You Pick My Next Book
So I’ve had a lot of trouble recently finding great books to read. Sure, I really liked Call Me by Your Name and The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, but it seems like I’ve been quitting a lot of books and it’s kind of bothering me. I used to read on until the end no matter what. The most recent victim? Duma Key by the venerable Stephen King. I’ve written before about how weird it is to not be such a huge fan of his books when I love his book about writing, On Writing. But that’s just the way it is.
With Duma Key, the book is around 600 pages long and I got all the way to around 450 and it just started falling apart (maybe because I started it in Aruba?). The dialog got super cheesy (I don’t think King can write a woman’s voice very well, at least not in this book) and there are some disturbing references that imply a little bit of a sexual tension between the father and his young daughter, which is fucked up in a way Kind probably didn’t mean to. The whole thing just because unbearable and so I quit it two days ago.
Which brings us to why you’re here, trusty reader: To pick out the next book I’m going to read.
I debated on whether to just open up the floor to any suggestions but I also want to give some direction. So I’ll list some books I’ve been considering (or that I own and haven’t read), and if you guys want to write in a brand-new book that you REALLY REALLY like, then go ahead. If other people vote for it that’s what I’ll read.
I’m entrusting you with an important job, so please do me a huge favor and pick a good one. Here is a list of books I like to kind of give you an idea. Some of my favorite novels include Middlesex, Confederacy of Dunces, and Catch-22.
You can also check out my Amazon store to see which books I recommend.
Now that all that is over with, here are the books I’m considering reading next. I’m picking them based solely on the fact that I have them on my bookshelf and haven’t gotten to them yet, but I’d like to make this a regular feature and next time I’ll pick books from anywhere.
On to the poll (byw, I tried using a fancy poll plugin for this and it was giving me a headache so we’re going old school: all voting will be done in the comments section):
- Gravity’s Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon
- Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
- The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
- Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri
- None of the above: write in your own favorite book in the comments section
Please vote and tell your friends—the more votes the better I’ll feel about the pick!
April 4th, 2008 at 7:51 am
I’ve never heard of any of these books. What about something by Bill James to honor baseball season?
April 4th, 2008 at 8:35 am
I’d recommend The Kite Runner. It’s got an interesting story and is a great window into another culture and recent history in Afghanistan. I wouldn’t say it’s great literature, and I thought there were a few problems with voice, but I had a good time reading this.
The others on your list I haven’t read…
April 4th, 2008 at 8:36 am
I enjoyed The Idiot in a strange sort of way. If you’ve seen it and think you might like it, then I’d recommend it.
April 4th, 2008 at 9:32 am
Interpreter of Maladies is a great read, and gets my vote. Especially if you think the book-quitting has to do with attention span: I find the short-story format conducive to subway reading (I’ve been reading short stories lately, by Edith Wharton and Paul Auster).
April 4th, 2008 at 12:35 pm
Maybe I’ll do a more baseball-specific poll later on, but right now I’m in the mood for a great novel.
April 4th, 2008 at 9:45 pm
Interpreter of Maladies
And I’ll tell you why:
(1) Winner of Pulitzer
(2) Jhumpa Lahiri = Brilliant Novelist
(3) I read it in one night
I also LOVE The Namesake (it’s my favorite of all time, in fact).
April 5th, 2008 at 7:11 am
I loved The Namesake too so that’s why it’s on the bookshelf to begin with. She is really good.
April 8th, 2008 at 8:21 am
I would cast my second vote for Interpreter. However I think of it less as a “book” and more as a collection of short stories. But the short stories are superb.
April 12th, 2008 at 6:07 am
[...] I don’t know what I expected when I had my “readers” pick my next book, but in my dreams I hoped hundreds of people would be compelled by this incredibly original idea [...]
May 15th, 2008 at 5:21 am
[...] the first “pick my book” event is finally over now that I’ve finished the book and am reviewing it. Overall, there are [...]