Good books! I'm on the prowl for good books! I can find bad books, no problem, but lately NEW good books have been eluding me.
How is it possible that there is so much bad fiction in the world? Granted, I'm probably pickier than most. And am somewhat setting myself up for it by turning away from good, solid nonfiction (got a huge stack of that waiting) in favor of a fluffy story. But still. Good night, Nancy! Ninety-nine percent of all popular fiction--who reads this stuff? It sells like hotcakes, but I can't even get through a chapter with a straight face. There are exceptions, of course, but in general it makes me want to yack.
So...if y'all have read any good fiction lately, let me know. And if I hate it, I promise not to tell you. Or at least, I promise not to ridicule you publicly. Every one has different tastes in literature, for better or for worse.
There. I've vented. I feel better now. And I managed not to mention any of my employer's titles by name. Success.
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I'm going to recommend three unusual fiction choices, because I could just recommend one of the "great books," but what would be the fun in that?
Camp Concentration by Thomas Disch (One of the best in pulp science fiction)
Anything by Flannery O'Connor (Okay, so she is one of the greats in Southern fiction. But still)
The Old Man and the Sea by Hemmingway (Dang, another famous one. But I won't count this because you've probably read it)
Dubliners by James Joyce (lesser known, so I'm going to cheat and count it as unusual. A great collection of loosely related short stories)
Have fun! -Tait
Thanks for the input!
You know, I've never been much of a Hemmingway fan. I'll freely admit that the man was talented--genius, even--but I still don't like him.
I think I've read some of The Dubliners; I don't recall. I do like James Joyce, though. That much, I remember. It's somewhat tragic--the massive amounts of great literature that I crammed into my head during college days is slowly and inexorably trickling away. Maybe that's ok, though--that means I can read it all again. :)
I'm not a huge fan of Hemmingway either, but you absolutely must read the Old Man and the Sea if you haven't. It earned him the Nobel Prize, and deservedly so.
Yeah, I do believe I read that. And a few of his short stories, and For Whom the Bell Tolls. Great title, moderately depressing book. But it did teach me what absinthe is. And...I also read To Have and Have Not. Not worth the time. But wonderfully totally unlike the Humphrey Bogart movie version.
I just remembered--Hemmingway killed himself with a shotgun. Pulled the trigger with his toe, I think. Kinda creepy. And he had an amazing capacity for alcohol. Call me crazy, but maybe those two factors are related.
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