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I just came across this '1001 books to read before you die' list and so now I'm going to highlight the ones I've read and possibly take note of the ones I haven't read. I'm into goals. But, we'll see.
- Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro
- Saturday - Ian McEwan
- On Beauty - Zadie Smith
- Slow Man - J.M. Coetzee
- Adjunct: An Undigest - Peter Manson
What did you think of The Corrections? Have you read anything else by him?
I hear a lot about Margaret Atwood. Worth checking out?
"The Unbearable Lightness of Being - Milan Kundera" - I hear a lot of conflicting things about this as well... thoughts? I'm considering it...but...
"Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole" I HATED this book! Most over rated book ever!
"The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy" I'll be reading this soon as I get a lot of questions about Sci Fi, owning an online bookstore and all. I am generally bored by Sci Fi.
"Song of Solomon" God, I'm so not a Toni fan!
"Interview With the Vampire" I haven't read this, but I did make out with a girl for the first time during a the movie!
"Breakfast of Champions" Thoughts on Vonnegut? This was the first Vonnegut book that I didn't love.
"The Bell Jar" I LOVED this!
"To Kill a Mockingbird" - also adored this!
"Henderson the Rain King - Saul Bellow" I haven't read this but loved Humboldt's gift. I want to read more Bellow.
"Breakfast at Tiffany’s - Truman Capote" same as above, substitute Humboldt's Gift with In Cold Blood.
"Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov" Arg, I was NOT into this.
"Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck" I know you hate Grapes of Wrath (which I love) but what did you think of this? I loved it, as I have everything I've read by Steinbeck.
"Tender is the Night - F. Scott Fitzgerald" I HATE The Great Gatsby with the fire of a 1,000 suns so I can't imagine reading anything else by this hack.
"A Farewell to Arms - Ernest Hemingway" Only read The Old Man and the Sea but he comes up a lot when I'm reading Cuba stuff.
"Steppenwolf - Herman Hesse" I HATED Siddartha. Like, woah. Bore me to sleep, thanks!
Ethan Frome - Edith Wharton I read "The Age of Innocence" by her which I was quite taken with.
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll - this kind of bored me.
Great Expectations - Charles Dickens - not a fan of Dickens.
The Scarlet Letter - Nathaniel Hawthorne - read this in high school. Possibly missed the point? Worth a re-read?
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Husbear and I are off to the store.
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Atwood: I've only read that one, and it was ages ago. Everyone seems to love her, though, and I really wanted to read Oryx and Crake, or whatevs, but never got around to it.
Kundera's Being: Either I didn't get it, or it was an overrated snoozefest, only appealing to horny males.
Confederacy of Dunces: I wonder who it was that said it was one of their favorite books. I thought it was you. I don't know why I finished it. Some of it was okay, but I hated every fucking character. Maybe that was the point, but it didn't make me want to extol its virtues.
Hitchhiker's Guide: I don't understand the appeal. I didn't think it was funny, I thought it was stupid. It seemed like a weak impression of Vonnegut, at best.
Morrison: I like The Bluest Eye a whole bunch. Don't remember much about Solomon. As far as serious fiction by and about black folk go, the former is pretty much lovely.
Interview/Anne Rice: She's a fucking retard, with minor writing skillz. Still, I read 5 of those fucking books. Go figure.
I like Vonnegut, but haven't read any in awhile, and think I only breezed through about 5 books, truth be told. Breakfast is definitely not my favorite. Liked the Welcome to the Monkey House collection the most, I think. And Cat's Cradle, of course, speaking of sci-fi.
Bell Jar: I really wish she would have killed herself in the end. Oh, wait.
Mockingbird: Ditto. I scoff @ people who don't recognize this as fantastic.
2nding the Bellow. Henderson is all I've read, but I need to read more. I just need the time for the intellectual commitment it requires.
Capote: I enjoyed Breakfast @ Tiffany's but have no desire to read In Cold Blood. Dunno why.
Lolita: I cannot tell I lie. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I want to read more Nabokov, as I hear he's a master of the English language.
Steinbeck. I've only read Wrath, Mice/Men, and The Pearl. Hate, Like, Only person who didn't hate.
Gatsby? C'mon. That shit is FIERCE!
Hemingway: I don't think I like him. Read A Movable Feast and some short stories and just cannot stand how masculine he is. Maybe I'm just jealous of something I lack, but I don't think so. My apathy for him is right up there w/ Salinger and that Cather in the Rye nonsense.
Herman Hesse: I dunno. I read them all so long ago, when I was another me.
Ethan Frome: I'd like to reread that one. I haven't read it since high school, but I fucking loved that shit to bits, then. I should really read some more Wharton.
Alice: ditto
Dickens: I liked Oliver Twist quite a bit, back in the day. Great Expectations was okay.
The Scarlet Letter used to be one of my favorites, but I too read it in high school. I loved the Pearl character (her daughter), despite everyone screaming about how flat she was. I'd read it again, just to be sure.
Also: read The Road, already.
I'm currently reading some Young Adult gay superhero nonsense recommended by Craigers' sister-in-law. It's good for a sporadic laugh, and one of the characters could have been, but isn't great, mostly because they didn't focus more on her. Otherwise it's rather ho-hum.
I've just ordered Tim Findley's Spadework, because I was too lazy to order Not Wanted on the Voyage, which I'd prefer to read (both also suggested by the S-I-L). Daughter Buffalo by Janet Frame is sitting behind me (it'll be the first of her works I've read, same w/ Salmon Rushdie:), Haroun and the Sea of Stories is waiting on the bedroom bookshelf.
Also, I repurchased The Road (I must have given it away when I moved, wtf) and am planning on reading it aloud to Craigers.
Have you heard of it?
:P
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However! An actual response (sober even!)
The Corrections was one of those books where when I finished it I genuinely missed the characters. "Strong Motion" was great "The Twenty-Seventh City" is one of the best first novels I've read but "How to Be Alone : Essays" made me want to punch him in the face. Turns out he's kind of an asshole.
"Confederacy of Dunces: I wonder who it was that said it was one of their favorite books. I thought it was you. I don't know why I finished it. Some of it was okay, but I hated every fucking character. Maybe that was the point, but it didn't make me want to extol its virtues."
Yes, I also hated them all. More importantly, I didn't think it was funny, at all, like people kept telling me it was.
"I like Vonnegut, but haven't read any in awhile, and think I only breezed through about 5 books, truth be told. Breakfast is definitely not my favorite. Liked the Welcome to the Monkey House collection the most, I think. And Cat's Cradle, of course, speaking of sci-fi."
You might want to check out "A Man Without a Country". It's pretty recent, a quick read and pretty brilliant. Also, they just released a new book last week. It's sitting on my desk staring at me right now. I hear it's good.
"2nding the Bellow. Henderson is all I've read, but I need to read more. I just need the time for the intellectual commitment it requires."
This is exactly how I feel about him. I loved it but I'm in a pattern now where I'm reading 3 or 4 books at once and I don't think that would work with him. He's pretty intensive.
"Capote: I enjoyed Breakfast @ Tiffany's but have no desire to read In Cold Blood. Dunno why."
It's one of those books that if it'd been written by anyone else I would have hated it. Zero interest in the story. But damn, that dude can write.
"Also: read The Road, already."
I ORDERED IT TWO MINUTES AFTER READING THIS COMMENT. Which was like a week ago or something crazy. In any case, it's on its way!
What's the deal with Janet Frame? That's the second time you've brought her up. Worth checking out? I hadn't heard of her before you. I realize you just said you haven't read her yet, but what's the deal?
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