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My Current TBR List...

-Carlos-

New Member
Have you read any of the following books in my TBR list? If so, rate those book(s). Thanks!

Executive Orders by Clancy
The Assistant by Malamud
Carry Me Down by Hyland

Bliss by Livaneli
Birdy by Wharton
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close By Foer

The Door Into Summer by Heinlein
Invisible Man by Ellison
L.A. Rex by Beall

The Last Crossing by Vanderharghe
Lolita by Nabokov
Post Office by Bukowski

People’s Act of Love by Meek
Out by Kirino
Oryx & Crake by Atwood

The Remains of the Day by Ishiguro
Snow Crash by Stephenson
The Sparrow by Russell

The Thirteenth Tale by Setterfield
Time & Again by Finney
The Wind-Out Bird Chronicle by Murakami

Winter’s Bone by Woodrell
The Alchemist by Coelho
American Pastoral by Roth

The Shadow of the Torturer by Wolfe
Angle of Repose by Stegner
The Last Town on Earth by Mullen
 
A Few

The Assistant by Malamud - read it years ago - good introduction to this American Jewish writer - story of young man who get involved helping an elderly deli owner (if I remember correctly)

Invisible Man by Ellison - classic novel of young black man who is "invisible" to the rest of society

The Remains of the Day by Ishiguro - upper class England, just before World War II - a novel of misunderstandings and missed opportunities

Time & Again by Finney - travel back in time - imaginative fantasy
 
Lolita-Keep your dictionary handy and be prepared to be awed by Nabakov's genius.

Time and Again-A favorite of me and my husband. Be sure to read the rest of the trilogy and look for his collection of shorter works. The Woodrow Wilson Dime is a wonderful time travel piece.
 
Only one on your list I have read is Executive Orders by Clancy.

It was not his best, but it also was not his worst. For a Clancy book I would say it is about average. 3/5
 
I read 'Oryx and Crake' recently and it has now become one of my favourites. It's so eerily-depressing-finger-licking good:)
 
I read The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle and American Pastoral, and both are great reads. I'd pass on The Alchemist if I were you. Seriously. For some reason the name Paulo Coelho got in my head as a literary writer - yeah right! The idea of the book is not bad, but requires just a few sentences to be expressed fully.
 
The Alchemist - a quick fairy tale-esque read with lots of "life lessons" embedded. I enjoyed it for what it was. I would put it somewhere around 7-8/10.
 
  • Carry Me Down, M.J. Hyland
  • A rather good example of telling a story from a kid's point of view in a non-contemporary setting, without being too obvious with retro-pop culture references. I enjoyed this one: 4/5
  • Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov
  • A re-readable linguistic masterwork. I've only read it once (and a bit) so haven't unlocked all its charms, so only 4/5
  • The People’s Act of Love, James Meek
  • My review of this excellent piece of mock-Russian fiction 5/5
  • The Remains of the Day Kazuo Ishiguro
  • My favourite novel of all time. Measured prose, amazing depth, and an unreliable narrator. Fascinating. 5/5
  • The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
  • My review of one of the few books I would take to the toilet to save on toilet paper. Hippy shite of the lowest order. 0/5
 
  • The Remains of the Day Kazuo Ishiguro
  • My favourite novel of all time. Measured prose, amazing depth, and an unreliable narrator. Fascinating. 5/5

I'm going to have to get this and read it as soon as possible. It's been floating around in my mental TBR list, but always just staying off radar. In general your opinions are very balanced, and this brief review convinced me.
 
I read Angle of Repose a few years ago and recall that it's not really something that everyone would enjoy. Sort of ponderous and depressing. If you'd like to try a Wallace Stegner, my favorite of his is Big Rock Candy Mountain, a story set in Prohibition, on the Canadian border; it has some action and character and setting like you can't believe.

I agree with those who have high-rated The Remains of the Day. A masterpiece of restraint and all that.

I'm in the middle of Snow Crash at the moment...so far, so good.
 
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