Reading the Chunksters discussion

What books are on your 2017 agenda... They do not all have to be Chunksters, but if so, we all support your effort and accomplishments as you progress in your endeavor.

Well, after visiting the "Favorite Chunksters" thread, I believe The Count of Monte Cristo, Anna Karenina and The Street Sweeper, are in my future!

Two that I would really like to tackle are A Suitable Boy and A Tale of Genji. Some others I'm planning on are The Brothers Karamazov, An Instance of the Fingerpost, and Jerusalem. (I'll tag these properly when I get back on my computer)

I have An Instance of the Fingerpost (well, I have no set time frame for it, but it's on my nightstand!) and Jerusalem (Amanda, I just got this one in the post two days ago - I used the $10 Amazon coupon for the week.) up for next year too.

Linda wrote: "I have An Instance of the Fingerpost (well, I have no set time frame for it, but it's on my nightstand!) and Jerusalem (Amanda, I just got this one in the post two days..."

Sweet! We are going to have so much fun with that one. Did you get the single hardback or the 3 paperbacks?

Amanda wrote: "Linda wrote: "I have An Instance of the Fingerpost (well, I have no set time frame for it, but it's on my nightstand!) and Jerusalem (Amanda, I just got this one in the..."

During the beginning stages of this group, I believe, "Jerusalem" was in talks to be read...I don't think they every did, however. It looks very interesting, ladies, not a title I would have ever picked up on my own.

Amanda wrote: "Sweet! We are going to have so much fun with that one. Did you get the single hardback or the 3 paperbacks? "

I got the 3 paperback set. I looked at both of them at Barnes and Noble and decided to go with the paperbacks, even though the hardcover is gorgeous. I think I'll probably do what I did with The Recognitions and listen to the audio book (Simon Vance, I hear) and have the tree book for reference or to reread passages.

That's what I'm doing too Linda.

I would love to read Jerusalem also. I look at the 1 volume vs 3 volume every time I go to the bookstore and resolve to decide another day. I also want to read A Suitable Boy and Infinite Jest (I have never read DFW at all). Count of Monte Cristo is also on the 2017 list. Street Sweeper too! I'm a huge 19th century russian literature fan so I'd be game for any of those also. hmmm what else, Middlemarch! various Dickens! Proust 6 volume ! Dante 3 volume! Marias Your Face Tomorrow 3 volume! Ok I may be getting carried away.

I read Instance of the Fingerpost this year and it was pretty good! Definitely not your average mystery.

Amanda wrote: "That's what I'm doing too Linda."

Cool!

Dianne wrote: "Middlemarch! various Dickens! Proust 6 volume!"

I loved Middlemarch! And which Dickens? I'll be starting the year with Great Expectations. Proust is on my "someday" list.

Linda wrote: "Dianne wrote: "Middlemarch! various Dickens! Proust 6 volume!"

I loved Middlemarch! And which Dickens? I'll be starting the year with Great Expectations. Proust is on my "someday" list."

for dickens at least Dombey and Son and Bleak House

I should have added GE, Linda...I'll be right there with you. I missed out on a lot of Dickens I wanted to read this year.

I'm reading Great Expectations next year too. It's on my classics challenge

Amanda wrote: "I'm reading Great Expectations next year too. It's on my classics challenge"

Ami wrote: "I should have added GE, Linda...I'll be right there with you. I missed out on a lot of Dickens I wanted to read this year."

Cool! I'm reading it with the Pickwicks.

Dianne wrote: "for dickens at least Dombey and Son and Bleak House"

Nice! Those were the first two Dickens I read a couple of years ago. BH first, then D&S.

Linda wrote: "Dianne wrote: "Middlemarch! various Dickens! Proust 6 volume!"

I loved Middlemarch! And which Dickens? I'll be starting the year with Great Expectations. Proust is on my "someday" list."

I want do read Proust in the next 2-3 years :) I want to get Faust/Goethe, Dante, Steven Pinker and Sexy Fyodor D done first.

What about a Zola or Balzac romp?

I'd love to do a Balzac romp :)

Biblio wrote: "Linda wrote: "Dianne wrote: "Middlemarch! various Dickens! Proust 6 volume!"

I loved Middlemarch! And which Dickens? I'll be starting the year with Great Expectations. Proust is on my "someday" li..."

This is a nice three year plan, Biblio...I'm looking forward to seeing you accomplish this goal!

"Balzac romp" lol!

Biblio-
I did Anthony Powell's Dance to the Music of Time over this year, and it has been a terrific experience. (It has been compared to Proust's Remembrance of Things Past.) I read one of the 12 volumes each month, just slow and steady. Good luck with your goal. You can do it!

I have never read Zola, or Balzac, or Powell! Would join any of these. :)

Renee wrote: "Biblio-
I did Anthony Powell's Dance to the Music of Time over this year, and it has been a terrific experience. (It has been compared to Proust's Remembrance of Things Past.) I read one of the 12 ..."

Renee, you're always reading great books.., what's on your plan for 2017?

On the not so serious side of life I'm planning to read King's IT and Joe Hill's Nos4a2 :-)

Amanda wrote: "On the not so serious side of life I'm planning to read King's IT and Joe Hill's Nos4a2 :-)"

Nice... I've read Hill's "Horns."

Even my "fun" books are chunksters, lol

We should read Encyclopedia Britannica! That would be a chunkster challenge galore!

Haaze wrote: "We should read Encyclopedia Britannica! That would be a chunkster challenge galore!"

that is a horrible idea! your worst ever!

what is your real agenda haaze? You always have fantasticly (is that a word?) overzealous reading goals, would love to hear them!

I actually bought a copy a few years ago, but I never seem to have any time for it. Its volumes looks at me with pleading "eyes" when I pass by its "tower" (no room on the shelves for such a monster).

Plans in terms of chunksters?

Yep chunksters, but any other non encyclopedia reading ones too ;)

I will probably follow the path of serendipity as chunksters pop up here at GR (especially in this group). On my own I tend to follow a type of western canon/list approach (kind of like Harold Bloom's list), but it is hard to find the time (sounds familiar?). I'm more prone to mega projects than reading specific books. E.g. I would like to read ALL of George Eliot's works as well as the complete realm of Charles Dickens. AND all of Dostoyevsky's books.
I am gravitating towards an attempt on Proust's In Search of Lost Time. There seems to be a fair amount of interest in Proust at GR. Too bad that I/we missed RT's 2016 project on Proust...

*bursts into tears*

Oh, and beckoning in the corner the serious but interesting realm of Solzhenitsyn's complete works. In particular the volumes of the Gulag Archipelago:
The Gulag Archipelago, 1918-1956: An Experiment in Literary Investigation, Books I-II

The Gulag Archipelago, 1918-1956: An Experiment in Literary Investigation, books III-IV

The Gulag Archipelago, 1918-1956: An Experiment in Literary Investigation, books V-VII

And I just got this and it is jumping up and down calling for my attention:

The Complete Works of Primo Levi


Does that qualify as a chunkster?

I really want to tackle Proust. I was mad I missed the RT project this year too!

And..... I have always wanted to read this mega-biography of Churchill.....

The Last Lion 1: Visions of Glory 1874-1932

The Last Lion 2: Winston Spencer Churchill Alone, 1932-40

The Last Lion 3: Winston Spencer Churchill: Defender of the Realm, 1940-1965


All conveniently combined into this gem... :)

The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill, 1874-1965

Amanda wrote: "I really want to tackle Proust. I was mad I missed the RT project this year too!"

Yes, my living room floor still has a pool of tears from when I realized that I missed the Proust train. Btw I have always wanted to read The Tale of Genji as well!!! :)

The Tale of Genji

I was majorly bummed to miss the Proust project, can we do it here for 2017?? I have all six volumes!

I love solzhenitsyn also.

Haaze, tell me about Levi, I know nothing.

After reading romance of the three kingdoms last year, I may be a bit exhausted on the ancient asian literature, but maybe you all can convince me.

churchill, meh. Is this HUGE set really worth the time? I do love fat biographies though, I have john adams and hamilton and washington on my TBR

Churchill:
He was just such an interesting personality living through peculiar times of the British empire ranging from the Boer war in South Africa, the Great War, the Depression and then becoming a leader of the UK's war effort in WWII. I'm not sure if the huge trilogy is worth it - perhaps it is better to dwell on three different lives rather than one? It is also indirectly a study of England and its cultural changes from the loss of regal power, the rise of the working class and women' rights, the decline of empire and so much more. That is what I like about biographies as they give the reader a sense of space and time and not just the individual (i.e. if they are written well).

Review of the last part of the trilogy (written by a different author since Manchester had passed away):
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/23/boo...

Primo Levi:

A modern Italian author mostly famous for
The Periodic Table

as well as his writings about the holocaust and being a survivor.
If This Is a Man / The Truce


This is a great article from the New Yorker. It encapsulates his life and works very well.
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/201...

Haaze wrote: "Amanda wrote: "I really want to tackle Proust. I was mad I missed the RT project this year too!"

Yes, my living room floor still has a pool of tears from when I realized that I missed the Proust t..."

I have A Tale of Genji on a classics challenge next year.

Amanda wrote: "On the not so serious side of life I'm planning to read King's IT and Joe Hill's Nos4a2 :-)"

Nice! I read IT over 25 years ago, one of my first King books. One of these years I'll have to revisit it.

I would highly recommend the audio book for NOS4A2, Kate Mulgrew is very good job at a creepy old man voice!

Amanda wrote: "Even my "fun" books are chunksters, lol"

The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World This guy reads it in one year, this book is about his journey. It's an awesome read :)

Biblio wrote: "Amanda wrote: "Even my "fun" books are chunksters, lol"

The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World This guy reads it in one year, this book is ..."

I remember reading a review about that book, Biblio! It reminded me of this other book about a guy that wanted to read all of the Harvard's Classics: The Whole Five Feet: What the Great Books Taught Me About Life, Death, and Pretty Much Everything Else by Christopher R. Beha.


It was definitely engaging and perked my interest in the Harvard Classics.

Haaze wrote: "Biblio wrote: "Amanda wrote: "Even my "fun" books are chunksters, lol"

The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World This guy reads it in one year..."

Thanks for the recommendation!! I just added that book to my 2017 to read list :D These book memoirs are super fun to read, it's almost like reading 1000s of books in one sitting.

I've had a good year for Chunksters, mostly unplanned but there you go. I've been thinking about what's left to tackle. I've read all of Dicken's books many times, the 12 volume Dance to the Music of Time I read last year, and Ive just finished A Suitable Boy.

I haven't read Proust and I've downloaded the first book Swann's Way from the library, but if people are interested in tackling this as a group read I'll hold off :-).

I'm currently reading through the Barsetshire series by Trollope and I was planning on reading the Pallister ones after that. Although probably not next year? Who knows. I've also got Roots: The Saga of an American Family on my 3 month reading plan and I want to read The Stand as well sometime next year. Maybe some more Solzhenitsyn? I've just finished In the First Circle and it was spectacular.

Nicola wrote: "I've had a good year for Chunksters, mostly unplanned but there you go. I've been thinking about what's left to tackle. I've read all of Dicken's books many times, the 12 volume Dance to the Music ..."

Nice, And impressive, Nicola! You have had a great year of Chunksters! There's been a lot of chatter surrounding Proust lately... Perhaps a project is in order? Our January Chunkster will follow in the vein of Russian Modern or Contemporary Literature, in light of the 100 year anniversary of the Russian Revolution, celebrating Russian culture. Be on the lookout for more information in the next few days!

Ami wrote: "Nicola wrote: "I've had a good year for Chunksters, mostly unplanned but there you go. I've been thinking about what's left to tackle. I've read all of Dicken's books many times, the 12 volume Danc..."

Cheers Ami :-) I just ran an eye over my 'chunksters' from this year and it is quite a list with hopefully at least two more to be added before the end of the year. It was a lot more than I thought once I started toting them up. So much for trying to avoid them a little bit this year and read some of the 'shorter' book on the 1001 list! Hah :-)


My Chunksters
In the First Circle
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ
A Suitable Boy
Dombey and Son
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
King Charles II
Doctor Zhivago
Ivanhoe
The Mysteries of Udolpho
Middlesex
A Prayer for Owen Meany
The Godfather
Cloud Atlas
Fingersmith
Martin Chuzzlewit
The Satanic Verses
Clarissa, or, the History of a Young Lady (That one was a real monster!)
The Forsyte Saga
The Name of the Rose
The Private Life of Chairman Mao
The Luminaries
Kane and Abel
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Wow, that's an impressive list of Chunksters for just one year, Nicola! There are a lot of great ones on there too. Awesome job!

Ditto Linda's comment Nicola, I am really impressed! What are your favorites from the list?