Reading the 20th Century discussion
Archive
>
What books are you reading now? (2020)
Since I have been enjoying the writing in Mandy Sayer's three memoirs, I have read one after the other. Now I am on the last--The Poet's WifeHere is my review of the second, Dreamtime Alice, which I have just completed:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Mod
Moonflower Murders
the sequel to the wonderful Magpie Murders andDeath in her Hands
by the wonderful Ottessa Moshfegh. I am indebted to Nigeyb and RC for introducing me to her.
Mod
I'm about a third of the way in with After the Silence which was slow to start but is now dark and gripping; and am making a start on The Revolt, about Eleanor of Aquitaine and Richard I - both from Netgalley.
I highly recommend Mandy Sayer's three autobiographical memoirs:Velocity: A Memoir,
Dreamtime Alice and
The Poet's Wife
I have now completed and reviewed that last of the three:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Gosh, you really should read these!
I have begun a novel by an author of the the Beat Generation, In the Night Cafe by Joyce Johnson. It has a feel and a style to the writing that is special, not ordinary!
Mod
RC, I am definitely liking it. At the start it has you guessing who is talking. The unusual way pronouns are used makes the writing special.. What a shame you have lost the book! I ave read the author's Come and Join the Dance and want more.
I finished Twenty-five Books That Shaped America: How White Whales, Green Lights, and Restless Spirits Forged Our National Identity yesterday and Death at the Dog today.
Mod
RC, I just have to tell somebody who understands, and since you have read In the Night Cafe, you'll understand. I absolutely adore the prose. The prose is exactly NYC of the 60s. I lived there in the 60s. It feels like coming home. I don't know if this book is amazing but I know I am absolutely loving it.
Mod
My 16 year old son and I agreed to both read and discuss a book. It's The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
She wrote it when she was 17 years old (some say 16). It's simple and beguiling - after a couple of chapters
Anyone else read it? Or plan to?
The Outsiders is an outstanding story of teenage rebellion, written when the author was only 17 years old. It is one of The Originals from Penguin - iconic, outspoken, first.
Youngsters in a small Oklahoma town have split into two gangs, divided by money, tastes and attitude. The Socs' idea of having a good time is beating up Greasers like Ponyboy Curtis. Ponyboy knows what to expect and knows he can count on his brothers and friends - until the night someone takes things too far.
Mod
What are the 25 books Jan?
I am guessing from the title that we must have....
Moby-Dick (White whales)
The Great Gatsby (Green lights)
On the Road (Restless spirits)
What are the other 22 books?
Actually having typed that I looked at the description which mentions...
The Last of the Mohicans, Moby-Dick, My Ántonia, The Great Gatsby, The Maltese Falcon, Their Eyes Were Watching God, On the Road, The Crying of Lot 49
So that's eight + On The Road = 9
Mod
Ah, how lovely to have such a personal connection to the book! I also loved it, even when I read it the second time - I'm gutted it's lost as it was a lovely edition as well, a sort of A5 size semi-hardback. I'll have to look into replacing it.
Mod
Mod
Nigeyb, I can see reading Hinton's book, bu not right off the bat.That is great that both you and your son will be reading and discussing it together.
As you know, Joyce Johnson is one of the Beat authors.
RC, then you can read it again. What a shame that you lost your beautiful edition.
Mod
Mod
Nigeyb wrote: "NYC in the 1960s "Probably a lot like today - full of violent protests. No thanks.
Mod
"NYC in the 1960s"
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote:
"Probably a lot like today - full of violent protests. No thanks."
How curious, not at all what was in my mind
I was thinking of a city full of life and diversity, from the executives of Madison Avenue to the artists of the East Village, and things like Greenwich Village, Cafe Wha?, Dave Van Ronk, Bob Dylan, Warhol's Factory, Stonewall, Joan Baez etc.
I'm pretty sure Chrissie's book, In the Night Cafe by Joyce Johnson, is set in Greenwich Village so hopefully not a violent book.
Nigeyb wrote: "I was thinking of a city full of life and diversity, from the executives of Madison Avenue to the artists of the East Village."And that it might be. It's just that the 60s were so full of the protests over Vietnam. I'm not especially interested in NYC after about 1920, although I suspect there are books I'll read set later than that. I'm not a city person. It's hard for me to visualize wanting to be in one.
Just finished this book about the Great Depression, Dust Bowl, and migrant farm workers. It was written in 1939 but not published until 2004 due to its similarity to Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath.Whose Names Are Unknown by Sanora Babb - 4 stars - My Review
Roman Clodia wrote: "I'm tempted by Twenty-five Books as I am really quite ignorant about American literature and its cultural contexts - thanks for mentioning it, Jan."I enjoyed most of the book. Sometimes when it was an unfamiliar book or a book I hadn't especially enjoyed (usually had to read for school) the chapters seemed to drag a bit. But it was usually okay. And, unlike some of the reviewers, I actually did read the whole book. It's harder to skip over when it is on the kindle.
Nigeyb wrote: "Jan C wrote: "I finished Twenty-five Books That Shaped America: How White Whales, Green Lights, and Restless Spirits Forged Our National Identity yesterday."What are the 25 books ..."
I had to write them out to do my review - The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, The Last of the Mohicans, The Scarlet Letter, Moby Dick, Walden, Leaves of Grass, Little Women, Huck Finn, Robert Frost's A Boy's Will and North of Boston, My Ántonia, Gatsby, Sun Also Rises, Langston Hughes - The Weary Blues, The Maltese Falcon, Grapes of Wrath, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Go Down, Moses by Faulkner - one of his I don't think I've read, Saul Bellow"s Adventures of Augie March, The Cat in the Hat, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Crying of Lot 49, Song of Solomon and Love Medicine.
Roman Clodia wrote: "Maybe Faulkner in the 25 books? Hemingway? Toni Morrison (not sure how modern it might be)? Henry James? Raymond Chandler?"No Henry James or Raymond Chandler. Although he does cite from The Simple Art of Murder crediting Hammett with the original noir and creating a new genre. James might have made the list of 15 who didn't make the cut. Important writers but didn't really have a shaping effect on the psyche of the country.
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Nigeyb wrote: "I was thinking of a city full of life and diversity, from the executives of Madison Avenue to the artists of the East Village."And that it might be. It's just that the 60s were so ..."
I don't think it was that full of demonstrations until the late '60s, and I think even then there were more in Washington. My brother was in the Army, stationed in DC area, and had to work some of the demonstrations - like the one at the Pentagon. He was the corporal and was in charge of the bullets. He told me that most of them would rather have been on the demonstrating side but they did their duty and kept the peace.
The music would be worth going to NYC in the '60s. I think we went there two or three times - possibly '64 and in April '68. I know the latter trip we went to Broadway shows and were there when MLK was shot. And the earlier trip we went to the World's Fair and got flooded.
Well, I have given In the Night Cafe by Beat author Joyce Johnson five stars. I love it, and it's me rating it!My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I have begun The Aspern Papers by Henry James and am enjoying it.
Joy D wrote: "Just finished this book about the Great Depression, Dust Bowl, and migrant farm workers. It was written in 1939 but not published until 2004 due to its similarity to Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath..."Now go read the author's An Owl on Every Post, it is even better. It's autobiographical, about the author's childhood. Boy did the publishers make an error in not publishing her books right off the bat.
Mod
"What are the 25 books (Twenty-five Books That Shaped America: How White Whales, Green Lights, and Restless Spirits Forged Our National Identity)?"
Jan C wrote:
"The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, The Last of the Mohicans, The Scarlet Letter, Moby Dick, Walden, Leaves of Grass, Little Women, Huck Finn, Robert Frost's A Boy's Will and North of Boston, My Ántonia, Gatsby, Sun Also Rises, Langston Hughes - The Weary Blues, The Maltese Falcon, Grapes of Wrath, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Go Down, Moses by Faulkner - one of his I don't think I've read, Saul Bellow's Adventures of Augie March, The Cat in the Hat, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Crying of Lot 49, Song of Solomon and Love Medicine"
That's wonderful - thanks Jan
Which ones do you now feel inspired to read or reread?
Where there which he convinced you to re-evaluate?
Mod
Yes, thanks Jan for typing out the titles: I've only read 8 of them - though I do have Faulkner, Their Eyes Were Watching God, To Kill a Mockingbird and more Toni Morrison on my TBR. Interesting that in the latter case, it's not her devastating Beloved which was selected.
Mod
"Ooh, that looks interesting - the Coopers pop up everywhere, don't they?
Mod
Mod
Btw, have you finished the Kew book?
I went and read another book by Henry James--The Aspern Papers. I thought I would get back into his books by picking up a short one, and a friend of mine had recently read it and loved it.My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I have begun Mary by Vladimir Nabokov, another one of his books written originally in Russian.
Nigeyb wrote: "Nigeyb wrote: "What are the 25 books (Twenty-five Books That Shaped America: How White Whales, Green Lights, and Restless Spirits Forged Our National Identity)?"
Jan C wrote:
..."
I have almost finished my re-read of Grapes of Wrath. It reminded me that I was re-reading Moby Dick but I haven't picked it up lately. It encouraged me to read The Lost Detective abot Hammett's early years, when he was still reading. It made me think I may need to re-read To Kill a Mockingbird again because he was talking about things that I hadn't remembered. It discouraged me from reading The Crying of Lot 49, but I will probably take a look at it before discarding it. I was going to discard Raise High the Roofbeam (Salinger) but spent the next hour reading it - I kept it.
May have urged me to finish Their Eyes Were Watching God - I had been put off by the dialect but this showed that she used it for a reason.
No real re-evaluation of what I had thought of books on first reading. I have meant for years to read USA. But I may just read the book about the falling apart of the friendship of Dos Passos and Hemingway. (Can't recall the title and the book is upstairs. )
Roman Clodia wrote: "Jan C wrote: "I finished Twenty-five Books That Shaped America: How White Whales, Green Lights, and Restless Spirits Forged Our National Identity yesterday."Yes, thanks Jan for typing out the tit..."
It may be that the author did't feel that Beloved was the book that shaped a change, but that Ong of Solomon did.
Nigeyb wrote: "I'm pretty sure Chrissie's book, In the Night Cafe by Joyce Johnson, is set in Greenwich Village so hopefully not a violent book."And those interested in reading a very good book by a female author of the Beat Generation.
You've got it right, Nigeyb. It is set in Greenwich Village, it is not violent and there is no mention of demonstrations in the book. For those wishing to taste the prose, this morning I added some quotes to my review, having dug out my jotted notes from the waste bin. These are the quotes I added to my review:
“Tom was drawing all the time, every time his fingers found a pencil.”
“The old man……crushed them with his money!”
“You made me think of him in sinister pastels.”
“I wished we all could just be real to each other.”
Joanna, hanging on to Tom on his Harley Davidson thinks, this is “being like you, instead of like me.”
and
“I was having an attack of happiness.”
At the Kennedy assassination:
“Like everyone in America, we lost a week to television.”
“…muffled fake laughter from all the televisions”
“I wanted life just to leave us alone. That is the kind of person I was turning into.”
“It’s the guys who remember everything that have to drink.”
“Better watch out for bullshit, it can swallow you up.”
“Winter blew in suddenly that afternoon.”
“It was a beach where fragments of the past washed up.”
“You seem to be left with memories of memories.”
The prose is simple, but to the point and very good
Jan C wrote: "I had to write them out to do my review - The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, The Last of the Mohicans, The Scarlet Letter, Moby Dick, Walden, Leaves of Grass, Little Women, Huck Finn, Robert Frost's A Boy's Will and North of Boston, My Ántonia, Gatsby, Sun Also Rises, Langston Hughes - The Weary Blues, The Maltese Falcon, Grapes of Wrath, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Go Down, Moses by Faulkner - one of his I don't think I've read, Saul Bellow"s Adventures of Augie March, The Cat in the Hat, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Crying of Lot 49, Song of Solomon and Love Medicine.."Thanks for the complete list! I wanted to check out which I have not read. Like you, some I have loved, but not all.
Mod
Btw, have you finished the Kew book?"
Yes, I finished the Kew book. I really enjoyed it and all the Victorian obsessions about heating systems and which coloured glass panes to use in the Palm House :) As today, lots of nepotism and shuffling for the best post...
Mod
Gloriously laddish, the big weekend trip to Manchester in the mid-80s will, I think, be just your thing (many of the music references went over my head!) The second half set in 2017 is sadder but is done very well.
My review: www.goodreads.com/review/show/3451237891
And a taster quotation: 'Limbo would often quote from his favourite novel, Brideshead Revisited. In drink, he liked to be Anthony Blanche, but with a fierce Ayreshire accent and a Billy Idol-style curl of the lip.' :))
Mod
"Here's a recommendation for Nigeyb: Mayflies, currently on NetGalley"
Thanks RC - sounds very promising based on your comments and your review. I love your taster quotation!
I've got a copy from Netgalley and will read it as soon as I finish The Outsiders (1967) by S.E. Hinton. I'm closing in on the ending and it is superb - gritty, honest and authentic.
The Outsiders is narrated by 14 year old Ponyboy, a "greaser" who, despite his hooligan appearance, gets good grades and is a sensitive type who does not drink and who dislikes violence. His parents died when he was young and he is being brought up by his older brothers.
S.E. Hinton's pared down style works brilliantly with the characters, all of whom are well drawn and cleverly observed. The greasers are all from the wrong side of the tracks and yet all have redeeming traits. Indeed the novel, which focusses on class differences, cleverly challenges stereotypes and how people so often have far more that unites them than.
It's a timeless teenage book. Incredibly she wrote The Outsiders whilst she was still a teenager. It's obvious why it has endured for so long.
I will be reading more by S.E. Hinton.
The blurb....
The Outsiders is an outstanding story of teenage rebellion, written when the author was only 17 years old. It is one of The Originals from Penguin - iconic, outspoken, first.
Youngsters in a small Oklahoma town have split into two gangs, divided by money, tastes and attitude. The Socs' idea of having a good time is beating up Greasers like Ponyboy Curtis. Ponyboy knows what to expect and knows he can count on his brothers and friends - until the night someone takes things too far.
Mod
"I've got a copy of Mayflies from Netgalley and will read it as soon as I finish The Outsiders (1967) by S.E. Hinton. I'm closing in on the ending and it is superb - gritty, honest and authentic."
Hurrah. I've now finished The Outsiders (1967)
Here’s my review
5/5
It is always Vladimir Nabokov's prose that makes me like his books. I have just finished his first novel, one of his nine written in Russian--Mary.My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I have begun The Devil That Danced on the Water: A Daughter's Quest by Aminatta Forna., because I want to test the author.
Chrissie wrote: "I have begun The Devil That Danced on the Water: A Daughter's Quest by Aminatta Forna, because I want to test the author."I have her Happiness on my wish list.
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Chrissie wrote: "I have begun The Devil That Danced on the Water: A Daughter's Quest by Aminatta Forna, because I want to test the author."I have her [book:Happiness|..."
I have heard she is a good author, but have never tried her.
Chrissie wrote: "It is always Vladimir Nabokov's prose that makes me like his books. I have just finished his first novel, one of his nine written in Russian--Mary.My review: https://ww..."
Will be interested to see if you like the Forna as much as I did. I have read all of her books and she is a favourite writer.
Hugh wrote: "Chrissie wrote: "It is always Vladimir Nabokov's prose that makes me like his books. I have just finished his first novel, one of his nine written in Russian--Mary.My r..."
That's good to hear. I have no opinion yet, not having come far. Do you have a favorite book by her?
.
Mod
Reading the 20th Century
Books mentioned in this topic
Anna of the Five Towns (other topics)Riceyman Steps: A Novel (other topics)
Anna of the Five Towns (other topics)
Riceyman Steps: A Novel (other topics)
The Namesake (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
P.G. Wodehouse (other topics)Jhumpa Lahiri (other topics)
Arnold Bennett (other topics)
Vladimir Nabokov (other topics)
Arturo Pérez-Reverte (other topics)
More...
"A Bit of a Stretch (2020) by Chris Atkins sounds scary, Nigeyb! I'm always fascinated and equally terrified by books set in prisons."
In which case you will be both fascinated and terrified by A Bit of a Stretch. That said, I highly recommend it. I devoured it in just over 24 hours
Here’s my review
5/5