James Mustich's 1000 Books to Read Before You Die discussion

Hope no one minds--conversations are hard to start, so this might help break the ice.

I just finished reading Samuel Johnson by Walter Jackson Bate, which I thought was great. What I knew about Johnson before you could have put inside a thimble. Now I want to read all Johnson's works.

Just starting Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray. I read Barry Lyndon a few years ago and can barely remember anything about it, so I'm hoping for better luck with VF

Vanity Fair was really a treat--my expectations were lowered because of Barry Lyndon, but I really enjoyed this one. I would say that if you like Dickens, you will probably enjoy this, although Thackeray isn't as sentimental as Dickens can be sometimes.

Starting One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

I just finished The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. Dubois which I was wowed by.... andd before that a 3rd reading of Lolita by Nabokov, which I didn't care much for this time around (about 20 years since I'd last read it).

I've read Lolita and Pale Fire and neither one has appealed to me much. Nabokov may just end up being one of those authors who doesn't work for me.

Yes that could be the case. I may give some of his short stories a try at some point.

Finished One Day--it's very short. I liked it, though I wonder if it's as effective as it might have been when it first came out. Still worthwhile though

I had started reading Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville back in March with the Western Canon group and finally finished tonight. Whew! That seemed to take forever

Yesterday I finished The Spy Who Came in From the Cold by John Le Carre. I didn't ever realize this one was on the list. I thought it was pretty good, but I also remember trying read a book by Le Carre many years ago and being bored out of my wits, so it may be that I've finally reached a level where I can absorb Le Carre's style.

Anyway, that put me at 200 even for the books from this list I've read.

Not a lot of activity here--I thought maybe this thread would open up some conversation. Ah well...

Actually, I'm reading three from the list right now, though that isn't really by intent--they are all group reads from other groups.

Possession by A.S. Byatt

The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner

and a re-read of Don Quixote

I did finish both S&F and Possession. The first was excellent, the other wasn't really for me.

I don't really have any books from the list on my immediate TBR pile.

I see The Heart is a Lonely Hunter is up for August--I've read that one already, but I thought it was really good. Amazingly good, actually. It's on my re-read list someday, but probably not this soon.

Recently finished The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and now working on A Visit from the Goon Squad

So many books, so little time. I think I'm in too many book clubs. lol. I'm reading Moby Dick right now and really enjoying it.

Currently reading Dawkins' The Selfish Gene!

I'm almost done rereading A Canticle for Leibowitz , which I first read during a hot summer at my grandfather's house, when I had nothing to do and found a battered copy. It was my first exposure to serious science fiction, and I was hooked.

I am really enjoying rereading it - I love the giant time scale, over thousands of years. Characters keep seeing society as a progression, but the readers are aware that humanity doesn't actually change much, and we keep making the same mistakes over and over again.

Mariella wrote: "Currently reading Dawkins' The Selfish Gene!"

How are you liking it? I heard that Dawkins wished that he had given it another title, because it gave people the wrong impression of his point. It is interesting to think of evolution from the gene's perspective - that we are just vehicles for the survival of the gene.

Janet wrote: "Mariella wrote: "Currently reading Dawkins' The Selfish Gene!"

How are you liking it? I heard that Dawkins wished that he had given it another title, because it gave people the wrong ..."

I'm still reading it, so I think I'd better speak my mind only when I get to finish it. I do agree with you: the change of perspective (actively inside evolution rather than passively outside) offers a breakthrough in a different, disillusioned, understanding of reality. And, true: as Dawkins himself states on Note 2 of Chapter 1 (2006 OUP edition; I'm currently reading a 2016 italian translation published by Mondadori), the adjective selfish in the title has led to a non-convergent series of misunderstandings and controversies: in his opinion genetics is statistically selfish, but this is neither a Leitmotiv he, the author, is promoting nor an inviolable law of nature.

For another group, I've been reading The Oresteia. I've been comparing the Fagles and Lattimore translations--so far I probably prefer the Lattimore, though the Fagles might be a little easier to read.

Bryan "goes on a bit too long" wrote: "Hope no one minds--conversations are hard to start, so this might help break the ice.

I just finished reading Samuel Johnson by Walter Jackson Bate, which I thought was great. What I..."

I went to his house in London. It is a small and charming little museum. I felt like such a book nerd to be in the place where he wrote.

I just finished reading The Wind in the Willows. This narration is excellent, and I cannot believe I have NEVER read this book. My kids would have loved it. I am tempted to listen again on a road trip with my adult kids. I think they would get a kick out of it too.


I am also making my way through The Decameron . I had checked out an audiobook earlier in the month, and then I realized it was abridged! So I did listen to that because it was read by familiar British actors. Now, I am listening to the other 28 hours in the unabridged version. The abridged had the most disgusting ones! The unabridged has ones that are a little more tolerable even though it is quite misogynistic, but that was the time. I can totally see why this is on the list though. This author inspired Shakespeare and Chaucer. I am 41% of the way through it, but I am sure I can renew it because I doubt anyone is waiting for it. LOL!

I am still trying to get to this month's book, but I am doubting I will since I joined this group when your reading was underway, and I already had other books in my queue at the library.


Is it going to be In Cold Blood for next month? It looks like the winner, and I have always wanted to read that book so am happy to dive in.

Andrea wrote: "Recently finished The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and now working on A Visit from the Goon Squad"

I just finished Hitch-Hiker's Guide this month too! I had tried to read it when my classics book club read it last year and could not get into it. I guess I was in a different mood this summer and loved it. Who knew?

Marlise wrote: "I just finished The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. Dubois which I was wowed by.... andd before that a 3rd reading of Lolita by Nabokov, which I didn't care much for this time around (about 20 years ..."

LOVED Souls of Black Folk. So eye-opening!

Bryan "goes on a bit too long" wrote: "Vanity Fair was really a treat--my expectations were lowered because of Barry Lyndon, but I really enjoyed this one. I would say that if you like Dickens, you will probably enjoy this, although Tha..."

I loved Vanity Fair, reading it a few months before this list. I was inspired because I watched the mini-series on Amazon Prime.

I'm reading Half of a Yellow Sun. I have The Big Sleep and The House of the Spirits on deck.

Carol wrote: "I just finished reading The Wind in the Willows. This narration is excellent, and I cannot believe I have NEVER read this book. My kids would have loved it. I am tempted to listen a..."

I re-read that recently as well. Utterly charming.

Carol, I saw a copy of Wind In The Willows in my first grade class library and it intrigued me from the start!
I once heard WITW is better grasped and the humor appreciated as an adult. :)

Am in the throes of Pride and Prejudice and voted for In Cold Blood!

I am reading the Glory of My Father and The Glory of My mother by Marcel Pagnol--- going back to the 1900's in Provence France

Bryan "goes on a bit too long" wrote: "Hope no one minds--conversations are hard to start, so this might help break the ice.

I just finished reading Samuel Johnson by Walter Jackson Bate, which I thought was great. What I..."

Glad to know you found Bate's Johnson rewarding. The view it offers into Johnson's character (and, by dim reflection, into our own) was revelatory to me.

Bryan "goes on a bit too long" wrote: "I've read Lolita and Pale Fire and neither one has appealed to me much. Nabokov may just end up being one of those authors who doesn't work for me."

Have you tried Speak, Memory? It's somewhat less arch than the novels, and genuinely moving.

Bryan "goes on a bit too long" wrote: "For another group, I've been reading The Oresteia. I've been comparing the Fagles and Lattimore translations--so far I probably prefer the Lattimore, though the Fagles mig..."

Interesting re the Lattimore. I had the great good fortune of having Fagles in a college seminar on The Oresteia soon after his translation, and we went through it line by line. So I have a soft spot for it. I am going to look harder at the Lattimore now.

AZ BOOKS wrote: "I am reading the Glory of My Father and The Glory of My mother by Marcel Pagnol--- going back to the 1900's in Provence France"

Those are such lovely books. The films made of them are also charming.

I'm intrigued by the misunderstandings and controversies. He clearly created a "meme" that meant something a little different from what he intended!

Janet wrote: "I'm almost done rereading A Canticle for Leibowitz , which I first read during a hot summer at my grandfather's house, when I had nothing to do and found a battered copy. It was my fi..."

It's such a treat to reread books we've admired before. It's like returning to a place and being able to appreciate different details and nuances of the landscape.

James wrote: "Interesting re the Lattimore. I had the great good fortune of having Fagles in a college seminar on The Oresteia soon after his translation, and we went through it line by line. So I have a soft spot for it. I am going to look harder at the Lattimore now...."

I can see why you'd be inclined to favor Fagles' translation. I read all three plays in both translations--I read the Fagles first, then Lattimore. I probably should have alternated--now I'll never really know if I prefer Lattimore, or if reading Fagles kind of 'prepped' me for re-reading, which in and of itself tends to open up a work for deeper appreciation.

Thanks for joining us!

James wrote: "Janet wrote: "I'm almost done rereading A Canticle for Leibowitz , which I first read during a hot summer at my grandfather's house, when I had nothing to do and found a battered copy..."

James wrote: "Janet wrote: "I'm almost done rereading A Canticle for Leibowitz , which I first read during a hot summer at my grandfather's house, when I had nothing to do and found a battered copy..."

Yes, and sometimes it tells you how much you have changed. I reread Forster's A Room with a View, which I first read when I was about 19. Back then, I loved the romance, and excitement of the two young characters with their lives ahead of them. But this time, age the age of 56, I was much more interested in Forster's sensitive portrayal of the older characters, seeing how the choices they had made shaped who they became.

Carol wrote: "Bryan "goes on a bit too long" wrote: "Vanity Fair was really a treat--my expectations were lowered because of Barry Lyndon, but I really enjoyed this one. I would say that if you like Dickens, you..."

That Becky Sharp is the best. So much more interesting than the heroine.

Starting Ovid's Metamorphoses. Read the first part of this years ago, and I don't think I was that interested. I suspect I'll enjoy it more now since I'm a different reader than I was then.

James wrote: "I'm intrigued by the misunderstandings and controversies. He clearly created a "meme" that meant something a little different from what he intended!"

Hello James, my curiosity is piqued as to what you were referencing with this comment.

James wrote: "It's such a treat to reread books we've admired before. It's like returning to a place and being able to appreciate different details and nuances of the landscape."

This is exactly how I feel about The Great Gatsby! And how our perceptions can change at different ages. For example, my feeling towards Humbert in Lolita and how they've changed from when I was a teen, then later in my 20's, and then now during a reread I did in my 40's. I find it really amazing.

Janet wrote: "James wrote: "Janet wrote: "I'm almost done rereading A Canticle for Leibowitz , which I first read during a hot summer at my grandfather's house, when I had nothing to do and found a..."

Haha Janet, I just saw your comment after I made mine. You explained exactly what I was trying to express!

I just finished Lonesome Dove and it spoke to my soul. Building this nation was a hard thing that required sacrifice and grit. I romanticize about the wild west sometimes but it was a brutal place. So much death! So many hard things required of people. Makes me feel soft. I didn't want this to end and I'm looking forward to the others in the series.

Kyle wrote: "I just finished Lonesome Dove and it spoke to my soul. Building this nation was a hard thing that required sacrifice and grit. I romanticize about the wild west sometimes but it was ..."


I've always wanted to read Lonesome Dove.

Just finished “The Heart is A Lonely Hunter” by Carson McCullers. Outstanding! I can not fathom that she was 23 when she wrote this book. When you are witness to the exact moments when a character realizes their main hope/dream is not possible - you feel their pain in such a way that it absolutely guts you.

I'm surprised that McCullers isn't better known--it isn't exactly like she's unknown, but I think she's underrated. I recently read her stories in The Ballad of the Sad Café collection--the title story is bizarre and great. I have most of her other stuff still waiting to be read.

Kyle wrote: "I just finished Lonesome Dove and it spoke to my soul. Building this nation was a hard thing that required sacrifice and grit. I romanticize about the wild west sometimes but it was ..."

I read Streets of Larado after LD--I thought it was really good as well, but I think McMurtry suffered from depression. Larado is bleak. Not Blood Meridian bleak, but still bleak. I never did go back and read any of the prequels--I didn't want to ruin the impressions I'd already formed of Gus and the others.

I haven't read Lonesome Dove yet, but I'm looking forward to it. But I recently read another great Western, True Grit , which is on my "should have been on Mustich's list" list. It takes the classic Western, but upends conventions by making the hero a little girl. So good, and a short read.

I love True Grit. It's one of my 'best of' the century books. Another one that's somewhat underrated, I think.

I think you've got the idea for another good thread--'books that need to be in Volume II'

True Grit is amazing. And the Hailee Steinfeld movie is amazing. She made a name for herself with that performance.

Just getting ready to start Stoner by John Williams

This is on JM's list, but I hear a lot of complaints as to why it doesn't make some of the other big lists. We'll see

Finished Stoner. Another underrated, seldom mentioned book, in my opinion. Little flash, but a lot of depth.