Boxall's 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die discussion
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Which LIST book did you just finish?
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Katie ATX
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Jun 01, 2010 02:38PM
I struggled through On the Road....I guess I'm one of the few that didn't get the appeal of it. :/
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A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving. I liked this book a great deal, but this was the first book on the list that really made me cry.
Ginny wrote: "A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving. I liked this book a great deal, but this was the first book on the list that really made me cry."May we know why?
I've just finished "Nineteen Minutes" by Jodi Picoult. I'm caught in her spell right now!!! Reading one of her books nearly every week. I'm so intrigued by the courtroom drama and the development of the moral dilemmas, of course.
Katie wrote: "I struggled through On the Road....I guess I'm one of the few that didn't get the appeal of it. :/"I picked it up several years ago in an attempt to read - I remember returning it after the first chapter because I just couldn't get into it. I'm hoping that maybe I'll at least be able to finish it next time around?
K.D. wrote: "Ginny wrote: "A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving. I liked this book a great deal, but this was the first book on the list that really made me cry."May we know why?"
Have you ever watched the film Simon Birch? Its an adaptation of Owen Meany. I can't imagine the actual novel being any less tear inducing than that film was.
Rebecca - du Maurier. Not as engaging as I was hoping for, but it was still a good read and I can understand why its on the list.
Sissy wrote: "Katie wrote: "I struggled through On the Road....I guess I'm one of the few that didn't get the appeal of it. :/"I picked it up several years ago in an attempt to read - I remember returning it..."
It was just a bit too repetitive for my liking. I made it through...but it took forever!
I finished reading Winifred Watson's Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day. It was such a fun and light read, I greatly enjoyed it =D
I have read "Rebecca," "On the Road," "A Prayer for Owen Meany," "Mansfield Park," and "A Handmaid's Tale." Of all these classical books (except perhaps "..Owen..." because Irving's other books may better fill the role of a classic), "A Handmaid's Tale," I predict, will be known as the most studied of cautionary, dystopian novels of the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. I will not name others of Ms Atwood's books that may not be on the list.Atwood's vision into a future collapse of society as we now know it, and the slow winnowing and dwindling of fertile women was a shock when the book originally came out...and I first read it, some 20 yrs. ago.
I have recently finished rereading it. And, as I see more and more young women struggling and opting for IVF, I've begun to pay closer attention to Ms. Atwood's visionary novels, and to how they reflect the path of human beings today. She was extremely prophetic.
All of the above-mentioned books are excellent in and of themselves. "A Handmaid's Tale," is more spine chilling than any.
Katie wrote: "I struggled through On the Road....I guess I'm one of the few that didn't get the appeal of it. :/"I found it to be a slow read myself and thought it didn't live up to the hype. I found it interesting when I thought about it being reflective of the time when my dad was a young adult. I was also surprised at the drugs (marijuana) as I thought that was all about my generation.
Li wrote: "I finished reading Winifred Watson's Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day. It was such a fun and light read, I greatly enjoyed it =D"I have been wanting to read that one... glad it was enjoyed so much... I'll move it up in my list
K.D. wrote: "Ginny wrote: "A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving. I liked this book a great deal, but this was the first book on the list that really made me cry."May we know why?"Yes, but I don't want to spoil it! So spoiler alert!!! I 'fell in love' with Owen Meany and how he was so sure he was used by God and what a strong friend he was. I'll just say that this book really had me involved and even though I had an idea how the book was going to end, it was still a sad ending and I was hoping against hope that it didn't happen what I thought would happen(which it did! sad)
Sissy wrote: "K.D. wrote: "Ginny wrote: "A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving. I liked this book a great deal, but this was the first book on the list that really made me cry."May we know why?"
Have you..."Oops! I didn't see the second part about the movie Simon Birch. Yes, I started watching it in a math class that a deaf student I was interpreting for had, but we never finished it. I forgot the name of the movie; thank u for telling me- I'm thinking about renting it for my daughters so they know what I was talking about when I would tell them what I had read.
I finished Animal Farm yesterday and Ethan Frome. This crappy college where I live isn't offering summer classes, and its helping me get lots of reading done! Yay for a light at the end of the tunnel! :)
DeLillo in The Body Artist is much better than Bellow in Dangling. But Dangling Bellow is much better that DeLillo Falling.
A Passage to India. It was OK. I felt he did a good job of capturing the subtleties of human emotions, but there were a lot of sections where I was confused as to who was speaking, or what was going on.
that's funny, Joselito.Joselito wrote: "DeLillo in The Body Artist is much better than Bellow in Dangling. But Dangling Bellow is much better that DeLillo Falling."
Jennifer W wrote: "A Passage to India. ... I was confused as to who was speaking, or ..."I listened to the audio book instead of reading it myself. I suppose the voice actor had to figure out who was talking when. I didn't realize how helpful that was until I saw so many people write about how confusing it was to read.
Saul Bellow's The Adventures of Augie March included in 2006. Today, I also finished Jack London's Call of the Wild included in the 2010 edition of the list. Both of them are nice!
That's interesting, Darryl. I stayed up late last night to finish Everything Is Illuminated. I really liked this book, although it seems to be a love it/hate it type for most. I definitely am in the love it category. I'm not too sure which list book to start next... I'll have to browse.
Finished Falling Man by Don DeLillo. Really liked it, though it was hard to read in places, particularly the depictions of the WTC during the attacks on 9/11.
I am reading a Gore Vidal book, not quite finished, bt very interesting, titled " Snapshots in History's Glare". Amazing all of the top people he hung with!
Finished The White Tiger over the weekend. It wasn't a bad read - but I just don't see it standing up over time like some of the other books on the list will.
Rachel wrote: "Finished Falling Man by Don DeLillo. Really liked it, though it was hard to read in places, particularly the depictions of the WTC during the attacks on 9/11."I liked it too. It did not dwell to much on the actual incident though. I have just finished Philip Roth's Portnoy's Complaint. Not crazy about it.
Just finished Tropic of Cancer. On reflection, I liked it quite a bit, though it was a bit heavy at times.
Finished The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James. I found it a bit hard to get into, but had to rush through the last hundred pages cause I just had to know what would happen. I love James's prose, though I must say I prefer his shorter novels.
Alice and WonderlandThrough the Looking glass
Lord of the Flies
Thought the first two were going to be more difficult. Too cute. Lord of the Flies, okay, kids killing kids, happens everyday on the streets. Gotta love the mob mentatlity.
I just read Breakfast at Tiffany's. I really loved it. I like Capote's writing. I'm not sure what I'll read next. I have few list books lying around.
Lauli wrote: "Finished The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James. I found it a bit hard to get into, but had to rush through the last hundred pages cause I just had to know what would happen. I love James..."I'm with you there, Lauli. I started "Portrait of a Lady" earlier this year and just could not get into it.
I blamed it on the small print of the copy I was reading, but I was really having trouble getting interested also. Glad you liked it in the end, and I always like James once I get into him also. I'll give it another try one of these days....
just finished The Book about Blanche and Marie. It was surprisingly good! Though it could have done without those strange exclamation marks.
Just finished the fourth and final book included in "Parade's End" by Ford Maddox Ford.This one was quite difficult at times, but I loved the characters enough to stay with it. Excellent insights into the British in WWI as well.
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