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

Finished Novel with Cocaine by M. Ageyev. I disliked the main character a lot but the book was still very good. It had lots of truths in it and it's actually a pity that it has been removed from the list.

Just finished A Heart So White by Javier Marias. Although the writing is beautiful, it takes some focus and concentration due to the long sentences and paragraphs that often span more than a page. I didn't find the story earth shattering, but definitely felt like there were many snippets of wisdom in the book.

Just finished Jane Eyre. Loved it!

I've just finished Neuromancer by William Gibson.
I liked it, I really did.
But I'm not sure how, half the time I was trying to work out what was going on. :-P

I just finishedUnder the Volcano by Malcolm Lowry.

A little complex, I actually had to read the first chapter after reading the whole book to get some of the connections.

I finished Moby-Dick yesterday. A little too over-the-top for me, but it's one of those books you really should read at least once if only because it's such a classic!

Mekki wrote: "I just finishedUnder the Volcano by Malcolm Lowry.

A little complex, I actually had to read the first chapter after reading the whole book to get some of the connections."

This was not an easy reading for me also.

Soldados de Salamina by Javier Cercas. I loved it! I've read lot of war books lately.

Anna Karenina ... I liked War & Peace quite a bit more.

Finished The Hound of the Baskervilles and while I liked it everything about it felt very much expected. I think it fell victim to its own reputation in this case!

Finished A Clockwork Orange; review here.

Yesterday I read Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. It was pretty good. Made me realise I've been neglecting reading from this list when a friend commented on how different it is to the stuff she usually sees me reading.

Clear Light of Day

Wonderful novel. Desai transported me into her world with her beautiful writing.

Eyeless in Gaza....Aldous Huxley...just makes you think about everything!

A Hero of Our Time by Mikhail Lermontov. This is a novel so worthy of its reputation that I was disappointed I hadn't read it before. I'd even go so far as to say it's underrated in the USA.

If you undertake it, and you should given that it's both short and broken into five easily digestible pieces, read more about Lermontov. He's interesting and his story bears on the writing.

Just finished Of Mice and Men. It was my second Steinbeck book and I'm really starting to like him.

Falling Man by DeLillo.

Mia wrote: "Just finished Of Mice and Men. It was my second Steinbeck book and I'm really starting to like him."

Read East of Eden. It's not on the list, but it is my FAVORITE Steinbeck book. I love Steinbeck.

I just finished John Updike's Rabbit Run. Updike can write--I'll give him that. I hated the character of Rabbit Angstrom. Couldn't wait to finish the book. Gave it 3 stars, simply because of the writing.

Lauren wrote: "Mia wrote: "Just finished Of Mice and Men. It was my second Steinbeck book and I'm really starting to like him."

Read of East of Eden. It's not on the list, but it is my FAVORITE Stein..."

East of Eden is AMAZING!

Finished Midnight's Children this morning. Not sure what to make of it - the novel is an extraordinarily unpredictable roller coaster, but I really enjoyed reading it.

Pavel's Letters about Pavel (born Jewish) and his children during the time before, under and after WWII. Just 142 pages (and not 242 as the Goodread database used to think). A quick read for a 1001-book. My review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Lauren wrote: "Mia wrote: "Just finished Of Mice and Men. It was my second Steinbeck book and I'm really starting to like him."

Read East of Eden. It's not on the list, but it is my FAVORITE Steinbec..."

I still don't understand why it's not on the list I will definitely read it!

"East of Eden" is one book I truly can't fathom not being on the list. It's fantastic.

Lauren wrote: "I just finished John Updike's Rabbit Run. Updike can write--I'll give him that. I hated the character of Rabbit Angstrom. Couldn't wait to finish the book. Gave it 3 stars, simply because of th..."

I felt the same way. The book is definitely a test of how much one can like a book with an unlikable protagonist. Despite my misgivings, however, I read the other Rabbit books and came to feel like I really knew this messed-up man and the time he lived in, so much so that I missed him after I had finished the last book.

As an alternate view, I thought the characters in East of Eden one-dimensional and the writing simplistic.

Jonpaul wrote: ""East of Eden" is one book I truly can't fathom not being on the list. It's fantastic."

Agreed!

Glorianne wrote: "Lauren wrote: "I just finished John Updike's Rabbit Run. Updike can write--I'll give him that. I hated the character of Rabbit Angstrom. Couldn't wait to finish the book. Gave it 3 stars, simpl..."

This is good to know. I have the other Rabbit books, because a friend gave them to me. I was thinking about ditching them, but maybe I'll keep reading about Angstrom and all his angst!

I finished The Sense of an Ending last night. It was interesting, and a short read, but a little too self aware, it felt a little forced.

I finished A Town Like Alice. It's a great book I probably wouldn't have come across without the list. I liked the part set in Malaysia a bit more than the one set in Australia.

I just finished the Once and Future King by T.H. White. I loved it and I can't believe I haven't read it until now. Solid 5 star book. So many emotions are wrapped up in it - humor, sadness, passion, angst between right and wrong.

Lord of the Flies by William Golding. It was good but I was expecting little bit more...

Lauren wrote: "Jonpaul wrote: ""East of Eden" is one book I truly can't fathom not being on the list. It's fantastic."

Agreed!"

I agree, also!

I just finished Time's Arrow by Martin Amis
I found it an interesting take on Shoah and human nature/spirit in general.
Earlier this week I finished The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett

don presnell wrote: ""The Giver" wonderfully written
right up there with"Brave New World"
suggesting there can't be a utopian society
without a counterbalance of something more realistic"

The Giver is not a LIST book however. It's only on the children's version.

The Nose by Nikolai Gogol. Strange book but interesting story. For those of you looking for a short read this is like 20 pages or so.

The Yellow Wallpaper Very quick read (I think my version was approx. 64 pgs), mildly disturbing, but I enjoyed it. Nice to knock another one off the list quickly.

I recently finished reading A Clockwork Orange and have mixed feelings about it.
The language took a bit of the story away for me I think as I was always putting in so much effort to understand what all the different words meant that the storyline took a bit of a back seat uinfortunately.
I can still see how it became such a classic though.

Finished LaBrava by Elmore Leonard. First book by Leonard. I preferred the first half of the book. Found the second half to be predictable.

The Summer Book by Tove Jansson - loved it!

North and South All the worst bits of Dickens and Austen wrapped into one endless book....

Kai wrote: "The Summer Book by Tove Jansson - loved it!"

It's one of my favourites from her! I love Tove Jansson :D

#1 -- one of those classics that I finally got around to, and a while back -- disturbing but good.

Finished . My list-book number 73.

Finished The Adventures of Augie March by Saul Bellow. My second by Bellow, and this time I fell in love. This novel has an amazing picaresque feel that was jarring at first for something set in the 1940s, but I loved it!

Just finished At the Mountains of Madness . I wanted to love it but I couldn't even like it. :(

Just finished The Hours...mixed feelings. At times I think I like it, at others not at all impressed. Maybe reread after Mrs Dalloway ?

The Nose possibly the shortest list-book. (20 pages)

Like surrealism many years ahead of time. A funny little story. Kovalev wakes up one morning without his nose. That should teach him not to complain about pimples! The story has a light headed acceptance of the surreal events. United again with his nose: "Yes, that's the nose all right!" Kovalev shouted. "It's the nose precisely! Will you join me in a cup of tea?" (Now that he got it back it is no big deal).

J wrote: "The Nose possibly the shortest list-book. (20 pages)

Like surrealism many years ahead of time. A funny little story. Kovalev wakes up one morning without his nose. That should teach h..."

I also just finished The Nose and liked it as well.

Mandy wrote: "Just finished The Hours...mixed feelings. At times I think I like it, at others not at all impressed. Maybe reread after Mrs Dalloway ?"

I read Mrs Dalloway and the Hours back to back. I think I appreciated The Hours a lot more than I would have if I hadn't read Dalloway first. You can pick up on a lot more of Cunnigham's subtleties.