Fill in the Gaps, the 2011 Edition
In February 2010, I finalized my Fill in the Gaps Book list. I made a few adjustments when I realized I had read a few on my original list, and I removed a few when I discovered I was heavy with books by a single author (see strikethroughs below). I also made a tiny dent in the list (see checks below) and added a few new titles (see green entries below marked with an "N").
I'm still determining the status of All That Dickens and Should I Dumas to That Extent, but I think I'm good with the balance of books on the list. As you can see from the strikethroughs, I have a few more books to choose, so I'll take suggestions.
In the meanwhile, this is the status of this daunting task.
I'm still determining the status of All That Dickens and Should I Dumas to That Extent, but I think I'm good with the balance of books on the list. As you can see from the strikethroughs, I have a few more books to choose, so I'll take suggestions.
In the meanwhile, this is the status of this daunting task.
Chris' Fill in the Gaps Book List
|
Did you love Atonement? I think I commented last year, too, so hopefully I'm not repeating myself. Love Austen, Dickens, Tolstoy, Waugh... I don't think you can go wrong keeping/adding anything by them. I have not read Dumas at all. I would drop Tobacco Road... hated it. Ditto, I hated On the Road, but I can see why you'd want to keep it on the list. In the same vein, I found F&L in Las Vegas tiring... the whole "screwed up beyond belief and writing about it" thing just doesn't appeal to me. I found Moby-Dick too dense. I gave it the old college try, but there was no way. Life is too short. I love Garcia-Marquez, but he can be an acquired taste. I could not get into Bel Canto (not an Ann Patchett fan). I read Sarum many, many years ago and it is quite a tome. I remember enjoying it (for a long, long time!). I think I recommended last time maybe substituting So Big for the Mag Ambersons. I see you've added a few from the book club list. I would also add the other Stegner book, Crossing to Safety, if you haven't read it. Lolita is really good. Night is excellent. I wanted to love When Things Fall Apart and heard Achebe speak and thought he was amazing, but I just could not get into that book the way I wanted to. Might give it another try. Hmmm don't you just love books? I wish I could read them all! :)
ReplyDeleteIf I could, Katie, I'd give up sleeping to read!
ReplyDeleteLOVED Atonement. I had seen the movie, which I kept seeing as I read the book, and I liked that. I thought it was a flawless movie and, after reading the book, found it a great tribute to the novel.
I started reading some Dumas and found him very readable, so I can't wait to really sink my teeth into a few swashbucklers.
I can't wait to get to Crossing to Safety. Don't know if I can get into So Big after the travesty that was Giant.
What did you hate about Tobacco Road?
Okay, I looked back in the reading log I keep and I read TR in 1999 and actually I liked it when I read it, but I know now why my memory of it is so tainted. It is about squalid, disgusting, ignorant life in the rural South. Did you read Winters Bone? That whole world of crazy idiocy among poor Southerners... I dunno. Maybe leave it on your list!
ReplyDeleteSo Big I loved and highly recommend! I have not read Giant. I think I remember that Carole liked SB, too.
I agree about Atonement, the film. It is the only movie that I went back to see 2x in the theater. Loved it!