Recommended Authors (a smattering):
Fiction:
T.C. Boyle (any of his novels, but especially Road to Wellville and Water Music). As for fiction, I prefer the novel over the short story, but Boyle's short fiction is hard to put down). Eagerly awaiting his next, a foray into science fiction this fall called The Terranauts, due out this fall.
Paul Auster (anything), but especially The Music of Chance, New York Trilogy, and Leviathan. More recently, his non-fiction memoir Report from the Interior is a fascinating look at his early life(we were both born in Newark, New Jersey; but so were Philip Roth and Stephen Crane)
Don Delillo. I like all his stuff but his masterpiece is Underworld.
Alex Kudera. Like myself, Alex is a beleaguered adjunct, who had the inspiration to write a novel about a day in the life of an adjunct, entitled Fight for your Long Day. My review of his novel appears on Amazon and an abridged version in the Journal of American Studies
(University of Kansas). Alex has just released a second novel
Lionel Shriver. One of my recent discoveries. Great prose stylist who tackles serious subjects through social criticism: So Much for That, We Need to Talk About Kevin (film version made in 2011). Just ordered Big Brother, which is my reading queue.
Non-fiction:
Morris Berman. I discovered Mr. Berman quite by accident walking through a brick and mortar bookstore, when I spotted a stack of slim volumes on a table. The title, The Twilight of American Culture, stopped me dead in my tracks. It actually forms the first of a trilogy: the second and third volumes entitled, Dark Ages America and Why America Failed. These are bitter pills to swallow, but Dr. Berman presents some compelling arguments. Dr. Berman has just tackled a short novel, The Man Without Qualities.
Thomas C. Foster. (University of Michigan). Along similar lines, I spotted an interesting title, How to Read Literature Like a Professor. I thought I'd see if Professor Foster could give me any ideas. Two basic simple questions form the foundation of his methodology:
"where have I seen that before and when is something like something else?" One of the recurring problems with college students in literature classes is they don't know what to write about. Foster states that comparisons invite commentary and then we have something to write about.
Barbara Ehrenreich. Nickel and Dimed is a fascinating first-hand look at the working poor's increasing difficulties in surviving with stagnant wages as prices for every day necessities rise. Bright-sided: How Positive Thinking is Undermining America is also a fascinating read.
Other notable works since last year:
Jonathan Franzen's Freedom. Interesting, sprawling story that captures the spirit and moral bankruptcy of the first decade of 21st century America. It can be described as a fictional depiction of Berman's Why America Failed. I had been reading Defoe's Journal of the Plague Year, but I frankly got bored. I may go back to it. Life of Pi (film was excellent, too); Pat Conroy's Death of Santini; Jules Verne's Mysterious Island (1960s film version was a childhood favorite); Carl Hiassen's Chomp; What's the Matter with Kansas by Thomas Frank (a documentary of this exists).
Fiction:
T.C. Boyle (any of his novels, but especially Road to Wellville and Water Music). As for fiction, I prefer the novel over the short story, but Boyle's short fiction is hard to put down). Eagerly awaiting his next, a foray into science fiction this fall called The Terranauts, due out this fall.
Paul Auster (anything), but especially The Music of Chance, New York Trilogy, and Leviathan. More recently, his non-fiction memoir Report from the Interior is a fascinating look at his early life(we were both born in Newark, New Jersey; but so were Philip Roth and Stephen Crane)
Don Delillo. I like all his stuff but his masterpiece is Underworld.
Alex Kudera. Like myself, Alex is a beleaguered adjunct, who had the inspiration to write a novel about a day in the life of an adjunct, entitled Fight for your Long Day. My review of his novel appears on Amazon and an abridged version in the Journal of American Studies
(University of Kansas). Alex has just released a second novel
Lionel Shriver. One of my recent discoveries. Great prose stylist who tackles serious subjects through social criticism: So Much for That, We Need to Talk About Kevin (film version made in 2011). Just ordered Big Brother, which is my reading queue.
Non-fiction:
Morris Berman. I discovered Mr. Berman quite by accident walking through a brick and mortar bookstore, when I spotted a stack of slim volumes on a table. The title, The Twilight of American Culture, stopped me dead in my tracks. It actually forms the first of a trilogy: the second and third volumes entitled, Dark Ages America and Why America Failed. These are bitter pills to swallow, but Dr. Berman presents some compelling arguments. Dr. Berman has just tackled a short novel, The Man Without Qualities.
Thomas C. Foster. (University of Michigan). Along similar lines, I spotted an interesting title, How to Read Literature Like a Professor. I thought I'd see if Professor Foster could give me any ideas. Two basic simple questions form the foundation of his methodology:
"where have I seen that before and when is something like something else?" One of the recurring problems with college students in literature classes is they don't know what to write about. Foster states that comparisons invite commentary and then we have something to write about.
Barbara Ehrenreich. Nickel and Dimed is a fascinating first-hand look at the working poor's increasing difficulties in surviving with stagnant wages as prices for every day necessities rise. Bright-sided: How Positive Thinking is Undermining America is also a fascinating read.
Other notable works since last year:
Jonathan Franzen's Freedom. Interesting, sprawling story that captures the spirit and moral bankruptcy of the first decade of 21st century America. It can be described as a fictional depiction of Berman's Why America Failed. I had been reading Defoe's Journal of the Plague Year, but I frankly got bored. I may go back to it. Life of Pi (film was excellent, too); Pat Conroy's Death of Santini; Jules Verne's Mysterious Island (1960s film version was a childhood favorite); Carl Hiassen's Chomp; What's the Matter with Kansas by Thomas Frank (a documentary of this exists).