Summer Reading

[hayley]

Originally Posted by sparky

I have all of Irving's books in hardcover, and most in first editions. But, I think he blew his wad on Owen Meany. He reminds me of Mac and Stevie. Kind of downhill after a certain point. Garp, HNH, Cider Rules, Meany - absolute genuis. I have yet to finish Son Of The Circus after three attempts. The Fourth Hand was kind of okay...it had moments. There was a bit of that huge eccentric cast of characters, circular life pattern thing that he does so well. But I felt he was getting bogged down in that typical middle aged straight guy thing of wrecked marriages, divorces, what I have done with my life bs that lots of authors get stuck in. And, if one more of his charcters is wrestler, a professor, owns a hotel, or has a bear around, I am gonna jump off a bridge. Really repeating himself. It's like Stevie using an A minor chord and singing about wind and shadows. I hate seeing a genius become a one trick pony.

First off- I totally agree with your points about The Little Friend.

I feel the same way about Irving as you do. I love that first run of novels- Garp, Hotel New Hampshire, & Cider House Rules. I've always actually been iffy on Owen Meany. I don't like it. I've read it several times, trying to get into it each time, and I just can't. I didn't like The Fourth Hand much at all and it was the last one I bought in hardcover. I tried to read the new one when it came out in hardcover, and I couldn't get through the first hundred pages. I bought the good paperback edition a month or more ago as soon as it came out but have yet to pick it up. I'm just uninterested, which is really depressing for me.

It took me years and several attempts to read Son of the Circus- I could never get past the first hundred pages. I found once I forced myself to keep going with it that I actually really enjoyed it- more than something like The Fourth Hand. The only exception for me in his later work is A Widow For One Year- I don't know what the general opinion about that book is, but I loved it. I also really like what they did with the movie.

I started to turn to Richard Russo after I started to fall out of love with John Irving- Empire Falls is okay, but I would recommend Nobody's Fool and Straight Man to anyone.

[skcin]

^ Russo is great, I've never been disappointed. I prefer Straight Man too. I actually recommended it to my uncle, but he died a few months later & I'm not sure he ever got the chance to read it.

What did you think of the Empire Falls HBO movie? I liked it OK & the casting was absolutely spot on. But I always prefer the books to the movies, it seems.

[sparky]

Originally Posted by hayley

I feel the same way about Irving as you do. I love that first run of novels- Garp, Hotel New Hampshire, & Cider House Rules. I've always actually been iffy on Owen Meany.

OMG. Owen Meany is my favorite of his books. I think I have read it 7 times by now. I love Owen and how he speaks in all capitals, and John's mother is one of my favorite characters Irving has ever created ( Made for televison, I love how she says that all the time). The movie...Simon Birch ? An absolute travesty. No wonder Irving took his name off it.

I didn't like The Fourth Hand much at all and it was the last one I bought in hardcover. I tried to read the new one when it came out in hardcover, and I couldn't get through the first hundred pages. I bought the good paperback edition a month or more ago as soon as it came out but have yet to pick it up. I'm just uninterested, which is really depressing for me.

Damn, what is the new one called ? I don't think I have it.

It took me years and several attempts to read Son of the Circus- I could never get past the first hundred pages. I found once I forced myself to keep going with it that I actually really enjoyed it- more than something like The Fourth Hand.

You are a better reader than I ! I can't. I have given up on it. The Fourth Hand felt like it was full of recycled characters, but it had funny moments.

The only exception for me in his later work is A Widow For One Year- I don't know what the general opinion about that book is, but I loved it. I also really like what they did with the movie.

I totally forgot about that one. I remember liking it and thinking it was a bit of a return to form, even though I think the title character was starting to smack of the women from Garp and HNH. She was a gene splice of Jenny Fields, Helen Paper, and Frannie. Again, I get the impression Irving is very thinly autobiographical and that he hasn't met any new people in twenty years, so he just keeps using the same character types and stories again and again at this point. They are all amalgamations of the people he met in the first thirty years of his life or something. It's like, dude, leave the house already. ****, the more I think about him, the more he sounds like Stevie.

I started to turn to Richard Russo after I started to fall out of love with John Irving- Empire Falls is okay, but I would recommend Nobody's Fool and Straight Man to anyone.

Hmm. I will check him out. Thanks !

I guess I should do some work today. Damn my boss for making me that latte. I am wound up.

[cliffdweller]

I'm starting Reservation Blues by Sherman Alexie (hilarious by the way) and I just finished re-reading White Noise by Don Delillo. I could read that book once a month and never tire of it.


Paula, have you ever read Joyce Carol Oats' short stories? Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? is a great collection and the title story is probably in my top 5 favorite short stories ever written.

And while we're on the subject of short story collections, I recommend Raymond Carver. Any volume of his is excellent.

[skcin]

^ No, like I said, Joyce puts me off sometimes. I will have to try the ones you guys are recommending, though.

[hayley]

Originally Posted by skcin

^ Russo is great, I've never been disappointed. I prefer Straight Man too. I actually recommended it to my uncle, but he died a few months later & I'm not sure he ever got the chance to read it.

What did you think of the Empire Falls HBO movie? I liked it OK & the casting was absolutely spot on. But I always prefer the books to the movies, it seems.

I've never ever talked to anyone who's actually read Straight Man! That's awesome. It's one of my favorite books- it's so funny. It's one of the only books that will make me howl.

The casting of the movie was excellent- but I just couldn't get into it. My main problem was with Helen Hunt's horrific New England accent. I only saw the first half of the miniseries, though- my mom taped it for me off HBO when it was on and didn't realize it was two parts. I should probably rent it again someday.

My favorite Russo novel is Nobody's Fool- I love everything about that book. And it's one of the rare cases where the movie is as good as the book, at least IMO- Paul Newman is SO GOOD, and even the smaller parts like Bruce Willis' and Melanie Griffith, and the cameo by Phillip Seymour Hoffman.

[skcin]

^ I know I've seen Nobody's Fool and I enjoyed it. But I can't recall if I've ever read the book. I'll have to get it from the library (cuz I'm cheap) and read it.

[BTFLCHLD]

My sis said she bawled for six hours reading this. I do believe that may be the only reason I purchased the book...to tease her relentlessly! I am not into fiction writing so I have yet to crack...in the meantime it sits upon my nightstand and I fantz about stevie in that dress



Redeeming Love Francine Rivers
Amazon Summary: In this splendid retelling of the biblical story of Hosea, bestselling author Francine Rivers pens a heartbreaking romance between a prostitute and the upright and kind farmer who marries her; the story also functions as a reminder of God's unconditional love for his people. Redeeming Love opens with the Gold Rush of 1850 and its rough-and-tumble atmosphere of greed and desire. Angel, who was sold into prostitution as a child, has learned to distrust all men, who see her only as a way to satisfy their lust. When the virtuous and spiritual-minded Michael Hosea is told by God to marry this "soiled dove," he obeys, despite his misgivings. As Angel learns to love him, she begins to hope again but is soon overwhelmed by fear and returns to her old life. Rivers shines in her ability to weave together spiritual themes and sexual tension in a well-told story, a talent that has propelled her into the spotlight as one of the most popular novelists in the genre of Christian fiction. This is one of her best.

Currently working on this one:

[amber]

Originally Posted by cliffdweller

I just finished re-reading White Noise by Don Delillo. I could read that book once a month and never tire of it.

Wow, I read that awhile back. Why do you like it so much? I mean, I liked it, but...

Originally Posted by cliffdweller

Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? is a great collection and the title story is probably in my top 5 favorite short stories ever written.

Definitely, good call. It's perfectly creepy, but is it?

[ragandbone]

Originally Posted by cliffdweller

I'm starting Reservation Blues by Sherman Alexie (hilarious by the way) and I just finished re-reading White Noise by Don Delillo. I could read that book once a month and never tire of it.


Paula, have you ever read Joyce Carol Oats' short stories? Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? is a great collection and the title story is probably in my top 5 favorite short stories ever written.

And while we're on the subject of short story collections, I recommend Raymond Carver. Any volume of his is excellent.

I have been reading non-fiction and biographies this Summer, Laurel Canyon, and Hurdy Gurdy Man, Donovan's autobiography, and a bunch of parenting books, but I am usually a fiction reader, especially short stories.

White Noise was a book I had meant to read for years, but had never gotten around to it, and then I finally grabbed it from my husband's bookshelf and started in, and it has become one of my favorite novels.

About Sherman Alexie, have you seen any of his movies?

I am a fan of Loorie Moore, and I noticed that she edited this years Best Short Stories, so I may grab that from the library.

I recently read three novellas by Roy Parvin, whose work remionded me of Raymond Carver
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/039...lance&n=283155

[cliffdweller]

Originally Posted by ragandbone

I have been reading non-fiction and biographies this Summer, Laurel Canyon, and Hurdy Gurdy Man, Donovan's autobiography, and a bunch of parenting books, but I am usually a fiction reader, especially short stories.

Ever since you mentioned Laurel Canyon I've been meaning to pick up a copy. It sounds like a fun, summer read. I'm putting it on a list as we speak...

About Sherman Alexie, have you seen any of his movies?

No, but I saw/heard him talk a few years back on campus and I am now convinced that the man should have a side career as a stand-up comedian. He is quite possibly one of the funniest people I have ever had the pleasure to listen to. He is amazing! What movies do you recommend?

[cliffdweller]

Originally Posted by amber

Wow, I read that awhile back. Why do you like it so much? I mean, I liked it, but...

Delillo's dry, flat characterization and the language in the book really drew me in and kept me enthralled. It's a great working definition of literary post-modernism too. It is also one of the funniest books I've ever read. What a terrific black comedy!

[amber]

Originally Posted by cliffdweller

Delillo's dry, flat characterization and the language in the book really drew me in and kept me enthralled. It's a great working definition of literary post-modernism too. It is also one of the funniest books I've ever read. What a terrific black comedy!

That's right. I was actually confusing it with another book I found on the street with that one.

[cliffdweller]

Originally Posted by amber

That's right. I was actually confusing it with another book I found on the street with that one.

You found books on the street? What are you, a "street angel?"

Yes, I know, that was lame. But how did you happend to find White Noise "on the street?" That seems utterly random.

[ragandbone]

Originally Posted by cliffdweller

You found books on the street? What are you, a "street angel?"

Yes, I know, that was lame. But how did you happend to find White Noise "on the street?" That seems utterly random.

I can't remember if Amber lives in Berkeley, or Oakland, but I have often found boxes filled with really good books in Berkeley (and also in SF) and I think it is because there are so many students there. White Noise is often assigned in college classes.

Sorry to answer for you, Amber. It's just that I am a dumpster-diving, street scavenging enthusiast!