101 Books to Read Before You Die discussion

I am reading The Complete Sherlock Holmes, Volume I. It is pretty good but I take a break for variety between sections.

I am also reading The Talisman. I have read it several times. The first time was when it was published. It is for some reason one of those books which stick with me like a long time friend. I feel the urge to revisit it every so often.

Just finished for a buddy read...
A Land More Kind Than Home by Wiley Cash

At a Holiness church in a rural Appalachian town, a healing service for a mute 13 year old boy goes horribly wrong The story is narrated by three characters: the boy’s younger brother, the town’s sheriff and a church member who is critical of the charismatic preacher with a dubious past. The initial chapters drew me quickly into the story and set a vivid tone. But, I felt that it lost momentum as it progressed. The three voices began to meld in tone. Too many idiosyncrasies were not addressed. For example, an abusive alcoholic father reappears after 10 years and is a wholesome grandfather who can drink in moderation and is immediately trusted by his adult son. But, there is no explanation for this transformation. Meanwhile, other details of scenery or other back stories that have no bearing on the story are well developed. The ending left me unsatisfied.

Finished thought it was very well done. Now I need to see the movie :) 3.5 stars!

Here is my review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

I am currently about half way throughA Farewell to Arms and I really do feel a Pat Peoples fit of rage coming on. Catherine Barkley is infuriating. She has no personality and I keep visualizing her as a young version of one of the Gabor sisters every time she uses he word darling which is far too often in my humble opinion. So that's what I am currently reading along with a much needed rant. I am recommending it because I am dying to know what other people think of it.

I read Let’s Explore Diabetes With Owls, which is a collection of humorous essays. I was surprised how many I had already read. Most are accounts of personal experiences such as purchasing a stuffed owl as a Valentine gift for his boyfriend or having his passport stolen while on vacation in Hawaii. Reading some of the essays was a bit like being a guest at a friend’s family gathering, not quite getting the humor in the tale being recounted, but suspecting that it would be hilarious if only you had been there. Others, especially those critical of his parents, carried a bitter bite that made me want to look away from embarrassment. But the pieces that were less personal, that contained a bit more social critique, I really enjoyed.

Jennifer wrote: "I am currently about half way throughA Farewell to Arms and I really do feel a Pat Peoples fit of rage coming on. Catherine Barkley is infuriating. She has no personality and I keep visualizing her..."

I completely agree with you Jennifer! I thought it was unneccessarily frustrating to read. Just wait til you get to the end. you'll want to through it across the room!

I finished A Change In Altitude by Anita Shreve.

This is a novel about marital jealousy. The couple at the heart of the story is Americans, newly married and living and working in an unfamiliar and rather unsettling environment, Kenya in the mid-1970s. I enjoyed the depictions of the people and setting of the novel. But, I could not understand the source of the hurtful jealousy. For two people married less than a year, I was surprised at the level of distrust and brutality of the initial accusation which the scenario did not seem to warrant. As the story goes on, and the riff in the marriage grows, both seem to be more comfortable with and attracted to other colleagues. This marriage does not appear to have a proverbial snowball’s chance in hell. The ending felt abrupt, neither providing resolution nor leaving me with some insight or question to ponder.

Just started reading Sense and Sensibility for another group, and started The Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Treasure Hunt with my daughter last night. This is only the second one we're reading, but we LOVE the Judy Moody books so far!

Britany wrote: "Jennifer wrote: "I am currently about half way throughA Farewell to Arms and I really do feel a Pat Peoples fit of rage coming on. Catherine Barkley is infuriating. She has no personality and I ke..."

I did want to scream, but I knew the ending would be bad after reading and seeing The Silver Linings Playbook. I just couldn't exactly remember the specifics of that ending. It's funny because even though I spent a good portion of the book wanting to throw it out a window or stomp up and down on it in protest, there was a certain beauty about it that I loved. The war images and the scenery were beautifully portrayed but the dialogue at times read like an instruction manual. I wish I had the book as part of a group read. It's one that I found myself wanting to discuss with people as I read it.

Renee wrote: "Just started reading Sense and Sensibility for another group, and started The Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Treasure Hunt with my daughter last night. This is only the second one we're reading, but we LOVE t..."

Glad you two are enjoying them and I hope you like that particular Austen book too. I love Jane Austen. So far I haven't read anything of hers that I haven't liked. Can't wait to hear what you think of it.

I have a little bit of literary ADD right now. I am still reading Stephen King's It, which is amazing, but I am also reading Madame Bovarywhich is the August read for one and perhaps two of my other groups. I am thinking that there are better translations of this book out there, though. I am also thinking that after reading about a third of the book that I somehow feel less far removed from this work than I do all of Jane Austen works.

Jennifer wrote: "I have a little bit of literary ADD right now. I am still reading Stephen King's It, which is amazing, but I am also reading Madame Bovarywhich is the August read for one and perhaps two of my othe..."

How are you liking Madame Bovary so far? I have not read it yet, but voted for it in the poll for the classics group.

This is only my second Jane Austen book. I've only read Pride and Prejudice so far, but I loved it! I have quite a few books to catch up on!

Renee wrote: "Jennifer wrote: "I have a little bit of literary ADD right now. I am still reading Stephen King's It, which is amazing, but I am also reading Madame Bovarywhich is the August read for one and perh..."

Renee, I have quite a few books to catch up on as well. Lots of books I can't believe I haven't read before now and authors I have not yet sampled. Among them are staples such as:
Gone with the Wind, The Grapes of Wrath,andMiddlemarch: A Study of Provincial Life and authors such as Thomas Hardyand Henry James.


I am liking Madame Bovarybut it took some perseverance at first. I don't think that I am reading the best translation either.

Finished "Life of the Beloved" by Henri Nouwen. Maybe I have read too much Nouwen over the years, but this slim volume seemed extremely slim on content. Nothing new or substantial.

Finished reminded me of except I connected more with Ordinary Grace than this one. Impressive debut novel, 3 stars overall!

http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

I finished The Talisman and decided to embark on re-read of The Dark Tower series beginning with The Gunslinger.

Link to my review of the Talisman here: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

I am still making my way through Sherlock Holmes and will also be starting Madame Bovary for the Aug. Classics group read. Must be quite a few of us on tat group too. :-)

I'm enjoying the Sherlock Holmes reads in that group too Catherine. And I can't wait to get started on Madame Bovary! Both are new reads for me and I'm loving Holmes so far!

I haven't read any Stephen King in a long time. How is The Dark Tower series?

Same here Renee. I had never read any of the SH stories or Madame Bovary. I am glad the later won since I have already read The Three Musketeers.

The Dark Tower is different in it's format than his stand alone works, but it's still very recognizably SK. If you like long epic quest type stories you may like it. It was his attempt to tell a tale that starting forming in his mind when he was 19, inspired by works of Tolkien and others, but with his own unique style. Give them a try. It takes some people a while to warm up to the first book but most feel it improves in the second book. I like the Gunslinger though.

I just finished The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and have been going through the Harry Potter series while falling asleep at night. I'd forgotten just how delightful they are to read! I've also got Mockingbird, of course, and The Aviator's Wife, which I haven't decided yet whether I'm really enjoying it or not. I'm also doing Wolf Hall for another group and finding it very interesting.

Alana, I am due for a re-read of the HP series myself. I almost started them just this last week. It was between them and the Dark Tower. I was more in the mood for DT and plan to do HP later this year or maybe over the winter.

I listen to them when I'm falling asleep at night. I've read them so many times that they just lull me to sleep. Although I have to admit, hearing Jim Dale whisper the creepy voice in "Chamber of Secrets" was a bit disturbing, even if I did know what it was! He does such a great job with the voices.

In the Shadow of the Banyan by Vaddey Ratner

Based on the author’s own childhood, this is a heart-breaking and inspiring story. The daughter of a wealthy, foreign educated minor noble family, the narrator’s happy and comfortable childhood is suddenly and violently disrupted as the Khmer Rouge take over Cambodia. They are forcibly driven from their estate, sent into internal exile, condemned to forced labor and endure starvation, execution and terror. The love of family, the power of story, the indestructible conviction that hope will prevail and suffering can not last forever sustain the narrator and her mother through 4 years of unimaginable horror. It is certainly inspiring to see love, goodness and hope survive the slaughter of brutality, hatred and cruelty. It is heart-breaking to realize how often this century we have heard this story, from the Soviet Union to Nazi Germany, from Chili to China. Even more disturbing is to admit that these stories are even now being written in the lives of children from Syrian refugee camps to Sudanese villages.

The Unfinished Work of Elizabeth D by Nichole Bernier

The book takes place the summer following the death of the titular Elizabeth in a plane crash leaving behind a grieving husband, 3 young children, a locked trunk filled with 25 years of personal diaries and an unsettling unanswered question. Just prior to her death, Elizabeth makes formal arrangements with a lawyer to have this trunk bequeathed to Kate, a woman she befriended 6 years earlier through a play group. Adding to the awkwardness of this decision the sense of betrayal to her husband, is the revelation in her current journal, which was left behind unsecured, that she lied about her reason for travel. She was not attending a painting workshop, but meeting a man named Michael on the other side of the country. The story unfolds over 7 weeks as Kate vacations at a rented beach house with her family, reading the diaries to discover the truth of Elizabeth’s trip and deciding how to respond to David’s desire to have his wife’s diaries. Highlights from these journals are interspersed with mundane scenes from a lengthy vacation and Kate’s vague sense of angst over every possible source of harm that might befall her family. Between Elizabeth’s journals and Kate’s own thoughts, there is much ink dedicated to the tension between the desire for professional fulfillment and to be the ideal, ever-present mother to children who grow up too quickly. The book had a general sense of ennui, never able to build a sustaining tension. Neither woman came to life for me. The underlying theme, the dichotomy between the person we present to others and our true selves, never opened up in a meaningful way.

Jennifer wrote: "I recently finished reading Persuasion by Jane Austen. My thoughts are here http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/....

Now I have started reading It by Stephen Kingand am thoroughly enjoyin..."

I loved IT. Remember the movie, watching it with my sons, it creeped them out, me too.

Finished 4 Stars

Great book! I couldn't put it down. Controversial topic, and every chapter is told from a different character's perspective.

Here is my review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

Finished - 1 star

Ugh, just ugh! I would not recommend this one. In fact, if it's on your TBR, I would recommend removing it.

Thoughts: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

Finished - 4 stars

This was such a great story about siblings running away to live in a museum! Great read!

Review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. Too old and too cynical for this one.

Irene wrote: "The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. Too old and too cynical for this one."

LOL! I have never read it. What is it like that makes you say that?

It is a allegory or parable of a young man who follows his dream that he will find a treasure at the Egyptian pyramids. As he travels, he encounters various lessons that teach him how to believe in his dreams, that love will wait until he is ready, that women understand that young men have to go in search of their personal legend and are content to wait at home because merely loving a young man is their personal legend, that you can be anything including the wind if you listen to the soul of the world, etc.

Irene wrote: "It is a allegory or parable of a young man who follows his dream that he will find a treasure at the Egyptian pyramids. As he travels, he encounters various lessons that teach him how to believe i..."

Ahhh. I see. I am pretty sure I am too cynical for it too, LOL

A Bridge Too Far by Cornelius Ryan

I am not a fan of military histories. I find the carnage repulsive and the detailed strategies boring. But even though this award-winning history had an abundance of both, I found it engaging. The oral research is so extensive, the details so skillfully compiled, the story so well told, that I was drawn in despite myself.

Reading Night Film and just loving this story.

I recently finished reading It and The Giver and am currently reading The Storyteller. All very good books.

Woo hoo! I got hold of The Cuckoo's Calling!

Jennifer wrote: "I recently finished reading It and The Giver and am currently reading The Storyteller. All very good books."

I am planning a re-read of It in the near future but I need to wait until I get through with the Dark Tower series. I read it when it came out and don't remember whether I ever re-read it since then. It is one of my favorite SK books.

Transatlantic by Colum McCann
This is a collection of 7 sections, each focused on a moment in the life of a different character. The events span 150 years. The final chapter draws a fine line of connection between all. These sections feel like distinct character sketches written in a sparse prose that has more in common with free verse poetry than a traditional novel.

Finished 3 stars! Good book overall, abrupt, rushed ending.

My review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

I just finished Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn. If you like demented and dark psychological thrillers, I would recommend giving this one a try. However, I can see how Flynn's writing might not sit well with everyone. Her characters tend to be harsh and very few are likeable.

Finished - Not my thing! Science fiction mixed with comedy is just not my genre. I didn't like this much at all. Glad it was short and sweet!

Here is my review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

What's the code to put in a book cover like that?

I am trying to catch up with the books you already read, prior to my joining the group. So, I just read "1984" by George Orwell. I could not find the discussion thread on it. I would have loved to have seen what was said about this one.

Irene wrote: "I am trying to catch up with the books you already read, prior to my joining the group. So, I just read "1984" by George Orwell. I could not find the discussion thread on it. I would have loved ..."

Irene,

I think that the group only consisted of two members at the time that book was read and there weren't really any comments on it. In fact, I think that I will start one now so that as people read this they can comment. I haven't read it since high school, but it really left an impact on me.

The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe

I wanted more talk about books, not just the naming of books, but discussion of their impact… what they taught the author about loss or life, about how accompanying a mother through the final months of cancer shifted the understanding of a book. Instead I got a eulogy of a mother who made Mother Theresa look like a piker and stories of the perfect loving family through the adoring eyes of a middle-aged son as they watched their mother die of cancer.

Finished 3.5 stars from me. Hit too close to home for me in the end and connected me to this book more than I originally thought.

Paris, Family, late 80s, Poetry, love

My review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

I just finished Ulysses. Toughest book I ever read... There should be a prize for finishing. It's like running a marathon.

Congrats, Mike! That does sound like an accomplishment. I felt that way after finishing Atlas Shrugged; I was glad I'd read it, but boy, was I glad to be done!

Alana wrote: "Congrats, Mike! That does sound like an accomplishment. I felt that way after finishing Atlas Shrugged; I was glad I'd read it, but boy, was I glad to be done!"

That is quite an accomplishment. I haven't dared attempt it yet.

I finally finished Forever Amber

This scandalous book of the 1940s is a soap opera set in London of the 1660s. Amber is a teen girl who is bored with the simple pleasures of life in a bucolic English village: a loving home, the comfort of friends, the beauty of nature the satisfaction of a good day’s work, making out with the local farm hands. So, at the first opportunity, she seduces a handsome traveler and runs off with him to London. Gifted with striking beauty, guided by all of the seven deadly sins , unencumbered by any conscience or empathy, she spends the next ten years lying and cheating, bullying and conniving, sleeping and buying, even once murdering, her way up the social ladder, always grasping for more wealth, social power, notoriety and flattery. Spending more than 700 pages watching such vulgar behavior get endlessly rewarded was more than unpleasant.

Irene, that sounds somewhat like a very long version of The Picture of Dorian Gray, as far as the degradation it falls into and the whole "seven deadly sins." I was glad that book was a short one, I can't imagine reading 700 pages of it!