Since I last wrote an entry on the books I read (which was back in February of 2012), I've since racked up pretty solid list of reading accomplishments. Here's the list, which I'll just mention now and perhaps I'll write up some reviews of the books down the road. But if you've read any of these books, please feel free to leave a comment on what you thought on any of them and I'd be happy to engage in a comment exchange with you:
William Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury (a re-read for me): Grade A+. [All I need to say is that Faulkner is a genius.]
James Agee's A Death in the Family: Grade A [One of the best depictions of dealing with grief in reaction to an unexpected and sudden death that I've ever read. Also a Pulitzer winner.]
Elaine Dundy's The Dud Avocado: Grade B. [I picked this to read because the title intrigued me. And it's a fun read, with some clever writing moments, but nothing that truly stands out as exceptional.]
Dan Baum's Nine Lives: Death and Life in New Orleans: Grade B-. [Most folks find this work interesting and well-written; but I weary of the essentializing of New Orleans in ways this book does. It's not alone in this practice, but I just get more and more turned off by depictions of my city through the kinds of lenses that books like this one provide.]
Sybille Bedford's A Favourite of the Gods: Grade B. [The writing is good and the storyline is interesting, but it's a kind of genre piece of European aristocratic casualness that doesn't resonate with me.]
Teju Cole's Open City: Grade B. [It tries much too hard to be contemporary literary hip. It also has a bit of hip pretentiousness about it that doesn't appeal to me; but the idea of writing reflections that come from the meanderings of a Manhattanite through the streets of the city is an intriguing one.]
Paul Harding's Tinkers: Grade C-. [Another Pulitzer winner, but one that I just never did get. I couldn't ever find meaning in the story and at times the plot seemed to be very labored and forced. There were a few redeeming moments, but none that could save the book. Not sure why it won the Pulitzer.]
L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: Grade C+. [Since it's a timeless children's classic, I thought I'd give it a go. It's an easy read, but a bit too simplistic. The story is not as engaging or clever, and lacks the kind of human touch, as is the Judy Garland movie.]
William Faulkner's Absalom, Absalom!: Grade A+. [Again, all I can say is that Faulkner is a bona-fide genius.]
Michael Chabon's A Model World and Other Stories: Grade B. [I love Chabon, but this is not his best work. It starts out very slowly, but the stories pick up and gather momentum in the second half when it really turns into a bit of a novella. I think Chabon is a much better novel writer than a short story writer. But, I do admit, as usual with Chabon, the writing itself is superb in style.]
Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray: Grade B. [Another classic I just had to pick up. I can see why it would enter the realm of the classics for its kind of radicalness in its day; but the story itself, though quite unique in its premise, does fall into a bit of that late 19th, early 20th century tediousness.]
John Kennedy Toole's A Confederacy of Dunces (another re-read for me): Grade C-. [Another Pulitzer winner that I don't think deserves the award. I remember thinking it to be funny and clever when I first read it years ago in college; but having read it again as a more seasoned middle-aged guy, I found it to be just crude and vulgar. I rarely got a chuckle at all at the gross and absurd shenanigans of Ignatius Reilly and his awful cast of supporting characters.]
Herman Melville's Moby Dick: Grade B+. [I finally got to this American classic and can now click it off my literature bucket list. I read it in its complete, unabridged form. It's remarkable for its depiction of whaling and of the anatomy of the sperm whale in such fine detail. The plot of the Pequod's voyage and Ahab's drama is only about 15% of the novel, and it's o.k., though not as good as one is always led to believe it is. Nevertheless, I do think Melville is a great American writer and this work is worthy of being read.]
Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl: Grade B+. [I'm usually not one for crime/mystery novels; but this one is well-written, clever, and fun to read. But I do have to say that the character personalities are quite disturbing.]
Elizabeth Strout's Olive Kitteridge: Grade A-. [Another Pulitzer winner and a collection of short stories. Well-written and very well-developed characters. I think it deserved the Pulitzer. The themes of the stories can be depressing, but the way the stories are told comes across as gentle and warming, even if they are not necessarily fun stories.]
Heinrich Boll's The Clown: Grade B. [A Nobel winning author. This is perhaps his most famous work. It's heavy going and can be tedious at times, but you can definitely appreciate the talent of the author. The main character and the plot can be wearying to contend with, but the theme of the oppression of conventional religion is interesting in its portrayal.]
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