wilkes

Gotta look up Byatt's The Children's Book. She's an author I really want to like--one of those that you know could write something worth reading but you just haven't fished around hard enough to find her gem. Proulx's Shipping News ventured interestingly, I thought. Ever notice how Munro sneaks up on you? I mean, at first I expected the norm and soon learned not to with Munro. Every time I pick up David Foster Wallace, I'm rattled to the core. He's this gravity wave of genius. We don't even know yet how he has reshaped literature. Nice to riffle through the pages with you, Gillian.

And I've never heard of Maud Martha, but Passing's been on my tbr list for awhile.

Hey Pyat (Moorcock's, I'm assuming)! Have you seen this?

http://www.nytimes.com/2011..._LO_MST_FB

Glad to learn there's someone else at GW who's a DFW fan.

I've never thought of Mrs. Dalloway as being bloglike. I'll have to think about that one. She's a favorite.

Also a big Munro fan. Haven't read as much Proulx as I should have by now, but BM is one of my favorite stories.

Byatt's hit or miss. Much prefer The Children's Book to Possession.

Qualification

This is only my opinion.

Key

NMCOT = Not my cup of tea, though it might be yours.

Brilliant = my cup of tea, though it might not be yours.

Books

Animal Farm (1946), by George Orwell: Long ago, a fair read.

Beloved (1987), by Toni Morrison: Brilliant.

Blood Meridian(1986), by Cormac McCarthy: Some great passages, great style, but largely pointless

Catch-22 (1961), by Joseph Heller: Good for its caustic style, but NMCOT

The Catcher in the Rye (1951), by J.D. Salinger: NMCOT

Deliverance (1970), by James D***ey: I got my own take on this and why the author wrote it. Basically, NMCOT

Gravity's Rainbow (1973), by Thomas Pynchon: Appears to be a writer trying to be as intelligent as Wallace & failing.

The Heart is A Lonely Hunter(1940), by Carson McCullers: Bittersweet heart-sticker worth a read

Housekeeping (1981), by Marilynne Robinson: Brilliant. Breath-takingly subtle

Infinite Jest (1996), by David Foster Wallace: Wallace is a titan. A mind of that caliber has not graced this earth since Shakespeare. We are still not ready for David Foster Wallace, and he has already left us.

Lolita (1955), by Vladimir Nabokov: Bleh.

The Lord of the Rings (1954), by J.R.R. Tolkien: The genesis of Fantasy, Star Wars, all the rest. Worth a read.

Mrs. Dalloway (1925), by Virginia Woolf: You have to have an impressionistic bone in your body to appreciate this. At the risk of being stoned by English profs, I’d call this book the first blog.

1984 (1948), by George Orwell: Long ago, a fair read.

A Passage to India (1924), by E.M. Forster: This book can be a religious experience, not that it will sway you toward Hinduism or anything, but it will bring you to question the constructs within which you exist. If you consider that a good thing, read it. If not, stay away.

Possession (1990), by A.S. Byatt: I almost said they butchered this book in a film, but honestly, the book was not that good. Byatt’s a little too gentrified for my taste.

Rabbit, Run (1960), by John Updike: NMCOT

Slaughterhouse Five (1969), by Kurt Vonnegut: Brilliant, truly. It will forevermore reside in the pit of your stomach.

The Sound and the Fury (1929), by William Faulkner: Gotta admit, I was bored stiff throughout, and I usu. like Faulkner.

The Sun Also Rises (1926), by Ernest Hemingway: Well let’s face it, the guy could write.

Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937), by Zora Neale Hurston: Wanted so much to get into this, but I much prefer Maud Martha or Passing, neither of which is Hurston but in the same vein.

To the Lighthouse (1927), by Virginia Woolf: A cross between Winslow Homer and, I dunno, Hogarth, I guess. Meh.

White Noise (1985), by Don DeLillo: A perfect waste of time

Wide Sargasso Sea(1966), by Jean Rhys: Worth a read, I think, whether or not you read Jane Eyre.


I'd knock a few off this list to make room for Tim O'Brien's In the Lake of the Woods, which is astounding, and something by Alice Munro. Also, Annie Proulx is a force to be reckoned with. Poor Joseph Conrad must have missed the cut-off date. By the way, that's really interesting about Rand and Hubbard.

Ayn Rand and Ron Hubbard top the lists when their readers are allowed to cheat on a poll. Otherwise they don't fare well.

I've read only one Rand novel. That was enough.

Good to see Ayn Rand didn't make it up on the list. I always thought that Atlas Shrugged was a little overrated. Don't get offended it you do like the novel! Just my opinion.

I love Hitchhiker's Guide. I have a friend who's reading it now for the first time. Don't know how she's managed to miss it for all these years.

The best books are the ones you read more than once. For me, two of those books are "Where is Joe Merchant" by Jimmy Buffett and "The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy" by Douglas Adamas. I'm sure they are something differnet for you. There are soooo many books out there you are bound to find at least one you like!

I've read two or three graphic novels, Bigstar. None recently, though. Should remedy that since I enjoyed them.

I have read several on this list, but the ones that I enjoyed the most were Lord of the Flies, Watchmen, and Bone (on the graphic novel list). The latter two are illustrated; Watchmen was made into a movie, of course, while Bone is a great adventure story with lots of humor. Go ahead, be brave: read a comic book that's also a great novel.

I usually just stay with my favorite authors. When anyone recommends a new authors, I will always try at least one book by them. When a person tells me about an author that I haven't read before it is one of the best gifts I can receive.

Do any of you pay attention to the various "best" lists out there or do you usually stick to your favorite authors and genres?

How many books have you read from Time magazine's 100 Best Engish Novels since 1923? Any in particular that you would recommend?

http://www.time.com/time/sp...93,00.html