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Complicity by Iain Banks. Pretty much a piece of trash - I can't imagine how it got on the list.

Billy Budd -Melville
Martin Eden -London
The Professor's House -Cather
The Trial -Kafka
and
The House of Mirth -Wharton

All of these were fun to read, some of them I enjoyed much more (Martin Eden, The Trial, and House of Mirth) than the others. Now I understand why Tom Waits mentions that Martin Eden will be proud of him in Shiver Me Timbers and alienation via big nameless government systems was never more entertaining thanks to Kafka.

Just finished The Years

just finished the remains of the day and quite enjoyed it, especially as it reached the end. it seems everyone loves never let me go, so i will probobly try that soon! grapes of wrath first though....

Vladimir Nabokov's Pale Fire.
4+ stars

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Complicity by Iain Banks. Pretty much a piece of trash - I can't imagine how it got on the list."

Wow. Opposite of my feeling. I enjoyed immensely and felt it was extremely well crafted. I guess it just goes to show that art touches us all personally. Agreement may or may not be widespread, but it certainly won't be universal.

The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas

Finished The Passion According to G.H. by Clarice Lispector.

Clarissa by Samuel Richardson. 1535 pages that I wish had been done in 535. I would not recommend to any casual readers, and frankly only read it with my future as an English professor in mind.

The Reader Bernhard Schlink

Amber wrote: "Clarissa by Samuel Richardson. 1535 pages that I wish had been done in 535. I would not recommend to any casual readers, and frankly only read it with my future as an English professor in mind."

LOL, I totally understand. Even when I was getting my Masters in English Lit, this was the one book I couldn't bring myself to read. I used someone's notes in class because I couldn't get past the first chapter. When I saw it was on this list, I groaned...

Glorianne wrote: "Amber wrote: "Clarissa by Samuel Richardson. 1535 pages that I wish had been done in 535. I would not recommend to any casual readers, and frankly only read it with my future as an English professo..."

Oh, I so-o-o agree. It's on the list because it is significant in the development of the novel, of course.
People used to LOVE these very, very long stories, but I'd like to see a 300 page version!

Simon and the Oaks - M. Fredrikkson

Intelligent psychological novel with mythological and historical elements.

Simon and the Oaks

Love in the Time of Cholera..really sweet!

Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency. Funny and Quirky! Enjoyed it!

Finished The Stechlin last night, a slow but enjoyable read. Stechlin, the name of a family but also a lake, a forest and a castle.

The Garden of the Finzi-Continis and

The Death of Ivan Ilych

both of which I enjoyed, although I preferred the Tolstoy.

I just finished The Yellow Wallpaper. Very creepy!

Just finished The Witch in the Wood, the second book of The Once and Future King.

Just finished The Charterhouse of Parma. Review is up on

Viper's Tangle - Mauriac
Viper's Tangle

Best novel I've read this year...even ahead of "Growth of the Soil" which I also loved.

Murder of Roger Ackroyd -Christie,
House of Mirth -Wharton,
and
Quicksand -Larsen

Fingersmith by Sarah Waters. Really enjoyed it, reminded me of Dickens and Collins.

"The Children's Book," by A.S. Byatt.

Cynthia wrote: ""The Children's Book," by A.S. Byatt."

That's very high on my to-read list. I've loved the other books of hers I've read, and seen lots of good things about The Children's Book.

One Thousand and One Arabian Nights - another classic that toally passed me by until I began this challenge. 5/5

I've just finished and it leaves me feeling meh. This is not brilliant fiction - and why is it on this list?

Aileen wrote: "One Thousand and One Arabian Nights - another classic that toally passed me by until I began this challenge. 5/5"

I agree! The Abrabian Nights is a brilliant story! It is one of my favourites.

At the moment I have just started The Third Policeman by Flann O'Brien. It is bizarre and wonderful! Like Alice's adventures!

Huckleberry Finn

Cynthia wrote: ""The Children's Book," by A.S. Byatt."

David wrote: "That's very high on my to-read list. I've loved the other books of hers I've read, and seen lots of good things about The Children's Book."

That is a wonderful book, imo. It has some major faults, and yet I still had to give it 4* (my reasons are in my review http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...).

I hope you both enjoy it even half as much as I did.

Cecily wrote: "Cynthia wrote: ""The Children's Book," by A.S. Byatt."

David wrote: "That's very high on my to-read list. I've loved the other books of hers I've read, and seen lots of good things about The Child..."

Thanks, Cecily. Isn't Byatt delicious?

Beloved I am still processing it.

Yrinsyde wrote: "I've just finished The Secret History and it leaves me feeling meh. This is not brilliant fiction - and why is it on this list?"

Oh I'm so glad you wrote this. I'm not the only one!

This week I finished:

Bleak House, which was much better than I expected!

One Hundred Years of Solitude, which I suppose I just 'didn't get', because it seemed to drag on and on

Infinite Jest, after four attempts to get thorough this one, I finally made it my summer reading project, and I'm so glad I did!

Just finished I, Robot. The review is up on my blog, .

Nancy wrote: "Thank you for convincing me not to give up on SciFi after a bad experience with "Stranger in a Strang..."

Thank you for everything! I haven't read Stranger in a Strange Land yet, but good SciFi is there to make people think. Don't give up - it has much to offer.

Antic Hay - Huxley
Antic Hay

Not engaging like Brave New World, but excellent at making Huxley's points about the times in Europe after the Great War.

Karena wrote: "Beloved I am still processing it."

And there it a good deal to take in, isn't there! I'm not sure I ever fully understood this novel. Such a powerful story and symbolism, not to mention the characters!

Finished House of Leaves. It was fun but I wanted more from the ending.

Just finished The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, Stanley Corngold (Translator) and am now reading the explanatory notes, many of which I don't believe that he thought about as he was writing his tale. Several critical essays follow the notes! I enjoyed his tale and gleaned my own interpretations from it.

Yay, I'm back to reading and just finished Slaughterhouse-Five. Really liked this one.

Henry James' The Ambassadors. Not as horrible as I expected based on reviews/comments here and GR at large.

Stephanie "Jedigal" wrote: "Henry James' The Ambassadors. Not as horrible as I expected based on reviews/comments here and GR at large."

Haven't read it yet, but my friends who have, rated it 4 and 5 stars.

The Reluctant Fundamentalist -- a quick, thought-provoking read.

The Road--wow. A quick read only because I couldn't take my eyes off it. This was bleak, chilling, powerful, haunting, & STARK, but the style of writing evokes Hemingway's short & to the point sentence structure, which makes it all the more compelling. The setting, a post apocalyptic America, is one of the most horrific I've seen yet in a dystopian genre of book. It's a combination of horror, drama, & several other things, but the love in every page between this father & son stuck in an impossible situation is what humanizes it. If you haven't read this one yet, move it WAY up in your TBR pile. It's worth it.

Just finished Beloved which I went into knowing nothing about it (didn't even read the synopsis). Wow, was that something I wasn't expecting. Wasn't thrilled with the writing style, but it was interesting.

Yesterday I finished Lost Illusions. Not the best Balzac I've read, but he beats hands down a number of others on the list.

Just finished two from South American authors:


The Shipyard by Juan Carlos Onetti
and
Ficciones by Jorge Luis Borges

Just finished Lambs of London by Peter Ackroyd. Couldn't put it down! Picked it up from the local library without any idea what it was about. Never read anything else from the author. Very interesting premise for the book. Wish I was more knowledgeable about Shakespeare but so be it. Really found this to be an entertaining read.

Faces in the Water. Not nearly as widely read as it should be, especially by those whose knowledge of New Zealand touches upon sheep, Kiwis, LotR, and little else.