Kristel continues to read 1001 in 2019
Charlas1001 Books to read before you die
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1Kristelh
I was at 490 at the end of 2018.
First of the year
491. Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Enjoyed this one. I liked the blogs with insights into social commentary on race, etc.
First of the year
491. Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Enjoyed this one. I liked the blogs with insights into social commentary on race, etc.
2arukiyomi
bogs? I don't remember descriptions of any toilets or marshy areas ;-)
Trying hard to figure out what that typo was meant to be
Trying hard to figure out what that typo was meant to be
3Helenliz
>2 arukiyomi: Very good! blogs, maybe?
I read this last year and enjoyed it as well. A very different perspective and it's good to be exposed to other views.
I read this last year and enjoyed it as well. A very different perspective and it's good to be exposed to other views.
5Kristelh
492. A Severed Head by Iris Murdoch, a real soap opera of a novel. Not my favorite by her.
6Kristelh
493. after the quake by Haruki Murakami, a set of short stories all set in February 1995 between Kobe earthquake and Tokyo gas attack.
7Kristelh
494. London Fields by Martin Amis, interesting, creative.
9Kristelh
495. Tale of a Tub by Swift (2 stars)
496. Auto-Da-Fé by Canetti 4 stars
497. A Dry White Season Brink. 3 stars.
Both were good books all in all.
496. Auto-Da-Fé by Canetti 4 stars
497. A Dry White Season Brink. 3 stars.
Both were good books all in all.
10Kristelh
498. Billy Budd, Sailor by Melville enjoyed.
12Kristelh
500. Dead Souls by Nikoli Gogol 4 stars
501. Drop City by C. W. Boyle, 3 stars
502. Sometimes a Great Notion by Ken Kesey. I really liked this 4 stars.
501. Drop City by C. W. Boyle, 3 stars
502. Sometimes a Great Notion by Ken Kesey. I really liked this 4 stars.
15MartinBodek
Congratulations on reaching the halfway mark!
18Kristelh
501. The Portrait of a Lady Henry James. I loved this one, best of Henry James that I've read.
19arukiyomi
It's probably the only enjoyable one... I certainly haven't found another that comes anywhere near close.
20ELiz_M
>19 arukiyomi: Hahaha! I haven't enjoyed any of the James I've read. It's good to know at least one of them is okay.
21arukiyomi
BTW, it's prob a good idea to read The Master by Toibin before picking up any James. It at least makes you more sympathetic.
22Kristelh
>21 arukiyomi: I read The Master by Toibin. I really liked it.
24Kristelh
503. Cider House Rules John Irving. A good one.
504. Slow Man by Coetzee, I liked it but Coetzee has had to grow on me. Read Elizabeth Costello before this one.
505. Wise Children Angela Carter. A good one.
506. Pale Fire Nabokov. Probably his greatest book, better than Lolita.
507. Trawl by B. S. Johnson a whole lot of regurgitation
504. Slow Man by Coetzee, I liked it but Coetzee has had to grow on me. Read Elizabeth Costello before this one.
505. Wise Children Angela Carter. A good one.
506. Pale Fire Nabokov. Probably his greatest book, better than Lolita.
507. Trawl by B. S. Johnson a whole lot of regurgitation
26Kristelh
>25 arukiyomi:, it is a more sophisticated work with a unique structure. Lolita is good but Pale Fire is Nabokov at his best.
28Kristelh
508. Vile Bodies , okay
509. Born in Exile George Gissing -- liked this one
510 Summer by Edith Wharton (not as good as some of her others, but liked it, interesting mirror characters.
509. Born in Exile George Gissing -- liked this one
510 Summer by Edith Wharton (not as good as some of her others, but liked it, interesting mirror characters.
29Kristelh
511. Cat and Mouse by Günter Grass
31Kristelh
513. Another World by Pat Barker
32Kristelh
514. They Shoot Horses, Don't They Horace McCoy. Enjoyed this quick read about a topic I knew little about. Dance Marathons of the Great Depression. Noir crime novel that is also existentialist.
34Kristelh
2020 continues to read 1001
First book finished for 2020
516. Memory of Fire by Eduardo Galeano. Must read book of history of Americas from Uruguayan perspective.
First book finished for 2020
516. Memory of Fire by Eduardo Galeano. Must read book of history of Americas from Uruguayan perspective.
35Kristelh
517. Under the Volcano by Malcolm Lowry Takes a bit of concentration, deserves a reread.
36Kristelh
518. The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas, entertaining historical fiction/adventure.
37Kristelh
519. The Grass is Singing by Doris Lessing, a book about the deterioration of a woman, set in Rhodesia. 4.2 stars
38Kristelh
520. The Red and the Black by Stendhal. Stendhal not my favorite author but recently had been studying about reformation/post reformation so reading the book had context for me. I don't necessarily agree that our author is an expert on love but this historical, political satire is also a book of romance with a unlikable, inconsistent narrator who doesn't know what he wants.
39Kristelh
521. Germinal by Emile Zola. This was one that I liked. Story of coal strike in Northern France.
40Kristelh
522. Vathek by William Beckford. A short work by 21 y/o William Beckford combines Gothic novel and Orientalism.
41Kristelh
523. Amok by Stefan Zweig short work, quick read, psychological study of a man that has run amok.
42Kristelh
524. The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo. A defense of Architecture as story and the story of a hunchback, gypsy, and the archduke. And one must not forget the Vagabonds.
43Kristelh
525. The Midnight Examiner by William Kotzwinkle. 3 Stars read, I do appreciate the writing/book.
44Kristelh
526. The Flamethrowers by Rachel Kushner, rated this one 3.2. No doubt author can write. I liked a lot of the statements and the amount of topics she covers in over the top. Historical fiction, romance or at least about love, about art, coming of age story. Set in late 60/early 70s but also WWI, rubber harvesting in the Amazon, speed trials in the salt flats. You name it, it might be in this book.
45Kristelh
527. The Go-Between by L.P. Hartley. A coming of age book that really captures that transition from childhood innocence to adolescent/adulthood awareness of flawed nature of humans. 3.6 stars. On my shelf since 2012.
46Kristelh
530. The Great Indian Novel by Shashi Tharoor. This is a good one. Epic humorous look at Indian History from the British Rule to independence (Indira Ghandi).
47Kristelh
531. The Glimpses of the Moon by Edith Wharton
48Kristelh
532. The Razor's Edge by W. Somerset Maugham. 4 stars. Enjoyed it. Character study.
49Kristelh
533. A Heart So White by Javier Marias, I know a lot of people like this one. I did not like it that much.
50Kristelh
534. Where Angels Fear to Tread by E. M. Forster. debut novel, cultural clash
51Kristelh
535. Austerlitz by W.G. Sebald this one deserves a second read.
52Kristelh
536. White Teeth by Zadie Smith, I liked this one quite a bit. I thought is was a great debut novel that had a lot going for it. I agree that there were parts where I think it dragged and those could have probably been deleted and not hurt anything in the book. She covered a lot in the book. Loved the use of teeth as symbol. Themes of identity. Play on words for past, future.
53Kristelh
537. The Return of the Soldier by Rebecca West (5 star book for me).
54Kristelh
538. A Handful of Dust by Evelyn Waugh. 4.2 stars.
55Kristelh
539. Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens, not my favorite Dickens but Dickens at his norm of writing about social injustice.
56Kristelh
540. She: a history of Adventure by H. Rider Haggard. Not my favorite author on the list but his books led the way for the development of the novel in many areas and deserves the place on the 1001 list.
57Kristelh
541. Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift. Satire. Written in 1700s continues to be timely.
59Kristelh
543. The Book of Disquiet: the complete edition by Fernando Pessoa Ugh, painful to read, not a novel, published posthumously from a trunk full of ramblings. Rating less than 1 star.
60Kristelh
544. Contact by Carl Sagan. Struggled to read it the first time but now I have it done. I enjoyed it more than I expected.
61arukiyomi
> 59 ... I didn't think much of it either! http://arukiyomi.com/?p=6926
62Kristelh
545. The Breast by Philip Roth This is a short novella by Philip Roth and like Kafka and Gogol, the narrator becomes something else. He becomes a 155 lb female breast. While a cockroach is disgusting and a nose would be odd at least it doesn't require clothing, a breast is sexual and generally kept covered. I will quote, "Roth has a genius for making everything potentially beautiful and joyful filthy and disgusting. . . . Roth writes dirty books, not pornography." https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper.... There is a good deal of sexual writing that I did not appreciate. The question is, did Roth write this to make some quick money, did he sit down and think, I can write something like Kafka and Gogol. Not long. Fast to the publisher. The Breast is concluded with a poem by Rainer Maria Rilke, "Archaic Torso of Apollo". The last line, "You must change your life." The breast is an object, a thing that really is just passive. It is not fully human. The breast cannot communicate much on how it feels other than arousal. To live life, you must become more that a statue, you must be active, make changes. Rating 2.5
64Kristelh
546. A Girl is a Half-formed Thing, by Irish author Eimear McBride who writes with thought clouds, incongruent and absent punctuation, made up words to tell the family story of a young girl and her older brother diagnosed with cancer. A hard story to read both for the style and the subject matter.
65Kristelh
547. finished The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann. I own the book, and I decided to listen to the audio. It was good. A lot of philosophy and social/political musings. Thoughts about time, death, and deterioration of family. Also micro culture of the sanitorium in the Alps.
66Kristelh
548. Finished The Vice-Consul by Marguerite Duras, 3.2 stars.
68Kristelh
550. Melmoth The Wanderer, Charles Maturin, classic gothic transition novel, too long. 3.6 stars
551. At Swim, Two Boys by Jamie O'Neill, (2001), historical gay romance. 3.6 stars
551. At Swim, Two Boys by Jamie O'Neill, (2001), historical gay romance. 3.6 stars
69Kristelh
552. Money: A Suicide Note pornography/profanity.
553. Our Mutual Friend Dickens at his best. Last book from 1001 by author
553. Our Mutual Friend Dickens at his best. Last book from 1001 by author
70Kristelh
554. Uncle Silas by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu early mystery horror, locked door mystery.
71Kristelh
555. The Sea, the Sea Iris Murdoch, typical Murdoch, 500 plus pages
556. Martin Fiero by Jose Hernandez (epic poem), not my favorite thing
556. Martin Fiero by Jose Hernandez (epic poem), not my favorite thing