August 4th, 2005 at 08:23pm Posted by Bill
I read anything, all the time. If I can’t find something to read with breakfast, I’ll read the back of the cereal box, the nutritional info, the ingredients, anything. I’m always reading, and I read all kinds of thing. I have subscriptions to two computer magazines, I used to have several subscriptions to RC Car magazines, and I’ll even buy any issues of Mad magazine I see when I go grocery shopping. In fact, solely as a geek exercise, I recently created a “What I’m Reading” sidebar for this site (you can see it on the right, under the random Simpsons quote.)
I have a desk at two different offices, and when I’m working at the far office (which is basically one week a month), I’m on Max for about an hour in the morning and another hour on the way home, plus I usually read for an hour at lunch. During these weeks, I can easily read two novels a week.
Despite all this reading, I came to an intereseting realization recently: I’ve never really read any classic literature, with just one exception. Just like probably everyone, I was forced to read a bit of it in high school. I remember having to read The Scarlet Letter, but I really don’t remember anything about it, nor whether I thought it was any good or not. And I don’t mean the story; Of course I get that, but I don’t remember whether I enjoyed the style of the writing, the prose, the symbolism, all that stuff.
I’ve read every single fiction book written by Stephen King, and I’ve almost read everything by Dean Koontz. I immensely enjoyed Douglas Adams’ Hitchhiker series, and I’ve read a few other suspense, horror, and science fiction authors. But I feel like I’m missing out, never having read anything by the greats: Hemingway, Steinbeck, Faulkner, et. al.
So, my question to you is: What should I read next? I’ve got my library card in my hand, ready for that bar code scanner to do its thing, I just need you to give me some ideas. What do you recommend?
Entry Filed under: Bill
7 Comments Add your own
1. rebecca marie | August 5th, 2005 at 8:46 am
don’t bother with 1984. it was supposed to be this groundbreaking deep thinker that makes you question, well, everything, but seriously, don’t bother. catcher in the rye however, is amazing. also? on a more contemporary note? odd thomas made me cry for about an hour. so the new stuff is JUST as good, and it’s too bad it’s not considered “classic.” some kid makes a nice arm pit fart and someone says “that was CLASSIC.” so i say, the newbies are classics too.
2. Bill | August 5th, 2005 at 8:52 am
I loved Odd Thomas. Dean Koontz at his absolute best. Brother Gabe read that one first, and I borrowed it from him. I read it in a day and a half, staying up super late when I had to get up at 5:00 the next morning. I literally couldn’t put it down.
The only other book that has been as much a page turner for me is The Mormom Murders, also recommended by Gabe. It’s actually a true story, but the book reads more like a suspenseful novel than a documentary. Genuinely riveting.
3. tabitha jane | August 5th, 2005 at 3:26 pm
i dunno rm, my husband LOVED “1984″ . . . i think it really is up to the reader to decide . . . so bill, if you wanna read it, go for it.
if you like sci-fi, try reading cs lewis’ science fiction trillogy. i didin’t care for it much but then again, i don’t like sci-fi.
a great classic (and funny) book is “don quixote”
and another, darker book i had to read for lit class that i ended up really intrigued by was “the underground man” by dostoyevsky.
most of my favorite books are hippie woman books so i’m not sure you’d be interested in my suggestions . . .
kurt vonneget (sp?) is good.
4. scrapping dani | August 5th, 2005 at 3:52 pm
I have a great book for you to read about Mormonism. It is called Under the banner of Heaven. It is freaky. It just goes to show how weird that religion is.
5. rebecca marie | August 5th, 2005 at 4:08 pm
okay okay, 1984 is subjective. i’m the only one i know who has read it that didn’t like it.
6. tabitha jane | August 10th, 2005 at 9:05 am
you could read the lord of the rings, the hobbit and that samarillion (did i spell that right?) and all the other books that tolkein wrote about his made-up lands. i hear they are decent.
7. tanya | August 10th, 2005 at 9:42 am
Hmm…i thought Mad magazine was a classic? am i wrong? well if i am Bill Wattersons Calvin & Hobbes is DEFINATELY a classic. all of them are.
i went through that too and checked out The Sun also Rises by Hemingway. I thought he wrote like a ten year old. But i enjoyed the book. he used the word “and” a lot.
your comment on my site was hilarious. i LOVED Fletch. another classic…
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