Sunday, March 20, 2011

1000 books the sequal

I was thinking about the 1000 Books post I made on Friday and the books that were mentioned in that cloud. I went through the list again and realized that I have read all but a few of the 24 books I mentioned in the other post. The rest of them I read in the past six years. Now I thought that was interesting. Most of the books I did read from the list were due to suggestions from other websites or people. But what did I really think of them? Sometimes I read books because people go on and on and on about them, so I have to see what all the fuss is. Sometimes I'm disappointed.

I'll start with the few I read years ago.

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
One of the bigger books I read up until that time. I was about 26. My first Russian author. I remember liking it, I thought it was a challenging read. What I remember most about it was a wise remark someone said. One of my bosses at the time (male) remarked to my other boss (female) - "Did you know that Liz was reading Anna Karenina?" My female boss "Yeah, so?" my male boss, "That is amazing, I can't believe someone like her is reading that." My female boss looked at him like he was insane. A person like me? WTF is that supposed to me...young, black, female? People are so stupid.

The Bell Jar
by Sylvia Plath
I think every depressed person has read this book. Poor Sylvia...I know, it is just 'based' on real events.

The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck
I actually read this trilogy plus other Buck Books. She is one of my favorite authors. I love the way she writes.

The Lord of the Rings (Trilogy) by JRR Token
I read all three when the first movie came out. This was my precursor to my new reading life. I loved this series.

A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy
This is was at the urgng of a friend, she told me it was rip-roaring funny. Well, it was good, sort of funny. I guess we all have different tastes.

The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
I read this during the whole craze. It was a pretty good book. Nothing to brag about.


The rest of the list, I read within the past six years.

Life of Pi by Yan Martel
Very nice story, nicely told, food for thought.

Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
I enjoyed this one and the ending I did not see coming. I think getting trough some classics can be drudgery, but this one wasn't.

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
Nice fantasy, different from other stuff I've read.

The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
These were 2 pretty big books, with some hard language, but it didn't take me long to read. I was determined. I read them back to back as well. They were interesting. I have Anthem in my Kindle. I'll be reading that soon.

Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
I saw the movie first, shortly before I read the book. It was interesting to see the differences. I really liked this book.

Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
This was supposed to be a dark comedy, but I didn't get it. Perhaps it went over my head.

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Yeah, another one I didn't care for.

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
I liked the movie much better. This book was tiresome.

Harry Potter Series by JK Rowling
Really, do I have to say it? AWESOME!

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
I didn't think I'd enjoy this, but I did. I just like Dickens, I'll read anything he wrote.

The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
I actually only read 4 of the 7 books, but heck, we know they are all good.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
SQUEE! LOVE!

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon
I thought this to be a clever book. I like the fact that it was first person in the voice of an autistic man.

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Yes I read this a few years ago for the first time. I know, I know. I love this book. Very meaningful to me.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
One day during the month of October I felt like reading it, so I did. I liked it. I'd put it in the top 20 of my favorite reads.

The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splended Suns by Khaled Hosseini
Read in order. Both of these books blew my mind.

2 comments:

Michelle Stockard Miller said...

First off, that was a very close minded and asinine thing your ex-boss said. What an ass!

Have several Buck books, but have not read...on my book bucket list!

LOVED LOTR! The trilogy is one of my all time favorites...same with the Harry Potter books.

HATED Confederacy of Dunces...could not finish it. I'm not big on satire or comedies in reading. I love them in films, but not in books.

Liked The DaVinci Code, but liked Angels and Demons better.

Time Traveler's Wife...one of my favorites. Can't read it or watch the movie without crying my eyes out.

Life of Pi...loved! Gone with the Wind...loved, loved, loved!

Sadly, I've only read the first two Narnia books and part of Prince Caspian. I really must finish them.

Another sad thing...have not read Frankenstein! Shocking, I know! I've wanted to read it for years and have started it, but something always interrupts me.

All the others you mentioned are also on my book bucket list, including Anna Karenina.

You have read some really great books! A list to be proud of. =O)

Anne said...

Ha! I just shoved A Confederacy of Dunces into the hands of a friend because I loved it so much.

For me, it was partly a New Orleans thing and partly a "There but for the grace of God..." thing. I know several people that are not that far off from being Ignatius Reilly.

The Good Earth has been on my shelf for years. Perhaps I should get to it!