Boxall's 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die discussion
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Quick reads
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kimberly
(last edited Aug 25, 2016 02:15PM)
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Dec 10, 2007 08:29AM
Any tips on which books on the list are quick reads, like Poe's short stories?
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Try Aesops Fables too!
I think Coetzee makes for a quick read, his style is compelling enough that you won't want to put it down once you start it, so it'll go really fast. Plus his books tend not to be super long anyway.
If I remember correctly, The Yellow Wallpaper was like a short story.
heath, any recommendations from the ooodles of his work?
Did you enjoy it, Dianna?
I really enjoyed the Yellow Wallpaper and yes it is a short story.
Yes I did enjoy the Yellow Wallpaper. It shows how women can be allowed to think they are crazy or even become "crazy" because of controlling men in their lives.
the only book of his that i've read is "elizabeth costello," which i adored. i also own "slow man" but haven't read it yet. it's also short-ish, though.
OMG - This is a book I must read!!!I am recently divorced after 25 years because of the exact situation that Dianna describes Yellow Wallpaper to be about. Not only did I think I was crazy I was sick, sick, sick, physically. Thanks for sharing that.
I'll get that book to read next.
Hemingway's "Old man and the sea" was a pretty quick read
The Yellow Wallpaper was a wonderful short story. Definetly my quick read suggestion.
The Turn of the Screw (James) is short. The Awakening is pretty short as well, as novels go.
If on a Winter's Night a Traveler by Italo Calvino is a pretty short book and one of my all-time favorites - creative, fun, different...see what you think!
kimberly, thanks for asking the question.Barbara, welcome back to the world.
Rob, I'll have to try the Calvino. I like the title.
If On a Winter's Night a Traveler has one of my favorite quotes ever:"In the shop window you have promptly identified the cover with the title you were looking for. Following this visual trail, you have forced your way through the shop past the thick barricade of Books You Haven't Read , which are frowning at you from the tables and shelves, trying to cow you...And thus you pass the outer girdle of ramparts, but then you are attacked by the infantry of Books That If You Had More Than one life You Would Certainly Also Read But Unfortunately Your Days Are Numbered . With a rapid maneuver you bypass them and move into the phalanxes of the Books You Mean To Read But There Are Others You Must Read First , the Books Too Expensive Now And You'll Wait Till They're Remaindered , the Books ditto When They Come Out in Paperback , Books You Can Borrow From Somebody , Books That Everybody's Read So It's As If You Had Read Them, Too ."
A particularly good quote for this group.
Calvino's "Traveler" is a delight. It's all about the joy and process of reading. I even made a little tribute to it in my bathroom a few months back:http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index...
Anyway, the photo reminds me of the traveler, tired and lonely washing his face in some strange town.
I read Steinbeck's Cannery Row this Saturday. Definitely one of the quickest reads I've come across from the list.
Um, I think my "little tribute in my bathroom" post read wrong (for those who read it). It is a picture of a sink, with text from the book. Yikes.
Pamela, I tried to see your pics, but I got some message indicating I couldn't.
Of Mice and Men is definitely a quick read...but, I found it to be a very BIG story for such a little book.
Some other short/quick reads: One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich (Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn--timely, too, given that he just passed away), To Kill a Mockingbird, Hound of the Baskervilles, and Island of Dr. Moreau. If you are looking for something that is perhaps not so much short as a quick read, I also recommend Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, The Secret History (Donna Tartt), In Cold Blood, and The Picture of Dorian Gray.
Denise, I'm going to figure out that little problem, or maybe even make it a profile pic. It's probably because you're not on Facebook/Myspace.Thanks for the attempt :)
I'm using it as my temporary profile pic.
Quick Read:The Stranger by Camus. I could not put that down
Aesop's Fables
Enduring Love
Of Mice and Men
To Kill a Mockingbird
Enduring Love
Of Mice and Men
To Kill a Mockingbird
I just recently finished Giovanni's Room and The Remains of the Day, and both I was able to finish in a day, I don't think either of them go over 200 pages. They happen to be two of my recent favorites as well, so I would recommend them.
Add to that list of easy reads, "Lucky Jim" by Amis.It's really British humor though! It helps to have some understanding of the academic system there to "picture" the scenes and "get" the situations and humor.
Recently I started reading Percy Jackson & the Olympians series and the books are amazingly quick reads.
Graham Greene's The Quiet American only took me a few hours. Very clear writing - especially considering that the book was written by the same man who wrote The Power and the Glory...
Try Frankenstein by Mary Shelley - it's a quick read and a good start into the 18th century literature section.
I just finished "The Accidental" by Ali Smith. Has anyone else read this? I'm still trying to decide what I think of it. Intriguing story and characters, but some of the writing was a bit annoying at times--stream of consciousness, lists of movies, random bits of information. I can see why it was included on the list, but frankly, I think I would have enjoyed (and understood) the story a bit better had it just been TOLD instead of performed.
Here are a few:The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde
The Postman Always Rings Twice
The Time Machine
The Maltese Falcon
The Big Sleep
The Spy Who Came in From the Cold
Another great short read...DRACULA by Bram Stoker!! I read this a few years ago and even tho I normally don't like reading books if I already know the story, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. You will finish it in a day or two since it is un-put-down-able.
Anyone who hasn't read this - pick it up! I personally guarantee you'll love it...unless you don't.
I found _Things Fall Apart_ a fairly quick read - I loved it!
Here's a list I found on Library Thing. Some of these are much shorter than others.Animal Farm
Lord of the Flies
Like Water for Chocolate
A Christmas Carol
The Curious incident of the Dog in Night-time
Never let me go
The things they carried
Hitch-hikesr guide to the galaxy
Wide Sargasso Sea
To kill a Mockingbird
Breakfast at Tiffany's
Catcher in the Rye
The Hobbit
All quiet on the western front
The Great Gatsby
Ethan Frome
Little Women
The Thirty Nine Steps
The Hound of the Baskervilles
The Little Prince
The Old Man and the Sea
The Stranger
Perfume
The Wasp Factory
A Modest Proposal
The Nose
The Garden Party
The Yellow Wallpaper
Aesops Fables
Candide
The Fall of the House of Usher
The Pit and the Pendulum
The Purloined Letter
The Death of Ivan Ilyich
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
The Time Machine
The Island of Dr. Moreau
The War of the Worlds
The Turn of the Screw
Heart of Darkness
Watchmen
Little Women? Wow. I guess it could be a quick read, but it isn't short...at least, not the copy I have...676 pages of story (not including the Introduction and other Essays).
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, is my favorite quick-read.
There's some pretty good quick reads mentioned already as well as a few others on the list.
The Stranger
The Fall
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denishovich
Cat's Cradle
Giovanni's Room
Mercier et Camier
It's not super short, but I read Hunger in one sitting simply because I couldn't put it down. I'm not sure I'd count Watchmen as a quick read, either though. It may be a graphic novel but the themes are very dense and it will probably take at least a couple of days to get through--though it is fantastic.
The Stranger
The Fall
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denishovich
Cat's Cradle
Giovanni's Room
Mercier et Camier
It's not super short, but I read Hunger in one sitting simply because I couldn't put it down. I'm not sure I'd count Watchmen as a quick read, either though. It may be a graphic novel but the themes are very dense and it will probably take at least a couple of days to get through--though it is fantastic.
The Outsider is a quick read, and so is The Little Prince. Death In Venice is a short story but it is a bit on the tideus side, so it is not very long, but I am not sure how truly quick it would be to read.
Persuasion is also a quick read.
That is all I can think of off the top of my head that I have read that I know to be on the shorter side
The yellow wallpaper and Bunner sisters both quick reads and I found them on the Gutenberg library web site.
Billy BuddCasino Royale
Silas Marner
A Room With a View
Also, I just started it yesterday, but even at 288 pages The Color Purple is a pretty quick read.
The Reluctant Fundamentalist is a quick read--both short in length and hard to put down! Also, The Turn of the Screw
Ethan Frome
Though I have not read it yet, I have a copy of it and The Green Man is not a very thick long book. It is under 300 pages
The Unfortunate Traveller and Oroonoko were both incredibly quick reads, but the style may throw people off.
Roland, I really enjoyed Oroonoko. It's hard to believe there was writing that anti-establishmentarian at that time. Especially coming from a woman. And what a fascinating woman! A spy, they say.
The Passion and Oranges are not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson are under 200 pages. Ms. Pettigrew Lives for the Day by Winifred Watson is also short.
Boxall's 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die
Books mentioned in this topic
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Cry, the Beloved Country (other topics)
Animal Farm (other topics)
The Color Purple (other topics)
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