Hello All, I'm new to Palimpsest

[Oryx]

My u/n is Oryx and so you can probably guess what will appear on my top ten books. I'm also Canadian and so hail from the Coalition of the Unwilling.

:wink:

I found this group by googling Palimpsest while researching a paper on PoMo.

Forgive the format of this if its funny,; I need time to get a grip on the tools.

My (current) top ten reads are:

Oryx and Crake, Margaret Atwood
Absalom, Absalom, William Faulkner
The Known World, Edwrd P. Jones
Beloved, Toni Morrison
Yellow Dog, Martin Amis
Madame Bovary, Gustave Flaubert (recently reread)
Cold Mountain, J. Frazier
Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver
Midnight's Children, Salmon Rushdie
Of the Classics and sort of Classics:


Of Human Bondage
The Good Soldier
Sister Carrie
Vanity Fair
Middlemarch
Bleak House
Madame Bovary
The Sound and the Fury
Alice in Wonderland
American Dream




Of the Popular Fiction and perhaps to become classic

(the trilogy in my opinion) of "Garp", Cider House Rules, A Prayer for Owen Meany, John Irving,
The Girl Who Loved Tom GordonStephen King,
Everything by Margaret Atwood,
Radiant Way, Margaret Drabble

Of a Parochial Nature (Canadian)

Famous Last Words and Not Wanted on The Voyage, Timothy Findley
Fall on Your Knees, Anne Marie MacDonald
Fallen Angels, Barbara Gowdy
The Stone Angel, Mararet Laurence
Fifth Business and What's Bred in the Bone, Robertson Davies


Okay, that's enough of me for now!

Oryx

[Maggie]

I liked your lists. There were a couple of fiction books, on your list, that are runners up for my top ten. (which changes as the years go by) One of them is "Cold Mountian" I loved that book and have been waiting for Frazier to publish another novel. He said it took him ten years to write "Cold Mountian" so I may have to wait a while.
"Poisonwood Bible" is another outstanding book. Forgot about that one when I was making my list. I also liked "The Known World" It was different and intriguing. Anything by Toni Morrison is good, as is anything by Margaret Atwood. I think my favorite Atwood is "Cat's Eye" with "Alias Grace" running a close second.
John Irving is one of my favorite authors, so is Anne Marie MacDonald. As for the classics..........I like Dickens but I haven't read many others.

Too many good books out there to come up with a top TEN. Maybe after a person has read enough the number of allowable favorites should be expanded :D
Thanks for sharing.

[John Self]

A warm welcome, Oryx. Your classics list is pretty daunting: I've tried and failed to get on well with Middlemarch, Madame Bovary, The Good Soldier and The Sound and the Fury - all books I ended up filing under 'admired' rather than 'liked.' However I have kept them all for revisiting in the (doubtless vain) hope that my attention span will have increased in the future. Oddly enough I had Of Human Bondage in my hand in a bookshop today, having enjoyed The Razor's Edge some years ago.

I've never heard of Sister Carrie or American Dream; can you expand?

As for Bleak House, as I'm clearly the only person now on this site who hasn't read it, I'd better go and take down a brick from my bookshelves...

[Colyngbourne]

Hi, and welcome!
Weirdly, out of my teenage Maugham-fest, virtually the only one I didn't read was Of Human Bondage, which is probably his best-known. I hope it's not one of those it's best to read at a certain age, as I would like to revisit some of his.

Really good lists! :D I like M. Atwood too, but I haven't begun Oryx and Crake yet - it's on my To Read shelf.

[Oryx]

Thankyou all for the welcome.

My top ten changes about once every six months abd so that is why I call it current.

Please DO try at least Faulkner again. I found him very difficult to read at first, but pushed myself through the Sound and the Fury. It actually took three readings over about 6 months to really "get it", but when I did, it changed the way I read. Once I understood the structure, it enabled me to approach Modern literature in a whole new way, and therefore (I believe) understand modern novels better. I still find Joyce, at least Ulysses, confounding, but maybe one day...

Sister Carrie , published 1900, was written by Theodore Dreiser, an American writer. He reminds me very much of Maugham in his themes, and he has been touted as the novelist to lead American literature out of the Victorian Era.

The American Dream is by Norman Mailer, published around 1964, and I was very surprised to find myself putting him on my list. I say that, because for years I avoided Mailer because of his macho reputation and the stupid public feud he had going with Gore Vidal over who was America's premier scribe. But I figure I couldn't be truly well read without at least one shot at Mailer and I was blown away. I have since read that the American Dream is considered to be his worst novel and so I guess I will be reading more.

As for reading Of Human Bondage, I believe that it can be read at any age. I have read it three times, once in my teens-I too went through a teenage Maugham frenzy-again in my twenties an then again about two years ago. It seems to be one of those books that I end up reading every decade or so. Although I would agree that there are some books, even clasics, that only work for a certain age group. Catcher in the Rye for example. I read that in high school and recently reread it, only to be kind of dissappointed. It was nowhere nearly as good as I remembered it.

Looking through the other lists on this thread, it strikes me that my favourites are quite North American compared to many others, especially in the more contemporary works. I'm happy to have found a list where I can get recommendations for good contemporary English literature and not have to depend on the obscure Booker prize nominees.

Bye for now,

Oryx

[Digger]

I further the welcomes and good lists of previous posts... I have to say that Margaret Atwood has never really grabbed me, Alias Grace drove me up the wall!

However, hooray for Robertson Davies, B Kingsolver and Toni Morrison, plus lots of the others! Oh, John S, by the way I too have never read Bleak House :oops: so you are not alone!

I loved all the Davies I've read: The trilogies Deptford and Cornish, Murther and Walking Spirits and The Cunning Man :D :D :D . I'm not quite sure how he didn't make it onto my top ten - or was it fifteen!

[John Self]

Oh, John S, by the way I too have never read Bleak House :oops: so you are not alone!

Right you are then - how about it, you and me - you do the consonants and I'll do the vowels.

[Maggie]

Digger,

Now I want to read Robertson Davies..........I've never read anything by him. What would be your recommendation ? It sounds as you've read quite a bit by him. Where do I start. Which book do you think would be his best ? I checked at Amazon and there are so many choices.

[Oryx]

Hello Maggie:-

I know you directed this question to Digger but I have a suggestion too.

I would recommend Fifth Business as the first foray into RD. Its the first of the three Deptford novels and a fantastic read. I had to read it in a Canadian Lit class at school, and it was one of the rare enforced readings that I thoroughly enjoyed. I have since reread it at least two more times and purchased I don't know how many copies, because its the first CanLit novel I recommend to friends who have not read much CanLit, so I'm constantly giving it away.

I think I've read everything by Robertson Davies (he died about four years ago at a good age) including three books he wrote using the psuedonym Samual Marchbanks, which were extremely funny diaries written from the perspective of a curmudgeonly old bachelor. I think they're still in print in a combined, all-in-one format.

When I was younger I used to wonder why he didn't become as popular internationally as, say, Margaret Atwood, but as I get older, and know how to read, I realise that his books are very parochial and would not necessarily translate that well to a broad American or British audience. They very much typify the WASP culture of Southern Ontario during the mid twentieth century; and a pretty upper-middle class section at that.

Having said that, there are very few authors that can rival him as a humourist- a talent that seems to be extremely rare in the world of books these days.

Orxy

[Colyngbourne]

I bought the Cornish trilogy a year or so ago, but have only read the first book. I found the combination of Anglo-Canadian, high Anglican and campus atmosphere to my liking, but I'm not sure it's for everyone.

[Jerkass]

I have since reread it at least two more times and purchased I don't know how many copies, because its the first CanLit novel I recommend to friends who have not read much CanLit, so I'm constantly giving it away.

I've begun doing the same thing with Bleak House recently. Not that there's any connecition to CanLit there, or anything, but only because I want everyone to read it.

I have had to assure everyone (but one) that they really won't mind the 900-odd pages once they get reading. Rather than constantly flipping to the end to see how many more pages I needed to force myself through, I was constantly flipping to the end to lament how few hundreds of pages were left.

In fact, I just received an Amazon shipment with my latest gift copy, and I also picked up Trollope's The Way We Live Now, by the same publisher. Despite having 500 fewer pages...it's a bigger book than Bleak House...and that takes some doing.

[amner]

I've begun doing the same thing with Bleak House recently. Not that there's any connecition to CanLit there, or anything, but only because I want everyone to read it.

I can only agree (http://palimpsest.org.uk/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=531). Get it read.

[Colyngbourne]

:oops: Still haven't done my review of BH, after I read it in the Oct hols.

[amner]

Well, I wasn't going to say anything... http://www.attlee.flump.net/~impnet/forum/images/smiles/eusa_naughty.gif

[Maggie]

Jerkass,

You give Bleak House away as a gift ?? I have to commend you for your courage. It is a BIG book. Not that I would mind getting it. I absolutely love big books but after working in a small bookstore for several years I was dismayed by how many people wouldn't try a book because it was too BIG or it had too many WORDS. Astonishing really !
In fact I used to be the other way....I would pass up a book because it looked too small. I've since learned that some authors can pack a whole lot into very few words.
I think it is wonderful that you give away Bleak House and I would just love to see the look on people's faces when they get it :D

[Digger]

Well Maggie, I should really check the strings I add to more - I so so hate having a mad hectic rush to Christmas where you'd really like to be lazing around the office doing not much and palimping. Instead, half of our office is being decamped while the building is altered to cram more desks in and there seems far more work than it is possible for anyone to do! :shock:

Anyway, I digress.... I agree with all following comments about R Davies, I think I read The Cunning Man first, which is a stand alone story rather than the trilogies. Mind you, within a week of finishing that I was off to Blackwells and bought the Cornish and Deptford Trilogies straight away!

As Col says, it's definitely high Candadian Anglican campus stuff, but I loved it. It has been a while since I read any but I seem to remember liking the pace, which carried you along with the storeys without rushing and his writing is, as far as I remember, beautiful.

Have fun. I am inspired to go find some I havn't read yet. And those under his pseudonym.

Hey Jerkass, is it too shocking that I havn't read Bleak House? Fancy passing a copy on? !!! :wink:

[Wavid]

I doubt he could afford the postage, Digger! A brick like BH all the way from the States? No chance! ;-)

You can download it here (http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/1023) for free - though just how long it would take to print out is anyone's guess...

[Digger]

Yeah, fair point. although when I was studying in the states I managed to send all my books home by 'book-post', an enlightened and cheep way of sending books transatlantic. I surely wouldn't have got them all home without it! Unless I travelled without anything else, cant be leaving books behind :shock: Who knows if it still runs though!

I ended up with two enormous US postal bags which served me well through university this side of the pond. Packing consisted of putting everything into the bags and, once home, tipping them up on my floor. A shovel could be usefully employed in packing them up again!

As for printing books, isn't that what the misappropriation of company equiptment/funds/stationary is for? :wink: :D

[Maggie]

Digger,

Seems to me that with all the hub bub and moving about, this may be the perfect time to download and print a huge book. Would anyone really notice ? :D

[Digger]

Ha Ha! sneeky sneeky sneeky! I like it :twisted:

[Jerkass]

Yes, Digger, sorry--I won't know if I can afford the postage until I see my annual bonus this year...plus, with the dollar now being worth roughly a tuppence, HM Royal Mail probably will have jacked their prices up anyway.

As for reactions to receiving Bleak House as a gift...let's see. I received two hugs and a pleasant rub on the back from one lovely young woman...and another, who lives in another city, just told me that she unexpectedly had to make a business trip to Dallas on a day I will be making a business trip to see her company--upon her original (pre-BH-gift) invitation. Huh. I'd say we have mixed results so far.

[Digger]

You know, my usual reaction to being given a book is big grins all round along with many effusive thanks and then I slowly phase out of all conversation because I start reading it! Not sure whether that's good or not - good I suppose because the giver at least knows it's not going to end up as a door-stop.

Sucks about the dollar. I am thinking of heading over just for the feeling of being rich - sad I know. My poor sister coming this way for the hols (no-one in my family but me knows :D I love being part of surprises) is going to feel poverty ridden!

[Jerkass]

Yes, at the moment, Fifth Avenue shopping is a practical possibility for a much larger segment of the British population than many might think.