Book 6 - I, Robot

I, Robot, by Isaac Asimov, is a novel that I was looking forward to reading since I have seen the movie, of the same title.

I, Robot is a story about a futuristic world governed by robotic mechanics and highly-advanced "machines" that regulate the world as a whole. This concept is very interesting and it made me think about what it would be like if such was the case. Would we be gradually exposed to such changes and hence would not really notice? Or would our world be dominated by robots in a short period of time? This novel allowed me to explore such questions and quench my curiosity.

For some odd reason, I once again preferred the movie to the novel from which it was based, albeit in this case it was very loosely based on said novel. Thus far, it seems that whenever I see a movie prior to reading the book, I prefer the movie. Perhaps this is because I have a very active imagination so when I see the movie beforehand I cannot image the characters, landscapes and scenes the way I would if I had never seen it represented. Either way, the book was a good read, but I found it to be missing some key pieces to make the plot and likewise the novel complete. I would have liked a more intense ending. Furthermore, in some instances I would have liked more details and more explanations regarding the ongoing scenes.

My Rating: Terrible < Poor < Acceptable < Good < Very Good < Excellent

Book 5 - Pride and Prejudice

Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen, was a novel that I was eager to read. I could not wait to read it since I was expecting it to be at least as good as the movie, one of my favorite movies of all time, which would make for an excellent novel indeed.

Fortunately, I was not disappointed. I enjoyed everything about this novel: the characters, the dialogues, the sisterly affection between Elizabeth and Jane, and more specifically the customs of the 1800's. It is simply fascinating to me to learn about the manners of that era and to realize how civility to ones relations extended far beyond anything that we could observe in our modern times. I was most astonished to learn, as I understand was the custom, that when someone when to visit their family or friends, it would often be for a several weeks and even months at a time, as opposed to a day or two as is often seen in our present society. A story about love, friendship, morals but mostly, about the pride and prejudice of individuals from different societal statuses, Pride and Prejudice is a great novel.

If I am not mistaken, it is the first time that I find a movie better than the book from which it was derived. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely loved Pride and Prejudice the novel, but the movie was just something more. It made me appreciate even more how it was like in those days, and how civility and even marriage were considered as one's duty. The actors, costumes and decor were simply stunning. However, it is also the first time that I have watched a movie prior to read the novel used as inspiration for it, so perhaps that is another explanation of why I preferred the movie. As I was reading along in the book, I would think back to the corresponding scenes in the movie and unconsciously compare both, most times preferring the version from the movie.

I am looking forward to reading other novels by Jane Austen, expecting, or at least hoping, that they will be as good as this one.

My Rating: Terrible < Poor < Acceptable < Good < Very Good < Excellent

Book 4 - 2001: A Space Odyssey

The fourth book that I have read thus far is 2001: A Space Odyssey, by Arthur C. Clarke. I had often heard of this novel, but had never come to read it. Finally, this challenge of mine has brought this book to my attention once more, and I am glad that I have finally read it. I found it to be a very interesting and well-written book, which is refreshing after the novels I have read thus far.

2001: A Space Odyssey is a science-fiction novel written in 1968 but situating itself from the age of ape-men up to 2001, consequently spanning 3 million years. Although quite hard to explain in a short book review, it is a story about the evolution of humankind from the ape-men originating in Africa to the human civilization that we know today. Most of the story occurs between 1999 and 2001 as a team of astronauts go into space for a secret mission regarding a large black crystal monolith and the planet Saturn. It is difficult to explain more of this novel without revealing what you will come to discover as you read it, but the essence of it is that technology has evolved immensely throughout evolution, highly intelligent and automatic technology can lead to unforeseen consequences, and perhaps we shall never know what else there is in this universe, apart from "us" humans.

I loved the story, characters and descriptions in this novel, but the last couple of pages felt unfamiliar compared to the rest of the novel. I found myself having to read more slowly to make sure I understood and grasped the message the author was trying to convey. I think I missed it, but nonetheless 2001: A Space Odyssey was a very good book. The best so far.

My Rating: Terrible < Poor < Acceptable < Good < Very Good < Excellent

Edit: Soon after finishing this book, I learned that it is actually part of a series of four novels; 2010: Odyssey Two, 2061: Odyssey Three and 3001: The Final Odyssey. As such, these past couple of weeks I have read all three and thus recently completed the Space Odyssey series. There were some discrepancies between the first book and the second, but overall they were very good. I'm glad that I took the time to read them. These novels made me realize that we never know what the future holds in store for us! I wonder if, millennia from now, we will see any of the technologies proposed in these books.

Book 3 - Lord of the Flies

Book 3 of my literary adventure is Lord of the Flies, by William Golding. I remembered that I had read this book in high school, and from what I could remember I really hadn't liked it. Nonetheless, I still wanted to reread it to see if my feelings regarding this novel would change. Upon my second time reading it, I realized that most people have probably read it during their high school years since it seems to be a classic.

Lord of the Flies is a story about a group of young British boys that find themselves stranded on a desert island after a plane crash. They are left to fend for themselves until a possible rescue comes. As one young boy named Ralph is voted Chief, a plethora of feelings arise out of the group of boys: jealousy, anger, hope, savagery, freedom, despair and vengeance, in no particular order. The human nature is the topic of interest in this book since it is constantly at the forefront of all occurring events. Albeit I found the novel as a whole to be readable and quite enjoyable at times, for some inexplicable reason I did not really like it. I don't know why exactly, but there's something missing. Maybe I'll find out what that is sooner of later. Perhaps the general weirdness of the story made me doubt its credibility...

My Rating: Terrible < Poor < Acceptable < Good < Very Good < Excellent

Book 2 - The Killer Inside Me

The second book I read from the long list of possibilities is The Killer Inside Me, by Jim Thompson. I knew after the first 5 pages that I would enjoy this one considerably more than "The Scarlet Letter", and I guessed that this was my type of book: a detective story focusing on amain character. Upon its completion, I realized that this novel was rather more psychological and noir.

The story is set in Texas and focuses on deputy sheriff Lou Ford, who, as we can guess from the start, has some "issues". I found the title of the book to be a bit self-revealing, but that must have been done purposely to lead us into trying to comprehend the protagonist's story. Albeit I liked the book in general, I thought it was slightly disturbing at times, and I honestly did not fully comprehend the ending. From the author's explanation by black on white, we pretty much know how the ending played out, but I did not understand the purpose of it or why it had to end the way it ended. Just like a good movie with a bad ending, a good novel with a flat ending (well, from my point of view) leaves me with a bitter taste that the ending was not as good as the rest of the movie. Oh well, I still enjoyed it.

My Rating: Terrible < Poor < Acceptable < Good < Very Good < Excellent

Book 1 - The Scarlet Letter

It took me a bit more than two weeks, but I finally finished reading The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne. I had previously heard of this book numerous times, and as such I was a bit disappointed by this novel of the 1800's. First of all, although I read a lot I am not used to the Old English style of writing composing this book. In the first hundred pages I was completely taken aback by the "thee", "dost", "spake", and so forth, that I had never read.

However, once the actual story began, I started to find it more interesting and got better acquainted with the above-mentioned style of writing. Story of sin, love, life, religion and shame, The Scarlet Letter depicts the story of protagonist Hester Prynne, whose great sin has condemned her to a life of shame. Although the essence of the story was good, I often found myself lost in the paragraph-long sentences. Not uncommonly, the sentences were so long that once the end was reached, I could not remember what I had read at the beginning of it. Apart from the lengthy sentences and the unaccostumed Old English style of writing, I found this book to be readable and at times enjoyable, but I would certainly not read it once more.

My Rating: Terrible < Poor < Acceptable < Good < Very Good < Excellent

Introduction

Welcome to my blog, 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die! Some time ago I discovered that there was such a thing as a book titled "1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die", by Peter Boxall. Being an avid reader, the idea that I would someday start this project seeped into my mind. However, being busy with finishing my undergrad and other things, this idea did not develop further. Until recently that is. Upon talking about it with my best friend, I decided that I would add this project on my bucket list, as she will also.

Tomorrow is my 23rd birthday, so I have decided to embark on this journey on that day to better appreciate how long it will take me. There are various versions of this book, so to specify, I will be completing the original list of these 1001 books: the 2006 version. I made a spreadsheet to help me keep track, as well as keeping this blog to write a short summary and my impressions of each book I read. At first I estimated that I could do this in 20 years, if I read one book every week. A friend made me realize that, sure, at the beginning I could pull it off, but later on in my life that would be quite a demanding feat to keep up. As such, I am not giving myself a specific deadline to complete this challenge, but I would like to make a guess. Considering that I would be working for the next couple of decades and that I have other books (not on the list) that I would want to read, I would like to have finished by the time I am 50 years old. That would mean 27 years to read 1001 books. I think I can do it, but the concept is not that. The concept of this project is to read every single book from the 2006 version to expand my literary universe and discover new authors and forgotten ones.

From the list I discovered, much to my surprise, that I had already read a few. Not many, but some. Here is the list of the books I once read, although I plan on re-reading them for this challenge:

Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe

Red Harverst, by Dashiell Hammett

Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck

From the list of books I noticed that many where made into movies, several of which I saw, such as "The Shining", "I, Robot", "Jane Eyre" and many more. That being said, I will begin tomorrow this decade-long project of mine, starting with "The Scarlet Letter", by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Let's see where I'm at September 24th, 2038.