Reading 1001 discussion

This may not be appropriate so just delete if needed. I want to try to read more books in 1001 book list. I'd also like to set myself up for success. Can someone leave comments about what books they believe to more accessible to the average reader.

In advance thank you.

Just don't let the big names intimidate you. This is in fact not an "artsy-fartsy literature that will drive you nuts" list but a "books you might actually enjoy if you give them a try" list. Lots of the books are not only readable but... well, fun. And easy is probably a very individual thing... It might be best to rather choose by topic and plot?

Wolf wrote: "Just don't let the big names intimidate you. This is in fact not an "artsy-fartsy literature that will drive you nuts" list but a "books you might actually enjoy if you give them a try" list. Lots ..."

I'm afraid I have to disagree with Wolf, if only in part. Some of the stuff on the list is in fact "artsy-fartsy literature that will drive you nuts." (Beckett anyone? Proust? Joyce? And I liked Ulysses, but it is not even close to easy reading. Lord save us, Bellow?) Then there is the stuff that leaves me feeling like I need a shower after I finish. But for every horrible read off this list I have read several amazingly good books and as Wolf says, easy, like everything else, is very individualistic.

That said - I took a look at my book shelf, in order of rating and most of my five star ratings are off this list. Some suggestions:
The History of Love (It can take a little effort to figure out the shifting narrators, but well worth the effort.)
The White Tiger (Excellent story about modern India.)
Half of a Yellow Sun (Extraordinary story about the Biafran war.)
A Suitable Boy Warning, this is a VERY long book (almost 1500 pages) and I don't think it is available in an e-version, but again, I think it is worth it.
Animal's People Language and subject matter in this book are not for everyone.
The Little Prince A children's book for children of all ages.
The Big Sleep - great crime fiction - you can just about smell the cheap cigars and stale whiskey
Quo Vadis
Cryptonomicon - Scifi thriller
Memento Mori
The Name of the Rose - Medieval murder mystery, probably Eco's most accessible book.
Cancer Ward - brilliant book by an amazingly courageous author. A shorter introduction to his work is One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich
Cannery Row
Things Fall Apart
To Kill a Mockingbird - possibly the best book written by an American author.
You can't go wrong with Charles Dickens, most of his work is quite readable. Same with Wilkie Collins and Mary Barton.

Otherwise, I would suggest that you read the short little blurbs that Kristel compiles for our consideration each month and, like Wolf suggests, choose one that sounds interesting based on the topic. I am reading A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian from this month and it is an easy and reasonably enjoyable read so far. Others can chime in on Solaris and Midaq Alley.

I have not included Shoah literature in my recommendations because of the difficulty of the subject matter, but almost all of the literature on the list that covers the subject matter is excellent. Deserving special mention is pretty much anything by Primo Levi and Jacob the Liar by Becker.

I would also suggest, Lynn, that you join the discussion if you read a BOTM with us - it really does help everyone get more out of the books. Comments don't need to be long or involved, just dive right in.

I didn't want to sound boastful. Of course there are also books on the list that are pretty tough. Top of the bunch is probably Finnegans Wake ... I've heard long-time scholars of literature admit that they don't get it and apparently that was pretty much what Joyce intended. But lots of the others are just intimidating because they cross our path with this label of "Great Literature" attached and are not any harder than something you pick all by yourself. And when you read it in your spare time, you are not obliged to understand every single line and draw every last conclusion, you can just focus on the parts that make sense for you and have something to offer to you personally.

Anyway, here are some more suggestions:
The Hobbit and The Once and Future King, also supposed to be children's books, but are in fact so much more
Watchmen, which is a Graphic novel (comics are easy, right? ;) )
The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, Anna Karenina and North and South which are long but drew me in so far that I didn't mind (as apparently happens to many people with Jane Austen's books, but, alas, not to me)
And I don't quite agree with John on Proust. I admit, I haven't read a whole book so far, but that's due to me finding the passages I read so beautiful and great that I'm afraid I won't be able to stop and read nothing else for about a year. :)
What I completely agree on is his recommendation of A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian. I'm going to reread this myself these days. Let's meet in the discussion!

Anna Karenina will be a seasonal read this year. You could join us when we read that one, I think it is either 3rd or 4th. I recommend picking one of the BOTM this month. They all are readable books. If you like Sci Fi Solaris, if you want to read award winning world literature then I recommend Midaq Alley, if you want to read a book about Eastern Europeans, immigration, aging, then A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian.

What about Ian McEwan or Haruki Murakami they have a lot of books on the list and they are good reads IMO :)

Other authors that you may know and are "easy to read" from the list:
Austen
Alcott
Adams, Douglas
Spark
Twain
Amis, Kingsley
Angelou
Thurber (children's books and more)
Atwood
Bronte - all of them
Capote
Childers, Erskine
Carroll (children's books and so much more)
Christie
Collins, Wilkie
Edgeworth, Maria
Eliot, George
Hammett

and I could go on and on....

Book wrote: "What about Ian McEwan or Haruki Murakami they have a lot of books on the list and they are good reads IMO :)"

I agree on Murakami - my wife and I still ask each other how many moons we see. I've only read 1 McEwan so far and was less than impressed.

Wolf wrote: "And I don't quite agree with John on Proust. "

But you have to agree that Proust is the epitomy of "artsy fartsy literature," right? :-) We read it in the group two years ago - I finished the first two volumes and could never bring myself to pick up volume 3. It should come up again in the Annual Read rotation in about 10 or 12 years, which seems about right for another try.

Thank you to everyone for your replies. I appreciate your insight and experience. I'll try to get in there and participate too.

I love Murakami but never try to spread that love any more. Apparently people either love or hate him and I can never tell in advance.

McEwan: I'm listening to Atonement and so far it reminds me depressingly of Jane Austen.

Proust: How can I argue with you having read so much more of it than me, John? But you really make me want to finally start reading it. For me, he's definitely not the epitomy. He's still telling a recognizeable story after all, isn't he? I was thinking more along the lines of "art for art's sake" like Dada or some (post-)modern poetry or whatever else you can think of that's pure language or so metafictional and intertextual that it makes your head spin.

Lynn, I found that, for me, the best thing to do is to go to the library or a used book store (I've also been surprised to find some of the books at thrift stores and library stores), pick up a few and see if you think you'll like them. My local library has a lot of the books on the list, and I live in a small town. I will honestly say that I didn't expect to like some of the books (Rushdie's works come to mind), but ended up being pleasantly surprised!

Wolf wrote: "I was thinking more along the lines of "art for art's sake" like Dada or some (post-)modern poetry or whatever else you can think of that's pure language or so metafictional and intertextual that it makes your head spin. "

Yeah. Beckett. Worstward Ho.

Others in the group loved Proust, but he just didn't do it for me. I listened to a Great Courses course on literature once that said to give a book 50 pages and if it's not working for you, move on. But if a lot of people love it, come back to it in five or ten years and give it another try - it may just be that you weren't in the right place to get anything out of it. We have the Points Challenge here, so I can rarely actually do that, being more than just a little competitive, but it's good advice.

Tracy wrote: "Lynn, I found that, for me, the best thing to do is to go to the library or a used book store (I've also been surprised to find some of the books at thrift stores and library stores), pick up a few..."

I've scored over a hundred off the list from thrift stores and library sales in the last few months. My wife was delighted at how little money I was spending until I suggested maybe we needed more built in bookcases.

John wrote: "Tracy wrote: "Lynn, I found that, for me, the best thing to do is to go to the library or a used book store (I've also been surprised to find some of the books at thrift stores and library stores),..."
Heehee! I want to go to those sales- you've scored big!

Or Artsy (experimental) like our upcoming seasonal read of House of Leaves. I recently obtained this book and hmmm.

Kristel wrote: "Or Artsy (experimental) like our upcoming seasonal read of House of Leaves. I recently obtained this book and hmmm."

I saw it at a bookstore and flipped through the pages - that confirmed my decision not to read that one.

Midaq Alley (for this month's book) is an easy read. As others have mentioned it's all relative. Here are a few books I found to be very accessible. I didn't love all of them but I found them easy reading.

The Day of the Triffids by Wyndham
A Fine Balance by Mistry (loved this book)
Sherlock Holmes books (there are two on the list)
Cold Comfort Farm
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Christie
Alice in Wonderland & Through the looking glass
Murder Must Advertise by Sayers
Thank you, Jeeves
Chocky by Wyndham
The Passion by Winterson (because I loved it)
The 13 Clocks
I Robot by Asimov
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
Anything by Douglas Adams
Mrs "Arris Goes to Paris
The Curious - incident of the dog in the night time
If you like magical realism then anything by Haruki Murakami (I do love him but not for everyone as Wolf mentioned).

I would also agree that you shouldn't be intimidated by books/authors that might sound less accessible. I wouldn't start with Proust or Joyce but you might surprise yourself in enjoying work you thought less accessible.

And that was Jen. Sorry, forgot to log out off shelf personality.