As the Page Turns (the Book Thread)

[sk9tingfan]

Just finished a three book series called The American Gilt Series by J.D. Peterson which covers th life of Sara Swan Whiting, member of The Four Hundred in New York and Rhode Island during the Gilded Age from the 1880's through the first decade of the 1900's.

- Debut

- Absinthe

- Scandal

This is a fictionalized account of her life from her debut and courtship by Oliver Belmont, fourth child of the Belmonts (think the the Belmont Stakes in The Triple Crown) and ultimate scandals that transpired as well as the documented and fascinating dynamics within society. Also making appearances are Mrs. Astor, Alva and William Vanderbilts/others and the opulence and over-consumption that occured during that period. What fascinated me is that all major events are real and that fact is stranger than fiction. From an editorial perspective, these could have been tightened up, but they are stiil very interesting

Since these were published in 2015, if you are going to purchase the trilogy, I would pick up a used copy. However, if purchased at the triology level, Amazon offers it on a Kindle basis.

 

[Finnice]

Elizabeth Strout, anyone? She is touring Europe, and I had an honour to meet her here in Finland. I love and admire her books, because she lets so much unsaid and trusts to the reader. Her characters are many-sided and the language (I am not a native English reader) is sharp and beautiful. The Finnish translations are also excellent.

 

[genevieve]

I see that there is a film being made from Andrew McCarthy's autobiography BRAT that I read on @Jenny 's recommendation. The film includes a lot of the other brat packers (preview showed Molly Ringwald, Ally Sheedy, Rob Lowe, Demi Moore and even some peripheral pack-adjacents like Timothy Hutton. And Emilio Estevez!) and looks like fun. We see McCarthy calling Judd Nelson...but Anthony Michael Hall isn't mentioned at all. Hmmmmm...

It's going to premiere on Hulu in a couple of weeks.

 

[Desperado]

I see that there is a film being made from Andrew McCarthy's autobiography BRAT that I read on @Jenny 's recommendation. The film includes a lot of the other brat packers (preview showed Molly Ringwald, Ally Sheedy, Rob Lowe, Demi Moore and even some peripheral pack-adjacents like Timothy Hutton. And Emilio Estevez!) and looks like fun. We see McCarthy calling Judd Nelson...but Anthony Michael Hall isn't mentioned at all. Hmmmmm...

It's going to premiere on Hulu in a couple of weeks.

Interesting. He was my favourite Brat and I enjoyed his book a lot. Demi’s too.

 

[caseyedwards]

Who had any idea Godfather book had a vaginal rejuvenation chapter? It comes out of nowhere! Is this why the movie is considered better? lol

 

[rfisher]

I've become obsessed with Toby Neal's blog posts titled Passages. She's a writer originally from Hawai'i (and her mystery series is set there), but she and her husband are doing their second travel trailer adventure around the US. I want to do this! Even if some of their experiences are not all that fun. She really takes you along for the ride. You have to subscribe to her page to read, but you can catch up with all the posts. I started with her current posts, but then went to the beginning and am working my way forward. I shared this on my FB page, but you can google her and find her site. https://tobyneal.substack.com/p/the-miracle-mile-is-a-bust
This is one of her posts. She and her husband just had an argument about the route they were taking. She conceded (not to him) Truth was, I liked being able to quiz and second-guess Mike without taking any responsibility for how things unfolded. I do wonder if he read her posts?

Her descriptions of the devastation left from wildfires in the West is sobering. Climate change is real.

 

[rfisher]

I highly recommend Toby Neals two memoirs: Freckled: Growing Up Wild in Hawaii and Open Road: A Midlife Travel Through The National Parks. Read Freckled first. I've read her Paradise Mystery series but now I understand her characters much better. I laughed and I cried as I read Freckled. I'll never think of Hawaii the same. The link I provided above is to chapters of her third and current memoir which continues the travel adventures. This is one of the rare times I felt like an author was an old friend and someone I'd really like to know in RL.

 

[Cachoo]

Do you agree?

The 100 Best Books of the 21st Century

As voted on by 503 book lovers — with a little help from the staff of The New York Times Book Review.

www.nytimes.com

 

[quartz]

I’ve read three: Station Eleven, Demon Copperhead, and My Brilliant Friend.
I think lists like this are fun, but I choose what I want to read, I’m not swayed by what others think I should read. Or by what “best-selling” lists say is best.

 

[Trillian]

Do you agree?

The 100 Best Books of the 21st Century

As voted on by 503 book lovers — with a little help from the staff of The New York Times Book Review.

www.nytimes.com

I checked the “I’ve read it” boxes as I went through and came up with 29. I think people who tend to like “literary” fiction and nonfiction have already heard of most of these books and have already decided which ones they have any interest in reading, so I’m not sure what the goal is. It did remind me that I still want to read The Overstory sometime, though.

My personal favorites among the ones I’ve read in no particular order: Pachinko, Lincoln in the Bardo (and any George Saunders), Salvage the Bones (and any Jesmyn Ward), Evicted, A Visit From the Goon Squad, Persepolis, Life After Life, and The Great Believers. I did like Station Eleven but it’s only my third-favorite Emily St. John Mandel book. I haven’t read The Fifth Season, but N.K. Jemisin’s book The City We Became is one I try to recommend as often as possible. Among authors I’m guessing were part of the conversation but didn’t make the list, off the top of my head, I’d add Karen Russell, Ocean Vuong, and Hanif Abdurraqib.

That said… there are books I’ve read on this list and didn’t like, and others I have no intention of ever reading. And I read a healthy amount of books that will never get anywhere near a list like this. People should read whatever is fun for them and not force themselves to read anything that isn’t. None of us have enough time to waste reading anything just because we’re “supposed” to like it.

 

[genevieve]

I’ve only read 7 on the list, plus 3 more DNF.

Is Jessamyn Ward that fantastic? She’s on there more than once.

As for N.K. Jemisin- The Fifth Season is simply amazing.

 

[flyingsit]

I’ve read 12. And my absolute favorite book is on the list: Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro.

 

[emason]

I've read about 15-16 completely, another half dozen or so partly, and have at least another half dozen or so piled in my TBR pile. Of what I read or tried to read A Brief History of Seven Killings was my favorite, Bel Canto and The Goldfinch DNFs - couldn’t stand either, and Lincoln in the Bardo and My Brilliant Friend my least favorites.

 

[Wyliefan]

I've read 16. I like the pick of My Brilliant Friend for #1. There are some very good choices, but I would have added books by Susanna Clarke and possibly also Leif Enger and Yaa Gyasi.

 

[Trillian]

I’ve only read 7 on the list, plus 3 more DNF.

Is Jessamyn Ward that fantastic? She’s on there more than once.

I love her, but I would put her in the “YMMV” bucket.

As for N.K. Jemisin- The Fifth Season is simply amazing.

I really do need to read that sometime. (I even have a copy already.) I don’t read a lot of fantasy, but I loved The City We Became and its sequel enough that I trust her completely.

Just popped into my head - another author I’m really surprised wasn’t included is Lauren Groff, whose has definitely been one of the most acclaimed “literary fiction” writers of the last decade or so. Lists like this are so weird.

 

[Finnice]

I have read 20 of them. I love Ferrante, but I have found the English translations somewhat lacking. The Finnish ones are better.
Translating is VERY demanding. I know quite a few translators, and I really appreciate them.

 

[Desperado]

I have read other books by some of these authors and abandoned a few on the list, only finishing Station Eleven.

I would prefer a “100 best authors list” than books because my appreciation sometimes depends on what I’ve read just before and mostly what I’m living through.

No Octavia Butler?

 

[genevieve]

No Octavia Butler?

Only 2 of her books were published in the 21st century (or one, if 2000 is the last year of the 20th century). Fledgling, published in 2005, was the first book of hers I read, and it's good, but not Kindred or Parable of the Sower good.

And I agree about best authors vs best books, since I often have read different books by authors on lists like these - but also, not all works by the same author are equal.

 

[Prancer]

I checked the “I’ve read it” boxes as I went through and came up with 29. I think people who tend to like “literary” fiction and nonfiction have already heard of most of these books and have already decided which ones they have any interest in reading, so I’m not sure what the goal is.

I've read 12 of them and quit a couple of others, but I also haven't heard of most of the books on this list, for what it's worth.

I read such lists as "Everyone's got an opinion."

 

[Matryeshka]

I've read eight, half fiction and half non-fiction. There were several books on the list I wanted to read but forgot about them, and here they are, all in nice list. I guess it's 8.5 because I tried Demon Copperhead three times and gave up. I normally like Barbara Kingsolver, but couldn't get into it.

Absolutely LOVED Station 11, Pachinko, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow.

 

[flyingsit]

I really liked Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow as well.

 

[Bunny Hop]

I've read one (Station Eleven).

I have a large 'to be read' pile, but obviously I have different tastes to the compiler of the list. I'm good with that.

 

[Marta24]

I also have only read one. The Sympathizer. The list doesn't really match my taste.

 

[Jenny]

I also have only read one. The Sympathizer. The list doesn't really match my taste.

Me either - I haven't read any of them! Although I have read a bunch of the authors' other books. I do like the format of the list though - the images of actual, look like they've been read books, and the short descriptions that I'm going to go through to see if any of them might be of interest.

Interesting to see Alice Munro in there twice, given all the rethinking about her legacy right now.

 

[MsZem]

I've read two - Nickel and Dimed, and Persepolis. I'm primarily a genre fiction reader, so this does not surprise me.

 

[cygnus]

I've read two - Nickel and Dimed, and Persepolis. I'm primarily a genre fiction reader, so this does not surprise me.

Yeah, those are the ones I have read, although I have also read The Underground Railroad. Some of them I have read others by the same author. I should like the Mantel books, but I just don't like her style (including her use of the present tense, which irks me), so I can't get into them.

 

[On My Own]

Do you agree?

No.

 

[barbk]

I checked the “I’ve read it” boxes as I went through and came up with 29. I think people who tend to like “literary” fiction and nonfiction have already heard of most of these books and have already decided which ones they have any interest in reading, so I’m not sure what the goal is. It did remind me that I still want to read The Overstory sometime, though.

My personal favorites among the ones I’ve read in no particular order: Pachinko, Lincoln in the Bardo (and any George Saunders), Salvage the Bones (and any Jesmyn Ward), Evicted, A Visit From the Goon Squad, Persepolis, Life After Life, and The Great Believers. I did like Station Eleven but it’s only my third-favorite Emily St. John Mandel book. I haven’t read The Fifth Season, but N.K. Jemisin’s book The City We Became is one I try to recommend as often as possible. Among authors I’m guessing were part of the conversation but didn’t make the list, off the top of my head, I’d add Karen Russell, Ocean Vuong, and Hanif Abdurraqib.

That said… there are books I’ve read on this list and didn’t like, and others I have no intention of ever reading. And I read a healthy amount of books that will never get anywhere near a list like this. People should read whatever is fun for them and not force themselves to read anything that isn’t. None of us have enough time to waste reading anything just because we’re “supposed” to like it.

This list is a great example of why my students who loved to read when they were younger have largely stopped reading. Their teachers assign books like these, and the kids mostly don't enjoy them. Some of it is not having the life experience to appreciate them, but some of it is also that the unrelentingly depressive stories are the norm. I'm not a happy happy joy joy person, and neither are my students, but the descriptions provided for bulk of this list in the Times reads like a dirge.

 

[Prancer]

This list is a great example of why my students who loved to read when they were younger have largely stopped reading. Their teachers assign books like these, and the kids mostly don't enjoy them. Some of it is not having the life experience to appreciate them, but some of it is also that the unrelentingly depressive stories are the norm. I'm not a happy happy joy joy person, and neither are my students, but the descriptions provided for bulk of this list in the Times reads like a dirge.

No one likes assigned reading, so there is that, and IME, literature is nearly always depressing and always has been. Did you read anything happy when you were in school? I surely didn't--well, there was that one short story that introduced me to Dorothy Parker ("The Waltz," still fondly remembered). Other than that, I can't think of anything that I had to read in school that made me happy and that includes most of college--and I was an English major.

Selecting reading for students is hard because students, like everyone else, have their own tastes. English teachers tend to be people who love literature, so they tend to think everyone else does, too. There are always some students who do, too. I read a long rant from an English teacher that the reason kids hate reading is that teachers keep giving them modern books when they should be reading the classics, which they love, and I laughed. There are students who enjoy canonical lit and then there's everyone else.

I was trying to find the rant and instead came across this student blog. The author says something I think is interesting: So teaching classics by giving us books with little to know background/summary/info and expecting us to know what’s happening and to understand the symbolism and have fully formed thoughts when we don’t get half the words is absurd.

I have always thought that was true, too, and so when I was teaching lit all the time, I would spend a lot of time going into history and context. That's a really old-fashioned way of doing it and I was the only one who used that approach. Everyone else focused on theme; some were adamantly opposed to teaching context in any way.

The other thing that really jumped out at me in that blog was her list of readings--so many books! And I don't see a lot of connection between them, either. In 10th grade, for example: Their Eyes Were Watching God (my favorite assigned book ever), Romeo & Juliet, A Modest Proposal, Young Goodman Brown, The Great Gatsby, Into the Wild, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Sun Also Rises, The Crucible.

Good lord. I wouldn't have read any of them, either.

 

[Jenny]

Agree it's tricky to find books that will be enjoyed by most, the NY Times list is a good example. And of course I'm sure we've all had the experience as adults many times where someone insists that you absolutely must read some book they think is fabulous, and then you don't, if you even get around to reading it.

What I did appreciate from my school days was the background it gave me for books I would read later. Never into Shakespeare, but having a basic understanding of the major plays and some of the historic references is helpful. I remember doing a lot of the Greek myths when I was really young (second grade I think) that stuck with me and made later reading make more sense. I had a really great teacher for two years who explained a lot of the background on Jane Austen's books, so that when I reread them later I wasn't completely lost trying to understand how incomes worked for example, and I enjoyed them immensely. If the teacher was good, I also learned a lot about literary devices too. I also appreciated, looking back, how much Canadian literature and authors I was exposed to, even if at the time I wasn't always into it.

And precis, remember that? Hated that exercise every time, resented it even because who am I to rewrite someone else's work? But fast forward to me decades later where writing and editing are a big part of my job, and I can get to a set word count like nobody's business.

I was a slow reader though, still am, so way too many times I'd skip entire sections of books to keep up, or rely on the Canadian version of Cliff Notes (I guess now it's the internet), so that's not particularly helpful. I do recall one time getting an A on a book report I wrote about a book I didn't read at all - did the whole thing based on the jacket cover and skimming a few pages for writing style!