Hi Prince Smileswelcome to the forums. That's such a cool picture - is that your library? If so, I'm very, very, very jealous.
I've got Proust on my list. I've got volumes 1-3 sitting on my shelves and I keep telling myself, come autumn, I'm going to do it. Honest
So, having read them all, aside from the achievement of actually doing it, is it a rewarding read?
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FifthElement,
thanks for the welcome.
That is a good question! It was a slog to say the least.So, having read them all, aside from the achievement of actually doing it, is it a rewarding read?
Put it this way, I started reading it with a great friend of mine. She is an Oxford Uni double masters graduate and used to dealing with heavy classic Greek texts. She gave up at about half way through Guermantes Way and said that I was insane to persist in such fashion!
The problem with the book is that the protagonist, Marcel lacks such conviction and get up and go. It takes a lot of patience to deal with him. If you combined Mildred (Of Human Bondage) with Uriah Heep (D. Copperfield), although Marcel has a totally different character from those two, the combined degree of infuriation is generated. (If you see what I mean)
The book as an insight into salon society and French history , The Dreyfus Affair and so forth is interesting.
Everyone is familiar with the Madeleine Cake scene because it is in the first volume, but further on in another volume there is a scene describing a water lilly being pushed back and forth in a stream. It is just exquisitely written.
Little gems like that abound.
Why did I read it? Well, to paraphrase George Mallory, ‘because it has been printed.’
If you are going to tackle the work in Autumn, you have a good few months to prepare.
How about Alexandre Dumas: ‘The Count of Monte Cristo’ in the meantime? My Penguin Classic edition runs a cool 1078 pages. It is the only 1000 page + novel that I have read three times and I plan to read it again in the near future. If you haven’t read the tale of Edmond Dantes, then I would say it’s a good starter for 1,000.
With regards to the library in my pic it’s photo-shopped! Only kidding, I wish it was my library, too. Actually it is a school library and hardly a soul uses it, so I sequester myself in there on occasion.
Thank you again for the welcome to the forum and it’s nice to make your acquaintance.
Best wishes,
P. Smiles
Whew! I finally finished Les Miserables! Yay!
It was really good. When I started it, I thought it was slow but once I got past the Bishop of Digne stuff it started to pick up. There were some other parts that I thought bogged down the story a little bit (did I really need that much info on the sewer system?) but overall it was a great book.
I have a few more "big" books I want to read but I need to take a break and read some easy stuff.
Oh, and someone mentioned Middlemarch. I just read that last year and thought it was great. Good luck!
Anyone trying The World According to Garg?
I'll admit, I am now struggling. I think I've achieved some sort of reading burnout that started with Cortazar's Hopscotch and hasn't really left me since. So I started The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann and have had to put it to one side and read Battle Royale instead which is actually 600+ pages long but kind of cheaty because it's 'easy' to read (I say easy to read but not an easy read because it is incredibly gruesome).
Falling behind target
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I know what you mean. I get like that at times. Usually after making myself complete a book that I don't really like. For some reason, I just can't let myself stop reading. I soldier my way through it and then I just don't want to read for a while! Maybe it would be better if I just stopped reading a book that doesn't interest me...Originally Posted by TheFifthElement
I'll admit, I am now struggling. I think I've achieved some sort of reading burnout that started with Cortazar's Hopscotch and hasn't really left me since. So I started The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann and have had to put it to one side and read Battle Royale instead which is actually 600+ pages long but kind of cheaty because it's 'easy' to read (I say easy to read but not an easy read because it is incredibly gruesome).
Falling behind target
Buddenbrooks is next on my list. I haven't read anything by Thomas Mann yet. It will count towards this challenge and the 12 new authors challenge
March update
1. The Tale of Genji - 1169 pages
2. Midnight's Children - 647 pages
3. Battle Royale - 614 pages
I feel like I cheated though. Must try harder this month.
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So for April I will be reading The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. If anyone would like to join me, I've set up a thread to discuss the book here: http://www.online-literature.com/for...56#post1132456
Want to know what I think about books? Check out https://biisbooks.wordpress.com/
April update:
1. The Tale of Genji - 1169 pages
2. Midnight's Children - 647 pages
3. Battle Royale - 614 pages
4. The Poisonwood Bible - 616 pages
Slamdunk!
So, I have inadvertently started the Sea of Fertility tetralogy by Yukio Mishima and that's going to be my May read (all four of them...it may spill over). Anyone interested is more than welcome to join me. I'm starting with Spring Snow (obviously, as it's the first book).
Proust...oh that's still a way off
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So I'm half way through Runaway Horses which is the second book in the Sea of Fertility tetralogy by Mishima, and I'm flagging. This one's a tough one. Any inspiration to push me through it anyone?
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Getting a little ahead of myself (75 pages to go) but here is my May update:
1. The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu- 1169 pages
2. Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie- 647 pages
3. Battle Royale by Koushun Takami - 614 pages
4. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver - 616 pages
5. The Sea of Fertility Tetralogy (Spring Snow, Runaway Horses, The Temple of Dawn, The Decay of the Angel) by Yukio Mishima - 1376 pages.
Phew - The Sea of Fertility Tetralogy was hard work (well it still kind of is as I haven't quite finished it) but it's given me some confidence on my lengthy reading skills. And I think its time I moved away from the Japanese and read something different so next month it'll be......
Kristen Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset
anyone care to join me?
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By some interesting twist of fate, I just happened to stumble across a copy of Kristin Lavransdatter on my local bookstore's dollar shelf. Are you still planning to read it for the month of June? If so, I'd be happy to discuss.
At about 100 pages in, I'm really warming up to it. I really enjoy Kristin's interactions with certain spiritual elders, like Brother Edvin or the "witch"-- although she's not at the age where she can fully understand what they teach, their wisdom does return to guide her through darker times in her life. Still, I can't say the cover of my edition is doing great things for my street cred on the NYC subways.
rootinghog that's excellent news! And I love the cover, it's so funny! Mine is slightly more austere (and a bit more boring) http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kristin-Lavr...9489740&sr=1-1
I'm definitely wanting to read Kristen this month; I'm just waiting until there's more room in my bag (as it's a beast!) so probably it'll be next week. I'm back in work now, and it takes about a week before I give up bringing things home and taking them back undone the next day. I'll start a separate thread for it. I'd love to hear what you think.
Just a question - do you have all three books? It's in three parts. Judging from your cover, you've got part 1.
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Great! Just drop me a line once you've started up. It'll be interesting to compare translations- from what I can tell, mine is an older, more staid version, which I've grown to like but which can occasionally be indecipherable.
(And yes, I did nab all three similarly young-adult-fantasy-covered volumes from the dollar shelf, which has lessened bulkiness on the commute, if not embarrassment.)
Brilliant! I looked up the other covers and they are all equally beautiful. I hope you're a fast reader, otherwise your street cred will be suffering for a looooong time
I've set up the discussion thread here; once I've finished Lolita, which I don't think will take too long, I'll make a start on Kristen and will bob you a message to let you know.
Looking forward to reading.
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