tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410373290265879019.post8303785868178374752..comments2024-03-28T06:05:17.085-04:00Comments on THE READING APE: Top 10 Totally Decent Books of the Centurythe Apehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14060965283007759623noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410373290265879019.post-54559022617474392442010-06-30T16:50:54.672-04:002010-06-30T16:50:54.672-04:00Aarti- Definitely. My point wasn't to quibble ...Aarti- Definitely. My point wasn't to quibble with the selections of the list, but to use it to think about how I select and judge my own reading.<br /><br />Kenneth- I would agree. 2666 probably isn't for anyone, but if it is your brand of vodka, you are going to drink deeply.the Apehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14060965283007759623noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410373290265879019.post-27447400162094984562010-06-30T11:49:00.063-04:002010-06-30T11:49:00.063-04:00Having just finished 2666, I must say to leave it ...Having just finished 2666, I must say to leave it off any list like this makes said list void and irrelevant. Though I do agree with omitting The Road, as I thought that was completely overrated. I can't speak on any other title on this list because I haven't read one of them.Kennethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08822449936450212892noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410373290265879019.post-9111203043126895882010-06-30T00:12:59.152-04:002010-06-30T00:12:59.152-04:00I have not read ANY of those books above so I can&...I have not read ANY of those books above so I can't really comment, I suppose. But when one makes a Best of List (or Worst Of), it is inherently open for discussion. In fact, I often feel that most lists of those types are posted solely TO create discussion.<br /><br />As for the best book I've read in the past 10 years... I don't know! It's so hard for me to choose like that. Hmm..Aartihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02354873119188597611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410373290265879019.post-58438495968361634202010-06-29T13:24:32.734-04:002010-06-29T13:24:32.734-04:00Patrick-
A book's future-resonance is a good b...Patrick-<br />A book's future-resonance is a good barometer for me as well, though it usually correlates pretty strongly to my experience while reading it. I can't think, off the top of my head, of a book I felt strongly about only after finishing it. <br /><br />Interpolations-<br />Underworld would definitely be a candidate, but it was published in 1997. And the rest I'm also a fan of (though less so for Cloud Atlas than others are) and have recommended them (with great success) to many people. But if I'm honest with myself, none of them had a strong impact on my reading self. Maybe my bar is too high, but this is what I'm thinking about at the moment.the Apehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14060965283007759623noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410373290265879019.post-58907527816928818482010-06-29T12:44:19.035-04:002010-06-29T12:44:19.035-04:00How about Mitchell's Cloud Atlas, or DeLillo&#...How about Mitchell's Cloud Atlas, or DeLillo's Underworld, or O'Neill's Netherland, or Chabon's Amazing Adventures? Cheers, KevinAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410373290265879019.post-60288991561241305552010-06-29T10:15:26.696-04:002010-06-29T10:15:26.696-04:00I have to admit that I can truly enjoy a book and ...I have to admit that I can truly enjoy a book and completely forget about it only a week later. That happened to me with Oscar Wao--I really cannot remember a single scene, although I know that I felt all warm and fuzzy when I finished it. On the other hand, I know that a book is truly great (in my opinion, of course) when it sticks with me over time. A few books have done that this century--The Road, The Gathering, and even Life of Pi (though I hesitate to even mention it after Beatrice and Virgil). But, as you mentioned, it's very difficult to come up with ten.Patrick (at The Literate Man)https://www.blogger.com/profile/05126952182728811711noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410373290265879019.post-27752483729213169392010-06-29T09:05:04.440-04:002010-06-29T09:05:04.440-04:00Becky- I definitely agree with you. My point here ...Becky- I definitely agree with you. My point here is sort of a personal one, It's not that I disagree with her list; it's that I do agree with it, mostly. Her list sort of held up a mirror to my own reading and I realized how safe I've played it recently.<br /><br />Friande-<br />Emerson says that in works of genius we see our own unarticulated thoughts articulated and I love that feeling as well.the Apehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14060965283007759623noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410373290265879019.post-84593937912881544862010-06-28T21:58:07.658-04:002010-06-28T21:58:07.658-04:00For me, I know I've encountered an amazing bo...For me, I know I've encountered an amazing book when it feels familiar to me from the first few chapters. Not like a genre book, in which there's a predictable ending, but in a sense of deja vu - that I had already heard this story, somewhere, and that my brain is only just catching up now. It's that certain feeling that characterises an amazing book. Not if a book made me feel sad, or elated, or whatever it is - just a certain familiarity. Maybe I have book soulmates?!<br /><br />Anyway, I agree with Becky, above - it's a lot to do with personal tastes.I guess we know where Ciabattari's tastes lie.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410373290265879019.post-57434960386022307922010-06-28T19:10:14.067-04:002010-06-28T19:10:14.067-04:00That hard thing about these sorts of lists, "...That hard thing about these sorts of lists, "The 10 greatest Books of all time" etc, is that so much comes down to personal taste. I know you can objectively consider a certain book from an academic perspective and talk about its merits etc, but in the end everyone is different and everyone will have a different view. What someone finds admirable, someone else might think shook them to the core. You know what I mean?Rebecca Chapmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14144719070318640603noreply@blogger.com