i'm searching for a good book to read next - any suggestions?
likes: something intellectually stimulating, but not hard to read or ponderous to get through. fiction. memoirs of people with interesting lives. books about the south.
dislikes: most chick lit (i can't even believe i just used that term).
recent books read: the namesake (by lahiri), the help (stockett), the brief wondrous life of oscar wao (diaz), little bee (cleave).
Well, I don't know if you've read Cormac McCarthy's The Road, but it changed my life. And, someone I trust just highly recommended The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, but I haven't read it.
ReplyDeleteClapton's Guitar by Allen St. John. Maybe I like it because I know many of the characters.
ReplyDeleteI told Mary to get hot. Making book recommendations is her vocation, so if we can't get some good picks out of her, she ought to be fired, but we hope she isn't. John gave me an autographed copy of Clapton's Guitar, which I'm reading now, and it's a fun read. For something different, maybe Philip Dick short-stories? Very odd, but original.
ReplyDeleteHi Claire,
ReplyDeleteI'm finally getting to this (pressure's on from Matt).If you like memoirs, try Horizontal World: Growing up Wild in the Middle of Nowhere by Debra Marquart. Nowhere is rural North Dakota. She now teaches English at ISU in Ames which is somewhere to some of us. I also really liked Olive Kitteredge by Elizabeth Strout. It's made up of short connected stories and takes place in a small Maine town; the title charachter is a retired schoolteacher whose life you glimpse from many angles (I really like this type of book!). Happy reading and keep on writing!
Late to the blog, as usual. Yes to The Story of Edgar Sawtelle. Top of my list since June! Also, City of Thieves by David Benioff. A week in the life of 2 young men during the siege of Leningrad. A must read! Compelling, funny, surreal, wrenching, great storytelling!
ReplyDeleteMonica
Charlaine Harris is the name of the author I couldn't remember the other day when we talked. Both "Chocolat" and "Gentlemen and Players" are worth reading.
ReplyDeleteI totally lied about the author. Charlaine Harris is the writer of the "True Blood" vampire series - never read those, so can't recommend or not. JOANNE Harris is the author you should read.
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