Books & their Recommenders
Moby Dick by Herman Mellville; czfinke
Little, Big by John Crowley; DieDan
The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell; annb
The Crow Road by Iain Banks; Scarlet Zapata
Miss Lonelyhearts & The Day of the Locust by Nathanael West; Bryant
Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison; whb
Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton; Cat C.
The Name of the Rose, Umberto Eco; jc
Out of Africa, Isak Dinesen; JDM
And some other books on my list...
Les Miserables, Victor Hugo: DePaul Reads Together, has chosen this beast of a book as the next book club option...I've always wanted to have read (past-tense) Les Mis but have never really want to read (present-tense) Les Mis. For some reason I group him with Tolstoy (why I'm not sure, maybe because they both wrote massive massive books) whom I'm not particularly fond of. We'll see, this one might not happen.
The Sea, The Sea, Iris Murdoch: I've heard nothing but amazing things about Murdoch's writing, but haven't read a page of her work yet. If I'm not mistaken, I don't think I know anyone who has read her, but when she comes up in a book or a review or wherever writers come up she is always highly praised. I choose The Sea, The Sea because it's one of her more popular and well know novels & happened to win the Booker in 1978. Seems reliable. The story: Narrator, Charles Arrowby, is a tyrannical director-playwright who, after 40 years, again makes contact with his worn-out childhood sweetheart, bullies her without being able to change, and then starts an affair with an equally monstrous 18-year-old girl.
The Name of The Rose, Umberto Eco: Yes, I know its up on the list of recommended books, but I had to mention it again because I'm so damned excited about it.
Our Enduring Values, Michael Gorman: Yes, yes...it looks boring I know. But really its rather intriguing. It is about libraries after all.
The Interior Castle, St. Teresa of Avila: I have been highly intrigued by the lives of the saints lately, particularly female saints. Which makes me pretty pumped about reading this book.
Leave Me Alone, I'm Reading, Maureen Corrigan: Maureen Corrigan is the Fresh Air Book Critic and recently wrote about book about her life as a reader. I feel kinda cheesy wanting to read about about reading books, but then I heard Terry Gross interview her, and it really sounds awesome. And apparently she has a fixation with the Live of the Saints as well, so that will go good with the last book I talked about on this list.
Well, I suppose this could go on forever, and I should probably just go and read instead of talking about it...
7 comments:
Hooray for Little, Big. If you read that, I will be able to say that I know two other people who have actually read it. People, you're missing out here...
Well, Harold Bloom did say, "It is literally the most enchanting twentieth-century book I know." Even if he's crazy, thats still something...
we all know bloom's crazy.
but, do we not know also, that bloom likes good books? this i believe.
If the book is literally enchanting, isn't that a bit worrisome? He must have a different edition than I do.
I read an Iris Murdoch book long ago. It was called "The Green Knight". I think I was too young when I read it. I do remember though a few characters that I fell for and my enjoyment of her prose style. She's definitely an author I would love to read again. Good luck with The Sea, the Sea! I think I'm going to try for "The Black Prince" or "The Sacred and Profane Love Machine" (who wouldn't want to read a book with that title?!) sometime soon.
This blog makes me cry, because it has been so long since I got to read an adult book for my own sake. I'm reading tons and tons of books, but they'll are YA and childrens (and wonderful...but still I miss reading for FUN).
Anyway, the point of this comment is to encourage your reading of Les Mis. It's very long, yes, but I read it in highschool and I really enjoyed it. It's heavy-handed in it's morals but also an enjoyable story. I feel the same about Tolstoy--want to have read (past tense) but don't want to read (present tense). Not that it matters right now due to the fact that I won't even be able to THINK about reading something like that until after I graduate. *sigh*
Worry not Choc. Milk Girl, those of us who are reading what we want have the frustration of having too much to read. It's as if no matter how much of your time you dedicate to reading there your list of books you want to read grows twice as fast...
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