Boxall's 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die discussion

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message 4101: by K.D. (new)

K.D. Absolutely (oldkd) | 248 comments FATELESSNESS
by Imre Kertesz

Chilling!
He narrates in present tense.
He describes his life in the concentration camps almost devoid of emotions. At some point, he even says he is happiness and contented.


message 4102: by Lauli (new)

Lauli | 263 comments The Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas by Machado de Assis. Simply wonderful.


message 4103: by Becky (new)

Becky (munchkinland_farm) | 248 comments Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus - I enjoyed it for the most part. Some parts dragged due to the artifices of the story and the style of the narrator (either Watson or Dr. Frankenstein) - I discovered that I knew the "real" story of Frankenstein and I'm not sure how, probably NPR! Unless I read or listened to it before and forgot.


message 4104: by Amalie (new)

Amalie I finished StevensonKidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson. I like it.


message 4105: by Deanne (new)

Deanne | 681 comments Just finished London Orbital, now in deep mourning for my laptop which appears to have had a catastrophic failure. Means I'll have to be at work on a break to use the internet for a while.


message 4106: by April (new)

April | 24 comments All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque 4/5 stars. Although sobering, I did enjoy this.


message 4107: by Adriana (new)

Adriana Becky wrote: "Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus - I enjoyed it for the most part. Some parts dragged due to the artifices of the story and the style of the narrator (either Watson or Dr. Frankenstein) - I di..."

I also just finished Frankenstein, and I loved it, but I agree with you that some parts of the story dragged a little. (I'm not a big fan of detailed landscape descriptions) Anyway, it was a great read (3 days :D)


message 4108: by Katrina (new)

Katrina (katrinasreads) Christine wrote: "I just finished The Maltese Falcon. I enjoyed it quite a bit more than The Thin Man. 4 stars for me."

I also just finished The Maltese Falcon, I thought it was okay but not amazing. Only 3 stars, probably a book I'll forget pretty quickly


message 4109: by Asa (new)

Asa | 65 comments I finished The Reluctant Fundamentalist this week. An ok, but not amazing, book so I can understand why it was only on the 2008 list.


message 4110: by Lianne (new)

Lianne (eclecticreading) I finished reading Rushdie's Midnight's Children. It was a really fascinating book but the narrative sometimes threw me off and drew my attention away from the story.


message 4111: by Elizabeth (new)

Elizabeth The Poisonwood Bible. The first half was great. I could have done without the second half though.


message 4112: by K.D. (new)

K.D. Absolutely (oldkd) | 248 comments ON LOVE
by Alain de Botton

Very good Valentine's read! About falling in and out of love!


message 4113: by Drew (new)

Drew Billingsley | 58 comments Pnin. I found Ada a really tough read, but this reminded me why I love Nabokov. Basically just a character-study of an aging, hapless (but not pathetic) Russian professor teaching at a small liberal arts college, it features some of the sharpest, most invigorating prose I have read in a long time. Glad it was on the list.


message 4114: by Susanna (new)

Susanna (jb_slasher) Catch-22. I'm partial to WWII setting but overall I did not really get the humour aspect. I wasn't bored, and I didn't feel the book called out to me at any time. Solid three stars.


Her Royal Orangeness (onlyorangery) To Kill a Mockingbird

I don't know how it's even possible that I've never read this before! Absolutely stellar. I loved everything about it.


message 4117: by Elizabeth (new)

Elizabeth The Handmaid's Tale
Spectacular! Could not put it down. What a great read!


message 4118: by Alicia (new)

Alicia (nekidasajaybird) | 9 comments Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro


message 4119: by mark (new)

mark monday (majestic-plural) Elizabeth wrote: "The Poisonwood Bible. The first half was great. I could have done without the second half though."

why?


message 4120: by Drew (last edited Feb 15, 2011 09:12AM) (new)

Drew Billingsley | 58 comments Finished Wittgenstein's Nephew, which is an odd little book consisting of one extended paragraph explaining the narrator--Thomas Bernhard's--relationship with the eccentric title character. This seemed to be more a memoir than a novel, and really seemed to be more focused on the author's personality than that of Wittgenstein's Nephew (who is mostly a foil to the pricklier parts of the author's nature).

I am not sure if I liked this or not, but found it intriguing enough that I will likely take a stab at another one of the Bernhard books on the list.


message 4121: by Amy J. (new)


message 4122: by Evelyn (new)

Evelyn M | 2 comments I just read The Doctor & The Diva by Adrienne McDonnell


message 4124: by Hannah (new)

Hannah Crowe | 14 comments just finished The Waves by Virginia Woolf and loved it! possibly my new favorite book. the stream of conscious narrative takes a little to get used to, but by the end it i didnt want her to stop writing!


message 4125: by Hannah (new)

Hannah Crowe | 14 comments April wrote: "The Optimist's Daughter by Eudora Welty"

what did you think of it? it's been sitting on my shelf for forever but I haven't read it yet. might be next on my list!


message 4126: by Hannah (new)

Hannah Crowe | 14 comments Sissy wrote: "Finished Everything is Illuminated over the weekend. Was worried from some reviews that I might end up disliking it - but loved it. One of my favorites from the 2010 list additions. Now reading his..."

I love both his books! extremely loud and incredibly might even be my favorite. i hope you like it!


message 4127: by Brandy (new)

Brandy (hippygirl1701) Shardae wrote: "Just finished Gone with the Wind, I can not tell you how much I loved that book! It was like eating a big chocolate sundae, you want to eat it slow so you can savour it. I didn't want it to be over..."

Gone With The Wind is my favorite book of all times. A timeless classic indeed! :)


message 4128: by Hannah (new)

Hannah Crowe | 14 comments Beth wrote: "Just finished the Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime. LOVED it! It's been sitting in my house since summer and can't believe it took so long to pick it up and enjoy it."

I love this too! i think they took it off the list though?


message 4129: by Hannah (new)

Hannah Crowe | 14 comments Inna wrote: "The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath"

loved that book! what did you think?


message 4130: by Hannah (new)

Hannah Crowe | 14 comments Jennifer W wrote: "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich Pretty good. Ivan is so matter of fact about his time in Siberia that sometimes he doesn't portray the horror of it, but then you stop and thin..."

i had to read this for a class... super depressing


message 4131: by Hannah (new)

Hannah Crowe | 14 comments Lauli wrote: "The Waves by Virginia Woolf. A new favourite for me. It's so wonderfully written, and the way she captures thought processes and sensations is so vivid! Five stars for me."

I just finished this book tonight and completely agree!


message 4132: by Hannah (new)

Hannah Crowe | 14 comments Flora wrote: "Tanya wrote: "The Pit and the Pendulum by Edgar Allan Poe. Goes for just 10 pages in my edition so its definitely a quick one to knock off, as are his other two short stories on the l..."

I'm also really surprised that those two were left off the list... wonder what the reasoning was


message 4133: by Hannah (new)

Hannah Crowe | 14 comments Eliza wrote: "Finished A Prayer for Owen Meany and loved every second of it. What an amazing character Owen is- he will stay with me for a long time."

I'm about halfway through and really enjoying it... ive dragged it out a little too, keep getting interrupted with readings for lit classes


message 4134: by Charity (new)

Charity (charityross) Evelyn wrote: "I just read The Doctor & The Diva by Adrienne McDonnell"

Not a list book. Sorry.


message 4135: by Bikki (new)

Bikki Alicia wrote: "Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro"

I recently finished this as well - what did you think?


message 4136: by Mike (new)

Mike | 78 comments I just finished The Picture of Dorian Gray. I'm not sure I liked it but I couldn't wait to see how it ended. I guess that means I liked it.


message 4137: by Judith (new)

Judith (jloucks) | 1202 comments Villette - Charlotee Bronte ****

Delightful gothic novel!


message 4138: by Beth (new)

Beth (eparks4232) | 162 comments Persuasion by Jane Austen. Liked it much better than Mansfield Park. Went quickly, and much fonder of this heroine!


message 4139: by Kristel (new)

Kristel (kristelh) Just finished Foundation by Isaac Asimov


message 4140: by Hannah (new)

Hannah Crowe | 14 comments Judith wrote: "Life of Pi - Martel ****

More graphic than I was prepared for, but the ending - perfect!"


I completely agree. The majority of the book was so-so, but the ending was a great twist and extremely thought provoking.


message 4142: by Hannah (new)

Hannah Crowe | 14 comments 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..."


I feel the same way. i so wanted to love it but just couldn't get into it.


message 4143: by Hannah (new)

Hannah Crowe | 14 comments Sissy wrote: "All the Pretty Horses. My favorite so far out of the three McCarthy books I've read. (The Road and Blood Meridian)"

i really enjoyed that book too. i thought some of the plot was a little dry, but the way he writes more than makes up for it. his descriptions of the land are so beautiful.


message 4144: by Drew (new)

Drew Billingsley | 58 comments Inna wrote: "The Man Without Qualities Vol. 1: A Sort of Introduction and Pseudo Reality Prevails by Robert Musil

[book:The Man Without Qualities Vol. 2: Into the Millennium, from ..."


How did you like this one? I have always been vaguely frightened of it (size, subject), so I am interested to hear if others think it is worth the time.


message 4145: by Cindy (new)

Cindy (newtomato) | 195 comments I just finishing Gone With The Wind. Fabulous! I had no idea it was so awesome...


message 4146: by Hannah (new)

Hannah Crowe | 14 comments Heather wrote: "I finished Wittgenstein's Nephew: A Novel yesterday."

what did you think of it?


message 4147: by Linda (new)

Linda Mike wrote: "I just finished The Picture of Dorian Gray. I'm not sure I liked it but I couldn't wait to see how it ended. I guess that means I liked it."

You know, that's the primary reason I plugged through Dorian Gray - because I wanted to see how it ended; I mean I kind of knew, but wanted to see how Wilde depicted it all. I found some of the philosophical dialogue to be a drag.


message 4148: by Candace (new)

Candace Madera (candacemadera) I just finished Never Let Me Go. Very interesting premise.


message 4149: by K.D. (last edited Feb 18, 2011 06:24PM) (new)

K.D. Absolutely (oldkd) | 248 comments Just finished:
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
THEIR EYES WERE WATCHING GOD
by Zora Neale Hurston

3 stars!


message 4150: by Inna (new)

Inna | 92 comments Drew wrote: "Inna wrote: "The Man Without Qualities Vol. 1: A Sort of Introduction and Pseudo Reality Prevails by Robert Musil

[book:The Man Without Qualities Vol. 2: Into the Mi..."

I just love this kind of novels very much, the "novels of ideas".
If you liked "The Magic Mountain" by Thomas Mann, you will like this one too. I enjoyed it very much.


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