violent will happen. Not as bad as the book though :-) I had a feeling things were going to get bad when at the beginning of the book one of the older boys realized that he could bother/hurt the little ones and nothing would happen.

[Gerald]

Paula wrote: "Meera wrote: "The last books I read were Lord of the Flies and Giovanni's Room. I liked Lord of the Flies but boy was it depressing.

Giovanni's Room I liked less becau..." Marianne Wiggins (a very good writer--former wife of Salman Rushdie) said she read "Lord of the Flies" on a plane and said to herself, "That's not what girls would have done." To show what girls would have done, she wrote the novel "John Dollar." I found it very absorbing, but I'm not sure I bought her vision as much as I did Golding's. At any rate I recommend it, but be warned, it's not a cheerful read either!

[Judith]

Just completed "Mary Barton" by Elizabeth Gaskell. It became quite the page turner half way through, and I'm glad I read it.

[Denise]

Gerald--interesting story about Marianne Wiggins. I may have to check out that book. I recently read Evidence of Things Unseen A Novel by her and liked it a lot.

Paula-- I loved Giovanni's Room, but not because of the likability of any of the characters. I just love Baldwin's writing.

[Megha]

Denise wrote: "Paula-- I loved Giovanni's Room, but not because of the likability of any of the characters. I just love Baldwin's writing. "

Yes, I too liked the book for the same reason. baldwin's writing is charming.

[Meera]

I think for me, I liked the writing style but had problems with the characterization in Giovanni's Room. Makes me hesitant to try his other books.

I just finished The War of the Worlds. I enjoyed it but the first 2/3rds was very slow. I liked the connection of alien invasion with colonialism.

[Elke]

I just finished the audio book of Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. It was really good but took me a while to get into it. Sometimes the story would focus on certain things that I didn't think were all too interesting at the time, but it would all come together at some point.

[Megha]

Meera wrote: "I think for me, I liked the writing style but had problems with the characterization in Giovanni's Room. Makes me hesitant to try his other books. "

I have also read 'Go Tell it on the Mountain' by James Baldwin. The novel is written well and is very different from 'Giovanni's Room' in terms of characterization and subject. But I think what I liked most about this book was again Baldwin's writing, and on the whole found 'Go Tell it on the Mountain' better than 'Giovanni's Room'.
So anyway, this book is very different from Giovanni's Room, so you don't have to let that one put you off Baldwin.

[Carly]

I just finished Once and Future King...I was never a HUGE King Arthur fan, but I really couldn't get into this book. I wanted to like it, and had some expectations of it, but it didn't meet them.

[Stef]

Last book to finish of this list was Kafka on the Shore. Differnt from what I usually read but I like it and will give him another try.

[Anna]

Stulecie chirurgów | Jürgen Thorwald

[Charity]

A Passage to India by E.M. Forster

[Stacy]

The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

[Carly]

Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe.

It was difficult to get into, but once I did, I couldn't put it down...it's an amazing story of the conflict between native cultures and the Christian churches trying to convert them.

[Deanne]

Celestial harmonies by Peter Esterhazy, did enjoy the book on the whole but found the lack of names and constant jumping around in history confusing. Have to admit my knowledge of east european history isn't vast.

[Mike]

Charity wrote: "A Passage to India by E.M. Forster"

About a year ago I tried to get into that, but it didn't do much for me. It seemed rather dry and dragged on for quite a bit

[Lianne]

I finished Elizabeth Gaskell's Cranford recently, which was a light and wonderful read =)

[Paula]

Denise wrote: "Gerald--interesting story about Marianne Wiggins. I may have to check out that book. I recently read Evidence of Things Unseen A Novel by her and liked it a lot.

Paula-- I loved..."

I haven't read Baldwin yet - I think that was from another part of someone else's message that I was responding to : )

A good friend of mine loves Baldwin, I just haven't decided which one to read first. Perhaps Giovanni's room, since that one seems to be relatively well-liked here.

[Lori]

Just finished "The Swarm" by Frank Schatzing