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

I'm thinking that the creators of the list thought Anne Frank wasn't a must read. I read it perhaps 50 years ago, and have no desire to read it again.

Melanti wrote: "Shrug. The list really doesn't make sense at times. (Okay, often.)

The rule is nonfiction, but then there's several memoirs on the list. I heard someone say that it could be because memoirs in ..."

The rule is nonfiction? Did you mean 'the rule is fiction'?. The Diary of a Young Girl is one of the most influential books in the world so far as impact goes. And Diary, Memoir or Auto/Biography I don't see any serious differences between them.

But, it's their list and I know it's in the other 1001 list; I just don't get Pippi Longstocking over Ann Frank. I mean I liked it but I don't get their logic.

Kim wrote: "Jim wrote: "Finished The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank.

Jim"

I first read this in 5th class and one day I'd like to visit her house."

It is worth a visit if you happen to be in Amsterdam. I'm bad at visualising in 3D so actually moving through the house enabled me to work out how everything slotted together.

Moll Flanders - Strictly speaking it's a re-read, but it was a re-read of a book that I only remembered as I re read it :-) I'm sure everyone's got books like that from their past.

Very enjoyable but wouldn't be for everyone. 3 1/2 stars.

The Midwich Cuckoos - I enjoyed it. I missed the "think of a brick wall" bit that's at the end of the film though. I love that bit in the film.

Nicola wrote: "Melanti wrote: "Shrug. The list really doesn't make sense at times. (Okay, often.)

The rule is nonfiction, but then there's several memoirs on the list. I heard someone say that it could be bec..."

Yes, sorry, I meant either fiction or no nonfiction.

For us as readers diaries and memoirs are functionally about the same - they both tell the story of a life. The writer's intent, though, is completely different.

I don't get why Pippi Longstocking in on the list at all, frankly. There's hundreds of better choices. That would be one to look up in the book, I guess, and read the editor's justification for including it.

Finished conversations in Sicily today. Not sure I got all of the undercurrents

Finished Breakfast at Tiffany's- isn't it great reading a short book?! Really liked it and thought Holly was a great female character

I just finished The Nose by Nikolai Gogol. My edition was 50 pages- I read it in about an hour. It's really absurd/satire/comical. One of the most unique and quirky books I've read all year.

Testament of Youth - The novel is in three main parts; the first deals with her life up to the outbreak of war, the second with The Great War itself and the third with the after effects which ends a bit before European relations really break down and World War II comes along. Each of these 'parts' is excellent in their own way and they are all extremely interesting as to what they reveal about a time of life far removed from the now, but it is the section on the war which forms the central core of the book and is definitely its emotional heart.

Poignant and aching with loss this is a true war story. Don't expect to be able to read it all in one hit unless you are made of sterner stuff than I am; I needed 'time out' sessions at regular intervals to allow the latest griefs to be absorbed before I continued on.

A superb book to read during the 100 year remembrance 'celebrations'.

4 out of 5 stars.

Finished Hawksmoor by Peter Ackroyd. Loved the writing style. Definitely dark gothic.

Heart of Darkness: There are a lot of things going on in this little book. It is like a 300 page book condensed into 100 pages. I could have used more direct speech from Kurtz. It feels a little odd that so many people in the book talk about his magnificent speeches – but we never get to hear them.

General manager  and the brickmaker. What a wonderful pair! Even 110+ years after they are such a parody of people you may find in a modern office. Who hasn't been unfortunate to have to work with a “brickmaker”: I cannot do the work just now, and it is not my fault, and I am not going to do anything about it.

Just finished Jane Eyre. A rather nice collectors library edition - pocket sized requires readers!

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings - Not quite sure what to make of this one yet. It was enjoyable, if that's the right word. It was..., something. Maybe it will come to me after a bit more thought.

3 stars.

Last night I read Cheese by Willem Elsschot. It was a very quick read and a nice parody.

Just read Life after Life by Kate Atkinson. Ohh... what a good read. Loved it!

Birthe wrote: "Just read Life after Life by Kate Atkinson. Ohh... what a good read. Loved it!"

It's not on the list yet, as it only came out in 2013, after the most recent edition of the list was published.

The Cement Garden by Ian McEwan. Weird book but an interesting read.

Burger's Daughter by Nadine Gordimer (review) and Hallucinating Foucault by Patricia Duncker (review).

Finished the Graduate today, just like the movie. fun read though no surprises of course.

The Once and Future King- Very funny to start with, absolutely heartbreaking at the finish. 4 stars

Nicola wrote: "The Once and Future King- Very funny to start with, absolutely heartbreaking at the finish. 4 stars"

This was one of my favorite books of 2014.

Rebecca - I loved this book! The descriptions of Manderley are enchanting.

The Bridge on the Drina The title says all: The book is about the bridge.

The first 100 pages where the bridge was being constructed, I liked the best. The locals reactions to the idea of building a bridge.... The next hundred pages were rather dull. I lost focus somewhere and took a break from the book. It is like a lot of smaller stories just going on and on and on. Some of the stories are good, but.... it is just too much. After about page 200 the books starts to spend more time with the different characters, several we heard about in there youth shows up as older.

There are many fine moments through book, like when people with expensive coat and coloured pencils arrive, look at bridge and start taking notes. Everybody seems so know what is going to happen, worry about it, but never bother to ask a question or do anything about it. The local people have a strong trend in passive resistance, no matter to what. Alihodza seems to be an exception. He actually even asks a question to an outsider! It seems to be the main story in the book: The local people live peaceful with each other Christians, Muslims (and Jews). Conflict is something that is brought to them from the outside.

I made it through the book, but it is most definitely not one of my favourites. I would have liked to like it better, and I hope some one here will tell me why it is such a great book.

Recently finished:

Complicity

Eyeless in Gaza

Rated the first ****, the second ***
Both were worth reading.

Just finished War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy.
A few years of 'off-and-on' reading, and I've finally finished it!!
I decided that I would knuckle down and finish this book this year, before I would let myself read any of my other e-books. Nothing like a bit of reading blackmail.

I did enjoy this book, I really did. The detailing is just incredible!
(Hence the size of this book), and I really got hooked into the lives of the characters. Though there were a few very sad ends. Another one off my 1001 books pile ;-)

Rachel (Sfogs) wrote: "A few years of 'off-and-on' reading, and I've finally finished it!!

Congratulations! That has got to be some sort of record!

Les Enfants Terribles - Cocteau

Les Enfants terribles - Kauhukakarat

I've been meaning to see what all the hipe about this book is about for years....It was a real trip, but no longer shocking in our current times....

Rachel (Sfogs) wrote: "Just finished War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy.
A few years of 'off-and-on' reading, and I've finally finished it!!
I decided that I would knuckle down and finish this book t..."
Well done! I also read it this year, it took me seven months, I finished in August, and it is still very much in my head - great book.

just finishedA Confederacy of Dunces.... was ok for me...not a 5 star's though.

Judith wrote: "Les Enfants Terribles - Cocteau

Les Enfants terribles - Kauhukakarat"

Hah, well that couldn't have been the right edition. (I've combined it now.)

I finally finished 1Q84. The last book improved my rating slightly but there was still far too much of an author obsession with (female) breasts and (female) public hair.

Totally needs to get out more...

2 1/2 stars - Lots of interesting ideas but I had too many issues with it to rate 3 stars

Slaughterhouse 5 done ! Enjoyed it more post read...making the connections and thinking about the message...

God Bless You Mr. Rosewater by Vonnegut - story still relevant today - the super-rich do nothing and get richer, and the poor have fewer opportunities to eke out a living. And Vonnegut slips in his iconic reference to the fire-bombing of Dresden.

Haruki Murakami's 1Q84..... mixed feelings...just gave it a 3 rating.

The Golden Ass by Lucius Apuleius. I found it amusing in the beginning, but I tired quickly of the repeated violence, sex, and tale-telling. Also the book was packed full of classical references that mostly went over my head, so that didn't help me appreciate the novel. I gave it 2 stars.

Mrs. Dalloway - Rather a slog. I had to keep forcing my mind to concentrate on the words I was reading as I would sometime be aware that I'd read several pages of words and they'd all been completely meaningless.

Otherwise I found pieces of the book entertaining but mostly I was just bored. 1 1/2 stars.

Thanks! Good luck to everyone else reading, or going to read War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy.
It will be worth it!

Could somebody help me? I cannot find a link that works to the list of the books. There is a thread, but the links don't work. I never know if I am reading one of the books on the list. Thanks.

Well if you click on the Bookshelf link at the top right that would probably work. I have lots of spreadsheets myself but I do use the bookshelp when I'm looking for book from a certain country.

Thank you, Nicola. It works perfectly.

Nicola wrote: "Well if you click on the Bookshelf link at the top right that would probably work. I have lots of spreadsheets myself but I do use the bookshelp when I'm looking for book from a certain country."

Oh, that's really useful! I didn't know you could do that. Plus you can read reviews by other group members. What a useful feature. Thank you!

Finished God's Bits of Wood by Ousmane Sembène (review).

The Golden Ass by Apuleius

Crime and Punishment - actually a re-read from many years ago. I appreciated it much more this time around though so it was well worth a revist.

4 stars

I recently completed The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay. The mix of whimsy and historical details, especially of the 1940s, was fascinating and fun. I was riveted to see what would happen next with the characters for most of the book, until the latter sections of the book. Had judgments that it was not ultimately substantial, but many moments in the book keep coming back to me, very wise, precise, and human moments scattered throughout.

A Day Off: I borrowed this one on a whim. While randomly browsing the list I noticed some book had very few ratings. A Day Off had 13 ratings but I could order it from the local library. So I did. I think this one belongs on the list and if anyone is looking for a quick read, I can recommend it.

One of the least likeable main characters I have seen for a while. It is supposed to be a story about loneliness, but it is more about bitterness and lack of money. It was written in 1932, and I imagine that it takes place in the beginning of the depression where being an unmarried woman must have been quite a challenge. I liked the middle part best where she decides what to do around the start of the first word war. It is obvious what would have been the best and right thing to do, but it is also not surprising why she does, what she did. At that point we have had 45 pages to get to know her personality. I think that was well written.

J, Storm Jameson looks very interesting. I might try that or The White Crow!

The Hours - much more enjoyable to me than Mrs. Dalloway but it helped to have read that one first.

3 1/2 stars.

Mrs. Dalloway for this month's group read. I found the start quite difficult, but got into the style and flow much more after realizing that it's written in a stream of consciousness, and that the viewpoint jumps from character to character at any time. So, although I appreciate the style of the writing and some of the messages the novel was trying to convey, overall it was still just an OK book for me, so I gave it 2 stars.