Books The BOOK thread

Nickosaur said:
Absolutely!

Just read As I Lay Dying. The language used by Faulkner, along with the constant change of tone for each character (and their various motives), made it quite difficult to get through at times. Still, I enjoyed it.
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Good man. It's a tricky one, but worth the effort. If you want more Faulkner that's nicely linear, I'd point you at "Light in August".
 
Finished The Library of Shadows by Mikkel Birkegaard. I really liked the very beginning but the more I read, the more I was thinking I was reading one of those not really good novels that are mostly appealing to the people that don't read much, until I really didn't care. Finished it because I read too many pages to stop now. Still not sure if I don't care about the book or I dislike it. Wonder if it's the french translation that misleaded me at first.

Finished Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes. Interesting but not really pleasant to read. Ambivalent ending since the experience had some good results in some ways but bad in others. One of the rare books I knew most of the story, even the end, because I read it discussed in other books.
 
I've started to get back into reading. I used to read a good bit when I was younger but that was Harry Potter and likes, and then I started to read a lot less and exclusively sports books. In the last while I've read Catcher in they Rye, The Great Gatsby and nineteen eighty four and loved them all, nineteen eighty four especially.

So what's next? You can pretty much assume I haven't read anything.
 
Just finished 'The Martian' I really enjoyed it, looking forward to the movie now later in the year.
 
A list. Let's check. I don't even know half of the titles. I have only read 12 of them, DNFed 2 of them.
So that's the best novels of 1923-2005, according two authors.

This link may be easier to get names and authors.
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/2681.Time_Magazine_s_All_Time_100_Novels

For fun, another list (older titles, more mixed, more well-known though I don't remember having heard about this Balzac title)
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/20403.The_Guardian_s_100_greatest_novels_of_all_time

And two others:
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/13086.Goodreads_Top_100_Literary_Novels_of_All_Time
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/9440.100_Best_Books_of_All_Time_The_World_Library_List

Otherwise Animal Farm or The Metamorphosis by Kafka are interesting readings. Don't you want genre books like fantasy, SF ?


I have read the five first pages of À la recherche du temps perdu by Marcel Proust. I don't feel I get it. Well I understand but I am not interested at all.
 
celia said:
I have read the five first pages of À la recherche du temps perdu by Marcel Proust. I don't feel I get it. Well I understand but I am not interested at all.
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I've read those same five pages at least a dozen times and never progressed.
 
Mciahel Goodman said:
Great novel. In fact, the two greatest dystopian novels ever written, with the other connection being that Huxley was Orwell's school master at Eton.
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Fahrenheit 451 is another good read which is a bit like 1984. I really enjoyed it. I've finished reading Runaway by Lucy Irvine and Gilead not sure who wrote it. I enjoyed both.
 
Stick said:
Fahrenheit 451 is another good read which is a bit like 1984. I really enjoyed it. I've finished reading Runaway by Lucy Irvine and Gilead not sure who wrote it. I enjoyed both.
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I agree, Fahrenheit 451 is a great read -- Ray Bradbury only died recently enough as well. Have never read Runway, will have a look though.

MJJ said:
Someone recommend me a good book please, dont really mind the genre as long as its not sci-fi or romantic.
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A Farewell to Arms by Hemingway if you haven't already read it, although there is a slight romance to it. Someone else mentioned Count of Monte Cristo earlier in this thread, it really is one of the best novels I've ever read. Old Man Goriot by Balzac is also a great read.
 
celia said:
I have read the five first pages of À la recherche du temps perdu by Marcel Proust. I don't feel I get it. Well I understand but I am not interested at all.
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Gina11 said:
I've read those same five pages at least a dozen times and never progressed.
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I urge you both to continue. It is one of the greatest novels ever written. The first volume/section, The Way by Swann's, is literary genius.
 
@celia I started reading through those types of lists about 5-6 years ago, have read most of those books now. I think the value of those lists isn't in the novels they contain, but the authors you discover, and the other novels you find by yourself after they pique your interest.
 
Great list, @2cents. Midnight's Children baffled me, I read it when I was too young to really understand the allegories. The Brothers Karamazov is just genius.
 
Mciahel Goodman said:
Great list, @2cents. Midnight's Children baffled me, I read it when I was too young to really understand the allegories.
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I think there's a lot of stuff in it that would go over the head of any non-Indian, and probably anyone not brought up in Mumbai at that particular time.
 
Mciahel Goodman said:
I urge you both to continue. It is one of the greatest novels ever written. The first volume/section, The Way by Swann's, is literary genius.
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I started it initially on the recommendation of a kinda pop star I admire who said the same thing. I've tried hard. But it's just not for me.
 
Gina11 said:
I started it initially on the recommendation of a kinda pop star I admire who said the same thing. I've tried hard. But it's just not for me.
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Well, I can understand that. Plenty of so called classics that I just couldn't get into. The only thing I would say is that In Search of Lost Time is a novel that starts notoriously slow. It's a character study, so you don't really get into it until you have an appreciation for the characters -- took me about 30 pages before I was hooked, before that I'd considered giving up.

At the same time, I've read the first two pages of Finnegan's Wake about 40 times and I just want to burn it at this stage.
 
Mciahel Goodman said:
I urge you both to continue. It is one of the greatest novels ever written. The first volume/section, The Way by Swann's, is literary genius.
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I will at least reach the first chapter after deciding to DNFing or trying it another time, except if I really can't bear it.

Mciahel Goodman said:
@celia I started reading through those types of lists about 5-6 years ago, have read most of those books now. I think the value of those lists isn't in the novels they contain, but the authors you discover, and the other novels you find by yourself after they pique your interest.
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I don't think I could do most of these kind of list in 5-6 years. But I like having a kind of must-read list of classics even I end up disliking some. But I agree with the discovery of authors... though some of these books are the best of some authors, so other books may disappoint.


I have nearly finished the Black Sheep from Balzac, I don't think it's better than Old man Goriot but it was so far a good reading and at least a lot more enjoyable than Eugénie Grandet . So the only french title left from the Guardian's 100 greatest novel, will be Proust's book and Journey to the End of the Night. I am quite sure this Journey is my first ever DNF book... or at least it is my first ever classic DNF book.
 
Mciahel Goodman said:
I agree, Fahrenheit 451 is a great read -- Ray Bradbury only died recently enough as well. Have never read Runway, will have a look though.



A Farewell to Arms by Hemingway if you haven't already read it, although there is a slight romance to it. Someone else mentioned Count of Monte Cristo earlier in this thread, it really is one of the best novels I've ever read. Old Man Goriot by Balzac is also a great read.
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Cheers for that, will give the count of MC a try. Although I havent really enjoyed any of alex. dumas work other than the three musketeers.
2cents said:
Have a look a these that I posted a few pages back - https://www.redcafe.net/threads/the-book-thread.155497/page-73#post-17276975
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Thank you, will work my way through them.
 
Mciahel Goodman said:
I urge you both to continue. It is one of the greatest novels ever written. The first volume/section, The Way by Swann's, is literary genius.
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Oddly enough I just picked up Swann's Way by Proust yesterday and started into it.
 
MJJ said:
Cheers for that, will give the count of MC a try. Although I havent really enjoyed any of alex. dumas work other than the three musketeers.
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Muskateers is great. What about Man in the Iron Mask (if you've not read that one yet)?
 
celia said:
I have nearly finished the Black Sheep from Balzac, I don't think it's better than Old man Goriot but it was so far a good reading and at least a lot more enjoyable than Eugénie Grandet . So the only french title left from the Guardian's 100 greatest novel, will be Proust's book and Journey to the End of the Night. I am quite sure this Journey is my first ever DNF book... or at least it is my first ever classic DNF book.
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I've yet to read Black Sheep, have heard good things about it, will definitely read it soon.
 
Mciahel Goodman said:
Muskateers is great. What about Man in the Iron Mask (if you've not read that one yet)?
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I read all his books involving any one of the muskateers, but the rest werent as good. Havent read the man in the iron mask as well. Will probably read it after the count of MC. and some of the books on the list 2cents provided.
 
I just bailed on a book last night nearly halfway through, haven't done that for a long time. The Passage by Justin Cronin.

It's just....when I thought it was getting interesting it changed up again and went in a direction I just couldn't be arsed with.
 
just read an officer and a spy by Thomas Harris

very enjoyable read covering the Dreyfuss affair in France at the end of the 1800s
 
Mciahel Goodman said:
What do you think of it? If you can get over the first ten pages or so, it really is hard to put down.
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I'm only about 50 pages in and I find myself struggling a little. Mainly because I usually ready just before going to sleep and lately I've been shattered and keep falling asleep halfway through paragraphs. I'll sit down tonight and make a conscious effort to read a good few chapters and see what I think of it.
 
Castia said:
Just finished 'The Martian' I really enjoyed it, looking forward to the movie now later in the year.
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Just finished it myself. Really enjoyed it too. He was a great character, found myself actually laughing while reading it.

Was kinda sceptical at first coz the review said its basically a lot of maths problems and technical gumpf cobbled together..but although it does have a few bits of maths and science you really dont need to be a nerd to understand it.

Thats first I heard of it being a film. But will look forward to that.
 
So can anyone recommend me something new to read. Dont really go in for these high brow literary classics and stuff. The kinda thing I like is:
Papillion
Con Igguldon's Ghengis and Ceasar books
The kingkiller chronicles
Wilbur Smith stuff
Da vinci code code/angel & demons
Adventure books like Benedict Allens ect.

anyone gimme any recommendations?
 
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