Member: mydomino1978

My take on The Road:

4312 The Road, by Cormac McCarthy (read 13 May 2007) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 2007) This is a bleak, unrelievedly somber novel, telling a man and his son walking along a road in the US where there is very little life. A few people, a dog, but nothing working, they scavenge for food and for protection against bad folk. This for me was not an enjoyable book, though there is a certain haunting awful power in the stark prose, with minimal punctuation. Robinson Crusoe is a much happier survival story. This one evokes Kafka, with evil rampant.

I read lots of stuff, but yes, I am off and on trying to read the History, Nonfiction, and Biography Pulitzer winners and can send you, if you want, a list of those I have read so far. Also the National Book Award winners in fiction, biography, and nonfiction. And the Booker winners. None of these are complete and probably will never be since I am not going to live forever.

posted by Schmerguls at 7:42 am (EST) on Dec 5, 2007

yes, I have read all the fiction Pulitzer winners. Here is my record as to when they were read:

134 The Bridge of San Luis Rey, by Thornton Wilder (read Nov or Dec 1943) (Pulitzer Fiction prize for 1928)
260 The Good Earth, by Pearl S. Buck (read 15 June 1946) (Pulitzer Fiction prize for 1932)
280 So Big, by Edna Ferber (read 2 Sept 1946) (Pulitzer Fiction prize for 1925)
355 The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck (read 17 Mar 1949) (Pulitzer Fiction prize for 1940)
362 Arrowsmith, by Sinclair Lewis (read 16 July 1949) (Pulitzer fiction prize for 1926)
363 The Yearling, by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings (read 31 July 1949) (Pulitzer Fiction prize for 1939)
464 The Caine Mutiny: A Novel of World War II, by Herman Wouk (read 31 Jan 1954) (Book of the Year) (Pulitzer Fiction prize for 1952)
498 A Fable, by William Faulkner (read 3 June 1956) (Pulitzer Fiction prize for 1955) (National Book Award fiction prize for 1955)
524 The Late George Apley: A Novel in the Form of a Memoir, by John P. Marquand (read 29 Oct 1957) (Pulitzer Fiction prize for 1938)
533 Journey in the Dark, by Martin Flavin (read 7 Apr 1958) (Pulitzer Fiction prize for 1944)
534 The Magnificent Ambersons, by Booth Tarkington (read 13 Apr 1958) (Pulitzer Fiction prize for 1919)
535 The Age of Innocence, by Edith Wharton (read 20 Apr 1958) (Pulitzer Fiction prize for 1921)
536 Alice Adams, by Booth Tarkington (read 24 Apr 1958) (Pulitzer Fiction prize for 1922)
537 His Family, by Ernest Poole (read 27 Apr 1958) (Pulitzer Fiction prize for 1918)
538 The Able McLaughlins, by Margaret Wilson (read 2 May 1958) (Pulitzer Fiction prize for 1924)
539 One of Ours, by Willa Cather (read 11 May 1958) (Pulitzer Fiction prize for 1923)
540 Early Autumn: A Story of a Lady, by Louis Bromfield (read 17 May 1958) (Pulitzer Fiction prize for 1927)
541 Scarlet Sister Mary, by Julia Peterkin (read __ May 1958) (Pulitzer Fiction prize for 1929)
542 Laughing Boy, by Oliver LaFarge (read 27 May 1958) (Pulitzer Fiction prize for 1930)
543 Years of Grace, by Margaret Ayer Barnes (read 31 May 1958) (Pulitzer Fiction prize for 1931)
545 The Store, by T. S. Stribling (read 14 June 1958) (Pulitzer Fiction prize for 1933)
546 Lamb in His Bosom, by Caroline Miller (read 24 June 1958) (Pulitzer Fiction prize for 1934)
547 Now in November, by Josephine Johnson (read 29 June 1958) (Pulitzer Fiction prize for 1935)
548 Honey in the Horn, by H. L. Davis (read 19 July 1958) (Pulitzer Fiction prize for 1936)
549 Gone With the Wind, by Margaret Mitchell (read 6 Aug 1958) (Pulitzer Fiction prize for 1937)
550 In This Our Life, by Ellen Glasgow (read 12 Aug 1958) (Pulitzer Fiction prize for 1942)
553 Dragon's Teeth, by Upton Sinclair (read 13 Sept 1958) (Pulitzer Fiction prize for 1943)
554 A Bell for Adano, by John Hersey (read 16 Sept 1958) (Pulitzer Fiction prize for 1945)
555 All the King's Men, by Robert Penn Warren (read 21 Sept 1958) (Book of the Year) (Pulitzer Fiction prize for 1947)
556 Tales of the South Pacific, by James A. Michener (read 30 Sept 1958) (Pulitzer Fiction prize for 1948)
557 Guard of Honor, by James Gould Cozzens (read 12 Oct 1958) (Pulitzer Fiction prize for 1949)
558 The Way West, by A. B. Guthrie, Jr. (read 18 Oct 1958) (Pulitzer Fiction prize for 1950)
564 The Town, by Conrad Richter (read 14 Dec 1958) (Pulitzer Fiction prize for 1951)
565 Andersonville, by MacKinlay Kantor (read 27 Dec 1958) Pulitzer Fiction prize for 1956)
566 A Death in the Family, by James Agee (read 4 Jan 1959) (Pulitzer Fiction prize for 1958)
573 The Old Man and the Sea, by Ernest Hemingway (read 15 May 1959) (Pulitzer Fiction prize for 1953)
577 The Travels of Jamie McPheeters, by Robert Lewis Taylor (read 25 June 1959) (Pulitzer Fiction prize for 1959)
620 Advise and Consent, by Allen Drury (read 9 June 1960) (Book of the Year) (Pulitzer Fiction prize 1960)
651 To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee (read 8 May 1961) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 1961)
698 The Edge of Sadness, by Edwin O'Connor (read 4 June 1962) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 1962)
981 The Confessions of Nat Turner, by William Styron (read 27 Nov 1968) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 1968)
983 The Reivers A Reminiscence, by William Faulkner (read 30 Nov 1968) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 1963)
984 The Keepers of the House, by Shirley Ann Grau (read 1 Dec 1968) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 1965)
985 The Fixer, by Bernard Malamud (read 5 Dec 1968) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 1967) (National Book Award fiction prize for 1967)
986 The Collected Stories of Katherine Anne Porter (read 8 Dec 1968) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 1966) (National Book Award fiction prize for 1966)
1097 House Made of Dawn, by N. Scott Momaday (read 27 Nov 1970) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 1969)
1103 The Collected Stories of Jean Stafford (read 24 Jan 1971) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 1970)
1164 Angle of Repose, by Wallace Stegner (read 27 May 1972) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 1972)
1634 A Confederacy of Dunces, by John Kennedy Toole (read 21 May 1981) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 1981)
1635 The Optimist's Daughter, by Eudora Welty (read 22 May 1981) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 1973)
1637 The Killer Angels A Novel, by Michael Shaara (read 29 May 1981) (Book of the Year) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 1975)
1642 Humboldt's Gift, by Saul Bellow (read 8 July 1981) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 1976)
1652 Elbow Room: Stories by James Alan McPherson (read 8 Aug 1981) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 1978)
1653 The Stories of John Cheever (read 17 Aug 1981) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 1979) (National Book Award fiction prize in 1981) (National Book Critics Circle fiction award for 1978)
1823 The Color Purple, by Alice Walker (read 28 Jan 1984) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 1983) (National Book Award fiction prize for 1983)
1981 Foreign Affairs, by Alison Lurie (read 26 Feb 1986) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 1985)
1987 Ironweed, by William Kennedy (read 9 Mar 1986) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 1984) (National Book Critics Circle fiction award for 1983)
2046 Lonesome Dove a novel by Larry McMurtry (read 17 Jan 1987) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 1986)
2086 The Executioner's Song, by Norman Mailer (read 20 Jun 1987) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 1980)
2106 A Summons to Memphis, by Peter Taylor (read 1 Nov 1987) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 1987)
2186 Beloved A Novel, by Toni Morrison (read 11 Feb 1989) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 1988)
2291 Breathing Lessons, by Anne Tyler (read 5 May 1990) (Pulitzer fiction prize in 1989)
2359 The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love, by Oscar Hijuelos (read 19 Feb 1991) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 1990)
2386 Rabbit Is Rich, by John Updike (read 17 May 1991) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 1982) (National Book Award fiction prize in 1982) (National Book Critics Circle fiction award for 1981)
2390 Rabbit at Rest, by John Updike (read 22 Jun 1991) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 1991) (National Book Critics Circle fiction award for 1990)
2527 A Thousand Acres, by Jane Smiley (read 8 Aug 1993) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 1992) (National Book Critics Circle fiction award for 1991)
2568 A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain Stories by Robert Olen Butler (read 15 Jan 1994) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 1993)
2628 The Shipping News, by E. Annie Proulx (read 19 Jul 1994) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 1994) (National Book Award fiction prize in 1993)
2739 The Stone Diaries, by Carol Shields (read 2 May 1995) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 1995) (National Book Critics Circle fiction award for 1994)
2812 Independence Day, by Richard Ford (read 1 Oct 1996) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 1996)
3024 Martin Dressler: The Tale of an American Dreamer, by Steven Millhauser (read 18 Oct 1997) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 1997)
3075 American Pastoral, by Philip Roth (read 10 May 1998) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 1998)
3202 The Hours, by Michael Cunningham (read 30 May 1999) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 1999)
3416 Interpreter of Maladies Stories by Jhumpa Lahiri (read 8 Mar 2001) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 2000)
3436 The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay A Novel by Michael Chabon (read 24 Apr 2001) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 2001)
3568 Empire Falls, by Richard Russo (read 12 Apr 2002) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 2002)
3743 Middlesex, by Jeffrey Eugenides (read 11 May 2003) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 2003)
3842 The Known World, by Edward P. Jones (read 1 Jan 2004) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 2004) (National Book Critics Circle fiction award for 2003)
4016 Gilead, by Marilynne Robinson (read 26 Apr 2005) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 2005) (National Book Critics Circle fiction award for 2004)
4202 March A Novel, by Geraldine Brooks (read 24 Aug 2006) (Pulitzer Fiction prize for 2006)
4312 The Road, by Cormac McCarthy (read 13 May 2007) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 2007)

posted by Schmerguls at 3:50 pm (EST) on Dec 4, 2007

That sounds like a good way to look at it. I think it was simply the label "juvenile" on a book that seemed awfully advanced, but I forget that juvenile in our library goes up to kids who are 14 years old. I like the way you explained your reasoning; it makes sense to me. Thanks for the unput. :)

posted by differentbeat at 9:12 am (EST) on Aug 30, 2007

Like I said, I have several reading lists going, but I find the Pulitzer winners to be more consistently enjoyable and entertaining. I plan to turn more attention to it when I finally finish the Modern Library's Tip 100 list (I'm on the last one).

posted by ggchickapee at 5:39 pm (EST) on Aug 11, 2007

Yes, I have started reading the Pulitzer winners. I don't read them in particular order, and I read other things as well, so it will take me a long time. I get some in audiobook versions from the library. You can see my progress on ListsofBests at www.listsofbests.com/person/ggchickapee.

What is your system? Do you use ListsofBests?

posted by ggchickapee at 11:18 am (EST) on Aug 10, 2007

Re: Lamb - I liked Lamb so much that I immediately went out and bought just about everything else he wrote. I'm reading Fluke now, and having just as much fun with it.

posted by dulcibelle at 2:23 pm (EST) on Aug 3, 2007

Glad you enjoyed Year of Wonders - I haven't read March yet but it's on my wishlist (along with Nine Parts of Desire). I don't seem to have found much reading time this week - I'm still plodding through Oystercatchers (which was an impulse buy even though I have a pile of unread books a mile high sitting by my bed) - it's nothing to rave about so far, but a good solid book, easy to read and a story that I'm getting more into as I go. I note that Middlesex (Jeffrey Eugenides)is on your read list - it's in my TBR - do you recommend it? I read the Virgin Suicides by the same author earlier this year: not my favourite book, but quite different to anything else I'd read and entertaining in a somewhat disturbing way!

posted by valerie2 at 7:23 am (EST) on Jul 20, 2007

I read Year of Wonders last year and enjoyed it (if 'enjoy' is the right word for a book about the plague??), although the ending goes off on a tangent that is a bit unbelievable and somewhat difficult to reconcile with the rest of the book - you'll have to let me know what you think. I also enjoyed The Book Thief - I found it took a little while to get into the style of writing, but it was well worth persevering. I've just finished The Inheritance of Loss which I found disappointing, particularly given the rave reviews I've read in various places and the fact it won the Booker prize. I never felt connected with any of the characters or with the story and by around two-thirds of the way through I was thinking more about what I could read next rather than what I was actually reading. Still, there are plenty who disagree - the LibraryThing reviews make interesting reading because they are quite polarised.

posted by valerie2 at 3:03 am (EST) on Jul 14, 2007

Hi Patty

Thanks for posting your comment - my very first on LibraryThing! I's great to find someone who is heading along the same reading path, at least for the time being. My taste is fairly ecelectic, although I don't generally read much sci-fi (some exceptions), fantasy or horror. I haven't done any reviews as yet but will hopefully work my way up to it - I just checked out the ones you've done and agree with your comment on Water for Elephants. Of the books on my 2007 list I've really enjoyed The Time Traveler's Wife, Water for Elephants and the Thirteenth Tale - all very different but all equally enjoyable. I enjoyed the first half of the Memory of Tides but not the second, and I was disappointed with When Madeline Was Young - it was an interesting premise but the writing really didn't come alive for me. All the others are somewhere in between - but I'd recommend giving them a go. Do you have any other suggestions?

I note one of your other comments here relates to I Capture the Castle. I read this during my last year at high school (quite a while ago now)and enjoyed it so much that I appear to have 'misappropriated' it from my high school reading room - although I can't remember ever doing so deliberately! I have read it a number of times since then and still love it!

posted by valerie2 at 8:03 am (EST) on Jul 13, 2007

I thought Baldwin's writing was flawless. And I don't think I've ever used that term to describe an author's style of writing. The story was pretty good. I didn't really find myself cheering for any character, really. I think I felt more like an observer in this story, and not so much a part. But I am SO suprised that a topic like this appeared in in 1950s.

posted by mikewomack at 5:50 am (EST) on Jul 11, 2007

Hi Patty,

Thanks for the comments. The books in bold are ones I've read already: I am the Messenger and Good Omens. I did enjoy both very much. Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell I've heard much about, lots of mixed reviews, but it still intrigues me and I'll pick it up eventually (when I'me feeling nice and strong since I have the hefty trade edition.) My problem is that I still visit the library and find other books to add to the list, which bump the earlier books. The TBR list will definitely have some carry over into next year! I do hope to get to The Time Traveller's Wife and Girl With a Pearl Earring this year, both of which I see you really enjoyed.

Happy reading!

posted by sandragon at 2:05 pm (EST) on Jul 1, 2007

There wasn't a real plot to Burning Bright. The major events of the characters lives were glossed over while minor happenings were dwelled upon at length. William Blake's character didn't really seem to have a coherent place in the story and there were times where he almost seemed like an after thought. A way of giving the book some historical significance. The novel just never really seems to go anywhere and then it just ends.

I liked Girl with a Pearl Earring and The Virgin Blue. However, I did not like The Lady and the Unicorn at all. IMO its one of the worst books I've ever read. After reading that one and now Burning Bright I am not sure that I'll read anything else by Chevalier. Her style seems to be going downhill.

posted by Irisheyz77 at 12:07 pm (EST) on Jun 26, 2007

Hello,
The book on Henry VIII and his wives is by David Starkey. "Six Wives The Queens of Henry VIII". Perennial. ( Harper Collins Publishers ) 2003. I am almost finished. ( 765 pages -whew! ) I like his style because he is discusses different interpretations based on original documents. He tries to set out events and clarify what probably happened. The majority of the text is devoted to the marriages of Henry to Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn. Both are portrayed as very clever. I noticed that Starkey has also written about Elizabeth-I might try to find that book although my TBR pile of books is real high!

posted by torontoc at 8:13 am (EST) on Jun 26, 2007

Hey -- thanks for your comment -- I am about #80 pgs in (the Woman in White) and enjoying for the most part -- I am wanting it to move a little faster. lots of digressions -- but like you say typical of the novels of the time. It reminds me of The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe which I recommend if you like old mysteries - esp with a female protagonist.

posted by jhowell at 7:31 am (EST) on Jun 26, 2007

Hi
I have to tell you about one author that I don't read. Alice Munro is considered one of the best Canadian writers. Her short stories are considered by reviewers to be some of the best work of contemporary writing in Canada. I don't disagree but I found that after reading them ,I would be really depressed. Her characters had grim lives and I decided-enough about women leading hopeless existences in small Ontario towns! So I don't read Alice Munro. I am now in the middle of a very big book about the wives of Henry VIII and a combined cookbook/excerpts of Canadian writing compiled by Margaret Atwood. ( who I do read and like very much )

posted by torontoc at 7:48 am (EST) on Jun 25, 2007

Hello mydomino
I think that I suggested the Annie Proulx short stories to you in the Book Fiend strand! Sorry that you didn't like them. I have read the short stories and the novels. I found Accordian Crimes to be a real downer but liked the other novels. Jonathan and Mr. Norrell is one book that I put down after 600 pages. I mean to get back to it, but later. There are too many books that I have had more satisfaction reading.

posted by torontoc at 8:51 pm (EST) on Jun 21, 2007

Agreed.
Do you still read John Irvings stuff?
I just liked Garp soooo much.

posted by KimB at 4:08 am (EST) on Jun 21, 2007

mydomino

Just read your review on Water for Elephants...I'll definately keep an eye out for it now.

Cheers
kim

posted by KimB at 9:46 pm (EST) on Jun 19, 2007

Havent read [Water for Elephants: A Novel], I'll look out for that one, have you written a review?
Read [The time travelers wife] last year (I think, or might have been 2005, seems like a long time ago, maybe I'm experiencing one of those time displacement things :-) ) enjoyed it. One of those books I devoured too quickly to digest properly, wanted to find out where it was leading, and boy didn't it bounce around. :-)
My big favourite this year (or was it last year, might have been Jan- post Christmas reading) was [suite francais]. For me, I found that the authors own life forms part of the story in the way that it is a more powerful story when you understand where she is at and where her life leads.
But I'm not above enjoying other books like [In the company of the courtesan] set in Venice, and on a different tack entirely [wolf of the plains] about Genghis Khan's boyhood!
One of those things I like about this LT thing is that you can track when you read a book and if you've read it. Looked at an old diary, recently and one of the entries was that I was reading a book called [Lace], I have absolutely no recall of it whatsoever!
Bye for now

Kim

posted by KimB at 7:08 pm (EST) on Jun 19, 2007

Hi mydomino1978

Thanks for the message.
I'll let you know, when I read [Year of Wonders], I'll have to track it down at the library or somewhere. Loved [March] and also loved [Nine parts of desire] another of Geraldine Brooks works. So far I would say that [Nine parts of desire] is her best, it is non-fiction but I found it to be an eye-opener. I'd highly recommend it.
Read [The curious Incident of the dog in the night], I agree, I cant say it was a favorite of mine exactly, but saw the value in the book. One of my old high school friend's son suffers from Alspergers syndrome, and had a lot of trouble growing-up, he is now 18 and thanks to his obsession with computers he will probably go far. I've always had a soft spot for the boy as he and my eldest son are only 6 months apart and spent much time together growing-up. It was interesting reading a book from a similar, however fictional, boy's point of view.
Anything that you would recommend?

Bye for now,
kim

posted by KimB at 8:38 pm (EST) on Jun 18, 2007

I think "I Capture the Castle" has gained in popularity since the reprint and the movie came out a few years ago. I read it around that time and loved it. It makes the 1930's seem like a fairy tale land, like a far-off time and place I always wished I had grown up in.

posted by mrabelard at 2:23 pm (EST) on Jun 10, 2007

Hi Mydomino

Thanks for your message about I Capture the Castle. I read it first as a child, but it didn't make much of an impression. When I read it again earlier this year, I was just blown away by the whole thing. It's just so perfect a novel. All that humanity in one, well perhaps two, places. Hope you find your copy soon.

posted by Rivercassini at 11:21 am (EST) on May 25, 2007

Hi, Patty: Finn was quite a book. Overall, I thought it was a very good story. I will warn you that's very disturbing in parts. You love to hate Finn. Here's my "official" review that I did on LT. Let me know if you read it and what you think. Take care! Jill

****

Finn: A Novel by Jon Clinch
Have you ever read a book that, when completed, leaves you with a "space" of sorts? You're not quite sure what to think about the book - you determine it was good - but to analyze it leaves you speechless.

That's how I feel about Finn.

For sure, Finn is not for the faint of heart. Many parts of the book are downright disturbing. Finn is not a hero and not to be loved by its readers. But like a car accident that you can't help but watch, you follow Finn through this story for better or worse. There are times when you think he will redeem himself, but then he does something even more deplorable than the page before.

He's a jerk. A bastard. A racist and sexist pig. And you can't help but read more about him. True raw and grit, it leaves you with a bad taste in your mouth. And you may even enjoy every minute of it.

posted by mrstreme at 7:13 am (EST) on May 23, 2007

Hi, and welcome to Bemidji

I think there are a fair number of closet readers up there, but I know that a number of attempts at operating a bookstore have gone broke in Bemidji.

Moving with a large library can be a real problem. I think half my U-Haul space when I left Toledo and returned to Minnesota was taken up by books. Furniture? Vastly overrated!

I picked my handle because Bemidji was my childhood home...class of 67 at Bemidji High. I rarely get there now, but I did drop back at one point and work for KAWE-TV for a couple of years.

What is your southern city? My favorite job had a number of contracts with Norfolk Southern, so I got to know quite a few places below the Ohio.

Did they all tell you how mild the past winter was?

Dave in Duluth

posted by bemidjian at 3:57 pm (EST) on Apr 26, 2007

True. I was such of fan of some authors in my late teens and 20's, but as I approach 50 and give those books another look, they are less entertaining. I am almost afraid to admit that Vonnegut is one of those.
I now divide my reading into two groups. Junk food reading, and full meals. I read mysteries and comedy for junk food - and hey don't we all like that? But I also do some deeper reading to nourish my brain. I always have two or three books at a time going.
I just stated [Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell] and it is taking some effort to get into.

posted by mydomino1978 at 9:15 am (EST) on Apr 26, 2007