Well, I've got about 13 of these ones. Yeah! I keep seeing authors I have read, but not the book I have read by that author. Grr....
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Well, I've got about 13 of these ones. Yeah! I keep seeing authors I have read, but not the book I have read by that author. Grr....
I never even thought about how many foreign authors I like.
I've read...
Chinua Achebe, Nigeria, (b. 1930), Things Fall Apart
Hans Christian Andersen, Denmark, (1805-1875), Fairy Tales and Stories
Jane Austen, England, (1775-1817), Pride and Prejudice
Emily Bronte, England, (1818-1848), Wuthering Heights
Albert Camus, France, (1913-1960), The Stranger
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Spain, (1547-1616), Don Quixote
Geoffrey Chaucer, England, (1340-1400), Canterbury Tales
Charles Dickens, England, (1812-1870), Great Expectations
Fyodor M Dostoyevsky, Russia, (1821-1881), Crime and Punishment; The Idiot; The Possessed; The Brothers Karamazov
Ralph Ellison, United States, (1914-1994), Invisible Man
William Faulkner, United States, (1897-1962), Absalom, Absalom; The Sound and the Fury
Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Colombia, (b. 1928), One Hundred Years of Solitude; Love in the Time of Cholera
Ernest Hemingway, United States, (1899-1961), The Old Man and the Sea -> might I just add that I could not stand this book or this author!!!!
James Joyce, Ireland, (1882-1941), Ulysses
Franz Kafka, Bohemia, (1883-1924), The Complete Stories; The Trial; The Castle Bohemia
Astrid Lindgren, Sweden, (1907-2002), Pippi Longstocking
Herman Melville, United States, (1819-1891), Moby Dick
Toni Morrison, United States, (b. 1931), Beloved
George Orwell, England, (1903-1950), 1984
Edgar Allan Poe, United States, (1809-1849), The Complete Tales
Marcel Proust, France, (1871-1922), Remembrance of Things Past
Jose Saramago, Portugal, (b. 1922), Blindness
William Shakespeare, England, (1564-1616), Hamlet; King Lear; Othello
Jonathan Swift, Ireland, (1667-1745), Gulliver's Travels
Leo Tolstoy, Russia, (1828-1910), War and Peace; Anna Karenina; The Death of Ivan Ilyich and Other Stories
Mark Twain, United States, (1835-1910), The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Walt Whitman, United States, (1819-1892), Leaves of Grass
Virginia Woolf, England, (1882-1941), Mrs. Dalloway; To the Lighthouse
Thanks for the list anna. I'm glad there's a list here. Now, I shall go and hunt down great books to read.
Impressing read, Anna! I haven't read that many at all in this list - but then again, as all those kind of lists, they are rather subjective... for example - since I'm a Swedish native, I've read most of Astrid Lindgren's books, and though Pippi Longstocking is very good and probably the most known, I don't think it's her best book(s). And of course I'd rate some Swedish writers much higher than some of those on the list - the problem is that they aren't that well known outside Sweden (though some of those author's received the Nobel prize!).
My comments:
Hans Christian Andersen, Denmark, (1805-1875), Fairy Tales and Stories
I agree with this one, they are quite unique and brilliant
Jane Austen, England, (1775-1817), Pride and Prejudice
seen the film, and yes it was good, but not that outstanding, imo
Honore de Balzac, France, (1799-1850), Old Goriot
yes, it's a "classic", but not that outstanding, I think
Giovanni Boccaccio, Italy, (1313-1375), Decameron
another classic. I've read parts and they are quite brilliant, so it might deserve to be there...
Emily Bronte, England, (1818-1848), Wuthering Heights
wonderful.. but is it one of the 100?
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Spain, (1547-1616), Don Quixote
classic. brilliant!
Geoffrey Chaucer, England, (1340-1400), Canterbury Tales
loved loved loved it!!!
Joseph Conrad, England,(1857-1924), Nostromo
hmm.. I was expecting to see the "heart of darkness" here - which was really good
Dante Alighieri, Italy, (1265-1321), The Divine Comedy
only read parts of it, but I believe it's an important book
Charles Dickens, England, (1812-1870), Great Expectations
Funny they choose my favourite of his books! A brilliant writer. Love "Hard times" and "Tale of Two Cites" too, to name a couple.
Fyodor M Dostoyevsky, Russia, (1821-1881), Crime and Punishment; The Idiot; The Possessed; The Brothers Karamazov
only read "The Idiot" of these, but several other novels, and I think the is an excellent author!
William Faulkner, United States, (1897-1962), Absalom, Absalom; The Sound and the Fury
tried Faulkner several times, but found the books too boring...
Federico Garcia Lorca, Spain, (1898-1936), Gypsy Ballads
seen some plays of his, and they were really very good
Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Colombia, (b. 1928), One Hundred Years of Solitude; Love in the Time of Cholera
OK, I read HYoS, and I think he is very over-rated.. but that seems to be just me....
Gilgamesh, Mesopotamia (c 1800 BC).
hmm.. yes... maybe..
Nikolai Gogol, Russia, (1809-1852), Dead Souls
I've read several of Gogol's stories, and I like them very much!
Knut Hamsun, Norway, (1859-1952), Hunger.
Embarrassingly I haven't read anything by him, but I do believe he is very good from what I've heard
Ernest Hemingway, United States, (1899-1961), The Old Man and the Sea
Well, IMO, another overrated writer. Maybe just not my cup of tea, but I fail to see the greatness...
Homeros, Greece, (c 700 BC), The Iliad and The Odyssey
Haven't read them all, but parts, and of course - they are great classics!
Henrik Ibsen, Norway (1828-1906), A Doll's House
Seen the play a couple of times. It's excellent!
Franz Kafka, Bohemia, (1883-1924), The Complete Stories; The Trial; The Castle Bohemia
This is one of my favourite authors! Absolutely brilliant books!!
Nikos Kazantzakis, Greece, (1883-1957), Zorba the Greek
Saw the film (a classic in and of itself), but for some reason it didn't make any lasting impression.
DH Lawrence, England, (1885-1930), Sons and Lovers
Another one that I've tried to read and found terribly boring...
Halldor K Laxness, Iceland, (1902-1998), Independent People
A scandinavian that I'm very embarrassed not to have read anything of... He did get the Nobel prize though (as well as Hamsun above), so I have to assume he's at least pretty good?
Astrid Lindgren, Sweden, (1907-2002), Pippi Longstocking
As I mentioned above, she's written better books, imo, but she was an absolutely outstanding author of children's books!
Thomas Mann, Germany, (1875-1955), Buddenbrook; The Magic Mountain
Hmm.. didn't he write "Steppenwolf"? That was a very good book.
Herman Melville, United States, (1819-1891), Moby Dick
Feels very old now, to me. Much like Hemingway.
Njaals Saga, Iceland, (c 1300).
Hmm... how to just pick one of all those tales? This one is great though!
George Orwell, England, (1903-1950), 1984
This one certainly belongs right here! Though it didn't happen 1984, I wonder if it doesn't happen in a very subtle way right now...
Edgar Allan Poe, United States, (1809-1849), The Complete Tales
Classic. Very good!!
William Shakespeare, England, (1564-1616), Hamlet; King Lear; Othello
Ahh.. Shakespeare, another favourite of mine! Such understanding of human nature - and still true these days!
Sophocles, Greece, (496-406 BC), Oedipus the King
Classic story. Very profound.
Jonathan Swift, Ireland, (1667-1745), Gulliver's Travels
Finally getting to one of my all time favourites! Brilliant and witty! Must be read "annotated" to understand the background.
Anton P Chekhov, Russia, (1860-1904), Selected Stories
Those old Russian writers are very good. This is another one.
Thousand and One Nights, India/Iran/Iraq/Egypt, (700-1500).
I love to see that this one made the list!
Mark Twain, United States, (1835-1910), The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Very important American writer.
Virgil, Italy, (70-19 BC), The Aeneid
Classic, but I'm not sure that it belongs here?
OK... I'm missing another favourite of mine: the "Alice-books", by Lewis Carrol. Not to mention JJR Tolkien's books that have had such increadible influence on a lot of people these days.
Edited - obviously I have actually read/partially read quite a few! Didn't realised that at first... :lol
:lol... I've read some of these books, already. Not many, though. I have to admit that I am quite fond of more modern books by T. Jefferson Parker, R.A.Salvatore, Brian Jacques and so on... :nod I'm more of a sci-fi/fantasy reader. Though, I really like to read a variety of different books. A friend of mine started me on some decent Romance novels. Though, I think she was going too far with the Harlequin (sp?) stuff.... :lol
I've been trying to read the classics but some of them are way boring. This is quite strange... The older they are the more I like them. :shrug Something about the style or wording or something... As books hit the 1930s they get more boring. Then, they get better as time progresses. :rofl
Oh I think it definitely deserves the top 100. Not only is it a beautifully written novel, but it also opened doors for female writers and had a passionate storyline that was quite the shocker for the times.Quote:
Originally Posted by Modesty
I'm embarrassed to admit that I've only read three of the top books. I need to hit the local library.
Jane Austen, England, (1775-1817), Pride and Prejudice
Emily Bronte, England, (1818-1848), Wuthering Heights
Geoffrey Chaucer, England, (1340-1400), Canterbury Tales
Charles Dickens, England, (1812-1870), Great Expectations
Homer, Greece, (c 700 BC), The Iliad and The Odyssey
Toni Morrison, United States, (b. 1931), Beloved
William Shakespeare, England, (1564-1616), Hamlet; Othello
Sophocles, Greece, (496-406 BC), Oedipus the King (actually, just Oedipus Rex and Antigone)
Mark Twain, United States, (1835-1910), The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Those are the ones I've read. I thoroughly enjoyed "Pride and Prejudice," "Wuthering Heights," "Beloved," "Hamlet," and "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn."
I've read maybe 15 of those books.
Oh really? Because the first time I saw it, I did exactly what raindance did...Quote:
That's actually a really good book, but if you do read it, you need to keep a tablet next to you and write down everyone's name and description, because characters keep popping up, disappearing, then reappearing 200 pages later...
Many editions of it come with a character tree, with all the names and nicknames and surnames and diminuitives, etc. Argh! Sorry about that last part. I am reading it now, and my edition does NOT have it.Quote:
Originally Posted by AnnaRHR
Rachael
Glad to see I'm not the only one who doesn't understand the fuss about this guy!Quote:
Originally Posted by Modesty