I'm a bit concerned you all think I watch too much television and am some moron who never reads (and by "concerned" I mean "pretending to care for the sake of introduction"). In case you haven't heard, reading is very important and I do it all the time. So, here are some books to read this summer because really, friends, we all need to read something other than blogs all the time (yeah, I said it. What?):
The Pale Blue Eye by Louis Bayard - Retired police detective Gus Landor is called to West Point Military Academy to investigate the suspicious death of a cadet. He is assisted by a young Edgar Allen Poe (who, apparently, actually attended West Point) who may or may not be a suspect in the murder. Lot's of twists and turns and a fantastic narrator make this a quick, exciting summer read.
The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde - Set in bizzaro 1984 England, Thursday Next is a literary agent who keeps literary characters and books in line. When the third most wanted man in the world crosses her path, Thursday must chase him around London and eventually into Jane Eyre. Insanely inventive, it's literary sci-fi...which even just sounds cool (okay, it doesn't sound cool at all, but it is. I swear).
A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving - Forget the craptastic film version (Simon Birch) and meet one of Irving's finest creations in Owen Meany. No one quite captures New England like John Irving and, after The World According to Garp (another good summer read), this is his best work.
There you go. As always, I'd love any summer reading suggestions you may have...
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Summer Reading
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11 comments:
I think I've already recommended "Lolita" to you. I recommend it to everyone.
If you like time travel stories, try "Replay" by Ken Grimwood. It's one of my faves.
Another of my faves is "The New Girls" by Beth Gutcheon. That would be a nice summer read.
A Prayer for Owen Meany is good stuff.
I'm reading a pretty good book right now called "The Law of Dreams." Its a brutally realistic depiction of the Irish potato famine though, not sure its a real "summer read" ;-)
Becks: I love Lolita. One of the all time greats. I'll check out your other recommendations. Thanks!
I loved The Pale Blue Eye! So, of course you suggest it...:)
I think The Eyre Affair would be better if it were actually about Cubs relief pitcher Scott Eyre.
That John Irving character can write himself some good books. However, I am loathe to pick up any book that uses an actually famous person to sell its fiction. If you're a writer, how 'bout you write compelling characters instead, Honus?
Also, I recommend this book to everyone, but especially crazy, drunken, alcoholic males: A Fan's Notes by Frederick Exley.
Owen Meany is the only Irving I've ever read.
As soon as I finish reading Generation Kill (which will be before the HBO miniseries debuts this Sunday) I'm going to get to Chuck Palahniuk's Choke (indie film version starring Sam Rockwell supposedly being released next month), and I also recently picked up Michael Chabon's The Yiddish Policeman's Union. If you've never read Chabon's Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, I highly recommend it.
You should also definitely read Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones if you haven't already. Peter Jackson's film adaptation is being released next year starring Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz, Susan Sarandon, Stanley Tucci, Michael Imperioli, and recent Atonement Oscar nominated Saoirse Ronan.
And of course there's Cormac McCarthy's The Road with its film adaptation coming out later this year starring Viggo Mortensen, Charlize Theron, Guy Pearce and Robert Duvall.
Whatever. You people and your books can suck it.
Just kidding, I love books. Just haven't read a whole one in a while. I'm still halfway through The Kite Runner, as I have been for about a year.
Maybe I'll start reading again. I remember it fondly.
The Road is an amazing book, but I'm not sure its a summer read. I think of Summer Reads as kind of light, fun stuff. Like a Chuck Klosterman book. But that's just me
When I was a kid, I saw a poster in the library that said "Reading is FUN-damental!" If that's true, then I'm all over these books.
(Boocks? Boox?? Am I spelling that right? It's been awhile.)
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