Friday, August 04, 2006
Welcome
Welcome! I am entirely new to blogging, so bear with me for a while. I have been a voracious reader since the second grade -- at least! I have a wide range of interests, but my major collecting interests include (in no particular order): Updike, Oates, Cheever, Brookner, Atwood, Kaye Gibbons, and James Joyce. My master's thesis was on Joyce. Also there are a lot of other writers I devour without actually collecting: the Brontes, Eliot, (some) Dickens, Salter, McEwan, Russo, Homer. I also collect Tudor period biographies and letters.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
I guess a good place to start is a few of the books I have read this summer.
The End of Faith by Sam Harris is a book every person disturbed by the religious tack this country has taken over the last few years will find affirming. He also explains why otherwise intelligent, educated, well-off men will fly planes into buildings to kill thousands of people they never met and who never did anything to them. The chapter on relativism vs pragmatism is a bit problematic, and he misdates the last inquisition in Mexico, but it is otherwise a great affirmation of a rationalist approach to life.
Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakama is a wonderful novel of magic realism. It is the story of a 15 year-old-boy who runs away from home to find his long lost mother and step-sister. The prose is lyrical, and Murakami never fails to surprise at the next plot twist.
As a long time fan of Labrador Retreivers, I knew I would enjoy Marley & Me by John Grogan, a columnist for The Philadelphia Inquirer. If you have ever owned a Lab (THE greatest breed of dog alive today), or even thought about getting one, this book is a must. Only those with the stoniest of hearts will not shed a tear or two during this wonderful tale.
I also read Kurt Vonnegut's Man without a Country. The curmudgeon comes out, but he is lovable and right on target about America today.
Now, I am in the middle of Saturday by Iam McEwan. I like his characters and his stories, but he has not grasped the good advice to writers: "Show, don't tell." He is constantly showing something, AND telling. I find that a bit annoying, but I won't give him up for it.
More later...
Chiron, 8/5/06, 10:45 AM CDT
Post a Comment