So what are you guys reading these days?Right now I'm alternating between "The Rock Child" by Win Blevins, "Killing Pablo" by Mark Bowden, and "The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul" by Douglas Adams. I have 'em in different rooms throughout the house and tend to gravitate to where ever the book I'm in the mood for happens to be. I love spring break - it means all the time I normally spend reading student essays gets to be spent sampling books by choice.
I will be forever grateful to my parents for instilling in all of us kids a love for good books. They may not have had two dimes to rub together, but they always made sure our house was filled with good reading material. Language and literacy were hugely important to Don & Nancy Pendley.
So I am curious...what are YOU reading these days? What books have been the most influential in your life? What books could you read over and over? Any key lessons you have learned from a good book?
8 comments:
Well, right now I've been exploring reading a new format, what the truly nerdy call sequential art, otherwise known as comic books and graphic novels. Comics have come a long way in just the last 15 years or so, and often have a lot of both literary and artistic merit at once. I've been churning through literally dozens of graphic novels and large collections. I would suggest Persepolis for anyone who has never read a graphic novel before. It is a touching and heart-rending story, leavened with a lot of humor and wonderful illustration.
As far as good old-fashioned fiction goes, I'm in the middle of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, but got distracted by my new comic reading habit mid-way through, I'll pick it back up soon. So far it is filled with incredibly lush and dense descriptions and characters. The plotting is a bit slow to develop, but seems like it will bear some fruit worth waiting for the ripening.
I am also greatly indebted to my parents for instilling a love of reading in me. I'm sure my dad had that same love instilled by your folks. I even have a web site dedicated to my love of books. I don't update it nearly often enough, but plan to add more reviews and such soon. Anyone foolish enough to want to read more of my ramblings can access that site at www.paperbacksanonymous.com.
Currently, just finished Snowcrash by Neal Stephenson, a cyber sci-fi. Started Wild Ducks Flying Backwards by Tom Robbins, and soon to embark on No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy, and looking forward to Teh Wave by Walter Mosely.
I too am very thankful to my Mother for giving me the example to read and keep reading. And while I am at it, I just say that Audrey Kasparian was a great influence on my reading habits as well. She gave us more good books to read in Junior High than the rest of the teachers combined in my life, and she wasn't afraid to give us books that might be perceived as too mature. I recall Bless the Beasts and the Children, Lord of the Flies and others that I still hold dear.
Most influential authors for me? Kurt Vonnegut, Tom Robbins, John Steinbeck, Cormac McCarthy, Walter Mosely, John Irving. I have read every book of theirs I have gotten my hands on. My sci fi favorites have been Harlan Ellison, Robert Silverberg, Kilgore Trout, Philip Jose Farmer, Jack Vance, John Varley, Paul O Williams...and I am sure I am forgetting many that will drive me nuts in an hour.
Lessons learned? Hundreds. That is a book in itself.
Pam,
Ya know that déjà vu feeling you get when you hear an old familiar song play or smell a scent that you associate with a particular time or mood? As I was reading your post as soon as my consciousness absorbed the author’s name “John Irving” I was immediately enveloped by this amazing wave of nostalgia for the days when I was reading Cider House Rules and Prayer For Owen Meanie. I LOVE THOSE BOOKS!
I used to read lots of Harlan Ellison as well – and then turned to Spider Robinson, David Gerrold and others – cousin Chris Theriault turned me on to MANY good sci fi books back in the day. One real favorite was “Mote in God’s Eye” by Niven and Pournelle and another of theirs, “Lucifer’s Hammer”. I just recently re-read Starship Troopers by Heinlein.
Have you read any Orson Scott Card? He’s done some cool stuff, pretty diverse actually. My favorite is “Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus” but I also liked Stone Tables (not to mention the more famous Alvin Maker Series or Ender’s Game.)
I read LOTS of John Steinbeck when I was younger but haven’t tasted any of his work for a while…might be time to go back for another taste.
Here’s a question for anyone who cares to jump in and consider:
Are the images you get in your head different when you read a book you hold in your hands vs. listening to a book on tape? Lately I’ve been doing LOTS of audio books during my commute to and from work or where ever and I’m pondering if / how the experience shifts for me. What do you think?
Eric,
Hey nephew in Austin, I absolutely LOVE your paperbacks anonymous site. I changed the link on this page to take folks directly to that blog rather than the random intimacy one. The photos sure bring back some memories! (But there weren’t any from the long-hair tie dye phase that I remember from when we went camping in North Carolina and played with glow sticks!)
Beyond the nostalgia - I really enjoyed reading the words, many of which hit some key chords for me. The whole notion of building, sacrificing & reinventing our dreams and ambitions are things I ponder a great deal….Look for more on those themes in posts to come.
Thanks Aunt Linda, Paperbacks Anonymous has been a project I've worked on and off on for years. It is actually a full-on self-developed web site, so it takes a bit more work than a blog to keep it up.
I'm actually quite glad you switched out the link, as I was a bit concerned about Random Intimacy being prominently linked to. I really just toss that one out there primarily among a very specific group of blogging buddies. I probably shouldn't have even linked to Random Intimacy here at all. It's just a goof and a way to keep me writing as much as possible as I go through a patch of inspirational doldrums. By focusing on the photos I find, it gives me something to write about regularly. I'm hoping to take that habit and apply it toward more productive writing soon, once the ennui passes, as it always does.
I actually probably have another installment to add to the My Story section on Paperbacks Anonymous, but it is terribly uninspiring. Basically, I tried following something approximating a bliss, still related to publishing and books, and, yet again, found it to be almost more unbearable than the previous job I had. I'm currently at a loss as to what to try next, which is probably a big part of why I haven't updated Paperbacks Anonymous in a while (besides a book review, of which I'd like to do many more).
I am a huge Neal Stephenson fan, but I like Cryptomicon and The Baroque Cycle quite a bit more than Snow Crash. Cryptonomicon and the Baroque Cycle are mostly historical fiction, which is one of my greatest literary loves--you get to learn about history AND read a great story? What's not to love? The Mesopotamian/Babylonian stuff in Snow Crash spoke to me the most, so I'm not surprised that I lean toward Neal's even more historically researched material. He is the master of compressing tons of knowledge and research into highly enjoyable prose fiction. His slant on cyberpunk in Snow Crash was totally decent, but it just couldn't hold a candle to the masters, like William Gibson's Neuromancer series.
I read everything of John Irving's up to A Prayer for Owen Meany. I loved Cider House Rules, A Prayer for Owen Meany, and, of course, The World According to Garp. It's actually wild to go back and read his early stuff, like Hotel Newhampshire, and The 158-lb Marriage, because you get a sense for just how much he's grown as an author. Those early books are nowhere near on the level of his later works, but for me it was kind of interesting to watch him blossom. I keep meaning to pick up his post-Meany stuff, but there is just so much to read!
I'm also a big fan of Tom Robbins, especially Jitterbug Perfume, Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, and Still Life with Woodpecker. He's another author that I keep meaning to revisit.
Orson Scott Card definitely is great, especially the ones you mentioned (Pastwatch and the Tales of Alvin Maker top my favorites for him). The first thing I read by him though was a collection of short stories called Folk of the Fringe. It is great post-apocolyptical fiction at its best.
East of Eden is pretty much the end-all-be-all novel for me. I could have died after I read the last word and been satisfied (not literally, but it was that good for me).
I've read everything Kurt Vonnegut has ever written. While technically he is an awful writer, his voice and ideas are so fantastic that I completely overlook his literary "shortcomings." I have another favorite writer, Christopher Moore, who I feel the same way about. He is just a really bad writer technically. His plots are a mess, his action is preposterous, he contradicts himself, and makes just about every "mistake" you could. However, his characters, dialogue, ideas, and voice are so charming and fun that I've read everything he's written.
The lessons I've learned from fictional stories, specifically short stories and novels, could never be summarized. I think 90% of my world view was formed from my reading.
I actually owe debts to so many good Language Arts teachers in middle and high school that I cannot name them all. I had many great professors in college too, and also owe them tremendously for nurturing my love of reading.
Psychology, History of the Christian Sacraments, The Early Christian Fathers of the 5th century. The ladder of Divine Assent and Living without Hypocrisy.
Greetings, Matthew.
What are you doing up blogging at 2:48 AM? Is waiting for that baby turning you into as much of an insomniac as me?
I'd be very interested to take a look at the book "Living Without Hypocracy". I'd read about it at http://www.archangelsbooks.com/proddetail.asp?prod=HTROPTINA-01&cat=241 but I have yet to pick it up. I know there is another work by the same title that is up for auction on e-bay: http://cgi.ebay.com/John-MacArthur-Living-Without-Hypocrisy-Cassettes_W0QQitemZ9504669599QQcategoryZ116119QQcmdZViewItem
Did you happen to read "Thirsting for God in a Land of Shallow Wells" by Matthew Gallatin? I enjoyed that one immensely.
The book is great. It is the condensed version of the Optina Eldersz(some of my favorties) and is destined to be a classic (IMHO). It is a book that is small emough to fit in a back pocket but packed full of gems.
I have read Thirsting for God in the land of Shallow Wells twice. If you like that one, you may also enjoy Fr. Serpahim Bell's book. I really enjoyed The former, it cleared up a lot of misunderstandings I had about the Orthodox Church.
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