Random books from MichaelMenche's library

Members with MichaelMenche's books

Member connections

Interesting libraries: 20thcenturygirl, abbot, ablueidol, alaskabookworm, amaran, Attica, benwaugh, brive, dianp, enevada, erkie2007, eromsted, fromage101, fullyarmedvishnu, hazelk, hlselz, janepriceestrada, JefferyWeber, jfclark, jjm2004, K.Renee, krissa, lemurcat12, misselainey, ML100Novels, nictsiz, Novak, obsessedbybooks, philabookster, polutropos, popa, saeccher, sagelibrary, saileshganesh, Schmerguls, slickdpdx, spllover, srod, tamara_gm3, thomas_and_ed, tmccormick, tomcatMurr, vernonlee, WSB7, yrchmonger

RSS feeds

Recently-added books

MichaelMenche's reviews

Reviews of MichaelMenche's books, not including MichaelMenche's

view larger

Member: MichaelMenche

CollectionsYour library (21)

Reviews21 reviews

Tagsmodern library top 100 (13), Modern Library Top 100 (6), Altered States (1), John C. Lilly (1), Alaskan husky (1), Heracles (1), Jack London (1), HUMINT (1), Paddy Chayefsky (1), Red Bull (1) — see all tags

Cloudstag cloud, author cloud

Groups1001 Books to read before you die, Bloggers, Francophiles, French Connection, Jack Kerouac, Modern Library Collectors, What Are You Reading Now?, Writer-readers

About meIn 1998 The Modern Library notoriously ranked the top 100 English-language novels of the 20th century, immediately earning critical scorn yet forever influencing book-buying patterns (ex. “Customers who purchased Zuleika Dobson also purchased A High Wind in Jamaica").

At that time one amateur reader was dismayed to have tackled only a quarter of these novels. Moreover, I’d never heard of a substantial number of the titles or authors. Consequently, I accepted this list as a challenge, a mental marathon—perhaps best titled a “centathlon.”

I've been stumbling over the years, stopping often to massage cramps, gulp from sloshing plastic cups of water, and sip from brimming cocktail glasses of manhattans with a twist (don't like cherries). This is exuberant, sweaty, grimy dilettantism—you wanna make sumthin of it? Let’s hope so!

Homepagehttp://www.michaelmenche.blogspot.com

Also on43Things, Facebook, MySpace

Favorite authorsNone

Account typepublic, free

Connection NewsConnection News

URLs http://www.librarything.com/profile/MichaelMenche (profile)
http://www.librarything.com/catalog/MichaelMenche (library)

Common KnowledgeSeries (3), Awards (38), Characters (117), Places (35)

Member sinceApr 10, 2007

Most recent activity

MichaelMenche reviewed, added:
From Here to Eternity by James Jones (read review)

MichaelMenche reviewed, added:
The Magnificent Ambersons, Large-Print Edition by Booth Tarkington (read review)

MichaelMenche reviewed, added:
The Death of the Heart by Elizabeth Bowen (read review)

MichaelMenche reviewed, added:
A House for Mr. Biswas by V.S. Naipaul (read review)

MichaelMenche reviewed, added:
The Call of the Wild (Aladdin Classics) by Jack London (read review)

MichaelMenche reviewed, added:
The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett (read review)

i find it so odd that the Powers that Be here say we have only one book in common..as a perused your library we have much in common..just different editions...and some i have never entered....

anyway...vis a vis..The Modern Library challenge....Stumble On, Dilettante, Stumble On (isn't it fun?)

Jude

posted by jdthloue at 3:25 pm (EST) on Aug 21, 2009

I should mention that the book we apparently have in common, "Appointment in Samarra," is one of my all-time favorites. I appreciated very much your review of it.

posted by philabookster at 8:56 pm (EST) on Nov 18, 2008

I did what you suggest and I see I have read every book you list. I think the reason that LibraryThing says you have only 17 books in common with me is because I read all four of Nathaniel West's books in a single volume so I do not have a separate listing for the West book you read; and I read The Secret Sharer in a volume which also contains Heart of Darkness. So I think this is why LibraryThing skips those two books as being held in common

posted by Schmerguls at 7:45 am (EST) on Mar 17, 2008

I am flattered you find my library interesting. I have read in full every book listed therein, and in fact every book I have read cover to cover is listed. Of your 19 books I have read 17--I would be interested to know which two I have not read. Is that hard to find out? I looked at you author tags and it seems I have read something by each.

posted by Schmerguls at 6:48 pm (EST) on Mar 16, 2008

ok here's the Trick. booksalefinder.com You'll freak

posted by misselainey at 12:12 pm (EST) on Mar 5, 2008

someone added the Raconteur and thanks for mentioning it-there's a good description of it and I WILL be checking it out.(how many times have I driven through that town?!)

posted by misselainey at 9:49 pm (EST) on Mar 4, 2008

Thanks! Of course add the store. I added another, not far fromm Lotus. It's on the canal so bring your bike ,or fishing pole.

posted by misselainey at 11:14 pm (EST) on Mar 3, 2008

Hello! Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog! When I first started reading the top 100, I searched for other bloggers who had tried to read them, but I never found anyone else. Its nice to see someone else who is doing this and blogging about it. Good luck!

posted by hlselz at 12:05 pm (EST) on Feb 23, 2008

Love your reviews. Its interesting to see who is 18 of 18 so far - only one other person on LT! I wouldn't have expected that, or that there would so few down the line at 17, 16 and so on. I'm sure the race will tighten up as you go on and srod will probably, at some point, slacken. Can't wait to see what happens, and, of course read the futture reviews.

posted by slickdpdx at 2:48 pm (EST) on Dec 23, 2007

Hi Mike,

Thanks for contacting me. I'm still digesting Never Let Me Go, but like other Ishiguro it has a lot to do with the subjectivity of memory and the inability to get inside another person's head. Also there's a lot to what others have said about the effects of socialization: Why do the donors accept their situation without revolting? Also a comment on the human condition, that we create art and form human relationships even though we know it will all end when we've "completed". The quest element as well: Is there value in the quest that has no destination?

Just a few thoughts. I like your catalog.

Erich

posted by erkie2007 at 12:43 am (EST) on Sep 17, 2007

Regarding your reply (re Howards End etc.) I would never have guessed that Orwell would have written anything like that but then I looked at his career as a whole and I suppose it wasn't so surprising. Interesting. Thank you.

posted by hazelk at 4:47 am (EST) on Aug 4, 2007

Wow! (your 'lecture' on Howards End). Have just finished this marvellous novel, having just previously read On Beauty and Forster's A Passage to India (not a chick-lit reader it appears!). I can't add anything meaningful to what you've already written only that I was quite surprised that Forster had also addressed the issue of imperialism earlier that I imagined i.e. the book was written 1904-1906 although not published until 1910.

posted by hazelk at 6:06 am (EST) on Aug 3, 2007

Fascinating review on Kim - thank you!

posted by lynnbaehr at 6:51 am (EST) on Aug 2, 2007

Attention music lovers! Z Sheet, a New York indie rock band, has reimagined songs by Telephone, France's equivalent of The Rolling Stones. Free listening and info at www.myspace.com/zsheet

posted by MichaelMenche at 12:21 pm (EST) on Jun 21, 2007

A reviewer that is worthy of Nabokov. Splendid. And a baseball fan. Even better.

Noam Chomsky is an ass.

posted by enevada at 10:15 am (EST) on May 18, 2007

I like your reviews very much indeed.
Looking forward to seeing more of your library.
Welcome to Librarything!
Murr

posted by tomcatMurr at 6:35 am (EST) on Apr 13, 2007

Copyright LibraryThing and/or members of LibraryThing, authors, publishers, libraries, cover designers, Amazon, Bol, Bruna, etc. | static: /