j.d. salinger books...

[rhei_27]

Hi!!
Does anyone collect j.d. salinger books?

[mono]

Hello, rhei 27, welcome to the forum.
I suppose I collect J.D. Salinger books, in a way; I purchase them, read them, and usually keep them, but not exactly in the way that someone collects precious stones, for example. :D
The Catcher in the Rye and Nine Stories probably remain among my favorites by him, though I would love to read them both again, if I find the time.
Do you have any favorites?

[subterranean]

I have Franny and Zooey at home, which I like it alot :).

[samercury]

I have Catcher In The Rye at home :D

[Jack_Aubrey]

I wanna read Nine Stories and Franny and Zooey. I have read Catcher in the Rye and loved it.

[mono]

I wanna read Nine Stories and Franny and Zooey. I have read Catcher in the Rye and loved it.
Unfortunately, I have yet to read Franny and Zooey, but Nine Stories one cannot exactly call the easiest literature to read; the plots sometimes seem like they have no conclusion, or pieces seem missing, but even the mystery reads in a fascinating way. You will love it! :nod:

[Jack_Aubrey]

I'm sure I will.

[rhei_27]

I wish I could have a copy of Franny and Zooey and Nine Stories....

[Kluna]

I've just finished The Catcher in the Rye, and reading this thread, Mono gave me an idea for Nine Stories...

[starrwriter]

I have 79 copies of "Catcher in the Rye." I can't pass a bookstore without buying another copy. It makes me feel normal.

(Before anyone gets out the butterly nets for me, I was simply quoting the bizarre character Mel Gibson played in the film "Conspiracy Theory." Gibson was absolutely HILARIOUS!)

[Virgil]

I have Catcher in the Rye and Nine Stories. I think I may have Franny and Zooey somewhere but it remains unread. I love the other two, though.

[Xamonas Chegwe]

I wish I could have a copy of Franny and Zooey and Nine Stories....

Both are available from Amazon marketplace sellers for less than $2 (+p&p) and both are a good read.

[starrwriter]

...Nine Stories one cannot exactly call the easiest literature to read; the plots sometimes seem like they have no conclusion, or pieces seem missing, but even the mystery reads in a fascinating way.
As I have written elsewhere, the stories have Zen endings. (A clear hint of this fact was given by the Zen koan in the preface to the book.)

The discarded chicken sandwich the teenager girl finds in her pocket at the end of "Just Before The War With The Eskimos" makes no logical sense, but you strongly feel that it relates to her encounter with her companion's brother and how it somehow changed her. Similarly with the drunken middle-aged woman at the end of "Uncle Wiggly In Connecticute" when she asks her friend pathetically: "Remember the red dress I wore to the high school prom? I was a good girl, wasn't I?"

These endings have emotional impacts that are intuitive rather than logical.

[Virgil]

Similarly with the drunken middle-aged woman at the end of "Uncle Wiggly In Connecticute" when she asks her friend pathetically: "Remember the red dress I wore to the high school prom? I was a good girl, wasn't I?"

These endings have emotional impacts that are intuitive rather than logical.

In what way is that a zen ending? I took it to mean as a expression of nastalgia. Her life is now unhappy and somehow gone wrong. She's reaching back to a point where she was more innocent and perhaps the point where her life (not enough detail to support this, but perhaps implied) started diverging.

[Weeping Willow]

I've read Catcher in the Rye .. but i must confess i didn't enjoy it.. :eek:

[Xamonas Chegwe]

I've read Catcher in the Rye .. but i must confess i didn't enjoy it.. :eek:

In that case, you obviously weren't between the ages of 14 & 18 at the time.
;)

[Weeping Willow]

Yes it's true
I think i was 21...

[Scheherazade]

I have read only Catcher and F&Z by Salinger (both in my 30s) and even though I am OK with them, the early surely did not move for me. I don't like the wallowing type of stories, which Salinger seems to be doing a lot through his books.

There has been a discussion on the Catcher, which is can be found here. (http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13133&highlight=catcher)

[Xamonas Chegwe]

That explains it. Some books are age-specific.


If you don't think that "The Lord of the Rings is the greatest book ever written at the age of 16, there's something wrong with you. If you still think this at 36, there's something really wrong with you!

[starrwriter]

In what way is that a zen ending? I took it to mean as a expression of nastalgia. Her life is now unhappy and somehow gone wrong. She's reaching back to a point where she was more innocent and perhaps the point where her life (not enough detail to support this, but perhaps implied) started diverging.

She WASN'T innocent. Ramona is not her husband's daughter, she's the love child of her and Walt, the guy who got killed in the Army. And she never told her husband.

She may be indulging in nostalgia, but to me the ending was Zenish because it made me realize in a flash what her life had been all about. That's satori -- non-logical intuition.

[Virgil]

She WASN'T innocent. Ramona is not her husband's daughter, she's the love child of her and Walt, the guy who got killed in the Army. And she never told her husband.

She may be indulging in nostalgia, but to me the ending was Zenish because it made me realize in a flash what her life had been all about. That's satori -- non-logical intuition.
Oh, we're basically in agreement then.

[Vedrana]

I first read the Catcher in the Rye when I was in Year 9, I think, and I really enjoyed it. It had a lot of energy, and it made me laugh out loud, which I don't do unless a book is REALLY funny. I ended up buying it for fifty cents from a charity shop, and I still love reading it over and over.

[starrwriter]

I don't like the wallowing type of stories, which Salinger seems to be doing a lot through his books.
I beg your pardon -- wallowing? You should be so lucky as to have the talent to write the kind of stories that Salinger has written.

If you want examples of wallowing, read female authors such as Virginia Woolf or Sylvia Plath.

[Scheherazade]

I beg your pardon -- wallowing? You should be so lucky as to have the talent to write the kind of stories that Salinger has written.

If you want examples of wallowing, read female authors such as Virginia Woolf or Sylvia Plath.Your apology is accepted, Starr.

I did not comment on Salinger's strength as an author but only expressed a personal dislike for his subject matters. I reserve the right to have a say on that matter if that is OK with you.

[Vedrana]

Just out of curiosity, what do you mean by wallowing, and how is Sylvia Plath an example of this? I have read her poems and I happen to have liked them. I don't know exactly what you mean.

[starrwriter]

Just out of curiosity, what do you mean by wallowing, and how is Sylvia Plath an example of this? I have read her poems and I happen to have liked them. I don't know exactly what you mean.
By wallowing, I'm sure Scher meant indulging in self-pity. I used her term to describe Plath's writing because I found it full of self-pity, a sense of professional victimhood and emotionally unhealthy. The woman did kill herself at a relatively young age.

[Ella]

I've read Catcher in the Rye at 15. I didn't enjoy it then but I get why ppl are so enthrawled by it; 6 years later I think I would like to read it again, different perspective.

Recently finished reading Franny and Zooey last week, I like it slightly better. It's easy to read, though very pretentious it suffices. Just imagine "The Royal Tennenbaums" obsessed with connecting with God through organized religions. Don't be turned off by the religious zeal, no one preaches in this book. The children geniuses call themselves social freaks who live to debate each other. A light bulb should go off in your head after reading this book, Salinger offers wisdom to those who listen.

And to the guy with the massive collection of Catcher, whoa! Wasn't John Lennon shot carrying that book; conspiracy or was there a Salinger craze during that time?

[R.Daneel]

Read Catcher in the Rye last week, loved it. I'm early twenties. Guess I'm just a little boy at heart.