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

Use this Topic to discuss books you are reading or that fit the 12th Scavenger Hunt task.

Task 12: Read a book using the theme of 23.
    (Contributed by Taylor, Rosemary, SaraSian and Irem).

This is your chance to get creative again! Here are a few possibilities to get you started:
    o 2023 – Chinese year of the rabbit
    o International Year of Millets (United Nations) – Good luck with that one!
    o The Roaring Twenties (a book published or set in the 20s)
    o An audiobook 23 hours long!

Possibly Zeno's Conscience by Italo Svevo published 1923. Or The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas, a 23-hour audiobook.
I've already read Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf, also published in 1923.

What about an audiobook that is 27 hours long but played on 1.2 speed and therefore finished in 23 hours*

Cursery research suggests books about millet surprisingly a bit thin on the ground.

Authors who were 23 when their list book was published:
- Akutagawa, Ryonosuke with Rashamon
- Yashimoto, Banana with Kitchen
- Oe, Kenzaburo with Pluck the Bud and Destroy the Offspring (Nip the Buds, Shoot the Kids)

There's possibly others but I'm getting a bit bored of looking now that I've found the one I want.

*This is a joke.

I plan on reading The Life of a Good-For-Nothing by Joseph von Eichendorff. Published in 1823.

Emily wrote: "What about an audiobook that is 27 hours long but played on 1.2 speed and therefore finished in 23 hours*

Cursery research suggests books about millet surprisingly a bit thin on the ground.

Autho..."

LOL -- very creative! The choices for authors age 23 are all good. Kitchen was a fun read.

I am very much looking forward to Kitchen!

Also it occurred to me that The White Tiger (Aravinda Adiga, 2008) might mention millet, because the main character was from a farming village in India. I've already read it, so I just had a quick skim and it says the following:

"...comes from the village of Laxmangarh...I am talking of a place in India...a fertile place, full of rice fields and wheat fields..."

Sadly no millet fields.

Emily wrote: "I am very much looking forward to Kitchen!

Also it occurred to me that The White Tiger (Aravinda Adiga, 2008) might mention millet, because the main character was from a farming vil..."

I'm really challenged by those millet fields.....

I'm going to finally finish USA, which is #23 on the Modern Library 100 Best Novels list. Of course, the Rabbit books would be perfect, but I have already read those.

Kimberly wrote: "Emily wrote: "I am very much looking forward to Kitchen!

Also it occurred to me that The White Tiger (Aravinda Adiga, 2008) might mention millet, because the main character was from..."

Mercier and Camier briefly mentions millet grains near the end of chapter V [page 62 in the Faber & Faber edition].

Alec wrote: "Kimberly wrote: "Emily wrote: "I am very much looking forward to Kitchen!

Also it occurred to me that The White Tiger (Aravinda Adiga, 2008) might mention millet, because the main c..."

*Applause*

Alec wins the Millet Trophy!!

I'm going to try The Devil in the Flesh, another 1923 novel - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9...

Lol @ the Millet trophy.

Alas I've read the Millet book, the Rabbit books, the 1823 and 1923 books, the 23 y/o author books, so slim pickings.

But, Family Matters is the #23 book on my version of the spreadsheet for the 2008 edition, so I'm going with that.

I would like to read a book with 23 chapters, but haven't found one so far. I haven't really looked into it yet, tbh, so I might still come up with one.

I changed my plans. I still haven't found a book with 23 chapters. But by chance I came across W, or the Memory of Childhood and picked this one. It turns out that W is the 23rd letter of the alphabet!

Also, not to mention The Cathedral on a third thread, but I read it today and it mentions millet as well!

Kimberly wrote: "I plan on reading The Life of a Good-For-Nothing by Joseph von Eichendorff. Published in 1823."

The Life of a Good-For-Nothing is a short one, 125 pages!

Temple of My Familiar by Alice Walker mentions millet gruel 😀.

Kelly wrote: "Temple of My Familiar by Alice Walker mentions millet gruel 😀."
I could kiss you Kelly! Have just downloaded Temple of My Familiar

It’s also the Vietnamese year of the cat, so Cat’s Eye by Margaret Atwood would fit.

Interesting bit of news -- My local newspaper, the San Antonio Express News, ran a story in the Sunday Taste section titled "2 Ways to Make Healthy Millet Pancakes." The recipes are from Anita Jaisinghani, the chef-owner of Pondicheri restaurant in Houston. The recipes are more of a savory pancake, not the fluffy version most of us are used to.

The article states that the United Nations named 2023 as the year of the millet in an effort to get more cultures to "embrace" millet. The UN would like to see the cultivation of millet overtake maize and wheat. Millet has been grown for thousands of years in India, China, and sub-Saharan Africa. Millet is fast-growing and drought and pest resistant. It is gluten-free and high in protein.

The People of Hemso by August Strindberg, 3/5. This is the 23rd to last book from the 1800s that I have left to read.

By year, Zeno's Conscience 1923, Antic Hay 1923 The Fox 1923

Creatively, a new source: Title with 23 characters in them:
Lady Chatterley's Lover (23 chars if include spaces),
The Power and the Glory (23 chars if include spaces),
Keep the Aspidistra Flying (23 chars excluding spaces),
The Man Who Loved Children (23 chars excluding spaces),
Henderson the Rain King(23 chars if include spaces),

Kurt wrote: "By year, Zeno's Conscience 1923, Antic Hay 1923 The Fox 1923

Creatively, a new source: Title with 23 characters in them:
Lady Chatterley's Lover (23 chars if include spaces),
The Power and the G..."

Clever!!!

Paradise of the Blind has a mention of millet cake on p245 of my 2002 paperback edition. The glossary in the back references a Vietnamese cake called xòi too, so it meets many challenges. Also a great read

Ellinor wrote: "I changed my plans. I still haven't found a book with 23 chapters. But by chance I came across W, or the Memory of Childhood and picked this one. It turns out that W is the 23rd letter..."

Life: A User's Manual by Georges Perec takes place on a single day: June 23, 1975.

I became interested in Perec and his four books on the list after Ellinor mentioned W, or the Memory of Childhood.

So, at least two of Perec's books fit the theme of 23.

At last I found it! The three different parts of The New York Trilogy by Paul Auster has altogether 23 chapters! 13 + 1 + 9! I've searched for an option the whole year (because I focus on reading the books I 've got unread in my own shelves before borrowing or getting new ones) and I've been struggling to make it work with 23. I'm so pleased I found it!