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Writer's Block: LiveJournal Book Club
Apr. 25th, 2009 09:06 pm[Error: unknown template qotd]Waiting For the Barbarians by J.M. Coetzee. I haven't read it in a while, so I can't tell you exactly why I'd suggest that, but I think it has something to do with its unique setting (the place and many of the characters don't have names, but it somehow works), its commentary on the nature of storytelling, and the fact that it eerily parallels our situation in Iraq and Afghanistan, so there's some powerful social commentary as well. (The only two other books I read by Coetzee were Disgrace, which I enjoyed, and Elizabeth Costello, which I didn't. I also tried reading Age of Iron, but for some reason I couldn't get into it. I still want to read that, as well as The Life and Times of Michael K -- am I getting the title right? -- and Diary of a Bad Year.)
For stuff I read more recently, I'd recommend The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood and Fun Home by Alison Bechdel. The Handmaid's Tale because even though the narrator is just a tad annoying and Atwood is no Orwell or Huxley when it comes to creating future dystopias, its style is beautiful and it's a fascinating look into the politics of sex. And Fun Home because it's accessible without being dumbed down, its characters are fully realized in a way I've never seen before, and it's a great introduction to graphic novels if you've either been living under a rock all this time, or the only graphic novels you've read were Watchmen or some superhero shit.
Anyway, this prompt reminds me how much I need to read more. D:
Speaking of which, since it was a beautiful day today (90 degrees!), I went into town and bought some books: When the Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka, The Punishment of Virtue by Sarah Chayes (the one I mentioned came to my college a few weeks ago), Indian Killer by Sherman Alexie, Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, and the Vertigo title Fables: Legends in Exile by Bill Willingham. As if I didn't need more reading material this summer. Between my part-time job and getting my driver's license and being online and just letting my mind atrophy, I'm going to need to be doing a hell of a lot of reading this summer if my investments are going to be worth something.
For stuff I read more recently, I'd recommend The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood and Fun Home by Alison Bechdel. The Handmaid's Tale because even though the narrator is just a tad annoying and Atwood is no Orwell or Huxley when it comes to creating future dystopias, its style is beautiful and it's a fascinating look into the politics of sex. And Fun Home because it's accessible without being dumbed down, its characters are fully realized in a way I've never seen before, and it's a great introduction to graphic novels if you've either been living under a rock all this time, or the only graphic novels you've read were Watchmen or some superhero shit.
Anyway, this prompt reminds me how much I need to read more. D:
Speaking of which, since it was a beautiful day today (90 degrees!), I went into town and bought some books: When the Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka, The Punishment of Virtue by Sarah Chayes (the one I mentioned came to my college a few weeks ago), Indian Killer by Sherman Alexie, Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, and the Vertigo title Fables: Legends in Exile by Bill Willingham. As if I didn't need more reading material this summer. Between my part-time job and getting my driver's license and being online and just letting my mind atrophy, I'm going to need to be doing a hell of a lot of reading this summer if my investments are going to be worth something.
