K, need your suggestions CG'ers

[MikeWaters]

Anything by Steinbeck or Hemingway would be good.

Everytime I have read Steinbeck, I have thought "this guy is amazing, why doesn't he get more credit?"

I think Steinbeck is arguably America's greatest writer ever.

[Mormon Red Death]

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

Anything by Steinbeck or Hemingway would be good.

Everytime I have read Steinbeck, I have thought "this guy is amazing, why doesn't he get more credit?"

I think Steinbeck is arguably America's greatest writer ever.

thankfully you didnt say faulkner... IMO the most overrated american writer

[cougjunkie]

Of Mice and Men.

[landpoke]

Wait...Atlas Shrugged?

I know I'll be mocked for my lowbrow tastes and lack of Utah education, but I'd suggest Lonesome Dove.

[UteStar]

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

Anything by Steinbeck or Hemingway would be good.

I always enjoy Hemingway...his style is simple and effortless. I just finished 'Garden of Eden' and it was naughty and interesting and ahead of its time for when he first began writing it.

I agree with Triplet, Catcher and the Rye is fabulous as well. Catch 22 is also a rather entertaining read.

You probably wouldn't consider it 'classic' due to being a rather recent work, but 'Team of Rivals' is an interesting look at Lincoln and his contemporaries.

[TripletDaddy]

Originally Posted by Clark Addison

I'll have to give Catcher another try. When I read it, I thought Holden was an insufferable prick, but that was in High School.

I guess it just depends on your childhood and how you grew up as a teenager.

For a lot of middle America, Holden is simply a work of pure fiction. For many young readers, Holden is the first real protagonist that represents the teen experience....the culture of divorce, parental alienation, distrust of authority, sexual frustration, ambivalence towards the future, etc..

Maybe that is why I laughed so much when I read the book. The guy often said things that I had personally thought in my own head....especially his distaste for phoniness.

[MikeWaters]

http://www.randomhouse.com/modernlib...estnovels.html

I've not read the vast majority of the supposed 100 best novels recommended by Modern Library.

I think it is unconscionable that Twain is not on that list.

I started reading Portrait of a Young Artist by Joyce. I really, really tried to like it. But finally I gave in to the overwhelming impression that it was pretentious bullshit.

[TripletDaddy]

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

Anything by Steinbeck or Hemingway would be good.

Everytime I have read Steinbeck, I have thought "this guy is amazing, why doesn't he get more credit?"

I think Steinbeck is arguably America's greatest writer ever.

This is very true.

Steinbeck is amazing. Not just OMAM, but Grapes, Cannery, Sweet Thursday, and Tortilla Flat.

Another American author that I think is pretty amazing...James Michener. I did a book report on "Hawaii," which made me want to read "Texas." Later, I read "Poland." I need to pick up another one of his books soon.

[MikeWaters]

I think Michener is too wordy. Whereas Hemingway and Steinbeck write sparingly, in almost poetry.

If you want to get more pulpy like Michener, I would recommend Clavell's "Shogun" or "King Rat."

[Archaea]

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

http://www.randomhouse.com/modernlib...estnovels.html

I've not read the vast majority of the supposed 100 best novels recommended by Modern Library.

I think it is unconscionable that Twain is not on that list.

I started reading Portrait of a Young Artist by Joyce. I really, really tried to like it. But finally I gave in to the overwhelming impression that it was pretentious bullshit.

Why do people like Joyce?

I have not finished a single work authored by him. It must be my low brow sense of art as his style grates on me.

I've read more of the Readers' Choices than the Board's Choices.