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

Schindler's Ark. Overwhelmed.

I just finished Fingersmith and The Shining. I liked them both. I'm pretty sure I had read the Shining as a kid, but it was a great read.

Finished Wuthering Heights yesterday- I found it boring but it gained pace towards the end, even so I didn't like it, Heathcliff was HORRIBLE, it was just unpleasant

Laura wrote: "Finished Wuthering Heights yesterday- I found it boring but it gained pace towards the end, even so I didn't like it, Heathcliff was HORRIBLE, it was just unpleasant"


That's a mess you didn't like that.

Laura wrote: "Finished Wuthering Heights yesterday- I found it boring but it gained pace towards the end, even so I didn't like it, Heathcliff was HORRIBLE, it was just unpleasant"

I read this knowing nothing about the plot except for what Kate Bush refers to in her song Wuthering Heights, and I probably expected a cliché romance novel. But it turned out to be very different. I still liked it, though not as much as I thought I would. I was also surprised at how unlikable Heathcliff was!

Ok you have inspired me to give Wuthering Heights a try. Just began reading it today and I'm enjoying the rich language and horrible characters so far.

I love "Wuthering Heights". It's one I those books I never touched until I started the list and I didn't expect to like it. It's very dark.

Sandi wrote: "Laura wrote: "Finished Wuthering Heights yesterday- I found it boring but it gained pace towards the end, even so I didn't like it, Heathcliff was HORRIBLE, it was just unpleasant"

I read this kno..."

That song inspired me to read Wuthering Heights (love Kate Bush!). After I read it I was disappointed to find out what a jerk Heathcliff was. Great book, though.

Finished Breakfast at Tiffany's: And Three Stories by Truman Capote. Although it is an extremely well-written book, it is one of the rare instances that I actually prefer the movie. Hard to top Audrey Hepburn and "Moon River".

Laura wrote: "Finished Wuthering Heights yesterday- I found it boring but it gained pace towards the end, even so I didn't like it, Heathcliff was HORRIBLE, it was just unpleasant"

That's a shame, I love Wuthering Heights it's so scandalous :3. But then I prefer books were the characters are twisted, I think they're more interesting.

Robyn wrote: "Finised The White Tiger. It was okay. It was an interesting contrast to Life of Pi since they both deal with India, religion and the cages people are kept in by society -..."

I enjoyed Life of Pi a lot more than The White Tiger, though I agree that they are similar books in many ways.

I've just finished The Little Prince and I loved it to bits.

Finished The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. Technically a reread, but It's been so long since I read the stories, that a lot of them were fresh to me. And it's one of those books that repays repeated reading.

Finished The Music of Chance by Paul Auster. I liked this a lot better than I thought I would. Not crazy about the ending, though.

Since my last post, I've finished:

On Beauty by Zadie Smith (review)
Quicksand by Nella Larsen (review)
Passing by Nella Larsen (review)

I finished Beloved some time ago. Very evocative.

.. I'm totally fascinated!!

Finished The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison. Tough subject matter, but beautifully written. This is my favorite book of hers so far.

Aesop's Fables. Recommended

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. I enjoyed experiencing the different way of life the villagers had, and although I sympathized with the main character I feel that maybe I didn't feel for him as much as was intended by the author. There were definitely some very emotional parts, but in the end I rated it 3 stars.

Finished the audio book of Where Angels Fear to Tread by E.M. Forster, recently.
The story was good, but I just can't get over that because all of the pettiness and silliness of the adults, one little baby dies.

Yesterday I finished the audio book of Howards End by E.M. Forster.
While this book was well written,
it didn't hook me in at all.

Finished another great book by Toni Morrison: Song of Solomon.

I just finished The Yellow Wallpaper.
If I have nightmares tonight, I'm blaming this book. It reminded me of House of Leaves, which had the same creepy atmosphere.

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

Finished The Book of Illusions by Paul Auster.

My first book by this author and I was not impressed

Finished The Blind Owl by Sadegh Hedayat. Short, but powerful. This book apparently drove many people to commit suicide.

Finished The Picture of Dorian Gray while on a long train journey.

The Monk 18th century gothic horror anyone?

"The Swarm"- another one of those what is this book doing on the list.

James wrote: ""The Swarm"- another one of those what is this book doing on the list."

Its a long one, too, isn't it? I'll move further down the list.

Just finished Candide. I didn't know enough. It wasn't unpleasant, I just felt like the stupid person in the room who didn't get the joke.

Finished Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis.

Ellen wrote: "The Monk 18th century gothic horror anyone?"

I loved The Monk! In an over-the-top silly kind of way :)

Finished Lord of the Flies, can definitely understand why it's one of the go to books for GCSE English classes!

Death In Rome. Amazing!

Edwin wrote: "Death In Rome. Amazing!"

I read that one just a few months ago -- it IS amazing. One of the best I read this year!

Just finished Kiss of the Spider Woman by Manuel Puig -- also amazing (though maybe not for everyone). My review can be found here.

I just finished Their Eyes Were Watching God. I'm a Florida native and it's always fun to read the names of places I've been to so many times.

I just finished re-reading Silas Marner. I am glad I forgot that I read it and re-read it again. I forgot how much I love George Eliot.

Finished The Jungle by Upton Sinclair. Makes me not want to eat meat again.

I do believe this is the most depressing book I have ever read.

Karina wrote: "I just finished re-reading Silas Marner. I am glad I forgot that I read it and re-read it again. I forgot how much I love George Eliot."

I'm pretty sure we read this in school, but I can only remember that we did. It's one of the few books I'm hoping to find time to read again.

Finished The Life of Lazarillo de Tormes. An entertaining book, but a little on the short side.

The Handmaid's Tale This book is in many ways a parallel to 1984, the totalitarian control society and including thought control, and the “afterword” reflecting over the story. There are some major differences. This book deals with women and even-though the society places man in the centre and woman as a tool, the story is the exact opposite. Women in all the centre positions. There are three men in the story and only where it is biological necessary to have a man rather then a woman. Recommended.

I've just finished Wuthering Heights. I thought it was wonderful and loved the dark characters.

I finished The Talented Mr. Ripley. I saw the movie before I read the book, so it wasn't as good a read as it should have been. I found that the movie was really close to the book.

Since I last posted here a month or so ago, I have finished Daniel Deronda, A Farewell to Arms, and Atonement. Wow! I am ON FIRE!! :-)

The three different books are so different I can't really compare them to each other, but I was probably most surprised and blown away by Hemingway. I don't know why I always tell myself I don't like Hemingway novels, because when I actually sit down to read them, I usually love them. As far as George Eliot, I enjoyed Daniel Deronda immensely but didn't like it as a novel as well as Middlemarch. Atonement was a little "meh" and too meta/postmodern for my tastes, but certainly had its moments, and in general, I feel that I've been reading really good and interesting books.

What a Carve Up, Schindlers Ark, The Talented Mr Ripley. Light holiday reading? Not sure. But all great.

Finished Notes from Underground by Fyodor Dostoyevsky.

Around the World in Eighty Days

The Mandarins by Simone de Beauvoir (review)