I’ve been thinking about the 12 books I want to read for the 3+2 Things and have come to the conclusion that I don’t read new things because I can’t make a decision. So maybe you have some recommendations?
I thought I’d try to split my list about 50/50 between holes in my classics and new stuff. Let’s see where we stand:
CLASSICS
I have four for sure:
- Brave New World
- 1984
- A Passage to India
- Brideshead Revisited
What should the last two be? I’m thinking more along the lines of John Updike than Joseph Conrad. I’ve avoided dystopian stuff, but what about Vonnegut? Or The Handmaid’s Tale?
NEW STUFF
As for new stuff, I know I want to read
- something by Jeffrey Eugenides
- something by David Foster Wallace
- and something by Jonathan Safran Foer
However, after those three I’m at a loss. Do I pick the National Book Award winners from the last few years (The Corrections)? Do I read what’s popular (The Hunger Games trilogy)? I’ll take any recommendations you have.
And I’d I’d better get to the library soon.
January 12, 2012 @ 9:32 am
Middlesex is a great read! I recently read The Unbearable Lightness of Being, which I had put off for a long time. I was a little underwhelmed while reading it, but found it thoughtful and interesting after the fact.
I second Kara’s suggestion — The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie is charming! What about Love in a Cold Climate? Or Gaudy Night?
January 11, 2012 @ 11:08 am
You know, you have a lot of “responsible” reading on this list. I would go for something popular. Why not? Read something fun. The Hunger Games would be a good choice or Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. The heroine in that is a ll year old girl who solves mysteries with science. You love science!
January 11, 2012 @ 9:34 am
If you have never read “Slaughterhouse Five” by Vonnegut, that would be my recommendation. It is probably his most acclaimed novel (with good reason), and while whimsical and wacky like all his stuff, the madness is actually grounded in humanity.