Boxall's 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die discussion

what is with this guy? he is fantastic I have only read sense of an ending and I loved that now I'm on Flaubert's parrot and that is so well written/interesting/funny and he tricked me into wanting to read madame bovary. I have a few others of his like the history of the world in 10 1/2 chapters and levels of life. what does everyone else think?

Steve wrote: "what is with this guy? he is fantastic I have only read sense of an ending and I loved that now I'm on Flaubert's parrot and that is so well written/interesting/funny and he tricked me into wantin..."

Steve I completely agree with you! I've actually only read Sense of an ending but I'm prepared for him to be one of my favourite authors of all time! I've bought Arthur and George (I have a specific order in which I read all my books in which includes rotating "tried and tested" authors so I won't get to it for a while). I've watched lots of interviews with him because I think he's so amazing, Sense of an ending was such a breathe of fresh air, it's fantastic to read something so intelligent!

I have read only his Arthur and George, which I loved. I can't say why I don't seem to get to anything else, but I keep hoping a title will fit into the next challenge.

Steve wrote: "what is with this guy? he is fantastic I have only read sense of an ending and I loved that now I'm on Flaubert's parrot and that is so well written/interesting/funny and he tricked me into wantin..."

Hi Steve, in response to your to your question about the order that I read books in (I don't know how to reply to your comment directly as it came via the friends request which I can't reply to!) this is the order (this may reveal myself as being a little bit obsessive and you may regret asking me!)

I alternate the books I read between a new author- an author that I haven't read anything by before and then a tried and tested author- an author who's book/s I've previously enjoyed. This is so if I've run the risk of reading a book by a new author who's book I potentially won't enjoy I can be comforted in the fact that my next read will be by a tried and tested author which odds on I am more likely to enjoy.

With the tried and tested authors I rotate them in the same order so if I've read a good book recently and want to read something else by them, I have to wait until I've read one book (if another book exists) by all the other tried and tested authors I have on my list before I return to another book by them- this is just to make sure I vary my reading as much as possible :) My tried and tested authors (with books out that I haven't read yet) are, and this is the order that I will read them in are:

Elizabeth Wurtzel
Stephen Hawking
James Frey
Julian Barnes
Kazuo Ishiguro
Jane Austen
Wilkie Collins
Katherine Applegate
Shirley Jackson
Bill Bryson
Arthur conan doyle
Helen Fielding
Agatha Christie
Ian Fleming
and Jilly Cooper

However the alternating authors rule changes if I read a book in a series eg Pat Barker's regeneration series or Russell Brand's booky wook and then booky wook 2 in which case I will read all the books in the series (unless I decide I'm no longer enjoying the books) before I move onto a new author.

I also try to alternate my books so every other book I read is factual (I think I actually prefer factual books!) so after I finish Elizabeth Wurtzel I'm reading a new author on psychology, then after Hawking I'm reading a new author on eastern philosophy, although the majority of the books I want to read are fiction so alternating with factual doesn't always work.

Another one of my book rules is that I buy a book or borrow a new book from the library until I've read all the books that I already own (this is my attempt on trying to cut down on accumulating too many things, saving money and committing to finishing what i started!)

Hope this all makes sense!

wow that is a bit ocd but it makes sense!

Laura wrote: "With the tried and tested authors I rotate them in the same order so if I've read a good book recently and want to read something else by them, I have to wait until I've read one book (if another book exists) by all the other tried and tested authors I have on my list before I return to another book by them"

How do you add an author to the list?

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Laura wrote: "With the tried and tested authors I rotate them in the same order so if I've read a good book recently and want to read something else by them, I have to wait until I've read one book..."

If it's a new author it's easy to add to the list as I alternate my books between a tried author and a new author- does that make sense?

if i had a list of faves from the list so far it would be, in no particular order

Barnes
Calvino
Greene
Gide
Dickens
orwell
gg marquez
nabokov

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "I have read only his Arthur and George, which I loved. I can't say why I don't seem to get to anything else, but I keep hoping a title will fit into the next challenge."

Me too! That book was absolutely terrific!

Yesterday, Julian Barnes was Radio 3's Free Thinking program(me). It can be found for streaming here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05s3rrr

Description:

Anne McElvoy is joined by the Booker Prize-winning writer Julian Barnes to discuss the painters he admires, and his new collection of essays on 19th and 20th century artists including Manet, Cézanne, Fantin-Latour, Magritte, Howard Hodgkin and Lucian Freud.

The Pakistani novelist and women's right activist Bapsi Sidhwa, whose awards include the Sitara-i-Imtiaz - Pakistan's highest national honour in the arts - talks about her 1978 novel The Crow Eaters, which is about to be re-published.

Also on the programme - Anne discusses poetry inspired by light, and in particular the work of Jackson Mac Low, whose 22 Light Poems form the basis of one of events taking place as part of On Light, a programme of events taking place at the Wellcome Collection in London bank holiday weekend, to mark the International Year of Light and Light-based Technologies.

Keeping an Eye Open: Essays on Art by Julian Barnes is published on 7 May
The Crow Eaters by Bapsi Sidhwa is published in paperback on 30 April
On Light is at the Wellcome Collection, in London between 1 - 4 May

Producer: Ella-mai Robey

Image: Julian Barnes
Photo Credit: Joanna Briscoe.

Kirsten wrote: "Yesterday, Julian Barnes was Radio 3's Free Thinking program(me). It can be found for streaming here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05s3rrr

Description:

Anne McElvoy is joined by the Booker Pr..."

I've not read any of Barnes' novels, but he is one of my favourite authors for his essays. I'm really looking forward to the new collection, and will probably pick up a copy as soon as it comes out this week. Thanks for the link to the programme. Free Thinking is always an interesting listen, but I missed last Thursday's edition so will have to catch it on iplayer.

Yesterday, Julian Barnes was on BBC Radio 4's Open Book program.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05v6gn3

Description:

In his new book Keeping an Eye Open: Essays on Art, the hugely acclaimed novelist Julian Barnes brings together articles he's written on some of his favourite painters. They range from Gericault to Manet to Bonnard to Lucian Freud. He talks to Mariella about his approach to writing on art and trying to be a companion to the reader, about how his novels influence the essays and whether knowing any artists' life story can help us understand their work.

Mariella talks to Alex Johnson about the incredible and varied libraries from around the world captured in his book Alex Johnson, Ramona Koval reports from Australia where authors have developed a surprising habit of giving away prize money and crime writer Attica Locke reveals the Book She'd Never Lend.