In no particular order:
1. Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger.
I prefer having this one near me at all times.
2. A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, Don Miller.
Says Don: "The stories we tell ourselves are very different from the stories we tell the world." His stories are the most brutally honest I know. I read them and I say, "Ouch. Yes. I've done that too."
3. Stuff Christians Like, Jonathan Acuff.
For instance: side hugs, occasionally swearing, and ranking honeymoon sex slightly higher than the second coming of Christ. Brilliant.
4. Hunger, Lan Samantha Chang.
For the two hours that it took me to read this book, I forgot I existed.
5. The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism, Timothy Keller.
This book saved my faith. Along with Andrew Bird, Spike Jonze, and about a billion other things, of course.
6. The Wild Things, Dave Eggers.
Oh, Dave.
7. The Hot Zone: A Terrifying True Story, Richard Preston.
This is about germs and diseases and stuff. It's been on my nightstand since Christmas. I can't bring myself to read it.
8. Hamlet.
9. The Lost World of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate, John H. Walton.
I haven't read this one either.
10. Nine Stories, J.D. Salinger.
Read "To Esme with Love and Squalor." Reread. Repeat.
11. A Year with C.S. Lewis.
This man is my literary father.
12. The Problem of Pain, C.S. Lewis.
"Try to exclude the possibility of suffering, which the order of nature and the existence of free wills involve, and you will find that you have excluded life itself."
So that's it. That's my nightstand. At present, the Where the Wild Things Are and Fantastic Mr. Fox DVDs live there too.
My literary brain is still eaten up by the senior project. But it'll be done soon. And hopefully, my creative f-a-c-u-l-t-i-e-s will remain intact.
1. Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger.
I prefer having this one near me at all times.
2. A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, Don Miller.
Says Don: "The stories we tell ourselves are very different from the stories we tell the world." His stories are the most brutally honest I know. I read them and I say, "Ouch. Yes. I've done that too."
3. Stuff Christians Like, Jonathan Acuff.
For instance: side hugs, occasionally swearing, and ranking honeymoon sex slightly higher than the second coming of Christ. Brilliant.
4. Hunger, Lan Samantha Chang.
For the two hours that it took me to read this book, I forgot I existed.
5. The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism, Timothy Keller.
This book saved my faith. Along with Andrew Bird, Spike Jonze, and about a billion other things, of course.
6. The Wild Things, Dave Eggers.
Oh, Dave.
7. The Hot Zone: A Terrifying True Story, Richard Preston.
This is about germs and diseases and stuff. It's been on my nightstand since Christmas. I can't bring myself to read it.
8. Hamlet.
9. The Lost World of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate, John H. Walton.
I haven't read this one either.
10. Nine Stories, J.D. Salinger.
Read "To Esme with Love and Squalor." Reread. Repeat.
11. A Year with C.S. Lewis.
This man is my literary father.
12. The Problem of Pain, C.S. Lewis.
"Try to exclude the possibility of suffering, which the order of nature and the existence of free wills involve, and you will find that you have excluded life itself."
So that's it. That's my nightstand. At present, the Where the Wild Things Are and Fantastic Mr. Fox DVDs live there too.
My literary brain is still eaten up by the senior project. But it'll be done soon. And hopefully, my creative f-a-c-u-l-t-i-e-s will remain intact.
E -
ReplyDeleteThat "F-a-c-u-l-t-i-e-s" closing made me laugh out loud. I think you wrote that bit for me. And yes, I've read and re-read that story. There's a single line in the very beginning that's always confused me. I'll try to dig it up and ask you about it later.
I'm also a fan of "Teddy," and I might be one of the few people on earth who really enjoyed "The Laughing Man." I've always loved the mention of the Paris/Chinese border and the weird, jumbled tie to Victor Hugo.
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ReplyDeleteSusan-
ReplyDeleteI did write it for you. And you know we both like "Teddy."
As for "Laughing Man," I had such a hard time picturing what the guy looked like that I spent the whole story distracted. But I did like the bit with the lady and the baby carriage. That was weird enough to be true.
Salinger's the kind of guy you read and go, "Okay. I get it. Wait, what?"
I think that's why I like him. I'm still trying to figure out "A Perfect Day for Bananafish."
...okay, I think my blog just pitched a hissy fit.
ReplyDeleteOoh! I liked this post. I wish I had a list half as interesting....
ReplyDeleteLong response: Apologies in advance to all the Anonanimal readership.
ReplyDeleteI've got an idea about "A Perfect Day for Bananafish," but years ago I looked into some literary criticism on that story, and I was surprised to find that hardly anyone seemed to agree with my perspective. ("Hardly" is the key word here because I did find an essay by someone who read it the way I did - but his essay sounded nutzo.) Ask me about it in person some time 'cause the blog walls have ears.
Regarding our Laughing Man...
For a mental image (and I may be wrong about this because it's been a few years since I've read Salinger's story), I think the reference is to Victor Hugo's "The Man Who Laughs." There was a film version in 1927 (http://img.movieberry.com/static/photos/20660/3_midi.jpg), and I suppose there could also be a pop-culture tie to the horrifying story of Elizabeth Short (dubbed "Black Dahlia") who was murdered in 1943. (Salinger's story was published 5 years later.) The Joker also made his first comic book appearance in 1940, and his look was CLEARLY based on Conrad Veidt (who played the Man Who Laughs in the movie).
If you go the Joker route for your mental image, you will find no better story than Alan Moore's Killing Joke, featuring beautiful illustrations by Brian Bolland.
Ahhh, all of those explanations make so much sense. Thank you. And never apologize for long responses.
ReplyDeleteWhile we're in the vein of demystification, the other of the Nine that I couldn't wrap my head around was "Down at the Dinghy." I really wanted to like that one. I really did. But there were a couple lines in it that hinted either at molestation or harmless parental affection. In other words, I couldn't decide if the mother was really, really friendly, or just a creep.
I like A Perfect Day for Banana Fish in Salinger's Nine Short Stories. Not sure I understand it, but I like it, nevertheless.
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