That’s the time right now – give or take a couple of minutes. I’m off to bed very soon, but I’m leaving early tomorrow morning and I won’t have time to blog.
I finished my class tonight. Overall, it was a good class. Left me with the feeling that I will teach again. I’m so tired though I’m numb and I didn’t get that nice feeling of accomplishment now that it’s over. Probably because I came home and went right back to work. It will be nice to be at my sister’s for a couple of days – besides the obvious – the kids – I can use the break. And G’s busy all week with meetings, so I’d just be home alone all weekend anyway.
I think I knit three rounds while I was waiting for my students to come in tonight. If I don’t knit tomorrow on the train it’s because my hands have fallen off my body or some other such travesty.
One of the bright spots these last weeks has been something sweet and simple and reminiscent of my old pre-knitting, pre-blog life when all I did was read: Alice Munro had a new story in the New Yorker a few weeks ago and I assigned it to my class. She is one of my all time favorites and what she does with words and story is true magic. Here’s a link to the story: “Wenlock Edge.” While I was searching for the link I found another one of hers online: “Passion.” I miss reading. I was talking to my class tonight and I need a book. Something big and juicy that will take me a little while to read and I won’t be able to put down and when I’m done I’ll be sad and want to immediately pick up something else. It has to be fiction. “Literary” fiction – yes, the snobby elitist kind. And NO HARRY POTTER. Can you help me? Leave me some suggestions in the comments. It doesn’t have to be new, or old or classic. Just good. Have to read way into the middle of the night and then again at breakfast the next morning good. Make me want to read again good. Go at it.
Tomorrow is something of a milestone in my life. I will be taking care of my dad – something I never really thought would be my responsibility. My mother’s gone off with her new life and my siblings and I are really the only family my father has. I’m so glad we’ll be able to help him tomorrow.
Whereever you are, whatever you’re doing – hug someone today. Tell them you love them. Then tell them a joke. I’ve always said I know I’ve had a good day if I’ve laughed, been kissed and hugged, and said I love you or had someone tell me they love me. See how easy it is to have a good day? Now go out and grab yours.
Michener’s Hawaii would be my choice. Big..I got lost in it…and sooo good. It made me sad when I got to the end, that I had finished it.
“The Other Boleyn Girl”,by Phillipa Gregory is a fabulous read. It’s historical fiction,which fascinates me because I alway wonder how much is fact, and what the author make up to enhance the story. Full of twists and turns, and characters that you both love and hate. It’s based on the story of Anne Boleyn, one of Henry VIII’s wives, but told from the point of view of her sister. The same author has also written a trilogy,of which I have only read the first,(called “Wideacre”), but can’t wait to read the next. I’m waiting until after the Holidays, because I have so much to do right now, and when I read one of these books that’s all I want to do. Hope all goes well with your “family thing”.
Have you read Time Traveler’s Wife? It’s fantastic and long enough to entertain you for a while and very literary. How about Middlesex? That’s another good one. Poisonwood Bible? The Kite Runner is also good but not very long. See what you get for asking a librarian for a book to read? I could go on, I have lists at work. Let me know if this isn’t enough. And the idea about hugging and joking and loving someone is a good one. I hope you have that opportunity many times over the next few days.
One of my all time favorites is The Bone People by Keri Hulme – just sinks into your soul forever and ever. Its one of the very few books I’ve read repeatedly. If you’re into something a little more esoteric and fantastical, I’d also strongly recommend The Chess Garden by Brooks Hansen.
Case Histories is my choice. But it’s rather sad so maybe not.
Enjoy your trip and maybe you had better sleep on the train instead of knit.
(((Cara))))
Hi, Cara. As a fellow literary snob, I’ve got lots of suggestions but my number one choice would be The Known World by Edward Jones. It was so good that it ruined me for reading for a while. Nothing else could measure up. The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy is also great, though you’ve probably read it already. Ditto The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri and Atonement by Ian McEwan. I could go on and on and on… On Beauty by Zadie Smith. I haven’t read it yet but am about to and it’s supposed to be wonderful. Good luck and enjoy your time with your family. (I’m sorry about your father’s loss.)
I miss reading too – it seems all I do now is knit! I would recommend The Historian – I know some people panned it, but I got caught up in both the history and literary sides of the story. The Man just bought me Zadie Smith’s On Beauty which I can’t wait to read. Atonement by Ian McEwan is one of my favorites.
Makes me want to go read…. 🙂
Have a good day – take that time on the train for you you you!
Alice Munro is one of my absolute favorite writers. She’s just amazing.
For a “wallow read,” try Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell (there are two books with that title, be sure to look for the right author) or The Hummingbird’s Daughter by Luis Urrea. They were can’t-put-down’s for me.
Okay – I’m going to throw a little non-fiction your way. “Devil in the White City” by Erik Larsen. It’s not a super long read, but I loved it *so* much that I would bring it with me when I had to walk anywhere so that I could steal a few extra minutes to read. For me it was totally captivating – and reminded me of the magnitude of creation and destruction that humans are capable of. I almost cried when I finished the book. It’s just stunning.
And I’m throwing a big hug your way darlin’, just ‘cuz.
Aww…Cara…nice way to have a good day! 🙂 Hugs from me to your Dad!
Hugs and kisses. Have a good trip even if you’re going for a lousy reason. I haven’t found a can’t-put-it-down book in ages.
I’d recommend Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susana Clarke. Nice and long, humorous in a British way, smart and fantastic.
Do you like poetry? I know you’re talking literary fiction, but I highly recommend Mary Oliver to anyone and everyone with even a remote interest in poetry. See if this sucks you in.
I know it’s a little older and they’ve made a movie of it now, but Memoirs of a Geisha sucked me in so much that I could barely put it down. It’s a beautiful book. I also agree with Annie about The Other Boelyn Girl.
Lovely Bones is also fabulous, but it is sort of sad and not the biggest book every.
I liked The Poisonwood Bible, too, but I was going to recommend Robertson Davies (pretty much anything, but especially the Cornish trilogy). Another of my favorite books to recommend is The Buffalo Soldier, by Chris Bohjalian.
I hope all goes well while your away with your family, my heart goes with you… with the book thing well how about Diana Gabaldon. She wrote a ton of books that I started to read at the beginning of college ( bad time to start ) I stayed up for almost a week reading all of them, so good and yes some juicy parts too.
Hmm, let’s see. I’m sitting here at my desk trying to mentally scan my bookcases at home… First, I’ll agree with “Time Traveler’s Wife,” “Kite Runner,” and “Memoirs of a Geisha”–all fabulous. Looking back, so was “Snow Falling on Cedars,” a long-time favorite of mine. For elaborate, intense, emotional historical fiction, you can’t do better than Dorothy Dunnett’s Lymond or Nicholas series. (They’re *really* intense, and take a little commitment, but the payoff is incredibly good.) I love the Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde–kind of off the wall, but great–though maybe not what you’re looking for right now. “The Power of One” by Bryce Courtenay was good. I absolutely loved “History of Love” by Nicole Krauss. I’m sure there are more, but this mental card-catalog thing isn’t as easy as it looks!
And, what’s wrong with Harry Potter?? (grin)
I recommend My Sister’s Keeper by Jody Picoult. I read it in a few sittings and now my daughter can’t put it down. The Kite Runner is also a must read.
I like anything by A.S. Byatt… especially Possession and the Frederica Potter quartet of books, including Babel Tower et. al. That way when you finish one there will be three more! They are great.
I also am partial to Salman Rushdie (Moor’s Last Sigh and Satanic Verses being my favorites) and Umberto Eco (Name of the Rose and especially its postscript are perfection).
Recently I also read Gore Vidal’s Lincoln which was interesting when paired with the Eco postscript and not necessarily flatteringly so, but a good read nonetheless. I also enjoyed reading Antonia Fraser’s Marie Antoinette bio which while not fiction, is juicy and entertaining.
I also would highly recommend Cloud Atlas and while on the topic of Booker Prize winners, which seem a leitmotif of my reading tastes, I liked Line of Beauty quite a bit.
Oscar and Lucinda… Kavalier and Clay… Middlesex… A Prayer for Owen Meany… so many!
I just had this intense experience reading Kazuo Ishiguro’s “Never Let Me Go.” I couldn’t put it down, and it kept me up the whole night after I finished it. I don’t know if that is a recommendation or not.
One author who meets all your criteria is Anthony Trollope. If you’re a read-them-in-order type you can start with “The Warden,” but as I recall “Can You Forgive Her” is pretty great. Nothing beats a big fat Victorian novel for the holidays, and Trollope has this added bonus of writing really interesting fully realized female characters. (Dickens seems like caricature after Trollope. Well, Dickens can seem like caricature anyway. I love Dickens, but there it is.)
Oooohh, and I just saw that another poster recommended Dorothy Dunnet’s Lymond series – I LOVE those books! I never liked the Niccolo ones, but the Lymond ones are fantastic.
Definitely some good books people are listing here…Time Travellors Wife, Kite Runner. A favorite of mine that I have been wanting to re-read is A Fine Balance, by Rohinton Mistry…so wonderful. And the Diana Gabaldons are fun too. I also read a non-fiction recently called…uh…A History of Progress. Thought provoking…I really enjoyed it.
I second the nominations for Memoirs of A Geisha, Never Let Me Go, The Poisonwood Bible and my most recent favorite: The Time Traveler’s Wife. As a new nomination (I think): The Red Tent by Anita Diamant.
Totally engrossing and …. well, knod of uplifting in a non-ispirational-genre way. Let us know what you choose-I’m looking for a good books too!
i enjoyed every page of Zadie Smith’s “On Beauty”. i think you might like it too!
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd, although not really a LONG book; I third/fourth whatever The Poisonwood Bible – so many different voices; and even if you’re not a Stephen King fan, Bag of Bones is one of my favorites – yes there’s some “otherworldly” stuff in it but it’s really one of his best.
Have a good trip and relax. You know since I’ve started knitting the thing that I’ve missed is reading – I have a stack I need to get to over the holidays – maybe after Christmas I won’t feel the need to “finish” any of the other things on the needles so urgently.
I’ll weigh in for the “classics” here, since there are a lot of great-sounding rec.s for contemporary fiction above (I need to check them out!).
The new translation of Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina was so good I couldn’t bring myself to finish it (I didn’t want to be done with the experience!).
I love George Elliot and although Middlemarch is super-fantastically wonderful, I think I’m recommending Adam Bede – not as long, and more focused than M., and exquisite.
Ok, not fiction, but lovely and engrossing: Savage Beauty, a biography of Edna St. VIncent Millay (if you don’t care about her now, you will when you’re done reading the book).
And, not a “classic” (but will be one day!) Kafka on the Shore, by Haruki Marukami. I read it in just a few short days, adn then went back to read the rest of his stuff. It’s all mind-blowing, but Kafka on the Shore is perhaps the most mature realization of the themes that run throughout.
Have a great trip to P. and happy Hanukah.
Oh, hurray for Dorothy Dunnett. I have to reread the Lymond books every few years. I also just started The Underpainter, by Jane Urquhart. It’s beautiful and haunting so far.
Hi Cara,
ok this might not be literary greats.. but i loved them:
Ken Follett Pillars of the Earth an amazing book about the 1100’s in england about a church architect and his daughter.. amazing i felt as if i was walking down the road with them!
anything by Amy Tan.. she wrote Joy Luck Club and most recently something called Saving Fishes from Drowning (i think that was the name) but anything by her is amazing
also anything by Elizabeth George..
ok for now that is all i can think of.. but that should hold youover till at least january 31st 🙂
happy holidays karola
The Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy. Don’t worry, it is nothing like the movie, which I thought was horrible. The book is wonderful!
East of Eden is another great novel that is written so beautifully.
Every few years I have to revisit the Bronte sisters. I love Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights!
Ahab’s Wife by Sena Jeter Naslund.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0688177859/104-8004254-3606369?v=glance&n=283155
Captivating and the last book I read – I don’t get to do it much anymore either. Can’t seem to put down the knitting. Have a good trip!
What a great thread: I’m reminded of many favorites and have some new ideas. My all-time favorites are Middlemarch and Mrs. Dalloway. If you want a terrific series, I adored the Raj Quartet by Paul Scott. I am so sorry that I can’t have the experience of reading those books for the first time again. Each book is quite long, so they can fill your needs for awhile. I’ve read a few Trollope books and loved them, too. Recent literary fiction that blew me way includes: A Fine Balance by Mistry, The Line of Beauty by Hollingsworth, and the Rabbit Series by Updike. I’ve enjoyed the books I’ve read by Phillipa Gregory, but sometimes I feel as if I’m reading a romance novel.
I second Bryce Courtenay’s The Power of One (the movie is really good too). I’m not much of a Michener fan, but the Edward Rutherford books (Sarum, London, The Forest) are very good if you enjoy the ‘history of a place’ type of book. The Other Bolyn Girl and the Queen’s Fool are good, but Phillippa Gregory’s trilogy is more bodice-ripping than historical fiction. If you like historical fiction, there are two wonderful books about Henry of Navarre by Heinrich Mann. I also love Buddenbrooks and the Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann. If you truly want to get lost in a story, the Story of the Stone series (5 books) by Cao Xueqin. Who knew 18th century Chinese literature could be so good?
Damn, I can’t even enter my own url corrently.
Here’s the Amazon.com link to the first volume in the Story of the Stone:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0140442936/qid=1134667570/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/002-3927738-5294416?s=books&v=glance&n=283155
Daniel Deronda by George Eliot. But only if you’ve already read Middlemarch. Middlemarch is a page turner and it’s long and you want it to be longer. xoxo Kay
-Tristram Shandy (I forget the author…damnation!)
-The Omnibus of Jeeves and Wooster by P.G. Wodehouse (the best of Edwardian British literature)
-His Dark Materials Trilogy by Phillip Pullman. It’s pretty much a rewriting of Dante’s Paradise Lost but in young adult fiction form. It’s really amazing
If you want any more reccomendations, I’m full of them.
New book: I loved Gilead by Marilynne Robinson. I loved it so much I didn’t read anything for several weeks after, because nothing else could measure up. After I returned it to the library, I went right back and put it on hold again so I could re-read it.
Old book: The Years by Virginia Woolf. Her best one, I think. Mesmerizing. Has some structural elements that add to the interest as well.
I read both fairly quickly, though, because I could put neither down.
I don’t know if they class as literature or not, but they are definitely long anticipated, read until the middle of the night, page turners for me.
I go back and re-read Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan and John Clark novels, especially every time the next book comes out. The first book published in the series was probably “The Hunt for Red October”, but I think that I would start with “Without Remorse” as the first book in the overall continuity.
Good Luck Cara! The new year is so close, just two more weeks. Life will slow down for you and you’ll be able to knit! Have as lovely of a weekend as is possible with a funeral involved. I find that sometimes funerals are really nice just because you get to see people that you love. Hug they all, and they will hug you back.
As for books, have you read “Timbucktu” (possibly spelled wrong). It’s a shorter book, but I loved it, and it takes a lot to keep my attention.
Thinking of you this weekend and often,
Johanna
I second the nominations for Sue Monk Kidd, Elizabeth George and John Irving…
Two recommendations: Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes – lots of georgeous description. Nothing like the movie, which I didn’t enjoy at all.
Take Big Bites: Adventures Around the World and Across the Table by Linda Ellerbee. Okay, so it’s not fiction, but I didn’t want this book to end.
There are lots of good suggestions up there already. Here’s mine: Fingersmith by Sarah Waters. Set in Victorian England, it is historical fiction, but not what you expect.
It looks like you already have some wonderful options, but if you’re not opposed to a book about the Warsaw Ghetto, John Hersey’s The Wall is one of the most amazing pieces of historical fiction I’ve ever read. And it’s about 600 pages long. You’ll get lost in it.
Alice Munro is one of my favorite short story writers. I loved Open Secrets, and plan to re-read it. My other favorite short story Collections are Faulkner’s Go Down Moses, Isaak Dinesen’s Seven Gothic Tales, and Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s Arranged Marriage.
“Little, Big” by John Fowles.
Ooh, people already suggested the first ones that came to my mind! I also highly recommend The Bone People by Keri Hulme, and anything by Umberto Eco–particularly The Name of the Rose and Foucault’s Pendulum. Those were books I absolutely couldn’t put down, especially The Bone People. It really sucks you in.
As usual I’m late, so I think most of these are retreads:
Case Histories or any of Kate Atkinson’s other books. As Margene said, their sad, but they’re also funny and insightful and essentially hopeful.
Gilead — it’s beautifully written and her use of language and detail brings you into a meditative state where you recognize that so much of the beauty of being alive is in recognizing the small things.
The History of Love — Nicole Krauss, touching and funny and the main character is the best old guy I’ve read in fiction in a long time. Or you can read Ms. Krauss’s husband’s first book, Everything is Illuminated, but I’d bet you’ve read that already.
Trading Places; Think; Paradise News or any other book by David Lodge — he’s satirical and biting, but essentially sympathetic towards all of his characters. He takes on serious issues and ideas, but never seems pedantic.
Pursuit of Love and Love in a Cold Climate by Nancy Mitford.
Oh dear, I’m probably over my quota.
Oh, there’s some good ones here! How about A Soldier of the Great War, by Mark Helprin. His writing makes me sigh.
Faking It by Jennifer Crusie
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
Lamb by Christopher Moore
Taking care of the parents is never easy, but it can make you feel wonderful. I don’t know how old yours is, but my dad loved to talk about history. It’s so interesting to get a personal perspective about things they lived through but we only learned about in history class.
Have a great holiday!
My favorite long, literary book is The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen. A family story full of very real, flawed people. There were times where I just hated the characters because of their flaws and how they irritated me, but the writing was so good I had to keep reading and I just loved it.
A lot of people have posted Poisonwood Bible, but I’d also recommend Animal Dreams by Barbara Kingsolver. I love how she combines the very personal with the political.
“Lonesome Dove” by Larry McMurtry is a favorite and is quite long. Some may be put off by a “western”, but this is so much more than that and so well written.
I’ll agree with the John Irving recommendations, too. His books are all somewhat long, with the newer books being longest. I’ve liked them all, pretty much, but I’d say “World According to Garp” is my favorite.
Not quite so literary, but very enjoyable is “The Alienist” by Caleb Carr. Fascinating story with a lot of history and especially history of forensic psychology thrown in. I couldn’t put it down.
I know you already have a ton of suggestions, but I highly reccomend “If on a winter night a traveler” by Italo Calvino. It’s one of my favorite books and I would consider it “literary” to boot.
A Widow for a Year by John Irving, A Man in Full by Tom Wolfe, This Much I know is True by Wally Lamb, White Teeth by Zadie Smith, Peace Like a River by Leif Enger, A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson…all wonderful and literary reads…enjoy
“the wind-up bird chronicles” by haruki murakami.. or anything by him for that matter! 🙂 but wind-up is amazing.
Cara, have a safe trip to Philly tomorrow. The weather’s nasty here in PA tonight (& supposed to be tomorrow too).
Total guilty pleasure long read: The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber. It’s been described as Dickens with sex.
It’s the story of a prostitute named Sugar in Victorian England. Read it this summer and could not put it down. It’s about 900 pages but it flies.
Sidenote: finished Jaywalker post is in the URL field.
i am just getting back nito reading as my kids are now old enough that i can steal a little time here and there to get some in. i just finished ‘on beauty’ by zadie smith and it’s great. made me happy to be reading somethign other than magazine articles. i’m also looking forward to reading the new john irving (hoping to get it for christmas), zadie smith’s first book, ‘white teeth’, and the novel ‘prep’ which was one of the NYT 10 best for the year.
after all your enthusiatic posts about jaywalkers, i can’t WAIT to get my christmas knitting done and start on a pair of jaywalkers for me!
be well and happy…
I already posted earlier, but saw someone mentioned a Wally Lamb…He also wrote “She’s Come Undone”…sad etc but great!
Sue Monk Kidd, The Secret Life of Bees. Fabulous.
I really enjoyed Forever by Pete Hamill. It was fascinating to me to read the history of NYC through the main character’s eyes.
Chiming in late in the game here – and I agree with many of the suggestions, including Time Traveler’s Wife, Poisonwood Bible, Secret Life of Bees, Memoirs of a Geisha (recently re-read and it was just as good as the first time) and the Lymond series. The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson was good.
I would also suggest: Adriana Trigiani’s Big Stone Gap series – I really got into the life of that Blue Ridge Mountain townspeople are I heard the author speak a few years ago – those characters are really ones she grew up with. Entertaining light read.
Currently reading and enjoying The City of Falling Angels by John Berendt. His first book many years ago MIDNIGHT IN THE GARDEN OF GOOD AND EVIL drew me to visit Savannah, and this one is making me yearn for Venice!!! Chelle
Another thing that occurs to me – it sounds like you are really weighted down right now with heavy life “stuff” – so how about turning to some REALLY light, fun reading? If you’re into chick lit I would highly recommend Marian Keyes – anything by her, but I particularly enjoyed her series that starts with Watermellon, then goes to Rachel’s Holiday and Angels. It’s about a family of 5 grown sisters and their various screwed up and fantastically funny lives. Chelle
“The Many Lives and Secret Sorrows of Josephine B” by Sandra Gulland. It’s the first of a trilogy about the life of Napoleon’s Josephine. It’s written in the style of her journal and is a fascinating account of her life and her love. A friend gushed about it and then sent me a signed copy – I had never read historical fiction and now I’m a convert!
You won’t want to put the first book down and when you get to the last chapter you’re relieved that there’s a sequel! By the time I got to the end of the third book I was weeping.
the wind-up bird chronicles by haruki murakami. a wild sheep chase (also murakami) is also fabulous. his books are beautiful and spare and somewhat haunting – i can’t recommend them enough.
This thread is a keeper…. I’ll second the recommendation for the Edna St. Vincent Millay biography, Savage Beauty, especially if you can duck over to a collection of her poems at the same time. My other recommendation would be Heir to the Glimmering World by Cynthia Ozick.
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