Help me pick out which 1001 book to read next - Page 2

MelC · 03-24-2009, 12:17 PM

Another vote for Dirk Gently but it looks to me like you have a pretty good cross section on your list. To really give you an educted vote you would have to tell us what you are currently in the mood for...did you just finish War and Peace and are now looking for something light and entertaining. Did you read a suspense mystery and are looking for a little beauty and romance or are you currently fixated on a certain period of time that you want to explore more deeply. I always have about twenty books waiting in the wings for their time to shine but when it comes down to deciding which one when the moment arrives I usually consult my gut and what it feels like at the time (much like I do at the ice cream parlor).

Mel

lilac_jive · 03-24-2009, 12:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MelC

Another vote for Dirk Gently but it looks to me like you have a pretty good cross section on your list. To really give you an educted vote you would have to tell us what you are currently in the mood for...did you just finish War and Peace and are now looking for something light and entertaining. Did you read a suspense mystery and are looking for a little beauty and romance or are you currently fixated on a certain period of time that you want to explore more deeply. I always have about twenty books waiting in the wings for their time to shine but when it comes down to deciding which one when the moment arrives I usually consult my gut and what it feels like at the time (much like I do at the ice cream parlor).

Mel

I have no idea what I'm in the mood for, hence the need for help.

I'll read any of those on the list.

JSWolf · 03-24-2009, 12:50 PM

I chose Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency because of all the books on the list, that one is the best of the bunch.

DixieGal · 03-24-2009, 12:54 PM

I picked 1984, but almost picked The Jungle. Everyone needs to read them at least once while they are still young - like you. They will broaden your view of the world and make you question your place in it.

The whole list in your poll looks very good.

lilac_jive · 03-24-2009, 01:14 PM

Maybe I'll try and read two a month (or more) and start with the most votes and work my way down.

lilac_jive · 03-24-2009, 09:51 PM

Ooh Dirk Gently is catching up to 1984! This is exciting

Sparrow · 03-25-2009, 04:36 AM

The only one with no votes is 'Silas Marner'.
It looks like a Finnish entry in the Eurovison Song Contest

- it deserves better than that!

Vote for it somebody!!!

mjh215 · 03-25-2009, 04:58 AM

Maybe LJ could mess with everyone and reverse the poll at the end to decide what to read... Then Silas Marner would be on top...

-MJ

ErwinOtten · 03-25-2009, 05:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sparrow

The only one with no votes is 'Silas Marner'.
It looks like a Finnish entry in the Eurovison Song Contest

- it deserves better than that!

Vote for it somebody!!!

Finland won the Eurovison Song Contest in 2006

YGG- · 03-25-2009, 05:21 AM

I votes for The three musketeers, you won't be able to put it down once you've begun to read it!

Sweetpea · 03-25-2009, 06:30 AM

Dirk first, naturally, Douglas Adams was a gem!

1984 is always good to read, Three Musketeers, naturally. And finish it off with Wurthering Heights.

Fiacha · 03-25-2009, 11:58 PM

I looked at your whole list a while ago and spotted 'The Riddle of the Sands'. I remember it as one of my father's favorite reads.

It is readily available via Project Gutenberg so I downloaded it ane reread it. Apparently it was singularly influential in its day, but its day was 100 years ago and all that is left is an average adventure story about leaden characters doing things for barely comprehensible motives. You would need to be interested in both small boat handling and lead up to the first World War to find much of interest in it.

Sparrow · 03-26-2009, 03:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fiacha

I looked at your whole list a while ago and spotted 'The Riddle of the Sands'. I remember it as one of my father's favorite reads.

It is readily available via Project Gutenberg so I downloaded it ane reread it. Apparently it was singularly influential in its day, but its day was 100 years ago and all that is left is an average adventure story about leaden characters doing things for barely comprehensible motives. You would need to be interested in both small boat handling and lead up to the first World War to find much of interest in it.

I liked 'The Riddle of the Sands' when I read it many years ago; and I still think it's a 'must-read' for anyone interested in spy novels as a genre.

Though it's enduring popularity may also be partly explained by the fact that the author was executed during the Irish civil war. Erskine Childers was a fascinating person.

I still think 'Rebecca' should be next.

'Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.' - irresistible!

lilac_jive · 03-26-2009, 08:24 AM

I don't even remember seeing Riddle of the Sands on the list. But that's not much of a surprise, there are a lot of books on it

(I've never heard of it)

Sparrow · 03-26-2009, 08:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lilac_jive

I don't even remember seeing Riddle of the Sands on the list. But that's not much of a surprise, there are a lot of books on it

(I've never heard of it)

You could watch the 1979 film - and pretend that you've read the book.
We won't let on.

View Poll Results: What shall I read next?
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe	5	7.46%
Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams	16	23.88%
Emma by Jane Austen	4	5.97%
Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs	3	4.48%
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte	5	7.46%
The Awakening by Kate Chopin	1	1.49%
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe	2	2.99%
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier	6	8.96%
Three Musketeers by Alexander Dumas	12	17.91%
Silas Marner by George Eliot	0	0%
Room with a View by E M Forster	1	1.49%
1984 by George Orwell	17	25.37%
The Jungle by Upton Sinclair	3	4.48%
Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson	5	7.46%
Gulliver's Travels by Jonathon Swift	4	5.97%
The Secret History by Donna Tartt	1	1.49%
Walden by Henry David Thoreau	4	5.97%
Last Chronicle of Barset by Anthony Trollope	2	2.99%
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain	8	11.94%
Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne	5	7.46%
Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde	6	8.96%
Multiple Choice Poll. Voters: 67. You may not vote on this poll

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03-24-2009, 12:17 PM	#16
MelC Evangelist Posts: 410 Karma: 2081 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Toronto, Canada Device: Cybook Gen3, PRS600	Another vote for Dirk Gently but it looks to me like you have a pretty good cross section on your list. To really give you an educted vote you would have to tell us what you are currently in the mood for...did you just finish War and Peace and are now looking for something light and entertaining. Did you read a suspense mystery and are looking for a little beauty and romance or are you currently fixated on a certain period of time that you want to explore more deeply. I always have about twenty books waiting in the wings for their time to shine but when it comes down to deciding which one when the moment arrives I usually consult my gut and what it feels like at the time (much like I do at the ice cream parlor). Mel

03-24-2009, 12:50 PM	#18
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 74,037 Karma: 129333114 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	I chose Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency because of all the books on the list, that one is the best of the bunch.

03-24-2009, 12:54 PM	#19
DixieGal Hi There! Posts: 7,473 Karma: 2930523 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Ft Lauderdale Device: iPad	I picked 1984, but almost picked The Jungle. Everyone needs to read them at least once while they are still young - like you. They will broaden your view of the world and make you question your place in it. The whole list in your poll looks very good.

03-24-2009, 01:14 PM	#20
lilac_jive Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,870 Karma: 27376 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Pennsylvania Device: PRS-505	Maybe I'll try and read two a month (or more) and start with the most votes and work my way down.

03-24-2009, 09:51 PM	#21
lilac_jive Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,870 Karma: 27376 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Pennsylvania Device: PRS-505	Ooh Dirk Gently is catching up to 1984! This is exciting

03-25-2009, 04:36 AM	#22
Sparrow Wizard Posts: 4,395 Karma: 1358132 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: UK Device: Palm TX, CyBook Gen3	The only one with no votes is 'Silas Marner'. It looks like a Finnish entry in the Eurovison Song Contest - it deserves better than that! Vote for it somebody!!!

03-25-2009, 04:58 AM	#23
mjh215 Guru Posts: 988 Karma: 12653 Join Date: Apr 2008 Device: None of your business	Maybe LJ could mess with everyone and reverse the poll at the end to decide what to read... Then Silas Marner would be on top... -MJ

03-25-2009, 05:21 AM	#25
YGG- Dry fruit Posts: 1,157 Karma: 1047086 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Paris, France Device: Bookeen Opus + HTC Desire HD	I votes for The three musketeers, you won't be able to put it down once you've begun to read it!

03-25-2009, 06:30 AM	#26
Sweetpea Grand Sorcerer Posts: 9,707 Karma: 32763414 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Krewerd Device: Pocketbook Inkpad 4 Color; Samsung Galaxy Tab S6	Dirk first, naturally, Douglas Adams was a gem! 1984 is always good to read, Three Musketeers, naturally. And finish it off with Wurthering Heights.

03-25-2009, 11:58 PM	#27
Fiacha Enthusiast Posts: 31 Karma: 376 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Pacific NorthWest Device: Kobo H20, Nook Glowlight 3	I looked at your whole list a while ago and spotted 'The Riddle of the Sands'. I remember it as one of my father's favorite reads. It is readily available via Project Gutenberg so I downloaded it ane reread it. Apparently it was singularly influential in its day, but its day was 100 years ago and all that is left is an average adventure story about leaden characters doing things for barely comprehensible motives. You would need to be interested in both small boat handling and lead up to the first World War to find much of interest in it.

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03-26-2009, 08:24 AM	#29
lilac_jive Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,870 Karma: 27376 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Pennsylvania Device: PRS-505	I don't even remember seeing Riddle of the Sands on the list. But that's not much of a surprise, there are a lot of books on it (I've never heard of it)