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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Inna
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Jul 10, 2010 10:21AM
North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
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"Robinson Crusoe" - Daniel DeFoeGreat read. So glad to see so many others of you have enjoyed it. What took me so long?
The Godfather - Puzo pleased that the movie followed the book with the exception of a few minor subplots
I've just finished The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie... I must say I read it because it is thinnish (trying to get my miserable percentage up quickly) .... however, I found it quite disturbing and thought provoking ....
The man of feeling by MacKenzie, another glimpse into the past and what our ancestors thought was important. Very short book which follows the adventures of Harley, the man of feeling.Judith I enjoyed The Monk, very gothic piece of horror which I found disturbing from time to time.
I've just picked up a copy of Oscar Wao from an oxfam shop for 2 pounds.
Bloodroot. Painful and wonderful. Also read Never Let Me Go. Loved every word. Most perfect ending ever. And then some light stuff like Chocolat and the sequel, The Girl with No Shadow. Loved those too, but less deeply because the heroes survived and thrived through charisma and magic (same thing?) and I have little of either.
Last week I finished both Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and Melville's Billy Budd. Both very moral and very symbolic tales.
Elise wrote: "Just finished The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, and I highly recommend it, though you should probably prepare by reading The Feast of the Goat first."Thanks for the tip Elise - I have Wondrous Life and was planning to read it next. Will make another library trip first!
Just finished Atonement and The English Patient. Feel-good books of the year, lol. Liked them both very much, though-The English Patient a little more than Atonement. Having trouble finding books now...read all the list books in my library...guess I will start with Amazon.
PS Am now at 126. Thrilled!
In a Free State by V.S. Naipaul. It is a set of short stories framed around a central novella. All of the stories deal with displacement and the complexities of being an outsider, with varying degrees of success. The central novella is excellent, and a couple of the other pieces are good. While not Naipaul's strongest, it is a quick read, and well worth the time.
The Hobbit: or There and Back Again by Tolkien. Not a fan of fantasy novels per se, but I did really enjoy this one. Tolkien created an excellent fantasy world with this book and the LOTR trilogy. Definitely worth the read. Gave it 4 stars =)
I Just finished reading Audrey Niffeneggar's bookThe Time Traveler's Wife I really enjoy reading this book although at times I wonder the reason the traveler and had to appear in places naked but I guess ths is a lead in to the end of the story. Plus I thought okay what is with the bloody spot in the meadow so I had to revisted that spot in the book thinking I had miss something.
I just read "Goodbye to Berlin." I loved it. I think that Christopher Isherwood is up there with the great writers like Salinger and Fitzgerald. Beautiful prose.
Most recently from the list were Slow Man by JM Coetzee and Unless by Carol Shields. Enjoyed both books.
Christine wrote: "I just finished Gone With the Wind. Such candy. Pure entertainment." I've just finished reading GWTW too - it is enjoyable fluff with a touch of serious lit. I love the tabloid word "train wreak". I think that could sum up Scarlett's life. What do you think Christine?
Just finished Quo Vadis by Henryk Sienkiewicz. Very interesting. Easy to read but personally challenging. 4/5 stars.
Koula wrote: "I Just finished reading Audrey Niffeneggar's bookThe Time Traveler's Wife I really enjoy reading this book although at times I wonder the reason the traveler and had to appear in places naked..."It's a good book, but it's not on the 1001 books list. This group is for discussion of the list, not every book its members have read.
(And he had to appear naked because nothing could travel with him, not even slivers or ink from tattoos.)
Suzanne wrote: "Tanya wrote: "Just finished Catch-22 by Joseph Heller"I just finished this too! what did you think?"
Suzanne, I really enjoyed it. Had quite a few laugh out loud moments. I listened to an audio version and the man who read it had different voices for all the different characters (I don't know how he kept up with them all!) However it's not just a comedy, it had a lot of tragic and disturbing moments too. I think there are lots of different ways to describe it. Very interesting. How was it for you?
Just finished Toni Morrison's Beloved. Beautiful. Beautiful prose. This is my 124th/1001 book and it took me that many books before encountering a work as beautiful as this. Unforgettable!
Tanya,At first, I found it hard to get into even though I appreciated the dark humour of it, but in the end, I loved it. I agree with your assessment whole-heartedly. Now I will have to go out and hear the audio book because it sounds amazing.... and to hear how it compares to the voices I used in my head. lol.
What are you reading now?
Gini wrote: "Koula wrote: "I Just finished reading Audrey Niffeneggar's bookThe Time Traveler's Wife I really enjoy reading this book although at times I wonder the reason the traveler and had to ..." Gini,
Sorry about that wrong group. Although I am suprise you left a comment....
Suzanne wrote: "Tanya,At first, I found it hard to get into even though I appreciated the dark humour of it, but in the end, I loved it. I agree with your assessment whole-heartedly. Now I will have to go out an..."
Suzanne - for the list I am thinking of picking up Anna Karenina next
Mike wrote: "I just finished "Catch 22"."
So did Suzanne and I! What did you think of it Mike?
I just finished Dispatches. It's one of those books where you can see how it probably changed other people's lives, but I think the original Esquire article probably would have done as much for me.I must say, I'm surprised by all the love for Gone with the Wind. Granted, I read it quite a long time ago, but even as young as I was (ten at the most), I was appalled by all the racism in it--racism that Margaret Mitchell fully buys into and supports. The scene that sticks out most strongly in my head is the scene where an African-American man tries to rape Scarlett and all her male friends start the KKK to, you know, protect Southern womanhood. The novel perpetuates the worst kind of stereotypes. I guess I'm baffled that anyone can read it and come away thinking all it is, is a love story.
Judith wrote: "Becky wrote: "Rabbit Run by John Updike - eh. I suspect the novel was shocking when it was first published. Depressing tale of a high school jock whose glory days are behind him. Life as a grown..."Yes, just finished this yesterday. I found myself liking the prose much more than the characters. I will probably read the rest of the Rabbit series just to see where the heck it goes from here!
Tanya: One more try. This laptop is driving me nuts. My first read of "Catch 22" was great. I was fresh out of the Air Force. This time I found the book tedious to read. The dark humor was tiresome. Maybe it's my age. I did enjoy the book but it didn't illicit the fun I had reading it the first time.
I just finished Journey to the Center of the Earth. Haven't been able to be on here commenting as much as I would like because computer is acting nuts. I've read others on the list since I've been on here last but can't remember which ones....
Christine wrote: "I read both of those last month and really enjoyed them both. Looking forward to reading A Passage to India very soon. My favorite so far is Room with a View..."I recently finished Room with a View and really enjoyed it as well. Didn't like Passage to India as well, but looking forward to reading Howards End soon, as I just picked up a copy at a used book store.
JF Gulliver's Travels and glad I finally got around to reading it. It went faster than I thought it would - enjoyed it.
Elise wrote: "I just finished Dispatches. It's one of those books where you can see how it probably changed other people's lives, but I think the original Esquire article probably would have done as ..."I think the comment about Gone with the Wind is very true - but taken in the context of the time in which the novel was written? I think that very reason - the underlying portrait of the South as this Utopia - the conceptions of slavery - the portrayal of the shattering of women like Scarlet by the Northern victory - all those issues maintained so picturesque by the author - are what puts this novel on the list. Its not the love story. Its the picture she paints of the South from that time period. The love story is just the caramel covering the apple.
The Maltese Falcon by Dasheille Hammett (audio) - really enjoyed it, double cross upon double cross upon double cross. The audio was great fun, especially the voice of Gutman. Surprised that Humphrey Bogart was cast as Sam Spade, but see how he made it work. Excited to see the movie in its entirity (instead of snippets when channel surfing)
Elise wrote: "I must say, I'm surprised by all the love for Gone with the Wind. Granted, I read it quite a long time ago, but even as young as I was (ten at the most), I was appalled by all the racism in it--racism that Margaret Mitchell fully buys into and supports. The scene that sticks out most strongly in my head is the scene where an African-American man tries to rape Scarlett and all her male friends start the KKK to, you know, protect Southern womanhood. The novel perpetuates the worst kind of stereotypes. I guess I'm baffled that anyone can read it and come away thinking all it is, is a love story. "I'm actually reading Gone with the Wind again, as it is one of my favourite books. I think of its take on slavery and racism as a portrait of how a society like the one depicted in GWTW viewed black people back then, since it's all told from the perspective of southern society. It's like reading a horror book told from the point of view of a rapist, and then putting it away because he talks badly of women. To me, GWTW is a snapshot of a changing world... it might have looked different in the eyes of someone else, but that doesn't make Margaret Mitchell's story any less valid because of it.
I finished 2 list's books: Lolita and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Lolita is a very disturbing book, and left me feeling sorry for all the people caught in the selfish desires and demands of someone else, but I enjoyed the reading. Nabokov is a wonderful writer and manages to create a deep story instead of a morbid tale, even though during some parts I felt sick. Great book anyway.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to The Galaxy is a very different sort of book, and just the one I needed to get past Humbert Humbert and Lolita. This story is light, sarcastic, filled with worlds and characters and made le laugh a lot. I can't wait to read the sequels.
Christine wrote: I'm working from all three lists. I don't have The Book Thief on it. Am I missing it? Is it on one of the lists?"It's not on the list. (thankfully, IMO).
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