tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2744617748983786106.post6267671705423718772..comments2024-01-19T02:22:48.006-05:00Comments on Jen's Book Thoughts: Saturday Evening RamblingsJen Forbushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13325129568512353951noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2744617748983786106.post-83603814172417964802009-02-01T21:55:00.000-05:002009-02-01T21:55:00.000-05:00I have no idea what I would want to read then. My ...I have no idea what I would want to read then. My reading mood changes so fast. But Shel Silverstein sounds like a good idea, and maybe some Oscar Wilde. Has anyone ever read the poetry of Samuel Hoffenstein? It's kind of like Ogden Nash's work but meaner. I haven't read it in a long time but I remember it made me laugh which is what I'd want to do if I knew I was about to bite the dust.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2744617748983786106.post-86955719257570204992009-02-01T18:38:00.000-05:002009-02-01T18:38:00.000-05:00Go for it, Tim. I'll be interested to see what yo...Go for it, Tim. I'll be interested to see what your readers have to say as well.<BR/><BR/>Corey, I'm thinking I'm going to need a boat soon. We had a little bit of melt today, but when it really melts, we're going to flood. This is absurd!Jen Forbushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13325129568512353951noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2744617748983786106.post-56307792690296211422009-02-01T12:25:00.000-05:002009-02-01T12:25:00.000-05:00Hi, Jen --Great question, and not one to be answer...Hi, Jen --<BR/><BR/>Great question, and not one to be answered off the top of my head, but here goes:<BR/><BR/>1. The Recognitions, William Gaddis: this is the book that I used to get my real education while I was wasting my time in college. I used it as a launching pad for years to read about art, religion, art in religion, forgery, Greenwich Village . . . on and on. One of the great American novels of the 20th century.<BR/><BR/>2. Randall Jarrell, Pictures from an Institution: The best book ever written about academic life, the story of what happens to a bunch of smug liberal-arts professors in an exclusive women's college when a real artist (a very disagreeable female novelist modeled on Mary McCarthy) suddenly lands in their midst. Funny, sad, and uplifting all at the same time -- makes it impossible for me to believe that the man who wrote it committed suicide.<BR/><BR/>3. Straight Man, Richard Russo: The second-best novel about academic life ever written, and certainly the funniest. At several points I had to put the book down and get up and walk around because I was laughing so hard I was afraid I'd die.<BR/><BR/>4. The Big Sleep, Raymond Chandler: Because it's the bible of private-eye writing and even now every word rings true.<BR/><BR/>5. The Woman Warrior and China Men, Maxine Hong Kingston: Memoir and cultural history woven into lace, and in some of the most beautiful language I've ever read.<BR/><BR/>And now I can think of twenty more. I may do this on my blog, too, if it's all right with you -- as a breat from the creativity guest pieces.Timothy Hallinanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00551263887774445511noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2744617748983786106.post-55831094908336856842009-02-01T12:02:00.000-05:002009-02-01T12:02:00.000-05:00I think you get a lot of that lake-effect snow tha...I think you get a lot of that lake-effect snow that we miss down here in the central part of the state. So since it's been awful here, it really is possible Mother N really has singled you out.Corey Wildehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05566740230330395590noreply@blogger.com