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

I'm just about to start To Kill a Mockingbird, this is one I am really excited to start as I've heard nothing but amazing things about it, Plus it'll get me ready for the sequel that's coming out at some point this year :)

I just started The Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.

I just started War and Peace. A bit stunned of the size of the thing. About 1500 pages – but the pages are like 400-450 word pages. I am reading it in Danish translation.

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, my first book from him.

Just started listening to The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov yesterday.

Dracula. 50 pages in, and *yawn* this is going to be a struggle.

I started The Red Room by August Strindberg, and I really like this so far! And then I started Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe.

Just starting Libra. Haven't read any Don DeLillo in a long time - looking forward to getting immersed in it.

I just started The water margin.

I just started Suite Française by Irène Némirovsky on audio. I also started The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton.

Starting Oliver Twist on audio (read by my favorite narrator ever, Simon Vance :)

I started Rudin a Romance and a King Lear of the Steppes by Ivan Turgenev and I'm about to start Naná by Émile Zola.

Out of Africa - so far I'm a little torn on it. The language is lovely and the author has a talent for description. But the "noble savage" mentality toward the natives is very dated and very grating. I'm swallowing a very large grain of salt and reminding myself that her attitudes are relatively inclusive for the time.

Bucket: You might enjoy the movie.

Cynthia wrote: "Bucket: You might enjoy the movie."

Thanks Cynthia! I looked the movie up and it seems to be just "loosely based" on the book. Does it address the issue of colonialism in Africa which the book accepts as just the way things are?

Hmm. I am not sure. But Robert Redford and Meryl Streep? Who cares about Colonialism? I have my priorities.

Today I started Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson.

I started Billy Budd, Foretopman by Herman Melville today.

Yesterday I started 2001: A Space Odyssey and The Castle. So far I'm enjoying both - even the Kafka!

In addition to Billy Budd and Other Stories by Herman Melville, I started Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton yesterday.

Just started Rabbit Redux by John Updike. Some time ago I read Rabbit Run and was not overly impressed but here I am again with the next in the series.

Halfway through Breakfast of Champions, Vonnegut is fast becoming one of my all time favorite authors!

Cynthia wrote: "Hmm. I am not sure. But Robert Redford and Meryl Streep? Who cares about Colonialism? I have my priorities."

Haha! :)

Just started The Great Gatsby. I'm pretty sure I'm the only one of my GR friends (and real life friends?) who hasn't read this before. My head hangs in shame.

House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski

Bucket wrote: "Just started The Great Gatsby. I'm pretty sure I'm the only one of my GR friends (and real life friends?) who hasn't read this before. My head hangs in shame."

Great book :)

Starting Lady Chatterley's Lover next. I've read a lot of mixed reviews about this one so I'm really curious to see how it goes!

Just started So Long a Letter by Mariama Ba. I think it is an addition to the list from one of the newer editions of the book.

I started Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll and I'm almost halfway through The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I thought I wouldn't like this book but I'm loving it!

I'm stating "Persusion" by J ane Austen.

American Pastoral - 50 pages in and enjoying it so far. I'd avoided Philip Roth for a long time for some reason, but the writing here is excellent and sucked me right in.

Bucket wrote: "American Pastoral - 50 pages in and enjoying it so far. I'd avoided Philip Roth for a long time for some reason, but the writing here is excellent and sucked me right in."

Good to hear. I have not read any Philip Roth at all, but I have this one sitting on my nightstand waiting to slip into the rotation at some point.

Just started A Town Like Alice really looking forward to it :) can't understand why his other book On the Beach is not on this list!

Re-reading The Lord of The Rings trilogy so I can read the other two books of Tolkien. Still need to finish Tess of the d'Urbervilles but I hit a wall.

The Moonstone - I've downloaded this one to audio - I think I'm going to be better reading Moby Dick annotated rather than listening to it so I'll listen to Wilkie Collins instead.

Dree wrote: "Dracula. 50 pages in, and *yawn* this is going to be a struggle."

What?! I thought Dracula was amazing!

I'm reading Crime and Punishment at the moment- it's so good, atmospheric and readable, I don't know why it has the reputation of being an intimidating read. Really enjoying it

Yesterday I started A Ballad for Georg Henig. I thought I would finish it today (it's 120 pages)--but I am enjoying the slow pace. Also, it has no chapters, so those 120 pages are all text. No half-pages at the start and end of chapters, so it is longer than it seems.

It is excellent.

Also, the lastest print edition of 1001 books has a typo in the title in the title index. Yes, I noticed.

I just started Breakfast at Tiffany's. I've never watched the movie and this is also my first Capote book, so I have absolutely zero preconceived notions about how this is going to pan out.

Dictionary of the Khazars - so far very weird, and not in a good way.

Luís wrote: "Laura wrote: "Dree wrote: "Dracula. 50 pages in, and *yawn* this is going to be a struggle."

What?! I thought Dracula was amazing!"

I didn't like it either.."

Me neither. I really struggled with the writing so didn't enjoy reading it as much as I thought I would.

Just started Romance of the Three Kingdoms. I'm reading all vols in one on kindle. It's going to be long! So far I'm 2% in and there are so many characters that I'm losing track of them all already ...

Just started "The Catcher in the Rye". I was never a particularly angsty teenager, but I'm really enjoying it so far!

The Remains of the Day - Lovely writing, it seems very faithful to the tone of the movie.

The Good Soldier - Another first as far as authorship goes - I'm reading a lot of those lately thanks to this list.

Just getting started on Spring Snow, which is part of The Sea of Fertility quartet, which means I don't get to cross a book off the list until I finish all 4 parts! Bummer!

I'm about 200 pages into The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle! I'm really liking it so far! But then... I do like Murakami's writing style. Im not quite sure where the plot line is going... but it is still great fun. :)

Kennie wrote: "I'm about 200 pages into The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle! I'm really liking it so far! But then... I do like Murakami's writing style. Im not quite sure where the plot line is going... but ..."

That's the only Murakami I've read so far and I loved it! Definitely some weirdness in there.

The Island of Dr. Moreau

Linda wrote: "Kennie wrote: "I'm about 200 pages into The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle! I'm really liking it so far! But then... I do like Murakami's writing style. Im not quite sure where the plot line i..."

I have read Kafka on the Shore before and I have to say that it was MUCH weirder than The Wind Up Bird.... So far. I can't wait to see how this one ends! I highly recommend that you read more of his works. He has some marvelous short stories. :)

The Wasp Factory - My first Iain Banks and I've heard some interesting comments about this novel... I'm not sure if this is going to be a good indication of his style of book but hopefully I'll enjoy it anyway.