Boxall's 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die discussion
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Which LIST book did you just finish?
Amanda wrote: "RE: Rabbit series- unlikeable characters do not necessarily make a book unworthy or not relevant to its times, but it can make slogging through the work less enjoyable, which is a valid point when ..."I haven't read the Rabbit series, but I've found that it's not unlikeable characters that are the problem. Instead, it's un-interesting characters, unrealistic characters, and 'flat' (two-dimensional) characters. I've also found that "likeable" characters are slightly more likely to be flat and boring than unlikeable ones.
I'm very excited-after several long months of struggling with it, I just finished The Master and Margarita. In the end, I liked it very much although I feel that I probably missed a lot of its meanings. Even with a critical guide to help me, it was a difficult though in many places brilliant and vivid book.
Ellie wrote: "I'm very excited-after several long months of struggling with it, I just finished The Master and Margarita. In the end, I liked it very much although I feel that I probably missed a l..."Well done! I loved this book and read it as part of a russian read with We by Yevgeny Zamyatin which is also on the 1001 books list and is also excellent.
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "As to the Rabbit series, I don't see why the characters have to be ones you like to make the novel a worthwhile read, or relevant to its times. I'm thinking Perfume, for instance, which I hated for other ..."I agree with you completely that you don't have to "like" the characters to make the novel a worthwhile read. Many elements such as the plot, the quality of the writing, the reader's interest in the subject, etc. etc make it either worthwhile or not. Still, as someone else has commented, there are so many great books, why read one whose characters bore you? That was the point I should have made rather than "not liking" the characters. More accurately, I did not find them interesting.
Let me say again that I only read the first of the series. Perhaps the series gets such critical acclaim because of the way the characters develop and change over time. Now that might be interesting to me even if I only found them immature, self-absorbed, ordinary and just plain dumb in the first book.
Also, a character may be ordinary to some readers but completely unique and interesting to another. I think a good deal may depend on one's life and reading experiences at the time she encounters him or her (or the characters).
In other words, it is perfectly legitimate from my perspective that many of us here disagree!
London Fields - Martin AmisThis one is a hoot with twists! I found it a little overly long, but it was very original and interesting.
Shovelmonkey1 wrote: "Haley wrote: "Just finished How the Dead Live. It was a fun read, but I sure hope that's not the kind of afterlife we have look forward to (or rather dread)!"yup, i loved this and h..."
This was the first book by Will Self I tried.
For some reason, How the Dead Live reminded me a little of Joy Williams'
The Quick and the Dead. Is that one on on the list? If not it should be! I've only read the first half but it strikes me as a much more fun kind of after life than Self's.
Judith wrote: "London Fields - Martin AmisThis one is a hoot with twists! I found it a little overly long, but it was very original and interesting."
I agree - pretty interesting book! I liked the way the story unraveled in a non-linear way. Now when I go in pubs, I look at the darts board in a different way...
Cider with Rosie by Laurie Lee. Have to say I didn't really enjoy it though.
Frankenstein -ShelleySo much more than I expected (my vision tainted by cinema's lacking adaptation).
Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott. It was romantic and exciting but very offensive toward Jews.
Finished Junky by William S Burroughs today while lying in the sunshine in the park. Giving it a big fat 5 stars. Am officially now a big Burroughs fan. One might even go so far as to say, an addict.
Just finished North and South. It was a great read although I think I liked the Richard Armitage/BBC adaptation better. Elizabeth Gaskell rambles a bit.
I just finished The Wonderful O and found it completely charming. It is another short entry on the list, and plays with language in a way that any person, child or adult, would enjoy. It's meant to be read aloud, and I am keeping it in my collection just in case I have a child I can someday read it to!
Finished books 7 and 8 of A Dance to the Muusic of Time, Powell introduces new characters and kills others off constantly. The books contain about 300 characters and I wonder how he kept all the individual threads straight.Over half way through Castle Richmond, and two night shifts to do so I hope to finish this one.
Finished Cheese by Willem Elsschot - quite palatable but i'd go for something with a bit more texture next time.
I just finished The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. The book is excellent. Having read about around 8 Agatha Christie novel including "And then there were none", “Murder on the Orient Express”, and “Death on the Nile”, I would say this is the best.This book was a weird read for me. Somewhere before midway I had an idea about who the murder was. I never changed it and was quite trilled to see that it was true. Never tried that before.
As always with Agatha Christie we are not talking about a piece of realism. It is more like a piece as mathematical exercise and brain teaser.
Just finished The Stone Dairies by Carol Shields & Quicksand by Nella Larsen....
I loved the book Bel Canto & wondered if it is on any of the 1001 lists ???. It's not on the 2 I have....
Shovelmonkey1 wrote: "Finished Cheese by Willem Elsschot - quite palatable but i'd go for something with a bit more texture next time."
Maybe a little Lancashire blue next time ??!!.. sorry, couldn't resist.
Maybe a little Lancashire blue next time ??!!.. sorry, couldn't resist.
Finished "A Room with a View" about a week ago. Took me nearly all summer to get past Part 1 but Part 2 just flew by. Overall a pretty good book.
Just finished The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler. Between this and The Maltese Falcon (another recent list read), I don't think I'm a fan of the hardboiled genre. But that's OK -- part of the purpose of the list (for me, at least) is to introduce books I might not have otherwise picked up.
oppem wrote: "Shovelmonkey1 wrote: "Finished Cheese by Willem Elsschot - quite palatable but i'd go for something with a bit more texture next time."Maybe a little Lancashire blue next time ??!!.. sorry, cou..."
Ha ha, eek! Blue Cheese is the wrongest!
I just finished Kafka on the Shore. I understood a lot of it and I have questions about a lot of it. It might be one of the best books I have ever read. I knew practically from the beginning that I will have to read it again.
Amanda wrote: "DOCTOR ZHIVAGO. I want those hours back."Hehe. Just read your blog post and pushed this one a little further down my list. :)
That was a great review, Amanda. I had a completely different opinion of the book, but your review makes me smile anyway.
I haven't yet read Doctor Zhivago, and only saw parts of the movie. But does it count that I think Omar Sharif was a hunk?
I finished The Man of Feeling yesterday by Henry Mackenzie. I would not recommend it because it seemed to ramble on alot about a person's feelings without much point to it.
I finished The House on the Borderland by William Hope Hodgson. I would recommend it for it's surrealness, grand celestial observations that I found enjoyable and meditative, and descriptions of immense passages of time that reminded me of The Time Machine by H. G. Wells. There is also a creepy element in the first part of the book like gothic style horror. The celestial and time descriptions will seem too long and annoying for many but I found that section meditative and enjoyable.
Last night I finished The Life of Pi. I wasn't sure I'd like it, but I ended up liking it enough to give it a 3 star rating :)
oppem wrote: "Just finished The Stone Dairies by Carol Shields & Quicksand by Nella Larsen...."I loved " The Stone Diaries". What did you think?
I just finished "Mother's Milk". The first chapter was delightful!
Diane wrote: "http://dianes1001challenge.blogspot.com/my new 1001 blog"
Cool Diane - thanks for sharing. I put it my Google Reader - will definitely have a look at it.
Finished Of Human Bondage by Maugham, brilliant. Felt as though you were watching Carey grow up from a child to an adult, not only in the physical sense but emotionally and intellectually.
Finished Dangerous Liaisons. I rather enjoyed it, on the whole, though it was not without its tedious parts. One has to admire the characters, though they are absolutely despicable, or profoundly naive and sentimental, no in between.I read the book in English and in french in parallel, and I have to give credit to the modern Oxford translation, which did a good job of transferring the atmosphere of the letters.
"Amongst Women"* John McGahernBeautifully rendered Irish family story.
Genia wrote: "Finished Dangerous Liaisons. I read the book in English and in french in parallel, and I have to give credit to the modern Oxford translation, which did a good job of transferring the atmosphere of the letters. "
You should get credit for two books. Did you enjoy the dialogue? I read it long ago in English and vaguely remember a lot of quick wit.
There really isn't much dialogue, as it's an epistolary novel, and consists entirely of letters. It's been adapted to a play - on the basis of which the films were made - and that certainly has quite a bit of rapid-fire wit. But the novel itself is fairly low-key on it.
Just finished What Maisie Knew by Henry James. I struggled to get through this novel until about the last 75 pg and flew through those.
Cynthia wrote: "Melissa wrote: "The Breast. I'm really not sure what to think about this one..."THE BREAST??"
Yep. The Breast. Guy turns into a 160 lb. boob. Not one for the kids, that's for sure.
"Hard Times" - Charles DickensI enjoyed it!
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Boxall's 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die
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yup, i loved this and happily look forward to an after life of mercilessly haunting people and sitting in greasy spoon cafes! I went on to read some of Will Selfs other non 1001 books and was a bit disappointed. Have got The book of dave and Great Apes on my TBR shelf still.