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Hey, I'm just starting The Jungle too- though I'm pretty busy right now so it will probably take some time for me to finish.

I just started and its a slow go. Let me know what you think...

E.L. Doctorow, City of God. This was an incredibly ambitious book that succeeded on a bunch of levels. Really highly recommended.

The Double by Jose Saramago. It was a three-star book until the last 30 pages or so when it quickly became a four-star book. Very interesting, though I wonder if Saramago suffers in translation. I sometimes find the style ponderous and wnoder how it would be in the original. Any Portuguese readers out there who know?

I think he's had the same translator for years -- most of his books anyway. The lack of paragraphs and the inclusion of dialogue into the prose without breaks is a signature of his and is what gives the rhythm to his stories. It takes a while to get used to it. This said, I haven't read The Double. Blindness just blew me away, though...

Blindness was the first I read as well and it is one of the best books I've read in the past ten years. But then I read The History of the Siege of Lisbon and The Double and both seemed to suffer similarly, so I was just wondering if I'm going to be out of luck until I learn to read Portuguese :)

Giovanni Pontiero was his old translator that died in 1997. He translated: Blindness, Baltasar and Blimunda, The Gospel According to Jesus Christ, The History of the Siege of Lisbon, The Stone Raft, and The Year of the Death of Ricardo Ries.

Margaret Jull Costa is his new translator. She has translated: All the Names, Seeing, Death at Intervals, The Double, The Cave, and I believe, The Tale of the Unknown Island.

However, his wife, Pilar del Río, is the official translator of his books into Spanish.

I don't know if anyone has noticed a difference in the delivery or style between the two translators. If anyone has read a few books from each translator, please let me know if there are any noticeable differences. I'm very curious. :-)

You're making me want to pick up Saramago.

Thanks to being sick in bed, I just devoured two list books back to back. The Lonely Girl (it's on the list under its alternate title, The Girl with Green Eyes) is the second in Edna O'Brien's Country Girls trilogy, and it's so good, maybe even better than the first. Two Irish girls leave the countryside to try their luck in big, bad Dublin, and the narrator falls in with an older man. She's very passive and awkward, and apparently her brash, bossy friend narrates the third book -- I can't wait to see how that goes.

Then I moved on to The Siege of Krishnapur, which I'd never even heard of before the list. What a fantastic book! It's kind of a familiar scenario -- a bunch of frivolous British Victorians end up holed up for months during the Sepoy mutiny and you see what becomes of them under duress -- but the characters are terrific and it's so vividly written. For a book with so much bloodshed and cholera and horror, it is also often very funny. I can't recommend this one highly enough.

So, there you go -- two excellent books I would probably never have read without the List.

I just finished Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility. It was my third Jane Austen novel and I gave it 3 stars. I don't know though, there's something about her writing style that just bugs me and I cannot get too excited about any of her books.

Smarti, I have the same problem with Austen (except Emma, which I love because it's so funny). I think for me, the stumbling block is that she never describes anything in as much detail as I would like -- I don't know what anyone looks like except in very general terms, that they're pretty or of a certain age or what have you. She doesn't describe mannerisms or clothing or food in any great detail. When you combine that with how circumspect most of the characters are, it's hard for me to get engaged with what's happening; it all seems very abstract.

I think that's why I often enjoy movies based on her books much more than the books themselves.

Just finished The Jungle and To Have and Have Not in the last week or so.

I'm starting Slow Man tonight.

I'm still at 6%...c'mon 7!

Oh, don't get me started on Jane Austen again lol. I cannot stand her books though I should give her another chance, I guess, since I have only read "Pride and Predjudice". To me her characters are so unbearably shallow. Recently, because of something I read on goodreads, I had a thought that maybe she was doing that on purpose as a joke, kind of like Oscar Wilde in "The Importance of Being Earnest". So I thought I would try reading it again some day with that in mind.

Cats Cradle.
Moving on to the Crying of Lot 49

I FINALLY finished The Lord of the Rings last night. It was not my cup of tea. Thank goodness I had Julie to read along side it.

Tonight I'll read C.S. Lewis' Prince Caspian for about 1001st time. When I was in 5th grade I had a crush on Prince Caspian. I can't wait for the movie!

Empire of the Sun is ready for me to pick up at the library so I'll start it this weekend.

"Everything is Illuminated" by Foer

Enjoyed it immensely! History + humor + characters to care about + a journey of discovery and self-discovery! What more can one ask of a good read?

Just finished Julie and Middlesex. Movin on to Empire of the sun woo hoo.

I'm probably one of the few who hated Lord of the Rings (I haven't even seen the movies). I couldn't really say why until I read Orson Scott Card's Characters and Viewpoints in which he explains that LoR's characters are two-dimensional at best since the purpose of the book was world-building, not character development. Since I read mainly for the latter, I was in for disappointment.

I love Jane Austen's books. I love the subtlety of language, the dark irony, the sarcastic commentaries on the life she was forced to live in a society she tolerated at best. She used the writer's trick of giving each of her characters one or two specific characteristics and proceeded to show how these affected the lives they led, their environment, and the consequences on their relationships. You have to read Austen, or any classic of that time for that matter, with the historical perspective in mind. These women had no freedom whatsoever; Jane Austen chose dire poverty rather than a loveless marriage, and was scorned by everyone. Those who didn't were simply baffled by her.

My favourite Austen book was Mansfield park. Just finished reading Platform by Michel Houellebecq, strange book but couldn't put it down and very easy to read. Not sure of my percentage but I've passed the 300 book mark.

I just finished Coetzee's, Slow Man, yesterday and I can't really say that I would recommend it to anyone. Hopefully, his others aren't quite as bla...

Just completed The Color Purple. I just love it. It is one of those books which has the capability to drag you into the scenes and you just transform into one character. one of those which i reckon will stay with me forever

I am taking "Finnegans Wake" back to the library. I will deal with it when I have about twenty years to spare.

How about Elizabeth Costello? It's next on my TBR pile.

Elizabeth Costello was just as bla as slow man - I'm not sure if Coetzee writes non-bla, but I'll give him a third chance...

I just finished One Hundred Years of Solitude. While the writing style was wonderful; the story got very boring for me. I was so glad to be done with it.

Journey to the End of the Night by Celine... loved it!! I read this because Celine was mentioned in Slaughterhouse Five. Since Vonnegut is my favorite author I thought I would probably like this. So if there are any other Vonnegut fans out here I think you would really enjoy this.

Petals of Blood Ngugi wa Thiong'o. Really glad I read it as I have had very little exposure to African writers. It was an excellent introduction.

@ Yelena: I read Ngugi wa Thong'o's The River Between a long time ago and I'm now wishing I hadn't given it away at Bookcrossing because I'd like to go back and read it.

I'm really looking forward to reading the Chinua Achebe works because I read "No Longer At Ease" many moons ago (that work isn't on the list) and loved it.

That's good to hear. I've had Things Fall Apart on my shelf for years now but haven't gotten around to picking it up. Maybe I will have to bump it up the list and read it sooner rather than later.

"Never Let Me Go" by Ishiguro

Wow, this one really got to me. I finished it a couple of days ago, but my thoughts keep drifting back to Tommy and Kathy and Ruth... Such a heart rending story....

I love this author for his excellent insight into the human psyche. I think he just nails how people would feel and react to the situations his characters are placed in in this book. Their passivity seemed correct as did their hopes, dreams and many, many let downs. Very moving.

Just finished Anne Bronte's The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. The PBS interpretation of the book is one of my favourite movies (very dark) and I'd always wanted to read the book. This group gave me the impetus. As usual, the book is a lot better, although some of the religious moralizing (thinly disguised as story) were a bit tedious.

It was a truly scandalous book for the times: carousing, adultery, debauchery, abuse, separation.

Judith, thanks for the post. I've been thinking about reading Never Let Me Go and I think I'll pick it up at the library next week.

I finished Empire of the Sun yesterday...I'll leave my thoughts off until May 1st other than to say it was a gripping story and I'm glad I read it. I just picked a non-list book, The Assistant by Bernard Malamud. It looks like a quick read so I'll be back to the list next week.

catch-22 was my recent conquest - made for an entertaining and intriguing read while traveling, although i was initially extremely confused by the absurdities and shifts in perspective. as i got into it, it became better and better.

I just finished Tolstoy's Kreutzer Sonata. Sooo much shorter than War & Peace but also quite dense in philosophical ideas. I enjoyed it and was amazed once more by Tolsoy's genius and gave it 5 stars accordingly

many book of paulo coielo and other authers was finished

Empire of the Sun :-)

Another one! I also finished The last temptation by greek Nikos Kazantzakis. Wonderful at times and at other times frustrating - at least to me. Still, very recommendable!

I loved Salvage by Jane Kotapish. She's a new author and worth the read! Her imagery is rich and delightful.

I just finished Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. I wish that I liked it more...something is just missing though. Also, I kind of resent all the sex in that book- soooo unnecessary.

I'm just about finished Elizabeth Costello, only five pages or so to go. I have to say, I didn't get it. It's incredibly well written, very erudite and sometimes troubling, but what's the use of having a character for the simple purpose of philosophizing on issues such as animal rights or the nature of evil? I sometimes felt I was being moralized to rather than given food for thought.

Good books, good stories should make you think, maybe even disturb your comfort level but this one just left me perplexed.

Just finished Tuesdays with Morrie, and I liked it very very much

I just finished Interview with a Vampire by Anne Rice. I am rereading the whole series. I love the lush, sensuous storytelling.

I needed something a bit easier after The Ground Beneath Her Feet by Salman Rushdie. Though I loved the ideas and the references to everything under the sun, that was a tough read.

I felt the same about Elizabeth Costello. I tried listening to it on talking book, but really had to give it up. Way too preaching for me. And I didn't really see the point at all.

I have just finished A Tale of Two Cities by Dickens and ADORED it. I can't believe I have reached the age I am without having had the real Dickens experience. I want more!

I've read Tuesdays with Morrie, as well as The Five People You Meet in Heaven. Both were good, Morrie was better. Cheesy, yes, but uplifting. :)

Finished Gramham Greene's The Power and The Glory Monday night. It was kind of weird for me because I've been to Tabasco and didn't have a good experience there. I'm glad I read this book AFTER my trip there.

I finished Blood and Guts in High School by Kathy Acker. I decided to look at it like poetry, and I actually got more out of it that way. I will give credit where credit is due: the references to The Scarlet Letter certainly made me think. I have so many list-books in my pile, I don't know where to turn next.

The House Of Leaves by Mark. Z. Danielewski, very strange book which took a while to get into. Did like the way that the words on the pages were set out to emphasize what was going on in the book.

The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing