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

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message 4601: by Shovelmonkey1 (new)

Shovelmonkey1 | 190 comments Finished August Is a Wicked Monthby Edna O Brien. Dude - I thought this was going to be short read about holiday romance or some such. Nope. If you're looking for summer fun stay away from this. It'll have you reaching for the drinks cabinet. Also, this is one of the few books on the 1001 list which I've read and thought, I really can't imagine any guys wanting to read this.


message 4602: by Maggie (new)

Maggie (mmorrell) | 25 comments Finished The Club Dumas. What a great book. The plot is endlessly interesting and entertaining. I didn't know anything about Dumas so I learned a bit. Now I know I have to read The Three Musketeers.

And shoot! I thought I had mastered the link thing,


message 4603: by Robin (new)

Robin Reese (reesereads) | 119 comments I just finished The Curious Incident of the Dog... What an amazing book. Loved the protagonist's voice. Very much in the realm of Jonathan Safron Foer.


message 4604: by Maggie (new)

Maggie | 106 comments Robin wrote: "I just finished The stone Diaries by Carol Shiels and LOVED it. I'm telling everyone I know to read this! I wept, sobbed during the last chapter. I want to continue knowing the characters. What a w..."

This is one of my all-time favourites! It always makes me realise that life goes on no matter how good or bad things get.


message 4605: by Liz M (new)

Liz M The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder


message 4607: by Robin (new)

Robin Reese (reesereads) | 119 comments Maggie wrote: "Robin wrote: "I just finished The stone Diaries by Carol Shiels and LOVED it. I'm telling everyone I know to read this! I wept, sobbed during the last chapter. I want to continue knowing the charac..."
Yes, absolutely. Oh my, though. I cried like crazy! Have you read anything else by her?


message 4608: by Maggie (new)

Maggie | 106 comments Robin wrote: "Maggie wrote: "Robin wrote: "I just finished The stone Diaries by Carol Shiels and LOVED it. I'm telling everyone I know to read this! I wept, sobbed during the last chapter. I want to continue kno..."

I read Happenstance. It's two books in one, one from the husband's POV and the other from the wife's, and you can choose which story to read first. It's a cool concept but the book was disappointing.


message 4609: by Julia (new)

Julia (juliatruter) Robin wrote: "I just finished The Curious Incident of the Dog... What an amazing book. Loved the protagonist's voice. Very much in the realm of Jonathan Safron Foer."

Glad you enjoyed it!! And yes - definitely very much in the realm of Jonathan Safron Foer. It's different and weird - nice, I like, I like ... :)


message 4610: by Robin (new)

Robin Reese (reesereads) | 119 comments I just finished The Lambs of London, which I think has been taken off since the 2006 list. It was fine, nothing earth shattering.


message 4611: by Kate S (new)

Kate S | 39 comments Just finished The Radetzky March by Joseph Roth


message 4612: by Cait (new)

Cait (caitertot) | 34 comments I finished The Bell Jar (excellent) and The Driver's Seat (good). I'm looking forward to discussing the latter for next month's group read.


message 4613: by whimsicalmeerkat (new)

whimsicalmeerkat Inna wrote: "White Noise by Don DeLillo"

How did you like it? I can't say I was a fan.


message 4614: by Robin (new)

Robin Reese (reesereads) | 119 comments Denae wrote: "Inna wrote: "White Noise by Don DeLillo"

How did you like it? I can't say I was a fan."


I'm reading his The Beauty Artist and he definitely has a complex writing structure. What about White Noise didn't you care for?


message 4615: by Judith (new)

Judith (jloucks) | 1202 comments "The Woodlanders" by Thomas Hardy

Enjoyed it very much; a heartfelt love story.


message 4616: by Julia (new)

Julia (juliatruter) Cait wrote: "I finished The Bell Jar (excellent) and The Driver's Seat (good). I'm looking forward to discussing the latter for next month's group read."

Hi Judith - I'm new to this. Do you start discussing "The Driver's Seat" on 15 July?


message 4617: by Mikela (new)

Mikela | 378 comments Just finished The Strange Case of Drl Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Really enjoyed it.


message 4618: by Robin (new)

Robin Reese (reesereads) | 119 comments I ended up really enjoying the language in DeLillo's The Body Arist. Now I have to go find a new book to continue my reading frenzy!


message 4619: by Robin (new)

Robin Reese (reesereads) | 119 comments I just finished Fear and Trembling. It was enjoyable but I wouldn't consider it a Great Book.


message 4620: by Sissy (new)

Sissy The Secret History. Didn't mind it - but very surprised that it is on the list after finishing. Really seems quite contemporary fluff type fiction (I mean, the review on the back cover is from John Grisham) and not something that would end up on a 1001 list.


message 4621: by Melissa (new)

Melissa (mmbirch3) | 38 comments The Remains of the Day. I was surprised at how much I liked it!


message 4622: by Cindy (new)

Cindy (newtomato) | 195 comments Sissy wrote: "The Secret History. Didn't mind it - but very surprised that it is on the list after finishing. Really seems quite contemporary fluff type fiction (I mean, the review on the back cover is from John..."

I agree, Sissy. I really didn't care for the book at all.


message 4623: by Susanna (new)

Susanna (jb_slasher) Great Expectations . To be honest, I didn't really care for it but it was better than I expected.


message 4624: by Robin (new)

Robin Reese (reesereads) | 119 comments Susanna wrote: "Great Expectations. To be honest, I didn't really care for it but it was better than I expected."

Oh, one of my faves.


message 4625: by whimsicalmeerkat (new)

whimsicalmeerkat Robin wrote: "Denae wrote: "Inna wrote: "White Noise by Don DeLillo"

How did you like it? I can't say I was a fan."

I'm reading his The Beauty Artist and he definitely has a complex w..."


I thought it lacked coherency and the ending was abrupt, but in a bad way. It's one of those books in which I can recognize those things which brought it acclaim, but disliked myself.


message 4626: by Ian (new)

Ian | 143 comments Kate S wrote: "Just finished The Radetzky March by Joseph Roth"

What did you make of The Radetzky March? I have it on my bookshelf and have been saving it as I think it will be fantastic.


message 4627: by Liz M (new)

Liz M The Underdogs by Mariano Azuela


message 4628: by Shovelmonkey1 (new)

Shovelmonkey1 | 190 comments Just chomped down on the 100 page snacklet that is Thirty-Nine Stepsby John Bucchan. Very tasty bit of boys own adventuring. Substitute lashings of lemonade for whiskey though.


message 4629: by Sissy (new)

Sissy The Ghost Road. Disappointed by this trilogy. I loved Regeneration, didn't like Eye in the Door and was hoping that The Ghost Road, since its on the list along with Regeneration, was going to follow in the spirit of Regeneration. Think Regeneration is the only one that truly belongs on the list.


message 4630: by [deleted user] (new)

I just finished Moll Flanders. It was cool to finally have a strong female character.


message 4631: by Elizabeth (Alaska) (new)

Elizabeth (Alaska) Bookbuddies wrote: "I just finished Moll Flanders. It was cool to finally have a strong female character."

I loved Moll Flanders, especially the ending!


message 4632: by Kate S (new)

Kate S | 39 comments Ian wrote: "Kate S wrote: "Just finished The Radetzky March by Joseph Roth"

What did you make of The Radetzky March? I have it on my bookshelf and have been saving it as I think it..."


I thought I would enjoy it more than I did, but it was a beautifully crafted novel of decline (not something I would typically pick for the warm summer days).


message 4633: by Judith (new)

Judith (jloucks) | 1202 comments "The Riddle of Sands" - Erskine Childers

This book cannot be fully appreciated without learning about the circumstances of its writing and history of the author.

Fascinating adventure novel even without this knowledge, however.

I read a hard copy, but I believe this one is available as a public domain e-book.


message 4634: by Bucket (new)

Bucket | 248 comments Just finished Pride and Prejudice - I understand why it's a classic, and why people love it... but I don't love it.

I like that Austen pokes fun at the pride and prejudice of her contemporaries, but I want to poke more fun - at Elizabeth's hang-ups and self-righteousness, at the fact that Jane's 'perfection' is essentially naivete, at the sheer preposterousness of Mr. Darcy's set of personality traits. I longed for Elizabeth to wake up and operate outside this world she lived in. I feel guilty for not loving this book, especially since I understand its importance, but I just didn't enjoy it. I felt like Mr. Bennet, who is basically reduced to just turning everything into a joke because he's trapped and there's nothing he can do about it.


message 4635: by Deanne (last edited Jun 30, 2011 04:48AM) (new)

Deanne | 681 comments 50 pages from the end of reading Gravity's Rainbow, and feel like I've climbed a mountain. It's completely chaotic at times, full of crazy characters having madcap adventures. It jumps from character to character and place to place.
It's compared to Ulysses by Joyce, which I hate, but I actually enjoyed Gravity, even if I didn't love it. May have to read it again to make sense of the chaos but not just now.


message 4636: by Maggie (new)

Maggie K Bucket wrote: "Just finished Pride and Prejudice - I understand why it's a classic, and why people love it... but I don't love it.

I like that Austen pokes fun at the pride and prejudice of her contemporaries, b..."


But that's EXACTLY why I loved it! She was poking at everyone...lol


message 4637: by Mikela (new)

Mikela | 378 comments Just finished The Black Dahlia. What a truly fantastic read. This book was so different from the normal mystery with characters so flawed in many ways yet still very likeable. It kept me reading and just wouldn't let me put it down.


message 4638: by Bucket (new)

Bucket | 248 comments Well, she was poking fun at almost everyone... but Elizabeth was not being made fun of and I found Elizabeth just as ridicule-worthy as everyone else. Of course, Austen's goal was not to impact and entertain 21st century Americans, but plenty of other classic authors have managed it (in my case, Shakespeare, Dickens, Betty Smith, Henry Fielding, George Eliot).

Like I said, I get it - the love for Pride and Prejudice. I just don't feel the love. :)

Maggie wrote: "Bucket wrote: "Just finished Pride and Prejudice - I understand why it's a classic, and why people love it... but I don't love it.

I like that Austen pokes fun at the pride and prejudice of her ..."



message 4639: by Amy (new)

Amy Neftzger (neftzger) | 28 comments Cindy wrote: "Julia wrote: "Cindy wrote: "I finished Les Misérables last night."

Respect!! I've had the book for years - can't do it hey. :)"

Aw, thanks! It was most definitely a big-un. It took m..."


I loved that one! I went through a Victor Hugo phase a few years ago and read everything I could.


message 4640: by Amy (new)

Amy Neftzger (neftzger) | 28 comments Bookbuddies wrote: "Christyb wrote: "I just finished the Count of Monte Cristo. 5 Star! Yes, it is long, but it is definitely a page turner!"

I am just about to start that and it is definitely daunting. I am glad ..."


Definitely start it! It's one of my top favorites and I couldn't put it down. Of course, I also loved the whole Muskateers series if that tells you anything.


message 4641: by Erik (new)

Erik Little Women. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaadorable.


message 4642: by [deleted user] (new)

Finished The Woodlanders yesterday morning. Loved it even though it depressed/frustrated me.


message 4643: by Deanne (new)

Deanne | 681 comments Finished Gravity's Rainbow by Pynchon, now reading something less chaotic.


message 4644: by Asa (new)

Asa | 65 comments Rebecca West's The Birds Fall Down - a five-star book, and one of my Top Ten reads from the list.


message 4645: by Charity (new)

Charity (charityross) The Idiot - Fyodor Dostoevsky (Pevear/Volokhonsky translation)

Amazing!


message 4646: by K.D. (new)

K.D. Absolutely (oldkd) | 248 comments Just finished What I Loved by Siri Hustvedt
WHAT I LOVED by Siri Hustvedt (the wife of Paul Auster)


message 4647: by Amy (new)

Amy Neftzger (neftzger) | 28 comments K.D. wrote: "Just finished What I Loved by Siri Hustvedt
WHAT I LOVED by Siri Hustvedt (the wife of Paul Auster)"


What did you think of it?


message 4648: by Robin (new)

Robin Reese (reesereads) | 119 comments The Master, by Toilbin. Enjoyable, though not always engaging, about Henry James.


message 4649: by Lisa (new)

Lisa James (sthwnd) | 352 comments Just turned the last page of The Color Purple. HIGHLY recommend it!!!! :) I'd seen the movie but because of the all star cast I didn't really get a sense of the characters. The book gave you the characters themselves without being starstruck, so they felt more "real". Written in diary format made it extremely easy to read, & I finished it in 24 hours.


message 4650: by Lisa (new)

Lisa James (sthwnd) | 352 comments Carol wrote: "Ijust finished The Shining by Stephen King. "

The book was SO much better than the movie. The movie left a LOT out.


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