What are you reading?

[MsSassyBaskets]

East of Eden is not your average Steinbeck. I think it's his best. A bit depressing, yes, but also really uplifting.

[scrub-jay]

I loved East of Eden.


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Me too.

[WolfpackWife]

I loved Gone Girl!

I just finished The Marriage Plot and really disliked it. I'm 1 for 3 with Eugenides.

[SoonerTexan]

I loved gone girl and I told DH we had to see it when it came out in theaters Aug 8th. He asked me what it was about. "Oh just a psycho lady who disappears and it's blamed on her husband"

[Curegirl]

East of Eden's amazing. I couldn't put it down! Favorite Steinbeck by far. I just finished Theodore Dreiser's Sister Carrie and I liked it better than An American Tragedy.

[Thirteen]

East of Eden is not your average Steinbeck. I think it's his best. A bit depressing, yes, but also really uplifting.

This.


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[rain_dancer]

I haven't read any of those but Steinbeck is fucking depressing. I haven't tried to read him in a long time because every time I do I kind of want to kill myself. !

Yeah, I agree there is a depressing thread throughout Steinbeck's books (I can't think of a more depressing ending for any book than Of Mice And Men!). But Grapes Of Wrath is one of my favorite books ever. I like that Steinbeck writes about human existence and struggle, which is inherently kind of depressing, and he does it so beautifully, mixing it with just the right amount of hopefulness. Now that I think of it, I seem to be drawn to depressing books (The Jungle, anyone?). If I read a book and it hasn't made me feel anything (good or bad), then I think the author has missed their mark.

Now I'm excited to start East Of Eden with all of the positive feedback!

[rain_dancer]

I loved gone girl and I told DH we had to see it when it came out in theaters Aug 8th. He asked me what it was about. "Oh just a psycho lady who disappears and it's blamed on her husband

I'll probably drag DH to see it too! I was telling him about the book as I was reading it (spoiler alert: don't read further if you want to read/see Gone Girl). At first, it was "this poor wife, she really seems to be trying to save their marriage and she's given up so much for this d-bag husband who just wanted her for her money and is cheating on her", *then, 2 days later: "this lady is PURE EVIL, psycho, b*, her poor husband, even though he isn't the greatest and has made some bad choices, he doesn't deserve this!" *DH must have thought I was psycho!

[houseelf]

Anne Lamott where have you been all my life? I picked up Traveling Mericies after stumbling across a great quote by her in a magazine. I'm half way in and I kind of love her. She describes a broken journey of faith through atheism, judaism, christianity, men, alcohol, a reckless past, forgiveness, acknowledging pain, and growth. She jumbles it all up into a reverent/irreverent package where she just kind of accepts that the mysterious energy of the universe is God and that she is loved. I kind of want to throw my arms around her, grab a beer with her, confess with relief: "Holy shit, YOU TOO?!!"

She has some fantastic quotes I'm going to shamelessly paste from a quick google search.

-Laughter is carbonated holiness.

-I thought such awful thoughts that I cannot even say them out loud because they would make Jesus want to drink gin straight out of the cat dish.

-Man is born broken. He lives by mending. The grace of God is glue.

-Certainty is missing the point entirely.

-The three things I can not change are the past, the truth, and you.

-Your anger and damage and grief are the way to the truth.

[MAPPLEBUM]

Yeah, I agree there is a depressing thread throughout Steinbeck's books (I can't think of a more depressing ending for any book than Of Mice And Men!). But Grapes Of Wrath is one of my favorite books ever. I like that Steinbeck writes about human existence and struggle, which is inherently kind of depressing, and he does it so beautifully, mixing it with just the right amount of hopefulness. Now that I think of it, I seem to be drawn to depressing books (The Jungle, anyone?). If I read a book and it hasn't made me feel anything (good or bad), then I think the author has missed their mark.

Now I'm excited to start East Of Eden with all of the positive feedback!

Maybe I should try again. I love dark books, maybe not necessarily depressing... But is there a difference? Strange though, I was never able to get through The Jungle either! I tried multiple times over many years! I wonder if you'd like John Banville.

[MAPPLEBUM]

Oh and houseself I loved Anne Lammott in college! Have you read any Dillard or K. Norris? I loaned my mom Norris' The Quotidian Mysteries at least 3 years ago and she finally got around to reading it this month. Of course she ate it up and got her own copy. I recommend Holy The Firm by Annie Dillard. Both authors are a bit more serous than Lammott but equally insightful.

[Thirteen]

Maybe I should try again. I love dark books, maybe not necessarily depressing... But is there a difference? Strange though, I was never able to get through The Jungle either! I tried multiple times over many years! I wonder if you'd like John Banville.

Do you enjoy Afro-American lit, slave narrative, or Island lit? There are many fantastic authors and stories in that genre.

If you like dark, I have some recs -- I would call them "good" dark novels, though.

Outside the aforementioned genre:

Joseph Conrad - Heart of Darkness
Stephen King - The Stand (unabridged version)
Herman Melville - Moby Dick
Richard Adams - Watership Down, or Plague Dogs
Mary Shelley - Frankenstein
Frank McCourt - Angela's Ashes




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[rain_dancer]

Maybe I should try again. I love dark books, maybe not necessarily depressing... But is there a difference? Strange though, I was never able to get through The Jungle either! I tried multiple times over many years! I wonder if you'd like John Banville.

Hmmm, John Banville. I haven't heard of him. What has he written? If he writes along the lines of Steinbeck/Sinclair, maybe I should give him a try! I'm always looking for new books to add to my 'to read' list.

[scrub-jay]

I loved Frankenstein.

[oceanchild]

Anne Lamott where have you been all my life?

She is so fantastic. I gave my mom and MIL "Some Assembly Required" for Christmas before the baby was born.