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

Aubrey wrote: "The Leopard; that did not go well at all."

Great. I just downloaded it in anticipation of a trip to Sicily.

This weekend I finally finished Look Homeward, Angel by Thomas Wolfe. I enjoyed most of it but towards the end I was rather annoyed. It was draging on too much then.

Elinor, I wasn't enthused by that one either!

Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit - It's a light and easy read and was very amusing. I thought it waranted a four star rating for nearly all of the book but I felt it went off the the boil a bit just at the end. Currently I'm rating it a 3 1/2 star but I may upgrade to 4 star on further reflection or on re-reading.

Kafka on the Shore.
Made me contemplate with the unanswered riddles and metaphors.

This year went with the following:
Belle du Seigneur

Of Human Bondage

re-read Anna Karenina

(and was bored stiff by) Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

Finished A Pale View of Hills by Kazuo Ishiguro (review)

Noorilhuda wrote: "This year went with the following:
Belle du Seigneur

Of Human Bondage

re-read Anna Karenina


The year's not over yet, you've still got December to get through :-)

I haven't tackled any Joyce yet (not really anyway) but I'm due to start Ulysses shortly though; not sure how that will go.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams. A fun, quick and easy read. Looking forward to his other books on the list.

Nicola, Ulysses is just absolute fab classic - imagery it casts - wow! I learnt a lot with Joyce's Portrait of the Artist - but it felt like a chore.

I finished The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien last week, I listened to this and reread the stories I liked. For me this worked very well as an audio book.

Ovid's Metamorphoses Ovid's Metamorphoses

Sense and Sensibilty by Jane Austen.

I can't believe I just turned 37 years old and barely reading this book! ::hides head in shame:: lol

On Beauty by Zadie Smith - overall enjoyable although most of the characters have major flaws. Went on a bit too long, probably because I was done with Howard.

Madame Bovary - Small town, provincial novel full of boring people living boring lives. Apart from our 'heroine' who is a legend in her own mind and not to be held back by circumstances.

Very funny novel. Well apart from the adultery, despair and deaths.

3 1/2 stars

Buddenbrooks: The Decline of a Family - The moral of this story seemed to be 'live your life and don't work yourself to death'. No one paid the slightest attention.

3 stars

Blood Meridian, by Cormac McCarthy. Thankfully, this is the current group read for the Literary Darkness group; the discussion there kept me going when I was tempted to give up on McCarthy's style.

Knocked off Mrs. Dalloway. Glad I read it but be aware that you will get more from it by reading it in longer sittings. Now, onto The Hours.

Just finished The Forsyte Saga. Glad I got this long one out of the way but I know I have plenty more big ones to tackle. I really enjoyed it and I am glad I read it.

Just listened to an audio edition of The Black Dahlia. It's unlike anything I'd normally read (involves boxing and a *really* gory murder) but was incredibly engaging.

Just finished Jane Eyre. Charming, & a really good read! Refreshing to see characters who weren't portrayed as either a great beauty or a dashingly handsome gent finding love in hard circumstances. I ended up disliking St. John quite a bit. Thought he was pushy, boorish, & overpowering for a parson....

Lisa wrote: "Just finished Jane Eyre. Charming, & a really good read! Refreshing to see characters who weren't portrayed as either a great beauty or a dashingly handsome gent finding love in hard..."

I loathed St John - I am fairly sure that he is meant to portray the absolute worst characteristics of a pious Christian faith while his sisters represented the opposite.

A week ago, I finished Watchmen. I was surprised it was in the book - happily surprised. Very good book although it's hard to keep it out of reach from kids - so colorful.

This year I have completed the following List books:
Don Quixote;
Gargantua and Pantagruel;
The Unfortunate Traveller and Other Works;
The Golden Ass;
Cost; Kieron Smith, Boy;
The Forsyte Saga;The Nose;
The Sea;Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency;Money;The Virgin Suicides;The Rainbow; James Baldwin Go Tell It On The Mountain;
Wuthering Heights;The Nun;
Jacques the Fatalist;The Tenant of Wildfell Hall;The Tin Drum;
The Quiet American;The Man With the Golden Arm;Arrow of God;Alias Grace;The Crow Road;Giovanni's Room;Of Love and Shadows;The House of the Spirits;Zorba the Greek;Cancer Ward;Invisible;The Gathering;Invisible Citiesand If on a Winter's Night a Traveler.

Just finished The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri. My first Lahiri book, really enjoyed it!

The Diary of a Nobody - An absolutely charming little tale with some slightly more heavy comments on the passing of the old, traditional, Victorian ways and the rise of the young, brash, morally less upright younger generation.

Personally I loved it and I'll probably get a copy for my own bookshelf.

4 stars

John Wyndham - The Midwich Cuckoos

By the Open Sea - took me about 4 days to read even though it's fairly short. It was a bit of a slog because I found it quite depressing, but the descriptive passages of the sea were wonderful.

Here's to You, Jesusa! - all I can say is 'thank dog that's over!'

One star (and that's generous)

Just finished Jane Austen's Emma. I did enjoy it but it wasn't as good as P&P or S&S. Funny and entertaining but it also dragged on a bit too. Hope Mansfield Park is better

The Hours. I was far more moved by the book than I expected, especially having seen the movie years ago. Can't imagine having read and appreciated this book with having first read Mrs. Dalloway.

Laura wrote: "Just finished Jane Austen's Emma. I did enjoy it but it wasn't as good as P&P or S&S. Funny and entertaining but it also dragged on a bit too. Hope Mansfield Park is better"

If you didn't enjoy Emma as much as Sense and Sensibility I doubt you'll find Mansfield Park an improvement. It's not a bad book but Fanny is generally considered a drip. There are some who like her of course but going by your comments you don't sound like you'll be one of them.

Just finished 'Middlemarch'. It was a little slow at first, but once it got going: Wow! Elliot is just as witty and observant as Austen (one of my favourite authors) but she never mocks or stereotypes her characters - they all have flaws and strengths. An amazing book :)

I just finished 1Q84, and I loved it. The book took me a while to read, because I was working on a novel while reading it. I loved how I could set this book down and immediately get back into it. I found it intriguing, but I still have so many questions!

On the Road - thank goodness that roadtrip is over! Reading this and Here's to You, Jesusa! at the same time was almost too much for me.

I just finished Like Water for Chocolate, a lovely story and a nice quick read.

The Optimist's Daughter - A rather unusual book, very heavy on the human interaction side of things and very light on any direct action. Personally I liked it.

3 stars.

The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes. Ummmm, interesting idea about what we chose to remember; however the actual story line made little sense. Unreliable narrator or my unreliable memory,your choice!

I just finished The Sorrows of Young Werther. It was a good book but not as exceptional as I anticipated.

It was very good. Perhaps, I had just built up in my mind what I thought my emotional reaction to the character would be.

Just finished Casino Royale, which is the first book in the larger than life James Bond series. I've seen the movie version several times and it was interesting to see the differences between the two. It was an enjoyable read and I gave it rating of 4 stars :)

Just finished A Farewell to Arms. Found much of it a slog since I'm not really interested in war stories. I was also put off by Hemingway's detached style. I have liked his short stories a lot, but the distant narrator is difficult to care about throughout a whole novel. Still, by the end I was into it and got something out of it.

Orlando - Finished this this morning and I found it a very pleasant little re-read - I have evidently changed my tastes a tab since I was 9yrs old :-)

Finished The Fox this morning-what an odd little book! But, in spite of a stilted writing style, it was easy to follow and I liked it well enough :)

Pride and Prejudiceby Jane Austen

Just finished A Christmas Carol. It does improve with one's age apparently. Enjoyed and appreciated it at a deeper level than I ever have before.

Nicola wrote: "Laura wrote: "Just finished Jane Austen's Emma. I did enjoy it but it wasn't as good as P&P or S&S. Funny and entertaining but it also dragged on a bit too. Hope Mansfield Park is better"

If you d..."

Oh dear! Any other Austens which are better?

deleted user wrote: "Just finished Casino Royale, which is the first book in the larger than life James Bond series. I've seen the movie version several times and it was interesting to see the differences b..."

Love Bond books, are you planning on reading anymore?

Laura wrote: "deleted user wrote: "Just finished Casino Royale, which is the first book in the larger than life James Bond series. I've seen the movie version several times and it was interesting to ..."

I am-I enjoyed the first book and I love the movies :)

Laura wrote: "Nicola wrote: "Laura wrote: "Just finished Jane Austen's Emma. I did enjoy it but it wasn't as good as P&P or S&S. Funny and entertaining but it also dragged on a bit too. Hope Mansfield Park is be..."

Well I loved Emma, so based on your views as P&P/S&S being more enjoyable I would actually recommend Northanger Abbey over Persuasion. That wouldn't be my choice but might be more appealing to you. Mansfield Park isn’t bad btw, I don’t think any of Jane Austens work rates a lower rating than ‘fantastic’, it’s just definitely the most prosaic of her novels.

You might also like Lady Susan, not a list book but short, salacious and a great deal of fun.