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Jan. 23rd, 2006 09:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
hannibalvThis one goes out to the readers (![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
boldmoves and spygrl1, I'm particularly looking in your direction):
So about the only real upside to my job at this point is that it gives me many, many hours of virtually uninterrupted reading time. I've put away more books (and more really good books) in the past two months than I did in the previous ten (and if pressed, I'll provide a list and bullet reviews). My concern is this: I'm about 15 pages into Philip Roth's The Plot Against America. And I'm DIGGING it. Here's the thing: I'm quite aware of the accusations of misogyny against Roth, and, well, I feel guilty about enjoying his stuff. So here's my question: what's my penance? What/who do I read next? Zadie Smith? Marilynne Robinson? Help a brother out!
boldmoves and spygrl1, I'm particularly looking in your direction):So about the only real upside to my job at this point is that it gives me many, many hours of virtually uninterrupted reading time. I've put away more books (and more really good books) in the past two months than I did in the previous ten (and if pressed, I'll provide a list and bullet reviews). My concern is this: I'm about 15 pages into Philip Roth's The Plot Against America. And I'm DIGGING it. Here's the thing: I'm quite aware of the accusations of misogyny against Roth, and, well, I feel guilty about enjoying his stuff. So here's my question: what's my penance? What/who do I read next? Zadie Smith? Marilynne Robinson? Help a brother out!
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no subject
Date: 2006-01-24 12:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-01-24 02:31 pm (UTC)If I really wanted to punish you, I would tell you to read Slammerkin. I'm not sure why I read that thorough waste of a novel, and I'm not sure if its suckage will ever be completely rinsed from my mind.
But to counter Roth, why not read a good female author? Some of my recent favorites are:
What Was She Thinking? by Zoe Heller
The Book of Salt by Monique Truong
Runaway by Alice Munro (just about anything by Alice Munro, really)
The Missing World by Margot Livesay
Maybe A Working Girl Can't Win and other poems by Deborah Garrison would be a particularly apt counterweight ...
no subject
Date: 2006-01-24 04:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-01 05:38 am (UTC)The good news is that after I'm done with Tent, I'm going back to Roth (most likely for Portnoy's Complaint), which means I'll need something after that...
Here's the thing: Plot Against America was absolutely soulshredding (in the best possible way). I'm actually going to do Julie and Julia (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/031610969X/qid=1138771014/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/002-5787390-7928002?v=glance&s=books) first just because I can't conceive of doing something with any weight to it after Plot. People of Earth, go read it now.
no subject
Date: 2006-03-15 02:36 pm (UTC)