Which to concentrate my attentions on?

[kelby_lake]

i am guilty of taking out loads of books at once only to find that I have a massive stack of unfinished books.

So which one should I read first?

Some background:
- Never been able to finish a Hemingway book although I'm liking this one
- James' prose is quite dense and I've only read What Maisie Knew but I like it when I have time to concentrate.
- Seen 'Cabaret' and hope to see film of 'A Single Man'
- Read and enjoyed The Line of Beauty

[kasie]

Apart from saying leave The Golden Bowl till last as it will take a fair degree of concentration, I'd suggest my usual method of selection: lay all the books on the table, close your eyes, shuffle the books about (no peeping!) then select one. Open eyes, begin reading....

[LitNetIsGreat]

In terms of Hemingway I always found A Moveable Feast or Fiesta, The Sun Also Rises very readable.

I'm trying to live up to the ideal of "a novel a day" or equal to in terms of criticism/history/French study or whatever, though I do sometimes find that life has the awkward habit of getting in the way of reading - it's such a bore!

[Helga]

how I agree with you there Neely, life gets in the way of so many things and books you want to read....

but on the question at hand I always say Hemingway, and this one is very good so it got my vote, but unfortunately I haven't read the other ones....

[kasie]

.....I'm trying to live up to the ideal of "a novel a day" or equal to in terms of criticism/history/French study or whatever.....

Do you mean 'reading a whole novel in one day'? :eek2:

Even at my fastest reading speed, many years ago now, I don't think I could have kept up that rate. And yes, life would definitely get in the way, mostly in the form of breakfast, lunch and dinner - I can read while eating but I've never quite mastered reading while cooking.

(Shakes head in amazement and admiration.....)

[kelby_lake]

I am amazed too :O

[prendrelemick]

I shouldn't worry about finishing Goodbye to Berlin, Christopher Isherwood didn't!

A seriously good book, but it sort of fizzles out.

[dfloyd]

then go onto Goddbye to Berlin. These are both highly readable and enjoyable. If you start today, you'll be finished with both within the week.

[Virgil]

If you like Hemingway, A Moveable Feast is a great read. One of his best.

[Emil Miller]

I read 'Goodbye to Berlin' donkey's years ago and thought it was very good, as was 'Mr Norris Changes Trains'. Hemingway's A Moveable Feast is about his life as a writer in Paris during the 1920s and is definitely one of his best books albeit that it isn't fiction. I would definitley go for it as a first choice.

[mal4mac]

Try renewing them, start with those that have a recall on them.

[kelby_lake]

Almost finished the Hemingway one! I really like it, it's very readable. Strange that I don't seem to like his novels...

[kelby_lake]

Have now read all of them except The Swimming Pool Library!

[dfloyd]

Most of his books are enjoyable to me. A couple of weeks ago I read A Movable Feast and The Sun Also Rises. Last week, I listened to unabridged CDs of A Farewell to Arms and To Have and Have Not. Next week, I'll read For Whom the Bell Tolls. Afterwards, I'll read Islands in the Stream, then finish up with his short stories. Someday I hope to read the reminder of his collected works, including his only play, the Fifth Column, his non fiction works, and his less popular novels.

[pooteeweet]

Do you mean 'reading a whole novel in one day'? :eek2:

Even at my fastest reading speed, many years ago now, I don't think I could have kept up that rate. And yes, life would definitely get in the way, mostly in the form of breakfast, lunch and dinner - I can read while eating but I've never quite mastered reading while cooking.

(Shakes head in amazement and admiration.....)

I had to think about this one a second, I am at about a rate of 4-5 novels/week for the past year...it's really not that 'difficult' to do if you cut out other forms of media (I don't own a T.V. and go online a few times/week) There are a little more than 900 books in my basement and I've read about half.

I would go with Hemingway :)

[Emil Miller]

Do you mean 'reading a whole novel in one day'? :eek2:

Even at my fastest reading speed, many years ago now, I don't think I could have kept up that rate. And yes, life would definitely get in the way, mostly in the form of breakfast, lunch and dinner - I can read while eating but I've never quite mastered reading while cooking.

(Shakes head in amazement and admiration.....)

It would depend on the length of the book and style of the author. For example, I first read The Great Gatsby in a day and W.S. Maugham's Liza of Lambeth likewise. They are both very short novels that command the attention. Conversely, Tender is the Night and Of Human Bondage took considerably longer.
With regard to food getting in the way of reading, it has never been a problem for me because, if the book is interesting enough, I don't think about eating until I have read as much as I want to.

[blazeofglory]

I may exclusively concentrate on Dostoevsky's books, particularly on the Brothers Karamazov and Notes from Underground and few books have transformed and still fewer involved me than his. Next, I may choose Tolstoy. Style-wise Ulysses is unbeatable, yet I am ill-mature for that. Maybe after a decade when I will mature myself into scholastic proportions