Kristel's continuation of Reading 1001 books (all 3 lists)
Talk 1001 Books to read before you die
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1Kristelh
New thread for 2016. I read 60 books off the list in 2015. That's a good year for me.
The continuation of my reading of books from 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die.
v1, http://www.shelfari.com/groups/11271/discussions/80654/Kristels-List-All-3-%28no....
v2, http://www.librarything.com/topic/144668
http://www.librarything.com/topic/144668#4765409
The continuation of my reading of books from 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die.
v1, http://www.shelfari.com/groups/11271/discussions/80654/Kristels-List-All-3-%28no....
v2, http://www.librarything.com/topic/144668
http://www.librarything.com/topic/144668#4765409
2Kristelh
January Books read
401. Freedom by Jonathan Franzen
402. Complicity by Iain Banks
403. The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. R. Tolkien
February
404. Quartet in Autumn by Barbara Pym
405. Midaq Alley by Naguib Mahfouz
March
406. The Radetzky March by Joseph Roth, 3/12/16
407. Cloudsplitter by Russell Banks, 3/26/16
408. Faceless Killers by Henning Mankell, 3/30/16
April
409. Death in Venice by Thomas Mann 4/1/16
410. The Bluest Eye 4/6/16
411. Broken April, 4/23/16
412. Love in a Cold Climate, 4/30/16
May
413. The Player of Games by Iain M. Banks
414. That They May Face the Rising Sun by John McGahern
June
415. All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remargue
July
416. Season of Migration to the North by Tayeb Salih
417. July's People by Nadine Gordimer
418. Annie John by Jamaica Kincaid
August
419. There but for the Ali Smith
420. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
September
421. The Charterhouse of Parma by Stendhal
422. Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson
423. The Last September Elizabeth Bowen
424. A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry, 9/24/16, 5 stars
October
425. Goodbye to Berlin 10.5.2016
426. The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham 10/21/16
427. Mr Norris Changes Trains by Christopher Isherwood, 10/25/16
428. The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton, 10/28/16
429. The Brothers Karamazov 10/31/16
November
430. The Stranger by Albert Camus, 11/5/16
431. The Colour by Rose Tremain
432. Embers by Sándor Márai
401. Freedom by Jonathan Franzen
402. Complicity by Iain Banks
403. The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. R. Tolkien
February
404. Quartet in Autumn by Barbara Pym
405. Midaq Alley by Naguib Mahfouz
March
406. The Radetzky March by Joseph Roth, 3/12/16
407. Cloudsplitter by Russell Banks, 3/26/16
408. Faceless Killers by Henning Mankell, 3/30/16
April
409. Death in Venice by Thomas Mann 4/1/16
410. The Bluest Eye 4/6/16
411. Broken April, 4/23/16
412. Love in a Cold Climate, 4/30/16
May
413. The Player of Games by Iain M. Banks
414. That They May Face the Rising Sun by John McGahern
June
415. All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remargue
July
416. Season of Migration to the North by Tayeb Salih
417. July's People by Nadine Gordimer
418. Annie John by Jamaica Kincaid
August
419. There but for the Ali Smith
420. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
September
421. The Charterhouse of Parma by Stendhal
422. Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson
423. The Last September Elizabeth Bowen
424. A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry, 9/24/16, 5 stars
October
425. Goodbye to Berlin 10.5.2016
426. The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham 10/21/16
427. Mr Norris Changes Trains by Christopher Isherwood, 10/25/16
428. The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton, 10/28/16
429. The Brothers Karamazov 10/31/16
November
430. The Stranger by Albert Camus, 11/5/16
431. The Colour by Rose Tremain
432. Embers by Sándor Márai
4Kristelh
>3 Shuva01: Hi! Any questions, ask away.
5Kristelh
Freedom by Jonathan Franzen
4 stars
This is a story of an American family, Walter and Patty Bergland and their two children as well as other friends and family. It is set in the 1970s to the current 21st century. What I liked about the book was its setting. Patty in a New York girl who comes to play basketball at the University of Minnesota. She has family issues. Walter is a boy from Northern Minnesota (the Iron Range area). His father is an alcoholic. Eventually Walter and Patty marry. They have two children, a boy and a girl. Patty is a devoted mother and good with little children. They are a typical middle class, liberal Minnesotan family. Since I am from the Iron Range and a Minnesotan, it was fun to read this book that talks about Grand Rapids (where I grew up and graduated from high school), Hibbing, and St. Paul and things Minnesotan. Franzen did a great job of capturing the flavor of Minnesota. Eventually, Bergland's children become teens. Patty isn't such a good mother of teens. The family eventually moves to Washington DC. Patty really doesn't do very well. Walter has his career. The children move on to college and then to their own lives. Walter and Patty sort of fall apart for awhile. The perspective changes. Sometimes it is from Patty writing about the autobiography, sometimes its about one of the children or Walter. While I did like the story, there is a lot of sexual details that were not pleasant and the use of a lot of profanity but over all, I liked the story, I thought the author captured a family, the time period and the culture and events of the times very well.
4 stars
This is a story of an American family, Walter and Patty Bergland and their two children as well as other friends and family. It is set in the 1970s to the current 21st century. What I liked about the book was its setting. Patty in a New York girl who comes to play basketball at the University of Minnesota. She has family issues. Walter is a boy from Northern Minnesota (the Iron Range area). His father is an alcoholic. Eventually Walter and Patty marry. They have two children, a boy and a girl. Patty is a devoted mother and good with little children. They are a typical middle class, liberal Minnesotan family. Since I am from the Iron Range and a Minnesotan, it was fun to read this book that talks about Grand Rapids (where I grew up and graduated from high school), Hibbing, and St. Paul and things Minnesotan. Franzen did a great job of capturing the flavor of Minnesota. Eventually, Bergland's children become teens. Patty isn't such a good mother of teens. The family eventually moves to Washington DC. Patty really doesn't do very well. Walter has his career. The children move on to college and then to their own lives. Walter and Patty sort of fall apart for awhile. The perspective changes. Sometimes it is from Patty writing about the autobiography, sometimes its about one of the children or Walter. While I did like the story, there is a lot of sexual details that were not pleasant and the use of a lot of profanity but over all, I liked the story, I thought the author captured a family, the time period and the culture and events of the times very well.
6Kristelh
Complicity by Ian Banks
3.5 stars
Too much violence, sex and profanity but otherwise a great job of writing. Very violent, thriller. Gonzo journalist, pathological killer are intertwined in this story. The author is a good writer but way to much profanity and the details of the violence and sex was over the top.
3.5 stars
Too much violence, sex and profanity but otherwise a great job of writing. Very violent, thriller. Gonzo journalist, pathological killer are intertwined in this story. The author is a good writer but way to much profanity and the details of the violence and sex was over the top.
7Kristelh
The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. R. Tolkien
4 stars
A classic fantasy tale written in the fifties. I enjoyed the last part best, the first part was good the middle seemed slow and because i listened to the audio, I had a hard time staying focused in the middle section. I also enjoyed the author's explanations following the book. I recommend reading The Hobbit first.
4 stars
A classic fantasy tale written in the fifties. I enjoyed the last part best, the first part was good the middle seemed slow and because i listened to the audio, I had a hard time staying focused in the middle section. I also enjoyed the author's explanations following the book. I recommend reading The Hobbit first.
8Kristelh
Quartet in Autumn by Barbara Pym 4 stars
I usually like books about aging. This quick read, by Barabara Pym, is a story of four older office workers approaching retirement, two men and two women. The story is set in the seventies. The women are the first to retire. We know that one was born in 1914. She will turn 65. Since both women are retiring, both must be 65. It appears retirement is mandatory. They are retiring with just the government retirement plan. All the characters are alone; one man was previously married and now a widow. He actually is the most active of the four and obsessed with finding catholic services to attend for various saint holidays. The other man is shorter and angrier. One woman is more active, enjoys going to libraries, shopping and buying clothes. She has one lady friend. The other woman, is alone, has no friends, recently had a mastectomy and in description she is quite "odd". While I like stories about aging, this story is not fun or pleasant. I think reason for this might be that sixties really isn't old now. Another reason might be that I was a young adult in the seventies. Still, this was well done study of four single people approaching the autumn of their lives. I think it would be an excellent book to read for a discussion group.
I usually like books about aging. This quick read, by Barabara Pym, is a story of four older office workers approaching retirement, two men and two women. The story is set in the seventies. The women are the first to retire. We know that one was born in 1914. She will turn 65. Since both women are retiring, both must be 65. It appears retirement is mandatory. They are retiring with just the government retirement plan. All the characters are alone; one man was previously married and now a widow. He actually is the most active of the four and obsessed with finding catholic services to attend for various saint holidays. The other man is shorter and angrier. One woman is more active, enjoys going to libraries, shopping and buying clothes. She has one lady friend. The other woman, is alone, has no friends, recently had a mastectomy and in description she is quite "odd". While I like stories about aging, this story is not fun or pleasant. I think reason for this might be that sixties really isn't old now. Another reason might be that I was a young adult in the seventies. Still, this was well done study of four single people approaching the autumn of their lives. I think it would be an excellent book to read for a discussion group.
9Kristelh
Midaq Alley by Naguib Mahfouz
4 stars
A fine example of Middle Eastern storytelling. This story of life in Midaq Alley in Cairo, Egypt presents a microcosm of a small community of people who make up the community. Each person is described to us in a larger than life of soap opera style. This is the early forties, the world is engaged in the battles of WWII but other than that, the people of the alley really have little regard for the war except for how it can profit them, either as employees of the British or the black market. This book presents a people of Islamic faith but also as they are being influenced by Western ideas. This is a time before the rebellion against Western influence has progressed to where it is today. It was an easy read with humor but lots of truths that are timeless.
4 stars
A fine example of Middle Eastern storytelling. This story of life in Midaq Alley in Cairo, Egypt presents a microcosm of a small community of people who make up the community. Each person is described to us in a larger than life of soap opera style. This is the early forties, the world is engaged in the battles of WWII but other than that, the people of the alley really have little regard for the war except for how it can profit them, either as employees of the British or the black market. This book presents a people of Islamic faith but also as they are being influenced by Western ideas. This is a time before the rebellion against Western influence has progressed to where it is today. It was an easy read with humor but lots of truths that are timeless.
10Kristelh
The Radetzky March by Joseph Roth, 3.5 stars
Written in 1932 by German author Joseph Roth, the book tells the story of the decline and fall of the Hapsburg Republic through the Trotta family. It is a part of 1001 Books you must read and is an early example of a story that has a recurring historical figure. Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria who ruled from 1830 to 1916. I read the newer translation of 1995 by Joachim Neugroschel. During the battle of Solferino (1859, Italy) Franz Joseph I is almost killed. Infantry Lieutenant Trotta causes the Emperor to fall from his horse and prevents his being killed. Trotta is awarded honors and ennobles him. The Trotta family origins in Slovenian peasant. The award while appearing to be a good thing leads to the ruin of the Trotta family which parallels the ruin of the Austrian Hungarian dynasty and eventual collapse. The story follows the The grandfather, his son who becomes a civil servant and the grandson who joins the cavalry as an officer. The grandson is mediocre. He never rides well, he can't make decisions, he only desires to be heroic like his grandfather but instead, people around him die because of his actions. The title is from the Radetzky March, by Johann Strauss. This is a political novel and tells the story of not only the Trotta family but of the Ethnic groups within the Hapsburg Republic; Moravia, Serbia, Ukrainia, Romania, Poland, Hungary, Bosnia Herzegovina and the Jewish people. It heralds the changes from the 1800's to the 1900's and takes the reader to the start of the WWI. While the book was all of this, it should have been good and it was good but it was not engaging. I could sit and read once I started but it was not a book that drew me back once I set it down. I am glad I read it. I appreciate it and will give it 3 1/2 stars because it is an important novel but it loses a 1/2 star because it was work to read. I did not like the narrator style.
Written in 1932 by German author Joseph Roth, the book tells the story of the decline and fall of the Hapsburg Republic through the Trotta family. It is a part of 1001 Books you must read and is an early example of a story that has a recurring historical figure. Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria who ruled from 1830 to 1916. I read the newer translation of 1995 by Joachim Neugroschel. During the battle of Solferino (1859, Italy) Franz Joseph I is almost killed. Infantry Lieutenant Trotta causes the Emperor to fall from his horse and prevents his being killed. Trotta is awarded honors and ennobles him. The Trotta family origins in Slovenian peasant. The award while appearing to be a good thing leads to the ruin of the Trotta family which parallels the ruin of the Austrian Hungarian dynasty and eventual collapse. The story follows the The grandfather, his son who becomes a civil servant and the grandson who joins the cavalry as an officer. The grandson is mediocre. He never rides well, he can't make decisions, he only desires to be heroic like his grandfather but instead, people around him die because of his actions. The title is from the Radetzky March, by Johann Strauss. This is a political novel and tells the story of not only the Trotta family but of the Ethnic groups within the Hapsburg Republic; Moravia, Serbia, Ukrainia, Romania, Poland, Hungary, Bosnia Herzegovina and the Jewish people. It heralds the changes from the 1800's to the 1900's and takes the reader to the start of the WWI. While the book was all of this, it should have been good and it was good but it was not engaging. I could sit and read once I started but it was not a book that drew me back once I set it down. I am glad I read it. I appreciate it and will give it 3 1/2 stars because it is an important novel but it loses a 1/2 star because it was work to read. I did not like the narrator style.
11Kristelh
Cloudsplitter by Russell Banks, 3/26/16, 3 1/2 stars. It was interesting and I admit that I didn't know much about John Brown. Just read The Good Lord Bird which really would make a good companion read.
12Kristelh
Faceless Killers by Henning Mankell, 3/30/16 3 stars.
A Swedish detective series. It was okay.
A Swedish detective series. It was okay.
13Kristelh
409. Death in Venice by Thomas Mann 4/1/16, 4 stars. Kind of reminds you of Lolita.
14Kristelh
410. The Bluest Eye Toni Morrison, 4/6/16 4 stars, story of a girl that is rejected by others
