Dave Eggers, Zeitoun *
Maureen Donaghue, Room
Richard Yates, Revolutionary Road *
Toni Morrison, The Bluest Eye
Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale *
Ana Castillo, So Far From God *
Edward P. Jones, The Known World *
Cormac McCarthy, The Road *
Cormac McCarthy, Suttree *
Claire Messud, The Emperor’s Children *
Joshua Ferris, Then We Came to the End *
Faulkner, Go Down, Moses
Welty, Delta Wedding
Wright, Black Boy *
Humphreys, Rich in Love *
Shearer, The Celestial Jukebox *
Horwitz, Confederates in the Attic
Williams, A Streetcar Named Desire
Arden of Faversham
Johnson, Volpone
Middleton and Decker, The Roaring Girl
Marlowe, Doctor Faustus *
Middleton and Rowley, The Changeling
Webster, The Duchess of Malfi
* liked/recommended
4 English classes. Never again.
Syl's Fall '10 Reading List
Moderator: Orlion
-
[Syl]
- Unfettered One
- Posts: 13021
- Joined: Sat Oct 26, 2002 12:36 am
- Has thanked: 2 times
- Been thanked: 1 time
Syl's Fall '10 Reading List
"It is not the literal past that rules us, save, possibly, in a biological sense. It is images of the past. Each new historical era mirrors itself in the picture and active mythology of its past or of a past borrowed from other cultures. It tests its sense of identity, of regress or new achievement against that past.”
-George Steiner
-George Steiner
-
Fist and Faith
- Magister Vitae
- Posts: 25467
- Joined: Sun Dec 01, 2002 8:14 pm
- Has thanked: 9 times
- Been thanked: 57 times
-
aliantha
- blueberries on steroids
- Posts: 17865
- Joined: Tue Mar 05, 2002 7:50 pm
- Location: NOT opening up a restaurant in Santa Fe
The Handmaid's Tale was great. I love Atwood's stuff. Really liked her latest one, The Year of the Flood.
The Bluest Eye was not my favorite Toni Morrison -- Beloved is probably my favorite of hers.
I've heard good things about that book by Edward P. Jones. Might have to seek it out at some point.
The Bluest Eye was not my favorite Toni Morrison -- Beloved is probably my favorite of hers.
I've heard good things about that book by Edward P. Jones. Might have to seek it out at some point.
EZ Board Survivor
"Dreaming isn't good for you unless you do the things it tells you to." -- Three Dog Night (via the GI)
https://www.hearth-myth.com/
Revolutionary Road...one of those books that is really good but so life destroying depressing.
^"Amusing, worth talking to, completely insane...pick your favourite." - Avatar
https://variousglimpses.wordpress.com
https://variousglimpses.wordpress.com
-
[Syl]
- Unfettered One
- Posts: 13021
- Joined: Sat Oct 26, 2002 12:36 am
- Has thanked: 2 times
- Been thanked: 1 time
Oh, I don't know. I wasn't sad at all when
.
But yeah, not the most uplifting story.
I liked The Handmaid's Tale as well, but it's showing a few signs of premature aging. The hazards of dystopian near-futures and contemporary references, I suppose.
I didn't care for The Bluest Eye. Well written, but the black female POV just doesn't move me. Tellingly, the only part of the book I really liked was Cholly's perspective.
The Known World was very good. I wouldn't tackle it until you have some free time, though. Many complex characters with complex relations to one another along with a shifting time frame make it a book that requires serious attention and probably at least one reread. I'm looking forward to hearing Jones speak at a conference I'm attending in February.
Of the ones listed, the ones I would most strongly recommend are The Road (of course) and Ferris' novel (which he signed for me at a recent reading on campus).
Spoiler
April died
But yeah, not the most uplifting story.
I liked The Handmaid's Tale as well, but it's showing a few signs of premature aging. The hazards of dystopian near-futures and contemporary references, I suppose.
I didn't care for The Bluest Eye. Well written, but the black female POV just doesn't move me. Tellingly, the only part of the book I really liked was Cholly's perspective.
The Known World was very good. I wouldn't tackle it until you have some free time, though. Many complex characters with complex relations to one another along with a shifting time frame make it a book that requires serious attention and probably at least one reread. I'm looking forward to hearing Jones speak at a conference I'm attending in February.
Of the ones listed, the ones I would most strongly recommend are The Road (of course) and Ferris' novel (which he signed for me at a recent reading on campus).
"It is not the literal past that rules us, save, possibly, in a biological sense. It is images of the past. Each new historical era mirrors itself in the picture and active mythology of its past or of a past borrowed from other cultures. It tests its sense of identity, of regress or new achievement against that past.”
-George Steiner
-George Steiner
you didn't like Streetcar ???? 
how could you not like tennessee williams?
btw, last patch before cata tomorrow syl. yer missing the changing of the world!
how could you not like tennessee williams?btw, last patch before cata tomorrow syl. yer missing the changing of the world!
you're more advanced than a cockroach,
have you ever tried explaining yourself
to one of them?
~ alan bates, the mothman prophecies
i've had this with actors before, on the set,
where they get upset about the [size of my]
trailer, and i'm always like...take my trailer,
cause... i'm from Kentucky
and that's not what we brag about.
~ george clooney, inside the actor's studio
a straight edge for legends at
the fold - searching for our
lost cities of gold. burnt tar,
gravel pits. sixteen gears switch.
Haphazard Lucy strolls by.
~ dennis r wood ~
have you ever tried explaining yourself
to one of them?
~ alan bates, the mothman prophecies
i've had this with actors before, on the set,
where they get upset about the [size of my]
trailer, and i'm always like...take my trailer,
cause... i'm from Kentucky
and that's not what we brag about.
~ george clooney, inside the actor's studio
a straight edge for legends at
the fold - searching for our
lost cities of gold. burnt tar,
gravel pits. sixteen gears switch.
Haphazard Lucy strolls by.
~ dennis r wood ~
-
[Syl]
- Unfettered One
- Posts: 13021
- Joined: Sat Oct 26, 2002 12:36 am
- Has thanked: 2 times
- Been thanked: 1 time
I didn't dislike it, and if I'd put up my list from a year ago when I first read it, I probably would have highlighted it. Reading it again just didn't do it for me.
Yeah, I know. Wish I could, but even if I had a spare $15 right now, I still have Suttree to finish (a daunting task in itself), a term paper to write on it, two final exams, a take-home final, and an essay portfolio to put together before the end of the semester (two weeks).
Yeah, I know. Wish I could, but even if I had a spare $15 right now, I still have Suttree to finish (a daunting task in itself), a term paper to write on it, two final exams, a take-home final, and an essay portfolio to put together before the end of the semester (two weeks).
"It is not the literal past that rules us, save, possibly, in a biological sense. It is images of the past. Each new historical era mirrors itself in the picture and active mythology of its past or of a past borrowed from other cultures. It tests its sense of identity, of regress or new achievement against that past.”
-George Steiner
-George Steiner
