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

Hello all
I am new here but thought this would be a good place to get a bit of advice. I'm going abroad to work in a place where there will be no internet/tv/cinema/starbucks/shops/museums... you get the picture. I'll be working in a very rural and mountainous area of Turkey so my only entertainment, (aside from work) will be books.

This seems like a good time to read a few more from the list. I've read 125 in total (I started this challenge last year). I can only take about ten or 11 books with me at the most and they have to last and be "good value for weight in my luggage!". Please help! Books which I'm considering taking so far are:
A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
The Tin Drum by Gunter Grass

Any thoughts?

Amanda wrote: "A kindle?"

I've thought about it but due to power cuts (v frequent during storm season) and the dust of plains, I don't think it would last too long sadly. How robust are they? (Bear in mind i've killed three laptops out there in the last 5 years)

The Count of Monte Cristo It's a big book, but it's really good.

Jennifer W wrote: "The Count of Monte Cristo It's a big book, but it's really good."

Thanks for that suggestion - I have that on my To be Read shelf so i'll have a look at it when i get home tonight. I've heard other people speak highly of it before now as well.

Memoirs of A Geisha, it's a great book, but it's only around 400 pages.

I have an ereader called nook (Barnes and Noble) and so far it is pretty hardy. I carry it everywhere (in a cover) and I have even dropped it once and it is fine. (Although I would not recommend dropping it) The battery lasts a few days as well even longer if you turn off the wireless thing. I currently have 80 books on mine and most of them were free (several of them are classics and are listed in the 1001 list). Plus I live in FL (sand everywhere including my house where I have turtles who live in lots of sand and water).

I would recommend Alice in Wonderland (short and fun) and Jane Eyre (longer and in depth) if you cannot finagle an ereader with the conditions.

Jennifer (jennbunny) wrote: "I have an ereader called nook (Barnes and Noble) and so far it is pretty hardy. I carry it everywhere (in a cover) and I have even dropped it once and it is fine. (Although I would not recommend d..."

Do you prefer to read using the ereader or an actual physical book?

I actually enjoy the physical book as I like to flip around between pages. But I have to say the ereader is very convenient and holds A LOT of books....with no memory card my nook will hold 1500 (give or take) books. I have read about ten books on the nook and I am liking it so far (I just got it in February).
Nothing will be able to actually replace the actual physical book in my opinion, but the nook is a good substitute for quantity (and ease of use).

Jennifer (jennbunny) wrote: "I actually enjoy the physical book as I like to flip around between pages. But I have to say the ereader is very convenient and holds A LOT of books....with no memory card my nook will hold 1500 (..."

Thank you, I will definitely look into it right now.

I use an application for my itouch called Stanza for an ereader. Really convenient.

When I travel I like to take big books, though. First, it MAKES me read them if they're all I brought and second, I don't have to take too many.

Les Miserables is pretty fantastic, same with The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers.

My pile of big books for trips also has Of Human Bondage, Queen Margot, Don Quixote, War and Peace (haha never gonna happen), aaaand the Mahabharata (not on the list, but really interesting).

Sounds like a really awesome trip :)

The Secret History is great. Smilla's Sense of Snow is a good one too. Very gripping. (So many of the books on the list are of the "good-for-you" category) But it went by fast for me.

Early on with The Secret History, i thought the teenagers there and the professor were vampires...

Thanks for all the tips and comments - please keep them coming - I've already read Les Miserables and it is one of my favourite books from the list so far. Definately taking The Secret History now.

I am assuming you want big reads - because that's what I like to take on trips - so I don't run out! Gone with the Wind, War and Peace, Anna Karenina, Grapes of Wrath, Tess of the D'Ubervilles, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Great Expectations and Vanity Fair are all on the list and I found them all to be great reads. They are also all well over the 500 page mark.

A Fine Balance is also lengthy - its still on my shelf so I can't offer any recommendation or not. Middlesex is also lengthy, but I found it incredibly dry, I actually paused in the middle and have yet to return.

Thanks Sissy - big reads (or shorter denser but rewarding reads) are indeed the order of the day. I read Uncle Tom's Cabin and while ago and really enjoyed it. It was my commuter read of choice for a while. I really enjoy Rohinton Mistry's books and had forgotten that A fine Balance was on the list so I might go buy myself a copy of that to take - thanks for reminding me about it!

The comments on Fine Balance seem to be very positive so I will have to jump to it when I get through my library books. Or on my next trip. =)

For shorter but dense reads - you might even try something by Cormac McCarthy. I took Blood Meridian with me to Cuba thinking I would whip through and be able to finish it and Middlesex by the time I got home. It ended up taking me much longer to get through than I expected for its size - same with All the Pretty Horses when I got to it.

Another excellent long read - although not on the list - Shogun.

If you speak another language (but not as well as English), it might be a good idea to bring books in that language--it always takes me about 2-3 times longer to read a book in French than in English. If not, Vanity Fair is pretty great, and around 700 pages. Also, Middlemarch.

I think The Tin Drum is a great choice. I'm a Tolstoy fan so I would pick either Anna Karenina or War and Peace. These three books have so much in them you can re-read parts of them and find things you missed. They are a lot to carry, though.

Living abroad in the middle of nowhere is how I got started on the 1001 list. Secret History is great, but I read it quickly. I liked reading Middlemarch, Anna Karenina, and The Tin Drum with few distractions--I definitely think it is nice to read them in a short time so that you really stay involved. I had read Middlemarch before, but it took me about 3 months. Without tv and other distractions, it took me about a week. My more general advice is to take some of the long books you have been meaning to read, but also add a few shorter, lighter reads so that you have something to reach for when you have less energy. I would also recommend Rushdie's Midnight's Children. Have a safe trip full of good reading!

A Suitable Boy is wonderful....one of my absolute favorites. I still think about the characters and different scenes in the book on a regular basis. Even though it clocks in at a little less than 1500 pages, I was really able to get sucked into the various stories that were going on and by the end, I felt a connection with many of the characters. They were so familiar...like good, old friends.

If you do end up lugging it along, I really hope you enjoy it as well as I did. However, there are also some amazing choices that the other members have offered up, too. I'm sure you'll be able to find some goodies that work out well for you. :)

I've also read A Suitable Boy and liked it very much. It's a perfect book to bring with you when travelling because you can use it as a weapon in case of muggings. It's so thick that if you hit somebody with it in the head, he'll surely die.

I'd recommend Count of Monte Cristo as a great lengthy read. Plus Cormac McCarthy's The Road for the plane ride over if you want to ensure deep sleep.

Shovelmonkey1 wrote: "Amanda wrote: "A kindle?"

I've thought about it but due to power cuts (v frequent during storm season) and the dust of plains, I don't think it would last too long sadly. How robust are they? (Bea..."

I would get the nook from B&N instead of the kindle. I got to see both of them and feel the nook is far better in comparison to the kindle. Also a lot of books that you might purchase can be purchased on the B&N website for the nook instead and are at most $.99. Plus the nook can handle SD cards so you can have many books at your disposal.

Gone with the Wind may be a good read - something light (even though it is a longish novel) to read between the more serious novels. I took it with me overseas when my husband and I were working/holidaying for 4 weeks.

Thanks again for the further suggestions it's been a big help - randomly I've also decided to take two of the more obscure books listed on the 1001 books list - Auto-da-Fe by Elias Canetti and We by Yevgeny Zayatin. If anyone has read these I'd love to know what you thought of them

Auto-da-Fe by Elias Canetti and We by Yevgeny Zayatin. If anyone has read these I'd love to know what you thought of them

I own but have not read We, however, being that it is supposedly the inspiration for Orwell's 1984, I'd imagine it is a pretty great read. I really enjoy dystopias.

Charity wrote: "Auto-da-Fe by Elias Canetti and We by Yevgeny Zayatin. If anyone has read these I'd love to know what you thought of them

I own but have not read We, however, being that it is supposedly the ins..."

I heard that too, which was partly what prompted me to buy it. I've also been after a copy of Impressions of Africa by Roussel but its not being republished till November this year and all existing copies are prohibitively expensive for a book i'm planning on abandoning in the middle of the mountains somewhere!

Yrinsyde wrote: "Gone with the Wind may be a good read - something light (even though it is a longish novel) to read between the more serious novels. I took it with me overseas when my husband and I were working/ho..."

I have read We, and I enjoyed it. It is interesting to see the parallels between this one and 1984, as someone mentioned it was the inspiration for 1984. The way the writer created a whole different society, while commenting on what was going on in his country (I think this book couldn't even be printed in Russia for decades) you have to appreciated the point of view he is trying to convey. If you liked 1984, then this book will work for you.

I also second (or third??) the recommendations for The Count of Monte Cristo, A Fine Balance and A Suitable Boy. Also, many of the Dickens' titles on the list are long and excellent reads - my favorites are David Copperfield and Bleak House. And since you'll be in Turkey, have you read Snow by Orhan Pamuk? It takes place in modern Turkey and tackles the conflict between a secular government and a religious population. And if luggage space is an issue, have you ever considered audiobooks? I have 15 books loaded on my ipod with space left over for more. I've listened to many of the Dickens' classics and they're really well done. The audio version of War and Peace is over 60 hours long - that should help pass the time! Have a great trip!

and i'm going to second (or third??) the recommendations for an e-reader. the kindle has a keyboard made of little buttons, so i'd be worried about that being an entry point for sand getting stuck in there. perhaps that newest one that borders started selling, the kobo, i think? it has one big sealed directional button, and it's by far the cheapest ereader, so if it does go haywire, you won't be out too much. then just snap up all the list books that are on project gutenberg/google books/the bookstore of your choice for free. you'll have PLENTY to get you through a super lengthy trip. and for what it's worth, i far prefer reading on my ipad than reading a physical book, and i'm a major book hoarder from way back.

I definitely agree with taking David Copperfield, but maybe some smaller books that are worth reading more than once would be good as well. For example The Time Machine by H.G.Wells. In fact, his stories are so short you might find a collection in one book, and then you can tick off another five on your 1001 booklist.

Thanks again for all the suggestions - I'm definitely taking actual books and not any kind of E-reader though, it's just not practical for the kind of environment i work in unfortunately. So far i've put The Secret History by Donna Tart, A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth, We by Yevgeny Zamyatin, Auto Da Fe by Elias Cannetti, The Count of Monte Cristo into my travel bag. It is getting heavy already - i think i may need my own plane!

With regards to taking Turkish books I've already read all of the core Turkish writers texts including all of Orhan Pamuk and Irfan Orga's books which i loved.