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

Ellinor wrote: "I just finished The Water Babies. I can see why it is on the children's books list but not why it is on the adult list."

I hated that book so much! It was so racist(less about race, and more about country of origin, but nationalist doesn't sound right?) and condescending! I don't think it should be on either list. Of course, I'm an American, so according to the author I'm too stupid to have a valid opinion :)

I just finishedThe Bell by Iris Murdoch, which was good, but a bit frustrating! and The Life and Death of Harriett Frean by May Sinclair which is very short, but I thought awesomely done.

Finished The Great Gatsby. Yes, I did not read it in school. I am from Denmark and The Great Gatsby contains to many fancy words to become school material for non-native English speakers (I read Hemingway in English in school, though).

What I liked best about the book is that it does not judge the characters. So Gatsby was criminal – but still the hero? And Tom Buchanan, the “detective” who exposed him the “villain”? Reading a bit in Spark notes it seems the book is mainly about the American dream and the 1920's version. How about moral? If the goal is the right one the means to get there does not matter? It seems the book is trying to test the reader: Is it OK Gatsby became criminal to achieve his goal? Is it al right if he is generous with his money?

The Colour - a very beautiful read, almost dreamlike in tone which is rather strange as the setting is early NZ/Goldrush and the environment is often harsh and ugly. But somehow this story retains its purity amidst the filth.

4 stars

Nicola wrote: "The Colour - a very beautiful read, almost dreamlike in tone which is rather strange as the setting is early NZ/Goldrush and the environment is often harsh and ugly. But somehow thi..."

I read a non-list book by her last fall, and look forward to her list books.

Last night I finished Gulliver's Travels. it was surprisingly easy to read and I liked it best of Swift's works on the list.

I read At the Mountains of Madness vby H.P. Lovecraft today. I've been reading all of Lovecraft's work in order. Mountains is very good - one of his best - but not one of my very favorites. What makes Lovecraft creepy is that it can be all to plausible. Though, if you have to keep moving the pack dogs farther and farther away from camp because of the artifacts you're digging up, maybe you should stop. Just saying.

Just finished Things Fall Apart, it was a very nice change from the other books that I've been reading as it took place among a primitive tribe in Nigeria.

Dichotomy Girl wrote: "Just finished Things Fall Apart, it was a very nice change from the other books that I've been reading as it took place among a primitive tribe in Nigeria."

I really liked that one. I need to read the rest of the trilogy one of these days.

Just finished The Arabian Nights: Tales from a Thousand and One Nights. That's my accomplishment of the year so far. I loved it. Kept me entertained throughout.

Kaitlyn wrote: "Just finished The Arabian Nights: Tales from a Thousand and One Nights. That's my accomplishment of the year so far. I loved it. Kept me entertained throughout."

I just started that one, and I'm finding the story in a story in a story format a bit confusing!

Dichotomy Girl wrote: "Kaitlyn wrote: "Just finished The Arabian Nights: Tales from a Thousand and One Nights. That's my accomplishment of the year so far. I loved it. Kept me entertained throughout."

I jus..."

It can be confusing but you will get used to it! Don Quixote had a lot of that too, so I had already experienced that kind of framing.

Kaitlyn wrote: "It can be confusing but you will get used to it! Don Quixote had a lot of that too, so I had already experienced that kind of framing."

Yep! I read DQ last year and that was my first experience with that type of storytelling. The Golden Ass is that way as well, which I happened to read right after Don Quixote. Back-to-back books like that was a little much for me, though.

Dispatches by Michael Herr and A Dance to the Music of Time by Anthony Powell. Both insanely good but for entirely different reasons. One, Dispatches, takes about an afternoon to read, and the other I spread over a year at one volume-there are twelve books in the cycle-per month. I feel fantastically fortunate to have read both of these books.

Congrats on finishing A Dance to the Music of Time, and so glad to hear you enjoyed it! I tackled the Marcel Proust two years ago, and I'm starting to itch to take on another super-mega from the list - perhaps 2015 will be the year for Anthony Powell for me!

Jonpaul wrote: "Dispatches by Michael Herr and A Dance to the Music of Time by Anthony Powell. Both insanely good but for entirely different reasons. One, Dispatches, takes about an afternoon to read, and the othe..."

I just finished The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test by Tom Wolfe. It's a fascinating read on so many levels. I don't often read nonfiction, so the new journalism feel of this book was perfect for my taste.

Bucket wrote: "Congrats on finishing A Dance to the Music of Time, and so glad to hear you enjoyed it! I tackled the Marcel Proust two years ago, and I'm starting to itch to take on another super-mega from the li..."

I'm starting him. It was supposed to be a book a month but I'm a bit behind. I've just picked the first two up from the library though so I'll have to get those read before I head home.

The Old Man and the Sea - Meh.

2 stars

This weekend I finished Chocky by John Wyndham. I really liked it and am now looking forward to reading the author's other list books.

Requiem for a Dream

Ellinor wrote: "This weekend I finished Chocky by John Wyndham. I really liked it and am now looking forward to reading the author's other list books."

I would recommend The Day of the Triffids. I enjoyed that one a little more than Chocky. Both good, but Triffids is a favorite.

Finished The Optimist's Daughter by Eudora Welty and The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro.

Both started out slow for me, but soon became very engaging. Two good reads overall.

I finished Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood. I thought it was a great. So far i've read 3 of the 6 books atwood has on the list and i've been verify satisfied.

Just finished Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, I never read this as a kid and only knew the Disney version, so I wanted to see how it was similar/differed. Was a sweet little story which I look forward to sharing with my kids in the future. Loved the line "That's the reason they're called lessons...because they lessen from day to day." I enjoyed his play on words and phrases.

Mekki wrote: "I finished Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood. I thought it was a great. So far i've read 3 of the 6 books atwood has on the list and i've been verify satisfied."

I have this one on my shelf to read. I love Margaret Atwood. Check out her Madd Addam series too; they aren't on the list but I loved her version of the dystopian future.

Diana wrote: "Loved the line "That's the reason they're called lessons...because they lessen from day to day." I enjoyed his play on words and phrases"

That was one of my favourite puns too!

I just finished Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut, I really enjoyed it though not as much as Slaughter house 5. I've now read all the Vonnegut books from the 1001 which is a shame as he's turning into one of my favourite authors.

Just finished American Rust. I liked the book even though I really disliked most of the characters.

Bucket wrote: "Finished A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving. This was a re-read for me, so no adding to my total, but I'm so glad to have re-visited an old favorite!"

I picked up my library hold for this one last night-hoping to get to it yet this month :)

Just finished The Day of the Triffids and loved it! Probably my favorite from the list so far.

Sula - I think this would have been better if I didn't listen to the audio. Toni Morrisons voice is not suited to it. Either that or they needed to do some post production raising of the volume.

Because of the faintness I know I missed a lot of the subtleties of the work and was sometimes lost during dramatic events. Accordingly it was harder to lose myself and I think I probably could have under different circumstances. It says a lot for her writing that even suffering under these conditions I still liked the book a great deal.

3 1/2 stars

”You'll never live to wed his niece. You'll only die to feed his geese.” - The 13 Clocks

A fine little story. Goodreads has it at 128 pages, but it is more like 50 pages. It is like a cross-over between Dr Suess and “Once apon a time....”

Mekki wrote: "I finished Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood. I thought it was a great. So far i've read 3 of the 6 books atwood has on the list and i've been verify satisfied."

I read this book probably at least 15 years ago and at that time thought it was just okay. I really want to read it again though - I suspect I'd probably appreciate it more now.

I just finished Cutter and Bone. It has such a high rating that I expected a lot but I was quite disappointed. It starts quite well but then it just got extremely boring. I guess noir just isn't my kind of thing.

The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie.

It wasn't an easy read, but I loved it. Fascinating, thought-provoking, a real mind-stretcher for me.

Here's my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I just finished Watchmen. It was much more thought provoking than I thought it was going to be. After reading this, I know the difference between DC and Marvel comics! Haha!

I finished Cause for Alarm. Very good early thriller. It made me realize what a broad variety is represented on the list.

A Question of Upbringing - 1/12

An excellent start.

3 stars

Nicola wrote: "A Question of Upbringing - 1/12

An excellent start.

3 stars"

I like how you listed your goal and progress in there.

I just finished The Dispossessed 8/50, and I thought it was really well done. I really enjoy reading the more philosophical classic science fiction.

Dichotomy Girl wrote: I like how you listed your goal and progress in there.

I just finished The Dispossessed 8/50, and I thought it was really well done. I really enjoy reading the more philosophical classic science fiction. "

Thanks but I think you may have misunderstood my 1/12. The 1001 book list has 'A Dance to the Music of Time' which is a 12 volume set of books. I am going to read one a month so I'll be reading it throughout the year. I'm just noting which one I'm currently on in my 'what I've just finished' note.

My 2015 goal is 200 books of which I'm wanting to make about 89 or so 1001 list books.

News from Nowhere by William Morris

I finished Watchmen a few days ago and was blown away by it. Such an intriguing and introspective graphic novel. Alan Moore really puts a spin on what a "superhero comic" can be and subsequently turns it on its head. I believe it can turn a nonbeliever into a comic junkie.

Just finished 1984 and really enjoyed it, though it did drag a bit in some parts. Glad that I finally got to it!

Ellinor wrote: "I just finished Cutter and Bone. It has such a high rating that I expected a lot but I was quite disappointed. It starts quite well but then it just got extremely boring. I guess noir..."

I felt the same way.

Finished The Shadow-Line: A Confession by Joseph Conrad.

I just finished Everything That Rises Must Converge: Stories. It was quite dark, and I had a hard time with the extremely liberal use of the "N" word. I understand that the stories were written during the 50's and 60's, and the racist people were usually shown in a negative light, but it was still too much for me.

Finished Rabbit, Run last week. Harry Angstrom, the "hero", is certainly one the most unlikable characters ever. Yet what a great book.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland Illustrated and Through the Looking Glass: With Lewis Carroll's original illustrations--which actually counts as 2 books!

I just finished A Boy's Own Story and A Hero of Our Time. I really liked both. The first one is a coming of age story just as I like it. The second one was entirely not what I expected and I was surprised to read such a novel written by a Russian.

The War of the Worlds A classic, perhaps even the most classic book in science fiction. But is it worth reading today? H. G. Wells is a great writer, but 120 years has pasted now. The though of flying is no longer a marvel and in many ways the book has become old. The funny thing is that it somehow becomes part of the reading experience. So the first Martians land on earth - but DAYS go by and some people still hasn't heard it, because they don't read the papers on weekends!! I enjoyed reading it, but if you are only going to read one H.G. Wells book then pick The Time Machine or The Invisible Man (I have also read The Island of Dr. Moreau and The First Men in the Moon).

After reading the book I read the Wikipeadia page on it (don't do it before – it is full of spoilers). “Wells's vision of a war bringing total destruction without moral limitations in The War of the Worlds were not taken seriously by readers at the time of publication.“ Also noticeable is the use of chemical weapons and the military talking about trenches (we are 20 years before WWI).

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes... Much more even work than the two first Holmes books, but I still felt like the characters explained too much in some of the short stories - would rather see SH deduce away!
Still worthy of 4 stars though.