Litsy

1001: Books You Must Read Before You Die: You Must Read Before You Die | Peter Boxall

Finally, as part of my year end wrap up, here are the 30 books I read from the #1001books list in 2019. It‘s not quite as many as I was hoping for, but I did manage to read my #Reading1001 #TBRTakedown book every month, a few of the books of the month for that group, a few with Litsy readalongs, and a few random choices.

#1001Discoveries #Genji #Hugonuts #ReadColdBlood
#2019Stats #ReadingStats

Scochrane26 I would try some of the list or other lists, but there‘s just some books I‘m never going to be willing to read. It‘s a great goal though, & I have worked on more classics. 4y

Cinfhen 🙌🏻❣️#TBRtakedown 😁 4y

Daisey @Scochrane26 Thanks, and I completely understand. I will never get through all of these, and there are some I have no desire to read. I like that it gives me a wide variety of books to read and an interesting group of people with whom to discuss those books. 4y

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CafeMom Great graphic. I wish I could do that. 4y

Daisey @CafeMom This is actually just a screenshot of my bookshelf on Goodreads in cover grid format on a square background. I lucked out that I read 30 books and it came out in even rows. 4y

Daisey #DaiseysReadingSummary 3mo

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Graywacke

The Hunchback of Notre Dame: A Novel | Victor Hugo

pick

First of all I had great fun reading this with the #hugonuts. Thanks @Lcsmcat !

But, it left me wondering what to make of this. Was it a really just dark fairytale? It‘s some kind of response to the French restoration, and light fun except, well... 🤷🏻‍♂️ Anyway, I enjoyed meeting all these famous characters and pondering medieval Paris, and I think I‘ve developed an attachment to a 🐐.

(To the other #hugonuts, sorry this comes in so late)

Lcsmcat I had a blast! I know Hugo was trying to draw attention to the state of the cathedral, and pressure people into restoring it. But otherwise I think he was just spinning a good yarn. 5y

Graywacke @Lcsmcat I was thinking more about the Bourbon Restoration after Napoleon than that kind of restoration, but that too, of course! It is a good story. 5y

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Lcsmcat

Picnic, Lightning | Billy Collins

I read a lot of poetry in June. The three pictured (Rubaiyat is the center pic) plus bits and pieces from other collections. Reread Midsummer Night‘s Dream with the #shakespearereadalong and Notre Dame de Paris with the #hugonuts. Lots of good reading. #junestats

StillLookingForCarmenSanDiego Well done! 💖📖💖 I love me some Atwood, haven't read this one yet. Did you like it? 5y

Lcsmcat @StillLookingForCarmenSanDiego I did! If you‘ve read Stone Mattress, it‘s the characters from one of the stories in that collection. But I‘m not sure if the short story or the novel came first. 5y

StillLookingForCarmenSanDiego Good to know! 5y

Crazeedi I enjoyed the word is murder, and I have georgianna on my shelf, I started, but never finished 5y

Lcsmcat @Crazeedi It‘s not a “page turner” but her life was fascinating. I enjoyed getting to know her. 5y

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BarbaraJean

The Hunchback of Notre Dame: A Novel | Victor Hugo

pick

One more TBR classic chunkster conquered! I enjoyed this much more than Les Mis (but also admit that Les Mis is the better, more “serious” book). The melodrama & suspense, certain infuriating characters, and fewer essay-like digressions kept me turning pages to find out what happened next. Glad I read this with the #hugonuts! And now that I‘ve read the source material, I wonder why anyone thought this would be a good story to adapt for kids?!

Lcsmcat

Lcsmcat I‘ve wondered that myself! My kids loved the Disney version when they were small, but even with it playing so often in my house I don‘t remember how they handled the ending. 5y

Daisey Very good point about the adaptation. I know I‘ve seen parts, but I don‘t think I ever watched the whole Disney movie. Also interesting because I remember enjoying Les Mis more overall, but I wonder what I would think if I read them closer together. 5y

pppooraikul I read the book after watching the Disney adaptation (I don‘t like it much except for the music) so, I don‘t expect much. But this book completely blew my mind. 😍 The very first question that came to mind is exactly the same as yours! (edited) 5y

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Daisey

Hunchback of Notre Dame | Victor Hugo

pick

I finished the last two issues of the book this morning with breakfast. Overall I enjoyed the story, but the long section on architecture and the jumping perspectives when I was most interested in staying with a certain character hold me back from considering it great. The tragedy seems realistic and appropriate for the story, but the little bits of humor and Djali 🐐 are still some of my favorite aspects.

#Hugonuts #SerialReader #1001books

Daisey @Lcsmcat Thanks so much for hosting the readalong. The group posts and discussion definitely helped me get more from this classic read. 5y

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Lcsmcat

The Hunchback of Notre-Dame | Victor Hugo, Frederic Shoberl

Final discussion starters of the book. La Esmeralda, in danger, rescued, in danger, rescued ad infinitum. Did it create real suspense for you? Was the ending Hugo gave her and Quasimodo the happiest he could imagine for them, given the era? Did Quasimodo get revenge on Frollo, or did the cathedral wreak her own revenge? Was it enough for you? What about Phoebus? Did he get off free? Final thoughts on the book? #hugonuts

janeycanuck, KarouBlue, Daisey, suvata, TheBookHippie, BarbaraJean, jmtrivera, tournevis, rjsthumbelina, Graywacke, BookwormAHN, GingerAntics, EleniKara, jewright

TheBookHippie I now want to watch the Disney kid version to see what they did!!! 5y

TheBookHippie I love how Esmeralda choose death over sleeping with Frollo. I think she tried. I had to remind myself while reading that she was 16 and how actually strong she was especially in that time. I think the ending is real. Probably not popular. I think she was truly loved by Quasimodo. What happened to the goat??? Did I miss that? I enjoyed it. Much more than I anticipated. How very sad that this was a lot of women‘s fate. Falsely accused. Witchcraft 5y

TheBookHippie Cont .... because of intelligence or having ones own mind. Refusal of advances so she was threatened with her life. Happens still. 5y

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tournevis Hugo wanted to remind people of the Vanitas. Only buildings can last. People are crap and they die. So in the end, yes, the cathedral won and it remains. As for Esmeralda, she had sex, so of course she had to die. And, I do not remember what happens to the goat either. 5y

Lcsmcat @TheBookHippie @tournevis Gringoire escapes with Djali. He can only save one, and he chooses the goat. 5y

tournevis @Lcsmcat The goat wins! 🐐 5y

TheBookHippie @Lcsmcat 🤣🤣 oye. I missed that. I was going to go reread since I was reading while I was drugged from my awful allergy steroids that are not my friend !! 5y

janeycanuck I fell so far behind on this!! I‘m going to revisit soon and am looking forward to coming back and reading the discussion as I finish each week‘s reading. Thanks for hosting, @Lcsmcat 5y

jewright Quasimodo and the cathedral work together to kill Frollo. Thank goodness. The cruelest part is that the mother lost her daughter right after she found her. I could have just screamed with Esmeralda yelling for Phoebus at the last minute, but she was only 16. We‘re all stupid about men at that point. Gringoire disappointed me in choosing the goat. Quasimodo is the only one who had Esmerelda‘s best interests at heart. 5y

BarbaraJean I was in suspense over Esmeralda the whole way—and I rolled my eyes when she called out to Phoebus. 🤦🏻‍♀️ I don‘t know about Hugo giving Esmeralda & Quasimodo the happiest ending possible given the era—I could have seen them contentedly living in Notre Dame for the rest of their days! Hugo was going for pathos & tragedy, and he got it. All the near-rescues, the short-lived mother-daughter reunion... definitely constructed for maximum heartbreak. 5y

BarbaraJean Except for Gringoire. I think he got his happiest ending! 💜🐐 5y

BarbaraJean I like the idea of the cathedral wreaking its own revenge—especially since that Frollo scene is so drawn out, like the cathedral is keeping him from saving himself. I like to think of the cathedral and Quasimodo as partnering together in protecting the innocent and in bringing justice, though imperfectly. 5y

Lcsmcat @BarbaraJean And, while Q pushed him, it says that he was close enough to help him, which means he was also close enough to give him a final push, but he didn‘t. 5y

Graywacke Sorry, I can‘t believe he killed her off after all that! That Gringoire chose the 🐐 is really funny though. There is a lot of humor for such a dark end. 5y

Lcsmcat @Graywacke I know! Why couldn‘t she keep quiet and escape! And I‘m glad you appreciated the humor too. I think the classics are often far more entertaining than we give them credit for. 5y

BookwormAHN I love that Gringoire chose Djali and got away. I would have been really upset if the goat would have been hanged. I think the ending was rather romantic or as romantic as Quasimodo was going to get. 5y

Graywacke @Lcsmcat yes, that‘s something I‘m coming to learn, the humor. Hugo seemed to ooze happy confidence. Which is odd, since my afterword has him writing locked in a room with a head-to-toe sweater that he couldn‘t wear outside the house - to prevent him from distractions.. 5y

Lcsmcat @Graywacke That‘s hilarious! 5y

Lcsmcat @BookwormAHN It‘s certainly the way they played it in the musical. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=M2OnxTL0VSg But I prefer living to dying for love. 😆 I am glad the goat was saved, but Gringoire, 🤷🏻‍♀️ 5y

Graywacke @BookwormAHN @Lcsmcat Seems we all love the goat. 16 yr gets hanged. Sad and unfortunate and dramatic. (Romantic?) Goat gets hung - not acceptable!! Gringoire makes an odd anti-hero. (edited) 5y

Lcsmcat @Graywacke I see him more as a fool than an anti-hero. He‘s just hapless. But the goat was the only one who (if you play by the rules of the world Hugo set up) is totally innocent. 5y

Graywacke @Lcsmcat Gringoire was such a disappointment. But that‘s his role. He reminds me of Rincewind in discworld, the hapless wizard. He is a fool. The philosophers were big in the 18th century, but not so much for Hugo. He‘s attacking them. But, G is also a hero because he saved the goat. And, as a dead goat is a barbaric book, he saves the book. So, that‘s where I get anti-hero. (edited) 5y

Graywacke @Lcsmcat I started going through your questions one by one. No quick answers. 🙂 Would take me six posts - one for each question. Maybe I‘ll scatter them?? 5y

Graywacke Q1 suspense: For me, yes there was some suspense. But it always had a fairytale feel for me, so it was more of a curiosity than a worried suspense. But I read the last 50 pages very quickly... 5y

Graywacke Q2 : happiest ending: The ending was maybe ok for Quasimodo because he sort of got his girl, but certainly not for Esmeralda. Quasimodo was just another unwanted courter (who couldn‘t handle no.) the only happy ending for Esmeralda would have been with her mom in Rheims. 5y

Lcsmcat @Graywacke I respectfully disagree that Quasimodo couldn‘t handle no. He made sure to stay away when she was awake, bringing her food without expecting anything from her. What I mean by “happiest ending possible” was that neither a gypsy nor a disfigured person was valued enough in that time to be considered fully human. Hugo couldn‘t have them living happily ever after - no one would buy it. So he did what he could and focused on the after life. (edited) 5y

Graywacke @Lcsmcat I don‘t think we‘re disagreeing. But it‘s good thing to have different perspectives. What I‘m thinking is “no” should mean move on. Not, watch me while I sleep and do other things and obsess over me. He was a mixture of stalker and protective angel. But, in no way does Esmeralda end up with him by choice. She was no angel, as we slowly learn. She was focused on the visual, and couldn‘t appreciate Q or see through Ph. But... 5y

Graywacke But Hugo did not share my perspective. For him, having them end up together in death was a kind of romance. His version of beauty and the beast. So, I do agree with you, it‘s the only possible ending where they end up together. 5y

Lcsmcat @Graywacke I agree that watching you sleep is not welcome behavior. I just cut old authors more slack than I do currently living human males. 😂 And totally agree that Esmeralda didn‘t get a happy ending. 5y

Graywacke @Lcsmcat 🙂view the author from their times and so on...he did capture the imagination of a nation. 5y

Lcsmcat @Graywacke Ang got a cathedral rebuilt. 5y

Daisey I just finished this morning, so adding my thoughts. @tournevis @BarbaraJean @Graywacke The goat wins! I know it sounds harsh, but I really am happy the goat escaped. I was pretty sure the others would not get a truly happy ending and I loved the humor with the goat, so it seems right. 🐐 💕 5y

Daisey I tried to keep some hope for Esmeralda, but I feel this tragic end was realistic to the story. She gave up her chance when she still thought Phoebus might care for her at all and called to him. Phoebus got exactly what I expected, and as for Frollo, that ending was perfect! I feel the most for Quasimodo, and I think he really was doing his best to respect Esmeralda's wishes while still protecting her as much as possible. 5y

Graywacke @Daisey Djali was a clear favorite character. 🐐 ❤️ 5y

Graywacke Q3 Did Quasimodo get revenge on Frollo, or did the cathedral wreak her own revenge? When I think about this too much it seems these two used each other, Quasimodo possessed by and at the same time master of the silent building. (An epicurean/stoic bond?) Which leaves me to wonder who else did the building possess? Claude? Jehan? Esmeralda? 🐐? Certainly it seemed to pass judgment. I‘m going with both. 5y

Graywacke Q4 Was the revenge enough for me? No! Claude never understood how much he was his own and everyone else‘s problem. If he had come to that realization, I would happier. But that wasn‘t really possible. (He did have time to realize he‘d crossed Quasimodo‘s line of justice. That was a little satisfying.) 5y

Graywacke Q5: What about Pheobus? Pheobus was for me an extra. A teen heartthrob and otherwise a cipher (a lot like the Paris of the Iliad...) 5y

Graywacke Oh, did get off free? Yes! If his marriage goes bad (or not) he‘ll just find the next girl... 5y

Graywacke Q6 final thoughts: Most of the book felt like a Middle East fairy tale - Esmeralda even had the outfit. Djali gave a pastoral feel. Claude was the evil sorcerer, certainly not Christian. But then the end has so much arbitrary death. It becomes a horror show, toying with medieval hard life myths but really an expression about the Revolution and a protest on the ridiculousness of France returning to monarchy. Also... 5y

Lcsmcat @Graywacke It did have a fairy tale feel - especially with the Truands being identified as the king of this or the king of that. 5y

Graywacke Also, no one liked anyone else ever. Everyone was focused on themselves and only thought of other people kindly if they wanted to possess them, like an acquisition. Also, Jehan was a terrible Odysseus (I think Hugo meant that) and failed to slay his Polyphemus. 5y

Graywacke @Lcsmcat The Truands were entertaining. Oh right - Prince of Egypt or whatnot!! Another middle east touch 5y

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BarbaraJean

The Hunchback of Notre Dame: A Novel | Victor Hugo

“What can you have to attach you so strongly to life?”
“Ah, a thousand reasons...the air—the sky—the morning—the evening—the moonlight...the fine architecture of Paris to study...more than I can tell. Anaxagoras used to say he had come into the world to admire the sun. And then I have the felicity of passing the whole of my days, from morning to night, with a man of genius—no other than I myself—and that‘s very agreeable.”

😂 #hugonuts

Lcsmcat I love this section! 5y

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Lcsmcat

The Hunchback of Notre Dame: A Novel | Victor Hugo

Just starting Book 10, and look @Graywacke Hugo knew what you were thinking about Gringoire. 😀 #hugonuts

Graywacke 🤣 🤣 🤣 5y

Graywacke Thank you. You‘re timing is perfect. 🙂 5y

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