When Life Gets a Little Crazy…
I’m challenging readers, writers, authors and book blogging and reader advocates to be that relief for someone rowing through a rough patch of craziness by posting an entertaining literary piece such as NAME THE BOOK THAT… (my answers in italics)…
…you thought you wouldn't like, but ended up loving…
Sweet Summer, Desperate to Be a Housewife, The Cost of Hope, What Becomes of the Broken Hearted and especially Le Freak!
...took the longest to read and WELL worth the wait…
Smartest Guys in the Room.
…you initially gave up on, doubling back to read and ended up loving…
Fate is the Hunter, Lord Vishnu’s Love Handles, No Disrespect.
…pissed you off, but you couldn’t put down…
I See Rude People, A Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity, The Other Side of 30.
…was good from beginning to end…
Just Waiting for the Bell, I Didn’t Ask to be Born, When We Were Colored.
…actually made you feel better…
the Broke Diaries, Yeah, I Said It, What Becomes of the Brokenhearted, Puzzles.
…TRULY surprised you…
The Black Russian, Mayor for Life, A Nation of Wusses, The Gifted Ones.
…made you spit out your food, or drink to laugh out loud...
Hong Konged, Farewell My Beijing, Sh*t My Dad Says.
…changed your perspective...
Life on the Color Line, Who Moved My Cheese, Positive, A Country Called Nigeria, The Autobiography of a Black Man.
…you read cover-to-cover, every single page...
All of the Above…and more!
Welcome back to blogging, you've been sadly missed. I love the new look.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to have to add some of these books to my to-read list ,I think :)
Aww...that was a painful break!..., but thank you. If you happen to read one of these books, I'd love to know what you think;-)
DeleteNAME THE BOOK THAT…
ReplyDelete…you thought you wouldn't like, but ended up loving…
Doctor Faustus (Mann)
...took the longest to read and WELL worth the wait…
The Anatomy of Melancholy (Burton)
…you initially gave up on, doubling back to read and ended up loving…
V (Pynchon)
…pissed you off, but you couldn’t put down…
N/A —If I’m sufficiently irritated with a book I generally have no trouble putting it aside.
…was good from beginning to end…
Moon Palace (Auster)
…actually made you feel better…
Edwin Mullhouse (Millhauser)
…TRULY surprised you…
Ada (Nabokov)
…made you spit out your food, or drink to laugh out loud...
Thank You for Smoking (Buckley)
…changed your perspective...
Consciousness Explained (Dennett)
What a list, Rand. Really appreciate this. Always wanted to try Nabokov, in addition to Buckley, among a few others (Millhauser, Auster and Mann...) I see soon among my collection. And yeah... I try not to unduly annoy myself reading content that has the propensity to break my nails but some books do have that rubbernecking effect. Again, thank you...and thanks too for commenting.
DeleteI don't know that I would begin Nabokov with Ada, although I did forty-four years ago: and was dazzled: I hadn't known, at nineteen, that English could *do* such things. I generally steer people toward Lolita, a greater if less "Nabokovian" novel. And if you tackle Mann, do yourself a favor and go for one of the newer translations by John E. Wood. It has been said of Mann's first translator, H.T. Lowe-Porter, that she contrived to pull off the unlikely trick of translating the author's German into...German. Apparently they're also riddled with errors.
DeleteYes... Lolita's been on my radar for some time, what got me curious about Ada. And considering the premise of Mann's book, a translation trick of this sort is good to know. ...Surely one way to mis-categorize a book.
Delete