Nothing--Again, nothing.

[Edward G]

People hate it when I talk like this, but I can't help it. I went to B&N to get a fiction book. I just finished reading 1984. My wife just finished Animal Farm, so I'm going to read that, but I was looking for a little break from George Orwell--I couldn't find anything to read!

I won't even pick up a hardback from one of the celebrity fiction writers anymore. I'm so disgusted by their writing abilities and the lack of any substance in their stories that I could puke.

I went to the New Writers section, but it was the same old books I had rejected reading a month ago. I go into the asiles to look around and I still only have two choices: junk pop formula fiction or older classics.

Where are the new classics?

Anyway, I settled for a non-fiction book: the new revision of The Self-Publishing Manual. I'll read Animal Farm at the same time.

Anyone else ever have a problem finding something to read?

[veinglory]

It takes some searching, but then I am fairly omnivorous so I generally find something. Nonfiction is a good fall back.

[Bubastes]

Never. I have a list of the National Book Award winners in case I'm stumped for ideas on what to read. Also, I agree with veinglory -- non-fiction is a nice option for me too.

[Toothpaste]

Why don't you visit the AW library here, check out some home grown talent as it were, our own ORION (Patricia Wood) is doing very well with her novel Lottery. I can also recommend Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures as an excellent book (it won the highest literary award here in Canada and is now available in the states).

Maybe it's possible you are only grazing the shelves, and looking just at the big ones at the front. Ever thought about going through the stacks? Or ever consider that maybe you have too strict rules on what you think is a classic? That maybe if you would relax and give a few other books a shot, you could see there is some pretty impressive talent out there? The point of writing is to break the mold, not conform to an old fashioned standard.

[badducky]

No.

Seriously, are you insane?

Magazines I could believe, but books?

Put down the self-publishing manual, and try this:

Pick three shelves at random. Close your eyes. Pick one book randomly from each shelf. Read the first three pages and read the one you like best of those three.

Also, my favorite bookstore diversion is to go to the poetry section and try to read a poem by a poet I've never read before.

Or, just ask around. Communicate with other people and see what the people in the store are reading and buying.

And put down the self-publishing manuals.

[CheshireCat]

People hate it when I talk like this, but I can't help it. I went to B&N to get a fiction book.

A fiction book, huh? As opposed to a novel?

I just finished reading 1984. My wife just finished Animal Farm, so I'm going to read that, but I was looking for a little break from George Orwell--I couldn't find anything to read!

I won't even pick up a hardback from one of the celebrity fiction writers anymore. I'm so disgusted by their writing abilities and the lack of any substance in their stories that I could puke.

Celebrity fiction writers? And who would they be?

I went to the New Writers section, but it was the same old books I had rejected reading a month ago. I go into the asiles to look around and I still only have two choices: junk pop formula fiction or older classics.

Where are the new classics?

Anyway, I settled for a non-fiction book: the new revision of The Self-Publishing Manual. I'll read Animal Farm at the same time.

Anyone else ever have a problem finding something to read?

The Self-Publishing Manual. Okay, that explains a lot.

Look, if you want to bitch about not being able to find, in a whole bookstore, anything worth reading except an arguably tired "classic" and a manual about how to "publish" stuff the industry you scorn won't touch, that's cool.

But insulting every published writer who doesn't measure up to your standards is not only rude and short-sighted, it says a lot more about you than it does them.

Just sayin'.

(Yes, I'm on a tear this weekend. Sue me!)

[Judg]

Tom, that's hard to believe. Did you actually open some books by authors you didn't know and read a while? I am willing to bet you rejected thousands upon thousands of books without ever looking inside, in which case you can't complain that there was nothing. New classics by definition won't be well-known yet. You have to read people you don't know to find them.

Now, I went to the bookstore today and came out with nothing too. But that was because I was looking only through the discount tables, and for authors I already knew. I made up for it by going home and ordering four new books online. But if I had been intent on walking out with a book I would have done so.

[Zoombie]

Yeah, there are a ton of good books out there. A ton. Sure, you have to look to find them, and not all of them are as good as a classic, but a lot are very good none the less.

[johnzakour]

I've never walked into a bookstore without walking out with at least one book.

(Even if I just go to see my books I always end up buying another. Even the one time I just stopped at B&N to use the bathroom....)

[JBI]

Read the entirety of Harold Bloom's chaos age canon. Those are the modern classics you search so ceaselessly for.

[Shady Lane]

Maybe you should give up on the books. Shop for something that more closely matches your 'classic' sensibilities. Have you considered antique furniture?

[Edward G]

Never. I have a list of the National Book Award winners in case I'm stumped for ideas on what to read. Also, I agree with veinglory -- non-fiction is a nice option for me too.


I tried that! And while I have no doubt that the writing would be superior, none of the synopsis were interesting to me. Where's the beef! Where's the story and the moral? In our modern times, we cringe at the word "moral" but that's what makes a story worth reading. No story is worth reading just on its own merits. I want someone with bollucks to make a story that's irresistable and a moral that's unacceptable and undeniable at the same time. To quote a line from Superman III: "I ask you to kill Superman, and you can't do that one simple thing."

[JBI]

http://home.comcast.net/~dwtaylor1/chaoticcanon.html Try that list. Look on wikipedia and find something that appeals to you.

[CheshireCat]

Okay, I just remembered (again) who TB probably is. Or was.

Whatever.


Picture me swirling my cape as I flounce out of this thread ...

[Edward G]

Why don't you visit the AW library here, check out some home grown talent as it were, our own ORION (Patricia Wood) is doing very well with her novel Lottery. I can also recommend Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures as an excellent book (it won the highest literary award here in Canada and is now available in the states).

I will. Thank you for the suggestion.

Maybe it's possible you are only grazing the shelves, and looking just at the big ones at the front. Ever thought about going through the stacks? Or ever consider that maybe you have too strict rules on what you think is a classic? That maybe if you would relax and give a few other books a shot, you could see there is some pretty impressive talent out there? The point of writing is to break the mold, not conform to an old fashioned standard.

You know, I tried reading "The Fight Club" by...well, the pronunciation escapes me, but it didn't really work. The movie worked, but the style of the writing just didn't cut it with me. I found it experimental at best, pretentious at worst. So, good story, but not good writing. Then again, I read "Remains of the Day" by that Japanese/English fellow (again the pronunciation escapes me), and there was great writing, with a story that just didn't quite cook all the way. Again, as a movie, it worked great.

On the other hand, for escapism and nostalgia, I read "Cell" by Stephen King. I liked it. It had a moral. He's a decent storyteller, but I may try Dumas Key when it's available, but I'm really trying to break away from King. I feel like I'm returning to the pacifier every time I buy one of his books.

All I ask for is groundmoving genius. Call me high maitenance, but hey, if they have the sack to charge 25 bucks for a book, they owe me nothing less.

[Bubastes]

Call me high maitenance, but hey, if they have the sack to charge 25 bucks for a book, they owe me nothing less.

Um, have you tried the library? Or paperbacks?

[BluGnat]

But insulting every published writer who doesn't measure up to your standards is not only rude and short-sighted, it says a lot more about you than it does them.

I'm brand-new, and even I was thinking this...is the OP serious? Or is this a joke?

[JBI]

Have you read Joyce yet? If not, that will put you in your place.

[Shady Lane]

I will. Thank you for the suggestion.



You know, I tried reading "The Fight Club" by...well, the pronunciation escapes me, but it didn't really work.

Chuck Palahnuik. Pronounced Paula-Nick.

And I'm just laughing at the sheer audacity of "it didn't really work."

[badducky]

I'd be as miffed as Cheshire Cat if mine were up in stores right now.

Seriously, have you checked out Adrienne's book? My sides still hurt from laughter.

[Edward G]

No.

Seriously, are you insane?

I've studied on it some, mmmhmmm, and yes, quite likely I'm so far gone that even the mention of it by someone makes me think they're just jealous. So, treatment is out of the question. I saw a bumpersticker once that said, "God Doesn't Make Mistakes," and I believed it so much I made a personal religion out of it.

Magazines I could believe, but books?

Put down the self-publishing manual, and try this:

Pick three shelves at random. Close your eyes. Pick one book randomly from each shelf. Read the first three pages and read the one you like best of those three.

I just couldn't do that. But it's an interesting suggestion.

And put down the self-publishing manuals.

Why? If the main publishers can't put something in B&N I can stand to read, why should I ever let them touch my book? I would like a fat advance check, I admit. But I don't know; I'm getting the feeling the fat advance check costs too much. I don't know.

[CheshireCat]

I'm brand-new, and even I was thinking this...is the OP serious? Or is this a joke?

(I've flounced, so I can't respond -- but if you'll look up some of TB's earlier posts, you'll find he's been wonderfully consistent. Not that I said anything, of course. Because I flounced, and I'm not here.)

[badducky]

Pshh...

I don't know what BnN you're going to, but mine happens to carry quite a few small and indie press titles. Clearly you haven't mastered the fine art of browsing.

I'm not going to accuse you like CC and BG, Tom, but I'd be lying if I said my eyebrow wasn't raised at ya.

So, have you read anything by a living author that wasn't self-published that you did actually like? Have they published anything recently?

[Edward G]

Tom, that's hard to believe. Did you actually open some books by authors you didn't know and read a while? I am willing to bet you rejected thousands upon thousands of books without ever looking inside, in which case you can't complain that there was nothing. New classics by definition won't be well-known yet. You have to read people you don't know to find them.

That is a good point. I wonder what will make a classic these days? Fifty years from now, I probably won't be alive. (I'm a man and I'm 43). But I don't think it takes that long. 1984 and Animal Farm were realized fairly quickly. They were classics long before 1999. They were classics ten years after they were written. What book is like that today!

[Bekah]

You know, I tried reading "The Fight Club" by...well, the pronunciation escapes me, but it didn't really work. The movie worked, but the style of the writing just didn't cut it with me. I found it experimental at best, pretentious at worst. So, good story, but not good writing. Then again, I read "Remains of the Day" by that Japanese/English fellow (again the pronunciation escapes me), and there was great writing, with a story that just didn't quite cook all the way. Again, as a movie, it worked great.


Why on earth do you need to know how to pronounce their names to write them in a post?

Not that that's the only thing puzzling me about your posts, but, "Are you crazy?" and "Is this a joke?" were already asked.

[Edward G]

Maybe you should give up on the books. Shop for something that more closely matches your 'classic' sensibilities. Have you considered antique furniture?

I used to go to a lot of antique stores in England. But I don't want to collect books like furniture, I want to read a story that will change me. I have never been impacted emotionally from a book as much as I was 1984. It has changed me. I read the Gospel of John (as we all have) and it changed me. I read The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson, and it changed me. I read "Cell" by Stephen King, and it entertained me. I've read a lot of John Grisham, and it has entertained me.

My first novel, will entertain you (should you ever download it on your Kindle Reader). I admit that. I wrote an entertaining novel, because I didn't have the scrotal size nor the ability to do anything else. That's my point. That's my whole point!

[badducky]

Harry Potter, Tom.

"The Joy Luck Club" by Amy Tan

Everything Don DeLillo has written. Everything Michael Ondaatje has written. Everything Umberto Eco has written. Everything Guy Gavriel Kay has written. Everything that Gene Wolfe has written. Everything that Gabriel Garcia Marquez has written. Everything that Thomas Pynchon has written.

I could go on. That's because I long ago figured out how to browse a bookstore without walking out with a very useless self-pub "manual" in my hand.

Edit: Anyone who refers to their "scrotal size" when discussing their own book self-pubbed on a kindle readers clearly has larger issues than ability to browse a book store. Best of luck to you and your scrotum, Tommy. *badducky has left the thread...*

[Edward G]

http://home.comcast.net/~dwtaylor1/chaoticcanon.html Try that list. Look on wikipedia and find something that appeals to you.

Yes, I have no doubt there is something there. I will look through the exhaustive list a little more thoroughly later. Thanks.

[Gray Rose]

Try classics, then. Ursula Le Guin is a classic, and her work is a life-changing experience in many ways. And she usually has a moral, too. Now, I cannot vouch for her scrotal size.

[Edward G]

I'm brand-new, and even I was thinking this...is the OP serious? Or is this a joke?

I'm not so sure that stating my dissatisfaction with modern publishing trends is personally insulting to anyone. If it is, I tend to think a mountain is forming out of a molehill. It would be like me saying "People are crazy" and then taking offense because you are included in the term "people."

So, it's not fair to accuse me on a personal level when I have been talking on a general level about the literature available at B&N.

[reenkam]

What about books by Jhumpa Lahiri, Khaled Hosseini, Amy Tan, J.K.Rowling, Susanna Clark, Maxine Hong Kingston.

All authors who have written book that are mostly considered to have merit. Sure, some people might not like them, but everyone can't like everything. And there's no way you could know if a book's terrible unless you've read it, so before there's nothing for you a B&N you have to read everything they carry.

[Edward G]

Chuck Palahnuik. Pronounced Paula-Nick.

And I'm just laughing at the sheer audacity of "it didn't really work."

Thank you, by the way. I never knew how to pronounce it. And sure it worked, I mean they made a very good movie from it. But the writing was too stylized. If I hadn't seen the movie, it would have been almost confusing--to me. There was a song by Tears For Fears and one of the lines went, "Kick out the style; bring back the jam!" That's kind of what I mean.

[nevada]

People. he likes King and Grisham and quotes Superman to make his point. I think all your suggestions would be over his head. Just saying. Cause, yanno, khaled hosseini would require intelligence.

[Edward G]

Pshh...

I don't know what BnN you're going to, but mine happens to carry quite a few small and indie press titles. Clearly you haven't mastered the fine art of browsing.

I'm not going to accuse you like CC and BG, Tom, but I'd be lying if I said my eyebrow wasn't raised at ya.

So, have you read anything by a living author that wasn't self-published that you did actually like? Have they published anything recently?

Nothing that has it all. King is pretty good at times. I would like to say he's not, but in all his novels, some of them have been pretty good--I think. But having it all: story, moral, characters, writing/reading level. You know?

[Edward G]

What about books by Jhumpa Lahiri, Khaled Hosseini, Amy Tan, J.K.Rowling, Susanna Clark, Maxine Hong Kingston.

All authors who have written book that are mostly considered to have merit. Sure, some people might not like them, but everyone can't like everything. And there's no way you could know if a book's terrible unless you've read it, so before there's nothing for you a B&N you have to read everything they carry.

Again, that is a good point.

[Edward G]

People. he likes King and Grisham and quotes Superman to make his point. I think all your suggestions would be over his head. Just saying. Cause, yanno, khaled hosseini would require intelligence.

It is very possible that I'm just not intelligent enough to understand writers like Khaled. But I understood 1984, every word of it. Some of them I had to look up, but not too many. George Orwell (Eric Blair) is very easy to read. I didn't have to study Latin first (ala Umberto Ecco). I didn't struggle with any of the sentences, and his work is earthmoving and hailed as classic. So, I can't be too stupid, though I'm sure I'm fairly stupid.

[narnia]

If you are serious I feel sad for you, truly. For me, going into a B&N and not being able to find a single book I would like to read would be like going into the desert and complaining that I couldn't find a grain of sand. Not a perfect analogy I know, since you appear to be seeking your definition of superb literature.

I love to read. I often have multiple books going at once. I read for entertainment, escapism, fun, relaxation, research, learning, and many other reasons. I read Anne Perry because Monk, Hester, Thomas, and Charlotte have become good friends and I love hearing about their adventures. I also learn a lot about the time period they live in because Ms. Perry does such meticulous research. I read Elizabeth Peters because I enjoy reading about the adventures of Amelia, the Father of Curses and their son Ramses, plus I am fascinated by ancient Egypt and her writing makes me feel as if I am there. I cried when Helen Lynley died and Barbara Havers' mother died because Elizabeth George gave them such life I felt as if I knew them. When I want to read something scary I will pick up Stephen King or Dean Koontz. I first met Caleb Carr via an intense and absorbing hunt for a serial killer in late-19th-century New York City. He has not yet disappointed me. I am currently re-reading The Wolfen by Whitley Strieber, which scared the heck out of me as a teenager, to see if it has the same effect on me as an adult. I could go on and on and on, but let me finish by sharing my favorite vacation spot, the wonderful land of Narnia ruled by Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy, where no matter how much time passes between visits I am welcomed back with open arms as if I'd never left. And that is just fiction!

You seem to have set your standards so high that you may never find anything worthy, but everyone is entitled to their own likes and dislikes so I'll not try to persuade you to change your view. I offer my thoughts simply in response to your question, "Anyone else ever have a problem finding something to read?"

My answer is no.

And I fervently hope it will always be no.

:Sun:

[James D. Macdonald]

Yeah, there are a ton of good books out there. A ton. Sure, you have to look to find them, and not all of them are as good as a classic, but a lot are very good none the less.

The modern classics are there, just mixed in with everything else.

The same thing was true fifty years ago. The classics were there -- but mixed in with everything else.

The way you tell something is a classic is that it's still remembered when everything else that came out the same year is forgotten.

[Edward G]

The modern classics are there, just mixed in with everything else.

The same thing was true fifty years ago. The classics were there -- but mixed in with everything else.

The way you tell something is a classic is that it's still remembered when everything else that came out the same year is forgotten.

That's true. It's like movies or songs. We think all the good songs came out in the 70's because we remember Pink Floyd and Yes. But there was a whole lot of crap songs in the 70's--terrible, embarrassing songs--one hit wonders. Good God, there was the Osmonds for Christ's sake.

I want to write one good novel in my life. If I can do that; my life will have mattered to me. I learned so much with my first novel. My second--Bang!--it's going to be everything, God willing. And if it is--I won't need it to be published. If I can write one good novel, in my own estimation, I will have beat the world and beat the publishing industry.

I'm nuts and I'm on my fifth drink. All I want is to win at this game.

[althrasher]

Wow. Seriously?

I can't walk out of a bookstore without buying something. Sure, not everything you end up reading is great, but everything you read you can learn from, regardless. And you end up finding a lot of gems by browsing.

Maybe you should realize that the two-line blub on a bookjacket isn't always going to represent a literary masterpiece, even if it is one.

[megan_d]

You whine an awful lot.

[BarbaraKE]

I think the OP has a very good point. I too have often gone in a bookstore looking for a good read and ended up empty-handed. I'm not saying there are no good books but they're certainly hard to find.

I like books that change my perceptions in some way or make me think about things I wouldn't otherwise have thought of. The vast majority of current books are total fluff.

Maybe I'm just in a bad mood tonight because I'm in the middle of a book and just came across the following line...

"The drawing room to which Nur al-Huda led Alix was a high, windowless room, lit by transom windows."

A windowless room lit by transom windows. How amazing.

[SpookyWriter]

I think the OP has a very good point. I too have often gone in a bookstore looking for a good read and ended up empty-handed. I'm not saying there are no good books but they're certainly hard to find.

I like books that change my perceptions in some way or make me think about things I wouldn't otherwise have thought of. The vast majority of current books are total fluff.

Maybe I'm just in a bad mood tonight because I'm in the middle of a book and just came across the following line...

"The drawing room to which Nur al-Huda led Alix was a high, windowless room, lit by transom windows."

A windowless room lit by transom windows. How amazing.:roll: Do you think the writer will earn out their advance with transom windows.

Seriously though, I gave up on some genre reading because not much new stuff was hitting the book store and what did line the back spaces were the same writers I stopped reading years ago.

I like many genre, but I've found the modern horror/suspense writing a bit lalalallaaa. Not much on imagination and most of the stories were just so commercial that it wasn't worth reading.

I've actually gone back to reading J. Conrad, (other classics) for the second and third time since I can't find a lot of good writing hitting the book store shelves lately.

[kuwisdelu]

You're not looking hard enough. Or maybe you don't recognize good when you see it.

I think "Fight Club" is practically a modern classic. But maybe you're looking for something that retains that good ol' classic feel of a tome that just feels important? Maybe some Thomas Pynchon? He came out with a great new book recently. How about some David Foster Wallace? He's pretty damn good. A bit pretentious for some, but hey--I found Orwell dry, boring, and too self-important. Never liked him much. Have you tried Jonathan Safran Foer? If you didn't like Palahniuk's experimentalism, though, you probably won't like him, though. What about something draped in classicy? Try Umberto Eco. "The Name of the Rose" and "Foucault's Pendulum" are great. Or if you want stories like "Fight Club" in a more straightforward, and even more vulgar manner, how about Bukowski? He's dead, but he's still coming out with new poems, and his prose is pretty great, too. Underappreciated in America, but Europe loves him. If you want more Japanese authors with great writing and stories, try Haruki Murakami. Break out the older classics and read some Kerouac. Or maybe, if you want to be occupied for a real long time, do as JBI said and break open "Finnegans Wake." There's lots out there. Just try looking.

Oh. You like Stephen King? Nevermind. There's no hope for you.

[kuwisdelu]

I read the Gospel of John (as we all have) and it changed me.

You mentioned offensive earlier. I find that kind of offensive. Not that you read it and it changed you. But you assume we all have? Some of us have freedom of religion. Thank you, sir.

Hmm. When I was writing my post, some of these hadn't been up yet. John Grisham, eh? Even worse than I thought.

Anyway, I didn't have to learn latin to read Eco. I certainly found him entertaining and life-changing. All Orwell did was put me to sleep.

[Chris Grey]

Book stores and libraries are fantastic places. Generally speaking, you find what you're looking for.

You were looking for something to complain about. You found it. If you had actually been looking for something you'd enjoy reading, no doubt you would've found it.

And, seriously, who quotes Superman III?

[geologism]

That reminds me of all the spoiled rich girls I went to grade school with who had access to any and all clothes they wanted and still complained of having "nothing to wear."

Just pick something up from the library that looks halfway interesting and start reading it. If you don't like it, stop. But you'll never find anything new to read unless you give other writers (especially the myriad writers considered FAR better than Orwell) a chance.

[geologism]

I read the Gospel of John (as we all have) and it changed me.

As WHO all has? I was raised by devout Catholics, and even *I* have never found occasion to read The Gospel of John. What about non-Christians? The presumption that everyone in this forum has read the Bible is probably rather offensive to many people who are reading this post, and I doubt it's garnering you any more sympathy for your inability to read more than a few specific authors.

[Danger Jane]

Dude.

Get off your high horse.

Until YOU are hailed as the modern classic...eat some friggin humble pie. There's tons left over, I just went over a line crit today.

And face it. You cannot realistically become great through self-pubbing.

Everyone here has listed tons of great books, probably enough for a lifetime (especially thanks to Badducky with his "everything by..."). So I won't add to your enormous load of books that ought to make you feel a little less self-important.

The fact is, most published stuff was written by...people like the 17000 members of AW. And I don't think most of us would argue that our prose is flawless...why would any author, or any editor backing up an author?

I don't expect everything I read to be glistening pearls of wisdom. I just let my tolerant internal reader deal with my asshole internal writer.

[TrickyFiction]

You get out what you put in. It's often true of reading, too. I think every book has two authors, the writer and the reader. You fill in the colors. If you find every book you pick up empty... Yeah.

[kristie911]

Oh. You like Stephen King? Nevermind. There's no hope for you.

Ouch...low blow. Keep those gloves up. ;)

I like King...I guess there's no hope for me either. Don't worry, I don't mind. :D

[Zelenka]

Sometimes I wish I could go into a bookstore and find absolutely nothing I wanted to read. That way, maybe I'd have some money for a change.

Somehow I doubt it's ever going to happen, though.

[scarletpeaches]

People hate it when I talk like this, but I can't help it. I went to B&N to get a fiction book. I just finished reading 1984. My wife just finished Animal Farm, so I'm going to read that, but I was looking for a little break from George Orwell--I couldn't find anything to read!...

Dude, them's called novels.

...I won't even pick up a hardback from one of the celebrity fiction writers anymore. I'm so disgusted by their writing abilities and the lack of any substance in their stories that I could puke...

I feel that way about a lot of 'writers' too, and the solution is easy. I don't read them.

(Besides which, many celebrity authors' books are ghosted, which seems dishonest to me, especially when the ghost's name isn't cited on the copyright page).

...I went to the New Writers section, but it was the same old books I had rejected reading a month ago. I go into the asiles to look around and I still only have two choices: junk pop formula fiction or older classics.

Where are the new classics?...

Let the scales fall from your eyes. Go to Borders. Go to a library!

...Anyway, I settled for a non-fiction book: the new revision of The Self-Publishing Manual. I'll read Animal Farm at the same time...

Oh dear. Oh dear, oh dear.

...Anyone else ever have a problem finding something to read?

No. Never.

Seriously. I buy them faster than I can read them. I'm a member of two libraries. So no, I never go short of reading material. I have literally hundreds of books on my TBR pile at home and I'm currently reading more than ten of them.

...Now, I went to the bookstore today and came out with nothing too...

Wish I could do that...

I've never walked into a bookstore without walking out with at least one book.

(Even if I just go to see my books I always end up buying another. Even the one time I just stopped at B&N to use the bathroom....)

Last time I went into Waterstone's for one book; KTC/Sebby/Whatever recommended The Heart is a Lonely Hunter...I came out with five.

I tried that! And while I have no doubt that the writing would be superior, none of the synopsis were interesting to me. Where's the beef! Where's the story and the moral? In our modern times, we cringe at the word "moral" but that's what makes a story worth reading. No story is worth reading just on its own merits. I want someone with bollucks to make a story that's irresistable and a moral that's unacceptable and undeniable at the same time. To quote a line from Superman III: "I ask you to kill Superman, and you can't do that one simple thing."

I've said this before, but...oh dear.

(I've flounced, so I can't respond -- but if you'll look up some of TB's earlier posts, you'll find he's been wonderfully consistent. Not that I said anything, of course. Because I flounced, and I'm not here.)


I wish I knew who posted that message, but they appear to be not here.

That is a good point. I wonder what will make a classic these days? Fifty years from now, I probably won't be alive. (I'm a man and I'm 43). But I don't think it takes that long. 1984 and Animal Farm were realized fairly quickly. They were classics long before 1999. They were classics ten years after they were written. What book is like that today!

I Know This Much is True - Wally Lamb
The Secret History - Donna Tartt
Foucault's Pendulum - Umberto Eco
The Unbearable Lightness of Being - Milan Kundera
White Oleander - Janet Fitch
Possession - AS Byatt
The English Patient - Michael Ondaatje

I could go on but once you've read all of the above, come back to me and I'll set you some more homework.

Oh, and that English/Japanese fella? He just happens to be the bestest writer who ever writed.

His name's Kazuo Ishiguro and I worship the ground he walks on.

People. he likes King and Grisham and quotes Superman to make his point. I think all your suggestions would be over his head. Just saying. Cause, yanno, khaled hosseini would require intelligence.

Ouch!

It is very possible that I'm just not intelligent enough to understand writers like Khaled. But I understood 1984, every word of it. Some of them I had to look up, but not too many. George Orwell (Eric Blair) is very easy to read. I didn't have to study Latin first (ala Umberto Ecco). I didn't struggle with any of the sentences, and his work is earthmoving and hailed as classic. So, I can't be too stupid, though I'm sure I'm fairly stupid.

Thricely I say: oh dear.

Wow. Seriously?

I can't walk out of a bookstore without buying something. Sure, not everything you end up reading is great, but everything you read you can learn from, regardless. And you end up finding a lot of gems by browsing.

Maybe you should realize that the two-line blub on a bookjacket isn't always going to represent a literary masterpiece, even if it is one.

Seems like we both have literary constipation.

We can't pass a book shop.

Ouch...low blow. Keep those gloves up. ;)

I like King...I guess there's no hope for me either. Don't worry, I don't mind. :D

You have to get a hell of a lot more bitchy than that if you want to be like me, friend.

[pepperlandgirl]

Study Latin to read Eco? You do realize that Latin and Spanish are two different languages, right?

[scarletpeaches]

Although Spanish is a Romance language and therefore descended from Latin.

But then again, you could always take the easy way out and buy Eco in translation, like I did... ;)

[seun]

Books are rubbish. Wait for the film to come out.

Oh, has anyone else been reminded of a dear departed friend or is it just me...

[Bubastes]

If I can write one good novel, in my own estimation, I will have beat the world and beat the publishing industry.

I'm nuts and I'm on my fifth drink. All I want is to win at this game.

Dude, it's writing, not the Olympics.

[Bufty]

The original poster may think it's a serious post but it comes across as a joke - and a bad one to boot.

I'm brand-new, and even I was thinking this...is the OP serious? Or is this a joke?

[ChaosTitan]

:popcorn:

[GeorgieB]

We live in a small town many miles north of Phoenix, the nearest city with any book stores at all. Our travels always revolve around stopping at least one of them where we spend lots of $$$ on books and coffee. I would hate to add up the cost of those books (and coffee) that we buy.

A suggestion: wander through the fiction sections; sci-fi, western, romance (yes, romance), mystery/suspense, whatever and pick one from each at random. Sit down and read a couple of pages...you might be surprised at the good reading to be found.

Maybe it's a good thing that we're so far away...our food money might all be spent on reading material.

ps..the caffeine we drink keeps us awake for the long drive home.

[Moon Daughter]

There's always at least one good book out there. It's just impossible to read the jacket on all of them, plus the fact that most of us DO judge by the cover of the book. Who doesn't want a pretty one?!

BTW, Animal Farm and 1984 I think are fantastic books.

[dawinsor]

GeorgieB has a good point about the genre fiction aisles, Tom. If you like Animal Farm and 1984, you might especially consider the science fiction section. After all, that's where those books would probably be shelved if they were published today. Many science fiction novels offer the same kind of social analysis that Orwell's books do.

I don't know what you're most interested in, but I just finished a collection of Lois McMaster Bujold's stories that all involved use of technology that allowed gestation in an artificial uterus. In an afterword, Bujold talks about how she wondered how society might eventually be shaped by technology applied to human reproduction.

That may not speak to you at all, but there are plenty of books that embed such social commentary in an entertaining story.

[Edward G]

You whine an awful lot.

Doesn't everyone?

[Edward G]

Maybe I'm just in a bad mood tonight because I'm in the middle of a book and just came across the following line...

"The drawing room to which Nur al-Huda led Alix was a high, windowless room, lit by transom windows."

A windowless room lit by transom windows. How amazing.

See, that's exactly what I mean. Tell me you're an editor or an agent and you're reading an unpublished manuscript. Please tell me that, because if it's published and I'm not, I think it may be time to join a grassroots anarchy movement.

[Edward G]

You mentioned offensive earlier. I find that kind of offensive. Not that you read it and it changed you. But you assume we all have? Some of us have freedom of religion. Thank you, sir.



Take it easy, pal. Most people who've taken comparative religion, or grew up in the Western World, even if they're Jewish, have come across that rather popular book, The New Testament. I'm not advocating religion to you; I'm not even a Christian. I'm saying that's the kind of writing that moves people.

[Dustry Joe]

A fiction book, huh? As opposed to a novel?

Or a book of short stories. Geez, pick more vulnerable nits.


OP...you are spoiled rotten. Try living somewhere other than Mall World and see if your appreciation changes. I travel almost two hours to visit a used bookstore that would be small by American standards. It's one of only two sources of English books in this state. People get together and swap books. I raid hotel lobbies.

You can walk into a glutton's dream of literature and not find anything to READ???? This says nothing about the store. And certainly not about real writers. It's like signing a confession of personal inadequacy, though.

[Edward G]

As WHO all has? I was raised by devout Catholics, and even *I* have never found occasion to read The Gospel of John. What about non-Christians? The presumption that everyone in this forum has read the Bible is probably rather offensive to many people who are reading this post, and I doubt it's garnering you any more sympathy for your inability to read more than a few specific authors.

I take it back for Christ's sake (pun intended). I won't apologize for mentioning a book of the New Testament. I'm not a Christian, but the Bible is part of world literature, but I certainly do apologize for assuming anyone other than myself has read it.

I guess I'll duck out for awhile.

[Edward G]

Ouch...low blow. Keep those gloves up. ;)

I like King...I guess there's no hope for me either. Don't worry, I don't mind. :D


I don't mind either. Actually, the more I read the happier I am that I have no hope. There's a certain nobility in it. If I have no hope, then I have no worry.

[Edward G]

You can walk into a glutton's dream of literature and not find anything to READ???? This says nothing about the store. And certainly not about real writers. It's like signing a confession of personal inadequacy, though.

I would like to sign my confession now: I am personally inadequate.

I drove by a billboard the other day. It was an ad for a mental hospital in our area. The big face on it looked tired but finally healthy. She actually glares at you with that look that says, "Now I'm even better than you!"

I'm sorry, but I have to laugh at a world where I'm less of a person for not being on antipsychotic medication to help me dress and wash myself.

Therefore, I would like to declare my personal inadequacy. Somehow, again, there is nobility in it.

[Edward G]

I think I'll duck out for a bit and start my next novel, like James suggested. We're traveling to the location tomorrow, and we'll be there for three months. I think it will be a fairly taboo book. No sex, not like that. Taboo in a really socially/religiously critical way. And it could only happen in Texas, where all things that matter happen. Unacceptable but Undeniable, that's my goal. My wife, who's currently adapting my first novel into a screenplay has high hopes for it. She thinks its a book that must be written. I think she's right. I know for me, it's a book that has to be written. Afterwards I might find a little peace inside. Maybe I'll stop whining so much.

[Gray Rose]

Tom - S. King, whom you adore, advocates reading for 4 hours a day. What does this tell you? He has to trouble finding things to read. And he hates some of the books, but he still reads them. Why? Because you learn something from every single one.

Books are like food for the mind. If we were to eat 300$ meals in French restaurants every day, the novelty would wear off pretty quickly. Personally, I don't want to go through the emotional wringer of reading the Brothers Karamazov every single day. I read both high and low. My own writing is never going to be a classic, but there is a certain satisfaction in writing as well as I can on the level I am at.

Sometimes a 5$ Chinese takeout can be amazingly good. Do you know what I mean?
Start eating.

[Bubastes]

Or a book of short stories. Geez, pick more vulnerable nits.


OP...you are spoiled rotten. Try living somewhere other than Mall World and see if your appreciation changes. I travel almost two hours to visit a used bookstore that would be small by American standards. It's one of only two sources of English books in this state. People get together and swap books. I raid hotel lobbies.

You can walk into a glutton's dream of literature and not find anything to READ???? This says nothing about the store. And certainly not about real writers. It's like signing a confession of personal inadequacy, though.

Yep. For another perspective, read Doris Lessing's Nobel Prize acceptance speech:

http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/2007/lessing-lecture_en.html

[DeadlyAccurate]

I don't get the OP. Someone who likes King and Grisham can't find other writers whose work is similar? If he'd said Joyce, I could understand. But King and Grisham? Grab half a dozen other authors' books from where their books are shelved and read the first five pages. You're bound to find another writer.

I like Umberto Eco. I read The Name of the Rose unaware that it was a translation.

[Birol]

Doesn't everyone?

No.

[Danger Jane]

I'm not a Christian, but the Bible is part of world literature, but I certainly do apologize for assuming anyone other than myself has read it.


Actually, you assumed that everyone, including yourself, has read it.

I read the Gospel of John (as we all have)



Is it really THAT likely that everyone (on this board or in the world or whatever you meant by "we") has read the Gospel according to John? Yes, it's a piece of world literature...but um, isn't everything else that's been mentioned on this thread, minus the King and Grisham? And you haven't read any of the previously mentioned stuff, except Orwell. Well, he's pretty cool, but uh...that's a very small window to view the world through, the window of yourself, Stephen King, and George Orwell.


I'll add everything by Virginia Woolf to your list. That should take like, two years.

[Bubastes]

Doesn't everyone?

Uh, no.

[Edward G]

I'll add everything by Virginia Woolf to your list. That should take like, two years.

I really like "Whose Afraid of Virginia Woolf." It's a good drinking movie. But of course it's more than that.

As for Umberto Ecco, not that you mentioned him, but a lot of people have. I have found his work to be pretentious. That's my opinion. I have found that what it's really good for is to say you've read it. Not to actually read it, that would be painful, but to say you've read it and keep a copy on your table for when people come over.

I feel I can say this with impunity since so many have dis'd King and Orwell.

By the way, I've done something I've never done before and that is post something to be critiqued in the SYW area. It's the query (http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=87589) I've been sending out. Maybe someone could look at it and tell me what they think. Agents seem to love it. Not to read, but apparently the text is just enough to give it weight when you ball it up and Michael Jordan it to the wastebasket.

[Zoombie]

If you're looking for a moral and kind find it in most novels then you're not looking very hard. Heck, even a simple, pulpy, mostly comedic book about a werewolf talk show host (Kitty and the Midnight Hour) had a moral.

The moral being: No matter what life throws at you, you gotta keep on going.

Simple moral, but still a good one.

Every single book I've read, from classics to pulps has had a moral. Even STAR TREK has morals. In fact, Star Trek goes as far to bludgion you over the head with the moral.

So, yeah, every book has a moral. And what's great is most of them have good stories too. Some of them don't, but that's why we have these fantastic things called Libraries. At a Library, you can pick up a book and take it home...for FREE. You just have to return it once you've finished it. Quite amazing, really.

So...get off your high horse and start poking through the Sci-fi/fantasy section, becuase that's where all the really good books are. (Says Mr. Sci-fi-is-the-best-genera-man)

[Edward G]

So...get off your high horse and start poking through the Sci-fi/fantasy section, becuase that's where all the really good books are. (Says Mr. Sci-fi-is-the-best-genera-man)

The Sci-Fi I have read has been very good. Starship Troopers, Ferenheit 451. Actually, I've only seen the movie for Starship Troopers, but I think I'll get the book. People don't understand that movie to the depth they should. They often see only the surface--which is the point of the story.

Be that as it may, I do like the RHCP. I used to play the bass and Flea is a god.

[wrinkles]

Friends, you're being jerked around. When it comes to TomBerkeley/GordonJerome/other names here, there's just no there, there.

[SpookyWriter]

By the way, I've done something I've never done before and that is post something to be critiqued in the SYW area. It's the query (http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=87589) I've been sending out. Maybe someone could look at it and tell me what they think. Agents seem to love it. Not to read, but apparently the text is just enough to give it weight when you ball it up and Michael Jordan it to the wastebasket.Tom, I think you have some good query feedback from several members.

[BarbaraKE]

Originally Posted by BarbaraKE http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/images/buttons/viewpost.gif (http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1920003#post1920003)

Maybe I'm just in a bad mood tonight because I'm in the middle of a book and just came across the following line...

"The drawing room to which Nur al-Huda led Alix was a high, windowless room, lit by transom windows."

A windowless room lit by transom windows. How amazing.

See, that's exactly what I mean. Tell me you're an editor or an agent and you're reading an unpublished manuscript. Please tell me that, because if it's published and I'm not, I think it may be time to join a grassroots anarchy movement.

I'll join with you.

Not only is this a published book, it was published in hardcover by an award-winning novelist.

(In all fairness, the author is French and this is a translation. I'll blame the translator. But the American publisher was W. W. Norton. Someone there should have caught it.)

[Provrb1810meggy]

I'll admit that sometimes I will browse the YA section and nothing will really jump out to me, but then I'll come back a week or so later, new books will be there, and I'll find one, two, maybe three things that I want to read.

I'm always sad, though, when I leave the bookstore bookless, but I don't want to buy a book that I'm only iffy about when i read the first few pages. I'd rather check that type of book out at the library.

[Zoombie]

The Sci-Fi I have read has been very good. Starship Troopers, Ferenheit 451. Actually, I've only seen the movie for Starship Troopers, but I think I'll get the book. People don't understand that movie to the depth they should. They often see only the surface--which is the point of the story.

Be that as it may, I do like the RHCP. I used to play the bass and Flea is a god.


Well, the book is mostly Johnny Rico whining about how hard boot camp is. I liked the Forever War more, personally. If you haven't read the Forever War, you haven't lived.

[James D. Macdonald]

Actually, I've only seen the movie for Starship Troopers, but I think I'll get the book.

Dude, you will be very disappointed by the book. The movie was loosely based on the back-cover blurb.

But I notice that most of your examples in your various posts come from movies, not novels.

Do you actually like reading novels? Do you actually like writing them?

Readers can always tell when the author is bored. Readers can always tell when the author holds them in contempt. Both of those are deadly.

Forget agents. Forget editors. Forget bookstores. Remember one thing if you remember nothing else: You are the reader's slave.

There is no one on the face of the earth more selfish than a reader. That reader's first and only question is, "What's in it for me?" If you don't have an answer to that question, a good one, you don't have diddle.

[Paichka]

Actually, I've only seen the movie for Starship Troopers, but I think I'll get the book. People don't understand that movie to the depth they should. They often see only the surface--which is the point of the story.


AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

Oh, my goodness. Lots of people have been accusing you of being...eh...less than honest on this board. Like you're a troll (not the who's-that-trippy-trapping-on-my-bridge variety, but the internet-forum-baiting kind) or something. I was totally with you, though, until this post.

Starship Troopers is an AMAZING exploding heads movie. Probably the best exploding heads movie ever made. It's even got a fun military-fascist vibe going on, and parts of it were slyly brilliant. However (comma) it's so far removed from the book that it's as if the screenwriter wrote the adaption after getting a plot synopsis from a pothead. ("Oh, big frapping spiders and space marines -- let me throw in co-ed showers, that Heinlein crackpot shouldn't mind -- this is box-office gold")

Anyway, whether you are who you say you are or not, there's tons of absolutely wonderful books out right now. I never walk out of barnes & noble without spending at least $200...and it's all mostly fiction. George RR Martin, Jim Butcher, Carol Goodman...one man's trash is another's treasure, I suppose.

cheers,
Britt

[Edward G]

Friends, you're being jerked around. When it comes to TomBerkeley/GordonJerome/other names here, there's just no there, there.

I've said it before, and obviously I can't prove it, but I am who I am. I use my real name, and I've never been in this group under any other name. Please excuse me if I don't entertain this line anymore, since there's really nothing else I can say about it.

Tom, I think you have some good query feedback from several members.

I am eagerly on my way!

[/I]

I'll join with you.

Not only is this a published book, it was published in hardcover by an award-winning novelist.

(In all fairness, the author is French and this is a translation. I'll blame the translator. But the American publisher was W. W. Norton. Someone there should have caught it.)

Well, we can always hold to the hope of a bad translation! I'm going to start Animal Farm tonight. I don't know what I'll read after that. Maybe I'll check out this Forever War mentioned below. If you come accross one you think is worthwhile, please let me know.

Well, the book is mostly Johnny Rico whining about how hard boot camp is. I liked the Forever War more, personally. If you haven't read the Forever War, you haven't lived.

Sounds like a good tip. Thanks.

[Edward G]

Dude, you will be very disappointed by the book. The movie was loosely based on the back-cover blurb.

But I notice that most of your examples in your various posts come from movies, not novels.

Do you actually like reading novels? Do you actually like writing them?

Readers can always tell when the author is bored. Readers can always tell when the author holds them in contempt. Both of those are deadly.

Forget agents. Forget editors. Forget bookstores. Remember one thing if you remember nothing else: You are the reader's slave.

There is no one on the face of the earth more selfish than a reader. That reader's first and only question is, "What's in it for me?" If you don't have an answer to that question, a good one, you don't have diddle.

I hear you on that. I like it. I like it being between me and the reader. I really do care about the reader and respect them. If I'm a storyteller, I am in service to the reader, so I'm with you on that.

As for movies, I see a lot of them, and I like writing. But stories are stories whatever their form, right? I must admit, I don't want to be a mediocere writer. If all I can do is spin yarns for entertainment, I'd rather do something else. I want to change the way the world thinks. I may fail in that, but it's what writing means to me. The best way to do that is with a really good story. It's like with George Orwell, he wrote a lot of political essays and a couple of novels one about living with poor people and one about the Spanish Civil war. He used to write propaganda for Britain during WWII. So, for him, his successful novels (1984 and Animal Farm) came from his strong hatred for communism and his propensity for socialism. That's how it is for me, but my angst leans toward religious systems of power. So for me, writing is serious, and it matters. It's not just entertainment, you know?

As always, thanks for the advice.

[Edward G]

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

Oh, my goodness. Lots of people have been accusing you of being...eh...less than honest on this board. Like you're a troll (not the who's-that-trippy-trapping-on-my-bridge variety, but the internet-forum-baiting kind) or something. I was totally with you, though, until this post.

Starship Troopers is an AMAZING exploding heads movie. Probably the best exploding heads movie ever made. It's even got a fun military-fascist vibe going on, and parts of it were slyly brilliant. However (comma) it's so far removed from the book that it's as if the screenwriter wrote the adaption after getting a plot synopsis from a pothead. ("Oh, big frapping spiders and space marines -- let me throw in co-ed showers, that Heinlein crackpot shouldn't mind -- this is box-office gold")



I can't comment on the book, but only the movie. I honestly believe there's a reason why the people seem so plastic, almost as if lacking real human qualities (Their makeup is even done that way.). The aliens are basically innocent animals defending themselves, and there's a little background news in one scene where it says that a policy of "live and let live" has been abandoned. If you watch it, the abject cruelty of the humans against the aliens is completely out of proportion. When I saw it in the theater, the entire audience clapped when the queen was blown up. But the psychic guy had just announced as if it were a major triumph: It is afraid!

When the audience clapped, it dawned on me right then and there that the entire movie was made to create a response in the audience that exactly mimics the effect of wartime propaganda that causes people to cheer for atrocities.

If the filmmakers didn't intend these things, then a great great story has been made by accident. Seriously, I can pick almost every scene of that movie apart and show that it has a secret agenda going on.

Maybe I should get the book. I mean, if so many miss the point of the movie, perhaps the book is underrated as well. It might be interesting to find out.

Anyway, whether you are who you say you are or not, there's tons of absolutely wonderful books out right now. I never walk out of barnes & noble without spending at least $200...and it's all mostly fiction. George RR Martin, Jim Butcher, Carol Goodman...one man's trash is another's treasure, I suppose.

cheers,
Britt

Cheers

[SpookyWriter]

I can't comment on the book, but only the movie.Yep, and this is where we separate the writer from the cellulite. Good job, Tom. Good luck with the writing.

[Azure Skye]

Books are rubbish. Wait for the film to come out.

Oh, has anyone else been reminded of a dear departed friend or is it just me...


Yeah, you and Cheshire are right, I think.

[kuwisdelu]

I just thought I'd add for the record, Eco is ITALIAN. Though TB was probably referring to the brief passages of Latin in The Name of the Rose. From what I hear, he works closer with his translator than some, which is why the translations of his work is so great. In any case, certainly not everyone's cup of tea. Obviously, some find him pretentious, but I must say I found Foucault's Pendulum a great page turner. For me, it was the definitive version of The Da Vinci Code for anyone with an actual brain.

And if you're into the 1984/Starship Troopers/Stephen King kind of stuff? I'll echo the rest and suggest wandering into the Sci-Fi aisle and picking up something from Neil Gaiman or Neal Stephenson or any of the other recommendations you've received.

And as DangerJane so kindly pointed out, I never had a problem with you suggesting the Bible is a popular title loved by millions--but that's certainly not everyone. Not me, anyway.

[johnzakour]

Feel free to skip mine in the SF aisle and spend your $7.99 elsewhere. I don't normally say this, but my books are admittedly "bubblegum for the brain". Certainly not the type of world changing reads you seem to be searching for.

[Zoombie]

Bubblegum for the brain can have suprising depth.

[johnzakour]

Bubblegum for the brain can have suprising depth.

I like to think so...but it's certainly not world changing.

My books are good fun reads. That's all they are meant to be. (Okay I hope to get you thinking a little.)

Someday I may write that deep rooted SF book about what it means to be human but for now I'm too busy keeping up with deadlines. (I may end up pitching it as a graphic novel for Zuda...)

[Zoombie]

I think trying to write a world changing book is silly. For one, what's world changing for one is borearific to another. Case in point: My best freind's life was changed completely by "The Great Gatsby"

I slept through it. (Yes, you CAN sleep through books).

So, just write a book. If it's world changing, good for you.

[Jon Clinch]

I've got nothing to gain from this one:

Try Finn (http://www.ReadFinn.com).

It was named one of the year's top novels by the Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune, the Christian Science Monitor and Book Sense, and shortlisted for the National Book Critics Circle's Best Recommended List and the Sargent First Novel Prize.

.

[Edward G]

I posted the chapters that I send to agents in the SYW forum: http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=87612 It's the prologue and chapter 1 and 2. I got some good feedback on my query and someone suggested I post chapter 1, so I thought I'd go ahead and post what I send to agents.

[Edward G]

I think trying to write a world changing book is silly. For one, what's world changing for one is borearific to another. Case in point: My best freind's life was changed completely by "The Great Gatsby"

I slept through it. (Yes, you CAN sleep through books).

So, just write a book. If it's world changing, good for you.

Yes, but it's what motivates me as a writer. I want my writing to mean something. I'm not sure my current novel measures up in that respect, but it was my first.

[scarletpeaches]

If you want to create something world-changing, why don't you try writing Bible II - The Messiah Strikes Back?

[choppersmom]

If the main publishers can't put something in B&N I can stand to read, why should I ever let them touch my book? I would like a fat advance check, I admit. But I don't know; I'm getting the feeling the fat advance check costs too much. I don't know.

Costs...what? Learning to write a good book that they will want to publish? Yeah, that's too much of an investment. I'll go with PA, who will publish any crap any hack can slap onto some paper and find enough stamps to mail it in.

Publishers don't publish books that will change YOU. They publish books that will sell. The qualities that make them sell is as diverse a list as the Manhattan White Pages. No one's life has even been changed (as far as I know) by a romance novel. They sell something like 20 BILLION dollars a year. Why? I don't know! I don't know, and I don't care. (Well, I DO know, but it sounds more dramatic this way.) I only want to sell my own, so I write them, and I make the investment in learning how to write them well, so that they will sell. Your standards are way too high if you won't even consider reading a book that doesn't change you, but only entertains you.

I think you need to have a doctor take a look at that tremendous stick you've got wedged in a very private area and just read a good book.

[swvaughn]

I've got nothing to gain from this one:

Try Finn (http://www.ReadFinn.com).

It was named one of the year's top novels by the Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune, the Christian Science Monitor and Book Sense, and shortlisted for the National Book Critics Circle's Best Recommended List and the Sargent First Novel Prize.

.

I'll second that recommendation. :D

[Edward G]

If you want to create something world-changing, why don't you try writing Bible II - The Messiah Strikes Back?


Funny you should say. I guess there's unwitting prophets everywhere.

[IceCreamEmpress]

The modern classics are there, just mixed in with everything else.

The same thing was true fifty years ago. The classics were there -- but mixed in with everything else.

The way you tell something is a classic is that it's still remembered when everything else that came out the same year is forgotten.

This is so, so important.

When I was teaching Modern American Literature, I used to bring in the bestsellers lists in to astound the students with all of the totally forgotten authors who outsold Hemingway and Fitzgerald by the truckload.

Sure, Steinbeck's East of Eden was a bestseller in 1952. But so was the overwritten historical/religious epic The Silver Chalice by Thomas B. Costain. Meanwhile, Flannery O'Connor's Wise Blood didn't make any lists, but may have been the most influential novel published that year.

As for life-changing books with a moral, that I would recommend to someone whose favorite author is Stephen King, that were published in 2007:


The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz;
Returning to Earth by Jim Harrison;
The Beautiful Things that Heaven Bears by Dinaw Mengestu;
Tree of Smoke by Denis Johnson;
Bridge of Sighs by Richard Russo.

All of these books are written in an accessible style and deal with the big issues. In fact, reading all of Richard Russo would be a great move for any King fan--Russo deals with the same blue-collar characters, but his folks are grappling with real-life dilemmas instead of the supernatural. Russell Banks and Jon Hassler are two other great writers who write about guys in hardscrabble towns facing tough decisions.

[blacbird]

Reading this thread has injured my soul.

caw

[scarletpeaches]

I didn't know you had one blacbird?

McCaw.