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

Hi Everyone!

I am amazed at how large this group has gotten! (biggest group on goodreads!) When I started it I thought there would only be a few nuts like myself that wanted to take on this goal. Boy, how wrong I was!

So, in celebration of having over 3000 people in the group (yes, it happened a while ago...but I was busy). I've decided that we need a fun contest!

A few months ago, Rachelle Rogers Knight asked me to review a book of hers that she thought was perfect for this group. I agreed. However, I have gotten so busy that I haven't had the time to actually post a decent review of the book (sorry Rachelle!). The book is called Read, Remember, Recommend; A Reading Journal for Book Lovers.

She sent me a copy, but I want to give it to someone that will show it the respect it needs and post a review for the group!

Here is what I propose:

Post a haiku or limerick (the only forms of poetry I can handle) about this group, the 1001 book or something along the same lines to this thread and I will choose a winner to get the book. I will choose the winner based on the haiku or limerick that I liked the most! (Which can be totally arbitrary depending on the mood I’m in that day!)

The deadline for submission is August 10th, 2008 at 6 PM Pacific Time.

Have fun!

-Kim (the management)

omg this was a HUGE mistake...am addicted to writing silly haikus! here's a start...

thousand and one books
laughing and mocking me, cry
read me if you can

wow, that about sums up what I hear every time i step into the bookstore. very good!

Wherever there are books to the ceiling
That's where we'll always be stealing
With the book club's suggestions
We'll enjoy the digressions
And our minds will ne'er be congealing.

There's always a book in my hand
Be I on couch, train, chair or beach sand.
I'm never alone
For with characters I'm prone
To imagine myself off to far lands.

All very good!

Nice haiku, Rob.

LOL, these are great!

PS, multiple entries are definitely allowed! =)

i can't write haikus or limericks, but i just want to say i am so happy to have found so many book geeks like me. :) these are so good!

the leaves of my book
float down the streams of my mind
whispering to me

joyce, faulkner, and woolf
unintelligible lines.
he died at the end?

The moment that I crease the spine
of a book mayhap purchased on line.
I'm carried away
from the cares of the day
By the words that were crafted so fine.

Now here's a fun assignment! Here's my submission!

Oh I know that it's past time to sleep
But these pages compel me to keep
Reading books from the list
Not a one may be missed
The size of the task makes me weep.

absorbed in a book,
experiencing the world
through another's eyes.

a contest sitting
still, quietly awaiting
the next clever post.

Thanks everyone for participating! I loved reading them all!

And the winner is...

*drum roll*

Rob with his haiku:

thousand and one books
laughing and mocking me, cry
read me if you can

Congrats Rob!

It was a very hard decision...cause I also reallllly liked Jessica's limerick because it's just so true. =)

Oh I know that it's past time to sleep
But these pages compel me to keep
Reading books from the list
Not a one may be missed
The size of the task makes me weep.

Congratulations Rob! I really liked that haiku as well. And Jessica, your limerick is very catchy!
Congrats again!!!

Hi guys -

I just joined today...where can I get a copy of this spreadsheet that is so popular? Please point me to the right post.

Thanks!
Kristin

Thanks so much! I received the book today and I will definitely review it and post a review here I guess.

I also loved all the other entries by jessica, maureen, and sarah!

I was absolutely DYING to write a limerick, but all I could come up with was...

"There once was a man from Nantucket,
whose books he would keep in a bucket.
He would spend all his day,
reading away,
so his wife left him and moved to Pawtucket"

Here is my review of:

"Read, Remember, and Recommend", A Reading Journal for Book Lovers, Created by Rachelle Rogers Knight.

I think this is a great idea and a fun and useful reading journal and more! And to tell you the truth (dare I?)...I think anyone would do a lot better using this journal (which includes many great book lists and award winners) as a source of your lifetime reading instead of 1001 Books. (Do I really have to read 7 JG Ballard books before I die? SEVEN??)

Personally, I have never seen anything so well organized and put-together. I have dozens and dozens of book-lists and always have trouble keeping track of the books I've read and the books I want to read. RRR really is very well thought out to help bibliophiles keep track of their books.

RRR is a medium-sized, spiral-bound, paperback journal with the following sections:

Awards Lists: This section has about 14 different awards lists, including Pulitzer Prize, Man Booker Prize, National Book Award, Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award and many others. Every list contains the year, author, and title of the winning book. Every list also has check-boxes for if you own the book, recommend the book, want to read the book, and/or want to own the book.

Notable Lists: This section has about 16 different notable reading lists such as the Modern Library 100 Best Novels, the BBC Top 100 Novels, Oprah's Book Club Choices, Madison Public Library Readable Classics, and many others. Every list also contains author, title, and publication date, along with all the check-boxes to easily keep track of what you've read and what you want to read from each list.

Then comes the journaling section of RRR:

-Author Section to jot down favorite authors, book titles, and notes, as well as the check-boxes for each book.
-To-Read Section to jot down the title, author, and notes of books you would like to read.
-Biblio Pages Section to jot down thoughts and feelings about specific books - there's a sub-section for "Passages To Remember" and "Comments and Thoughts".
-Recommendation Section where you can jot down title, author, and specific people you would like to recommend to book to.
-Loaner Section to jot down books you've loaded out or borrowed from someone else.
-References and Resource Section.

So all-in-all I give "Read, Remember, and Recommend", A Reading Journal for Book Lovers, by Rachelle Rogers Knight, an enthusiastic THUMBS-UP, and I also encourage people to buy this journal and use it as your main source of lifetime reading.

Rob

Rob: Thanks for the great review. I think you would also enjoy "The King's English: Adventures of an Independent Bookseller" by Betsy Burton (2005, Gibbs Smith, publisher) It contains info about running an independent bookstore and funny stories about guest authors and LOTS of great lists of books from various booksellers. Lots of regional favorites, quite interesting.

Wow. RRR sounds like a great reading journal! Thanks for the review, Rob.

Karey

P.S. I hope you don't mind, Rob, but I just posted your review on the book review for RRR.