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

What books have you found hard to find?

Most books I get from my library system of Link+ which has a lot of California and Nevada libraries, but there are some that I haven't found yet. At some point I will have to widen my search.

The Taebaek Mountains Cho, Jung Rae
Life is a Caravanserai Ozdamar, Emine
A Day Off Jameson, Storm

Steven

For the Taeback Mountains aren’t there different parts?

I guess The Taebaek Mountains is a case where if you don't read Korean or French you are out of luck. I did see an article from 2012 where it was to be translated to English and Russian, but haven't seen anything later.

Life is a Caravanserai may have a similar problem.

Hi Steven,

I think you'll find this thread useful:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Like "The Taebaek Mountains" there are a handful of books on the list that have not been translated into English yet... speaking for myself, I feel kind of cheated, as I'll therefore never be able to read all the 1001 books... humph. ;-)

There are 10 list books not translated to English:

The Port - Antun Soljan
Back to Oegstgeest - Jan Wolkers
Camera Obscura - Hildebrand
Gimmick! - Joost Zwagerman
Halbzeit - Martin Walser
Margot and the Angels - Kristien Hemmerechts
Smell of Sadness - Alfred Kossman
The Taebek Mountains- Jo Jung-Rae
The New World - Heruy Walda-Sellasse
Lady Number Thirteen - José Carlos Somoza

I am having a hard time finding all of the volumes of Taebek Mountains in French. I am also having trouble finding The Childermass .

I looked back trying to find a previous thread before I started this one. I guess I didn't look close enough. Glad to find the information as I can focus on the ones available and just forget about the ones that are not translated for now.

Diane wrote: "There are 10 list books not translated to English:

The Port - Antun Soljan
Back to Oegstgeest - Jan Wolkers
Camera Obscura - Hildebrand
Gimmick! - Joost Zwagerman
Halbzeit - Martin Walser
Margot a..."

I guess the other foreign language apart from French you should learn is German. Back to Oegstgeest, Gimmick!, Margot and the Angels and Lady Number Thirteen have all been translated into German and Halbzeit was written in German. Part of Camera Obscura (De familie Kegge) has also been translated into German, though back in the 19th century and copies are very rare.

Ellinor wrote: "Diane wrote: "There are 10 list books not translated to English:

The Port - Antun Soljan
Back to Oegstgeest - Jan Wolkers
Camera Obscura - Hildebrand
Gimmick! - Joost Zwagerman
Halbzeit - Martin W..."

That, and Amharic. Do you think I can learn German in two years? Some of those books are also in Spanish, which I can read. I can also get by with Dutch.

Diane wrote: "Ellinor wrote: "Diane wrote: "There are 10 list books not translated to English:

The Port - Antun Soljan
Back to Oegstgeest - Jan Wolkers
Camera Obscura - Hildebrand
Gimmick! - Joost Zwagerman
Hal..."

I think it‘s easier to learn Dutch than to learn German. But I don‘t think Halbzeit has been translated into Dutch so you might as well learn German.
But I think there is hope more works will be translated into English. The translation for Gimmick! for example is very recent and I only came across it by chance. Some (like the German translation for Return without song) seem to be print on demand ones.
And two members of this group also started a project of translating The New World: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
The final post is from two years ago and I don‘t know if they completed the project.

For Camera Obscura I found an electronic copy and used Google translate to read it. It was a rough translation, but at least I got the story line :-) That was about 5 years ago, and I am sure that it would translate better now.

I can do French and Spanish and some Japanese, Russian and German. Anything else will have to be done with Google Translate which is pretty awesome. Or I can probably find someone to read to me in English. Maybe. Sigh. Will cross that bridge when I come to it. But Will help in the search for these hard to find books. Richard Nixon Library is right down the street from me. Will head over tomorrow after work.

I can get Life is a Canverserai in paperback and send it to you.

Ellinor wrote: "Diane wrote: "Ellinor wrote: "Diane wrote: "There are 10 list books not translated to English:

The Port - Antun Soljan
Back to Oegstgeest - Jan Wolkers
Camera Obscura - Hildebrand
Gimmick! - Joost..."

I didn't realize that Gimmick was reently translated to English. Probably not available yet on this side of the Atlantic. It was the first list book I read in Dutch. It wasn't too hard since the same curse words were used over and over, lol. Not a complex vocabulary on that one. Halbzeit is more daunting due to its size. I thought about using Google translate, but I have yet to find an ebook file from which to translate.

I've only been able to find the 1st and 3rd volumes of Taebek Mountains (in French) so far.

Diane wrote: "Ellinor wrote: "Diane wrote: "Ellinor wrote: "Diane wrote: "There are 10 list books not translated to English:

The Port - Antun Soljan
Back to Oegstgeest - Jan Wolkers
Camera Obscura - Hildebrand
..."

Oh, I think I expressed myself wrong. I meant the translation of Gimmick into German was quite recent.

I'm not particularly keen on reading Halbzeit either. I read another book by Martin Suter which I didn't like much and so I'm hesitant to read this one even though I own a copy.
I also tried to find copies of the Taebek Mountains in French but like you I was only able to find volume 1 and 3, and to very high prices.

But I think this is complaining on a high level (at least for me). I haven't even read half of the books on the list yet and I'm already worrying about the ones that are unavailable. My hope is that with the list being so popular more translations will become available.

This is the list of the ones I have not been able to find and can't afford. Anyone have a source for any of these?
157 Forever a Stranger- Hella Haasse -
177 Land - Park Kyung-ni –
361 Worstward Ho - Samuel Beckett
501 Jahrestage- Uwe Johnson -
581 Manon des Sources - Marcel Pagnol
613 Bebo's Girl - Carlo Cassola - expensive
742 Disobedience - Alberto Moravia
759 Andrea or Nada - Carmen Laforet
777 Caught - Henry Green -expensive
787 Broad and Alien is the World - Ciro Alegria
833 Wild Harbour - Ian MacPherson -
846 The Bells of Basel - Louis Aragon - $55.00 -
877 Monica - Saunders Lewis
885 Hebdomeros - Giorgio de Chirico
898 Retreat Without Song - Shahan Shahnour
905 The Childermass - Wyndham Lewis
972 Pallieter- Felix Timmermans
1029 None but the Brave - Arthur Schnitzler
1088 The Regent's Wife - Leopoldo Alas –
1151 Indian Summer - Adalbert Stifter
1202 The Albigenses - Charles Robert Maturin

Judith wrote: "This is the list of the ones I have not been able to find and can't afford. Anyone have a source for any of these?
157 Forever a Stranger- Hella Haasse -
177 Land - Park Kyung-ni –
361 Worstward ..."

Some of these have pesky alternate names that may be easier to find:

Forever a Stranger - The Black Lake
None but the Brave - Lieutenant Gustl (on Kindle in a couple short story collections)
Regent's Wife - La Regenta (The Penguin Classics edition uses the Spanish title) - on Kindle
Manon des Sources - Manon of the Springs
Jahrestage - Anniversaries (on Kindle)
Disobedience - Part of Two Adolescents

Others, if you are in the US
Nada is on Kindle. It may be on Audible as well.
Albigenses is on Open Library
Wild Harbour is on Kindle Unlimited
Caught is on Kindle
Land is pricey, but can be rented on Kindle for a fraction of the price
Worsward Ho is on Kindle in a collection of his other books

Judith wrote: "This is the list of the ones I have not been able to find and can't afford. Anyone have a source for any of these?
157 Forever a Stranger- Hella Haasse -
177 Land - Park Kyung-ni –
361 Worstward ..."

I listened to Worstward Ho on YouTube's Poetry Channel. I figured it's the same as listening to an audiobook so I count that as 'read'. Here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFFlj...

I find that some of those titles are available via www.booktopia.com.au which is an Australian online bookstore. I'm not sure if they ship overseas, though I'm happy to help as a go-between if anyone wants to order from there.

Petra wrote: "Judith wrote: "This is the list of the ones I have not been able to find and can't afford. Anyone have a source for any of these?
157 Forever a Stranger- Hella Haasse -
177 Land - Park Kyung-ni – ..."

Worstward Ho on YouTube! That sounds intetesting -- I'm going to have to check it out. That was a strange book; Beckett is not one of my favorite authors.

Karen wrote: "Beckett is not one of my favorite authors."

Me, either. That one was my least favorite, too. But... it is super short.

Manon des Sources - Marcel Pagnol

I found this one in the Link+ system - A wonderful book.

Manon des sources can be found in English as Manon of the Spring in google search.

I was determined to find Monica at one point and went so far as to accidentally order a Welsh version. I then found this one the internet but haven’t gotten to read it yet

https://archive.org/details/monica00l...

I found a copy of Hebdomeros: With Monsieur Dudron's Adventure and Other Metaphysical Writings by de Chirico used on eBay last year for a couple bucks plus shipping. That was a 'buy it now' price, not an auction. eBay has a way of setting up a watch list, and when items you are interested in come up for sale, you get an alert. You might try that as a source if you don't mind used books. I've been happy with most of the things I've bought there--I actually went a little wild when I first started buying from there when the pandemic started and all my usual sources were closed. I've toned it down now--my suggestion: if you are particular about the condition of your books, look for the sellers who post multiple pictures, and even then try to hold your expectations down. Many sellers will post a 'stock' picture which in no way represents the condition of the book you are actually purchasing. Also look for sellers that describe their book's particular flaws rather than a copy-and-paste generic description that, again, doesn't really say anything about the book they are selling. Those sellers will have the lowest prices, but it's like buying a pig in a poke.

On the other hand, if you are just looking for a reading copy, then those sellers are fine.

That's the two cents I have from my experiences on eBay--YMMV

Diane wrote: "Karen wrote: "Beckett is not one of my favorite authors."

Me, either. That one was my least favorite, too. But... it is super short."

Yes. The reading I listened to was only about 30-40 mins long. I enjoyed the rhythmic sing-song sound of the narrator's voice. Also, it made no sense to me and I wouldn't do it again.

Petra wrote: "Diane wrote: "Karen wrote: "Beckett is not one of my favorite authors."

Me, either. That one was my least favorite, too. But... it is super short."

Yes. The reading I listened to was only about 3..."

LOL!! That's most of Beckett's work!

Karen wrote: "Petra wrote: "Diane wrote: "Karen wrote: "Beckett is not one of my favorite authors."

Me, either. That one was my least favorite, too. But... it is super short."

Yes. The reading I listened to wa..."

It was my first Beckett so I was new to the style. Thanks for the heads-up on the rest!

Petra wrote: "Karen wrote: "Petra wrote: "Diane wrote: "Karen wrote: "Beckett is not one of my favorite authors."

Me, either. That one was my least favorite, too. But... it is super short."

Yes. The reading I ..."

I thought your description of Worstward Ho was the best, most succinct, and accurate review of Beckett's work I've ever read!

I’ve had some luck getting some books pretty cheap at the Richard Nixon Library which is down the street from me. They’ve been pretty helpful in tracking down hard to find stuff too. They found a full set of The Taebaek Mountains for me bu not at a price I could afford at over $200. I’m happy to act as a go between for anything I can find that or if I have it already I can send it to you.

Orange County, CA public library system has so many e-books too. I wonder if there’s a way too forward e-books???

What about Adjunct: An Undigest by Peter Manson?
Every time I request it from InterLibrary Loan, it is not available and I should wait 8 weeks and try again. I've tried for a year!

Karen wrote: "Petra wrote: "Karen wrote: "Petra wrote: "Diane wrote: "Karen wrote: "Beckett is not one of my favorite authors."

Me, either. That one was my least favorite, too. But... it is super short."

Yes. ..."

Why, thank you! *curtsies

Steven wrote: "Manon des Sources - Marcel Pagnol
I found this one in the Link+ system - A wonderful book."

Is Manon of the Spring hard to find? If so, I have a copy which includes the prequel, Jean de Florette which I could send someone.

For Solitude by "Victor" Caterina Albert Catala of Spain my libraries don't have it and best price I've found was $22 at betterworld books and ebay. Anyone know a cheaper source? The university library here only has it in Spanish & Catalan and my Spanish isn't good enough for reading books.

George P. wrote: "For Solitude by "Victor" Caterina Albert Catala of Spain my libraries don't have it and best price I've found was $22 at betterworld books and ebay. Anyone know a cheaper source? The university lib..."

I bought the English version for Kindle from Amazon for $8.49.

George P. wrote: "For Solitude by "Victor" Caterina Albert Catala of Spain my libraries don't have it and best price I've found was $22 at betterworld books and ebay. Anyone know a cheaper source? The university lib..."

If you have a Kindle, I can actually loan it to you for 2 weeks.

Oh my goodness, such a response! Thank you, thank you, thank you all! I'll be following up of each and every one I've not heaard of before!

Karen wrote: "George P. wrote: "For Solitude by "Victor" Caterina Albert Catala of Spain my libraries don't have it and best price I've found was $22 at betterworld books and ebay. Anyone know a cheaper source? ..."

Karen, I do have a kindle. Not sure how that process would work though. Can you clue me in?

Judith wrote: "Karen wrote: "George P. wrote: "For Solitude by "Victor" Caterina Albert Catala of Spain my libraries don't have it and best price I've found was $22 at betterworld books and ebay. Anyone know a ch..."

Apparently you can loan a Kindle book for 14 days. When you go to Manage Your Devices and Content, find the book you want to loan, click on Actions, click on Loan Book, and you will be asked to enter the email address of the person to whom you are loaning the book. They have 7 days to access the book, 14 days to read it, and then it returns to you. But I just discovered that not every book can be loaned, and another source said you can only loan a book once and then it is locked and cannot be loaned again (but that is not on the Kindle Help page). And Solitude cannot be loaned at all!

Karen wrote: "George P. wrote: "For Solitude by "Victor" Caterina Albert Catala of Spain my libraries don't have it and best price I've found was $22 at betterworld books and ebay. Anyone know a cheaper source? ..."

Sorry, George. Solitude is not eligible for loaning out.

Karen wrote: "Judith wrote: "Karen wrote: "George P. wrote: "For Solitude by "Victor" Caterina Albert Catala of Spain my libraries don't have it and best price I've found was $22 at betterworld books and ebay. A..."

Thanks for the info, Karen. I also have a Kindle and never knew about this capability. I wonder what else I don't know? :-)

I'm still following up on all the information this group has provided, and I have found two of the books I listed that I could not find earlier:

Locos Solos and Andrea - both quite affordable. The second one in an ebook edition from Amazon.

I'll continue my search for the others, and check in here regularly to report my finds and get more good ideas and sources. Thanks again tor being so helpful!

Judith wrote: "I'm still following up on all the information this group has provided, and I have found two of the books I listed that I could not find earlier:

Locos Solos and Andrea - both quite affordable. The..."

Thank you for doing all that research! I well know how much time it can take.

WooHoo, I just found "Broad and Alien is the World" for less than $20.00 at Amazon! Another one off my wish list!

Judith wrote: "WooHoo, I just found "Broad and Alien is the World" for less than $20.00 at Amazon! Another one off my wish list!"

Yay!! I found the Regents Wife for you but it's in Spanish. I don't know how good your Spanish is.

Another good source for books is Amazon's alternative book store Abebooks.com. You can set up a search if they don't have what you are looking for.

I found Worstward Ho by Samuel Beckett on this website: https://onlinereadfreenovel.com/samue.... The whole poem is on it.

Debbie McGreevy wrote: "Judith wrote: "WooHoo, I just found "Broad and Alien is the World" for less than $20.00 at Amazon! Another one off my wish list!"

Yay!! I found the Regents Wife for you but it's in Spanish. I don'..."

Not good. Not much practice since High School! Thanks anyway!

Judith wrote: "Debbie McGreevy wrote: "Judith wrote: "WooHoo, I just found "Broad and Alien is the World" for less than $20.00 at Amazon! Another one off my wish list!"

Not good. Not much practice since High School! Thanks anyway!

I can try to do a translation from Spanish to English and maybe put it on YouTube as a reading but I don't know if I would be breaking any copywrite laws. Technically speaking I wouldn't be writing anything. It would be a reading of a Spanish book in English. I did a quick run down of the prologue with a little help from Google Translate because even my Spanish isn't that great. It's a mix of Ecuadorian Spanish (I'm half Ecuadorian) and Mexican Spanish (I live in So Cal). Maybe I could set up a Skype, Zoom or MS Teams book reading if anyone was interested. I think it's only a few hundred pages long so maybe a couple sittings? I don't know. Just a thought.

Debbie McGreevy wrote: "Judith wrote: "Debbie McGreevy wrote: "Judith wrote: "WooHoo, I just found "Broad and Alien is the World" for less than $20.00 at Amazon! Another one off my wish list!"

Not good. Not much practice..."

That sounds interesting. Keep us posted on the project!

George P. wrote: "Steven wrote: "Manon des Sources - Marcel Pagnol
I found this one in the Link+ system - A wonderful book."

Is Manon of the Spring hard to find? If so, I have a copy which includes the prequel, Je..."

Steven, I would be happy to reimburse you for the cost of sending Manon des Sources in English to me and also glad to reurn it if you want to keep it. Let me know if you want to work something out. I'd also be glad to buy it from you!