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the ocean always dreamed blue dreams

Cold Turkey

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by
qimissung
, 12-05-2010 at 02:37 PM (2424 Views)
TheFifthElement published a list of books that leave her currently feeling somewhat blase. I told her that I had a similar list. It's not that they leave me feeling cold. Unfortunately they produce in me a feeling that I get when faced with housework. They feel like work.

Which annoys the c*** out of me. Some of them I have started and I was enjoying them. Then, fatally, I put them down, and never picked them up again. I blame it on the fact that I am too busy. I blame it on the fact that the books themselves are too sad.

But the truth is that these books require that I think, that I interact with them them, and I am just too lazy to do that. G-r-r-r!

I will not give up. I say it now that I will read (most) of the books on this list. I will quit wallowing in self-indulgent books like "Seven-Up" by Janet Evanovitch (but they are so funny!) or "Outtakes from a Marriage," by Ann Leary (wife of Dennis, also funny). H-m-m-m, I think I see a theme here. O.K., I will not indulge exclusively in books that are the equivalent of bar-b-que potato chips and Hershey bars. I. Will. Not.

Is there anybody here who believes me?

Is there anybody here who would like to cheer me on?

Here's the list:

"Lost in the Funhouse"
"Heart of Darkness"
"The Decameron"
"Steppenwolf"
"The Human Stain"
"The Crying of Lot 49"
"The Known World"
"Lolita"
"The Little Friend"
"A Moveable Feast"
"Suite Francaise"
'My Name is Red"
'The Liar's Club"
"You Are One of Them"
"The Shipping News"
"We Were the Mulvaney's"
"Bel Canto"
"Ivanho"
"The Speckled Monster"
"The Virgin Suicides"
"Angela's Ashes" (N-o-o-o-o!)


That's it then. My personal reading list for the next year and a half. Except for "The Decameron." That alone could take years. If anyone would like to partake with my on this journey, let me know. I will let you know of my progess, of course.

Updated 01-18-2011 at 10:11 PM by qimissung (added "The Virgin Suicides" which I accidently left off my list.)

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Comments

  1. Buh4Bee's Avatar
    Good Luck! I have read Lolita and Angela's Ashes. There wasn't too much thinking when reading these books. I am interested in reading A Movable Feast. It has to be OK to read junk once in a while. I won't even mention the trash I have on my table now when I am brain dead, but need to read something.
  2. Gilliatt Gurgle's Avatar
    Here's to cheering you on! (clink)
    The only one I have read on your list is "Heart of Darkness" Definately on the top of my list of great books. I'm looking forward to a second reading.
    I enjoy Scott's "Lady of the Lake" and "Lay of the Last Minstrel", but I have not read Ivanho. My son is reading Ivanho. I'll see if I can borrow his copy.

    Good luck. Your first step is to turn off the computer.

    Gilliatt
  3. qimissung's Avatar
    LOL, Gilliat. I actually made it about halfway through Ivanho. I don't know why I stopped.
  4. qimissung's Avatar
    Actually there is thinking involved in any reading that we do, jersea, according to articles I've read. Don't be too quick to dismiss that delicious stack next to your bed as trash. At least your reading!
  5. qimissung's Avatar
    Oh, I've read about half of "Heart of Darkness," too. I really like it. I think, in part, it's school. I'm just so unrelentingly busy that when I have free time I want it to be lighthearted. I know. Excuses, excuses!
  6. hack's Avatar
    Heart of Darkness is great, Steppenwolf is a must, and so is Moveable Feast (even if it is over-rated). That is an impressive list, I have not read half of them though. My next 5, in no particular order, are probably:

    Journey to Portugal - J. Saramago
    Hadji Murad - L. Tolstoy
    The Satanic Verses - S. Rushdie
    Stella - P. Wyden
    Last Night at Twisted River - J. Irving

    Beyond that, it's anybody's guess.
  7. OrphanPip's Avatar
    I would like to read Irving's most recent novel too. I've read nearly everything he's written, because I went through an Irving phase around 17-18 years old. He really hasn't been able to match Garp, or even Owen Meany, and I sometimes tire of the theme of the recurring themes in all the novels.
  8. prendrelemick's Avatar
    I shall be thinking of you through this difficult time gimissung. (Especially Angela's Ashes).
  9. TheFifthElement's Avatar
    I sympathise Qimi. Your list might be shorter, but it's pretty heavy going stuff. I've tried to read both Heart of Darkness and My Name is Red more than once, and never managed to make it to the end.

    Of the books you've got on the list, I'd start with Steppenwolf. After you get past the Treatise of the Steppenwolf it's really rather good and quite readable. Then maybe Lolita. I had to look up The Decameron - goodness it's a long book! It reminded me that I'm yet to finish Don Quixote, so it is now back on my list of books to read next year. I'll try anyway

    Good luck with the reading. Perhaps you can intersperse your 'serious' reading with something a bit more easy going, just to keep yourself sane?
  10. mtpspur's Avatar
    No mystery to me why oyu stopped halfway thru Ivanhoe--Prince Valiant and Errol Flynn poor Wilfred of Ivanhoe is NOT. As a kid th fuss over Rebecca went over my head plus I wanted HER to have Ivanhoe--spoiler sigh-- and Invanhoe spends way too much time on a sick bed.
  11. Virgil's Avatar
    Heart of Darkness is a great work. A Movable Feast is great fun if you like Hemingway and are interested in 1920's expatriot life. Bel Canto and Steppenwolf I didn't think much of.

    If you're looking for something different read Grendel by John Gardner or Lavinia by Ursula Le Guin.