K, need your suggestions CG'ers

[Mormon Red Death]

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.

its more than the pretentious bullshit... for the life of me I cannot see why Joyce is so revered

[landpoke]

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

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

That appears to be a 20th century list.

As for the reader's choice list, looks like the Objectivists and Scientologists have been engaging in a bit of ballot box stuffing for their respective cults.

[Archaea]

Why do we not speak more of DH Lawrence? Other than a quote or two, I rarely see his name mentioned.

[MikeWaters]

Here's another best list from Time:
http://www.time.com/time/2005/100boo...lete_list.html

I note that John LeCarre made this list.

[TripletDaddy]

Originally Posted by 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."

Michener is wordy, no doubt. The old adage...he writes by the pound.

Is the Shogun you reference the basis for the old 80s miniseries?

[Archaea]

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

Here's another best list from Time:
http://www.time.com/time/2005/100boo...lete_list.html

I note that John LeCarre made this list.

These lists make me feel unread, uneducated. I'll shrink back into my hole now.

[MikeWaters]

Originally Posted by TripletDaddy

Michener is wordy, no doubt. The old adage...he writes by the pound.

Is the Shogun you reference the basis for the old 80s miniseries?

Yes, miniseries based on the book.

King Rat was made into an old movie. I really liked King Rat when I read it in high school (?). It's about American POWs in a Japanese-run camp. It's a fascinating study of psychology.

[landpoke]

On the Road is another good summer read. I can't believe I didn't think of that before.

Since you're single a bit of advice: Giving a perspective Ms. Right (or Ms. Right Now as the case may be) a copy of On the Road is a sure way not to get any. I know it will seem like a good idea at the time (Jack K. is sneaky that way) but it's not. Kerouac is quite possibly the most powerful anti-aphrodisiac known to man.

[MikeWaters]

Rocky, I guarantee you will like "The Spy who came in from the Cold" by John LeCarre. It's on the Time top 100 list, and it is, like the title suggests, a spy novel.

It's a good way to be thorougly entertained in a low-brow fashion, but reading a high-brow book. The author actually worked for British intelligence service before he wrote the book.

[bigpiney]

Originally Posted by TripletDaddy

Michener is wordy, no doubt. The old adage...he writes by the pound.

Is the Shogun you reference the basis for the old 80s miniseries?

not so interesting fact: Michener's nephew is the high priest group leader in my ward.

I just finished The Stand. Great book.

Rocky - I would recommend David Copperfield. Definitely my favorite Dickens. Great book.