Help me keep this going!

Soooo..... I have long been a Salinger nut. I stopped reading literature much in college, because of the load of my coursework. I have only recently discovered Hunter Thompson, Kerouac, Hemingway, and John Updike. I am not friends with any person that discusses literature, nor do I come from a family of readers.... but I am really trying to keep this great thread going, and I do feel like most of these authors are similar in outlook, though not as much in style or subject matter. I also just ordered Philip Roth. Somebody help me!! Who should I read next?

In my mind, on a scale of 1-10, Salinger is a 10, Charles Dickens is a 1, and Hemingway is a 9 1/2.

Also, is it appropriate that I am vexed after reading the Top 100 thread? I have Swann's Way, but haven't started it yet.... I was under the impression this was his Catcher in the Rye, and now I see that In Search of Lost Time tops the charts...... ARGH!

i'm gonna be crucified for calling Hemingway a 9 1/2 out of 10.

You might like The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson. I love Salinger.

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Originally Posted by nat.deezle

I have Swann's Way, but haven't started it yet.... I was under the impression this was his Catcher in the Rye, and now I see that In Search of Lost Time tops the charts...... ARGH!

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Swann's Way is the first volume of the seven-section novel called In Search of Lost Time.

thank you, lykren!! i had no idea. i struggle discovering new writing because i want to know as little as possible beforehand. which is why i need yall's help!

and qimissung, thank you for the recommendation! just went and ordered it on amazon!

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Originally Posted by nat.deezle

Soooo..... I have long been a Salinger nut. I stopped reading literature much in college, because of the load of my coursework. I have only recently discovered Hunter Thompson, Kerouac, Hemingway, and John Updike. I am not friends with any person that discusses literature, nor do I come from a family of readers.... but I am really trying to keep this great thread going, and I do feel like most of these authors are similar in outlook, though not as much in style or subject matter. I also just ordered Philip Roth. Somebody help me!! Who should I read next?

In my mind, on a scale of 1-10, Salinger is a 10, Charles Dickens is a 1, and Hemingway is a 9 1/2.

Also, is it appropriate that I am vexed after reading the Top 100 thread? I have Swann's Way, but haven't started it yet.... I was under the impression this was his Catcher in the Rye, and now I see that In Search of Lost Time tops the charts...... ARGH!

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You have very succinctly explained your dilemma; your 1-10 scale, where Dickens gets 1 and Salinger 10, clearly encapsulates your reading preferences. However, the fact that you thought that In Search of Lost Time was Proust's, Catcher in the Rye is hilarious. In general I would have to agree that embarking on a reading of Proust is a daunting task in which one could probably read all the works of Hemingway, Updike, Salinger, etc. etc. and still have time to complete Rubik's cube.
I tried Swann's Way and gave up to avoid drowning in circumlocution: Proust's nearest US equivalent must be Faulkner, if you haven't read him, avoid at all costs.
This doesn't mean that there's nothing to be gained from reading the great writers of the past such as Dickens, Trollope etc. which, when younger, were my preferred writers but despite the defects of modernist writers, they do tell it as it is (or was) without going all round the houses to do so; thereby giving the narrative an immediacy notably missing from the extended prose writing of their predecessors.

I'm not convinced rating various authors --from hugely divergent eras(!) -- on a scale of 1-10 can help with your understanding and appreciation of literature. It would benefit you, as a reader, to move past the superficial gut reaction of whether or not you "liked" the book or not, and even if it is relevant to your life right now. Instead, try to discern what the various authors are trying to express about the world and the condition of the humans in it, how they express themselves, how artful wrangling of words, sentences, and paragraphs can produce great literature.

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Originally Posted by Emil Miller

However, the fact that you thought that In Search of Lost Time was Proust's, Catcher in the Rye is hilarious.

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Thank you for calling me succinct! A great compliment indeed. Sorry, I did a poor job of communicating the comparison to Catcher in the Rye... In my very limited exposure to Proust, I have seen where people with great regard for literature show the protagonist carrying around a copy of Swann's Way to read and re-read, a source of inspiration they turn to when they've run up against a wall in their own writing. I thought this was the sort of stigma that Catcher also carried with it! But I really appreciate the warning. Haha, I have scanned through it a bit and I got that feeling. Maybe it was more of an allusion to packing along your Bible with you!

AuntShecky, the goal of my rating was only to give a context for the style of writing I'm looking for at this time. I would agree with you, it would be about as purposeful as rating the best impressionist painters against the realist painters, across "hugely divergent eras." I just wanted people to know whether I was looking for an Andy Warhol or a Van Gogh. Conrad, Dostoevsky, and Steinbeck are also among my all-time favorite authors, just not where I'm at now.

On the other hand, I can't say that it's of much use to me to read authors that make me miserable. I understand the importance of their writing. If I had an infinite amount of years in my life, I might sit down to Dickens more often. But as it is, I think we can derive a lot of beauty and meaning from any great author, and it isn't necessary for me to read Dickens to do so. I understand your point perfectly as you meant it, though. What grade of English do you teach? :-D

This isn't particularly relevant to the OP's original post,but I wanted to recommend one of Hardy's minor works. I have never seen it mentioned on these pages and it is so sweet and cheerful I don't know why it isn't more popular.It's called "Under the Greenwood Tree" and I strongly recommend it.

I'm a Hemingway fan. Though no one can quite match his style of succint and direct expression, there are similar authors that I think you will enjoy. I would suggest Fitzgerald, Conrad, and Vonnegut. They seem to be somewhat in line with the other authors that you mentioned. Each deserves at least an attempt.

Seeing as you are also a Salinger fan, I would highly recommend A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, by James Joyce. It has a similar theme to Catcher in the Rye.

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Originally Posted by JHG

I'm a Hemingway fan. Though no one can quite match his style of succint and direct expression, there are similar authors that I think you will enjoy. I would suggest Fitzgerald, Conrad, and Vonnegut. They seem to be somewhat in line with the other authors that you mentioned. Each deserves at least an attempt.

Seeing as you are also a Salinger fan, I would highly recommend A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, by James Joyce. It has a similar theme to Catcher in the Rye.

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Thanks!! I've been thinking about reading Dubliners actually, so I will start with that one. And I'll check out Seasider's recommendation of Under the Greenwood Tree, too. I actually love Vonnegut, Conrad, and the only Fitzgerald I've read, which is obviously Gatsby. Fitzgerald was Hunter Thompson's god. So I'll pretty much take your word on anything now. I should have mentioned my love for Fante by now, but I haven't. So there.

Since YOU are a Hemingway fan, do you like any of his writing better than The Sun Also Rises? Just curious.

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Originally Posted by nat.deezle

Since YOU are a Hemingway fan, do you like any of his writing better than The Sun Also Rises? Just curious.

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Hard to beat The Sun Also Rises. But I would suggest For Whom the Bell Tolls. Very powerful - an epic feeling whisps from every chapter.

Contemporaries of Hemingway, John Steinbeck and F. Scott Fitzgerald, may be enjoyable (The Grapes of Wrath - Steinbeck, The Great Gatsby - Fitzgerald which has more of the dialogue like Hemingway). I think the only thing close to The Catcher in the Rye that I've read is The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton, but that's more of a young person's book (also a movie). It may be difficult to pick up as an adult. Also, there's kind of a gang in the book, which is a bit different. I'd really have to think hard to remember a book that I've read that's like The Catcher in the Rye. The adventure of a young person going home is so different. Maybe The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain? I'll go out on a limb, though, and suggest my book, Eighteen In Cross-country Odyssey (by Benjamin Anderson). It chronicles a person (myself) of about the same age traveling this country.

It's funny that I find your post just today. I have just discovered Salinger through Maynard's memoir " At home in the world" and since then, am obsessed with him!
I'm currently reading A catcher in the Rye as well!

I advise you to read The Perks of being a wallflower ;) It is said that it has been greatly inspired by The catcher in the Rye and I can say it is true as I read it myself.

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Originally Posted by deborah8315

It's funny that I find your post just today. I have just discovered Salinger through Maynard's memoir " At home in the world" and since then, am obsessed with him!
I'm currently reading A catcher in the Rye as well!

I advise you to read The Perks of being a wallflower ;) It is said that it has been greatly inspired by The catcher in the Rye and I can say it is true as I read it myself.

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I guess this is just one of those things, as Salinger goes, where it's "to each his own"... because I really did not like The Catcher in the Rye one bit. Perhaps it was because it didn't really capture for me that transition from boyhood to manhood. I mean I went through it well enough myself, but I felt no real connection to Holden. In fact I thought the kid was a whiny wuss through most of the book and couldn't wait to put it down.
Along the lines of coming-of-age stories, I enjoyed As Simple As Snow by Gregory Galloway and The Mysteries of Pittsburgh by Michael Chabon much better than Catcher in the Rye... but as they say, to each his own.:)