Sunday, July 15, 2012

What to read next?

Right now I'm finishing up re-reading The Waves, and also making my way slowly but surely through a crossover academic/spiritual text called In the Company of Rilke: Why a 20th Century Visionary Poet Speaks so Eloquently to 21st Century Readers. But I'm going to be done with The Waves soon and I'll need to pick up another novel. As I desperately need to save money, it's got to be one of the books I acquired from a friend who was downsizing. So here are the contenders:

Cat's Cradle, by Vonnegut: Obviously, a classic. And I'm pretty sure I haven't read it yet. Read and totally loved Slaughterhouse 5, so I'm definitely going to read this book at some point, if not absolutely next.

Two novels by Kathy Acker: Blood and Guts in High School, and Empire of the Senseless: These seem pretty weird indeed. The description on the back of the first one starts like this: "Janey lived in the locked room. Twice a day the Persian slave trader came in and taught her to be a whore. Otherwise there was nothing." It says Acker's work has been described as everything from "post-punk porn to post-punk feminism." At least we all agree it's "post-punk," whatever that is. The other one is some post-apocalyptic thing about a pirate and a part-robot part-human. Okay guys, I'm really not sure about these ones... anybody got any support for Kathy Acker they want to share?

Into Thin Air by Jon Kakauer: This best-selling piece of narrative nonfiction describes Krakauer's "ill-fated expedition" climbing Mt. Everest. It's supposed to be good, right? And I'm getting more into nonfiction these days, so maybe I should give this one a go.

Okay, friends, I need your advice. What should I read next??
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3 comments:

  1. TurnerJuly 15, 2012 at 3:34 PM

    My vote is for Kakauer, but the Acker novels sound pretty amazing. Have you gotten a library card? The Brooklyn public library is the highest circulating library in America!

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  2. Emily Burns MorganJuly 16, 2012 at 5:02 AM

    Turner, I have not yet gotten a library card, but it is certainly on my list of things to do. I actually still have my NY Public Library card from the last time I lived here. I guess it still probably works, huh?

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  3. JessicaJuly 16, 2012 at 9:30 AM

    Last night a friend of mine was making a case for me to read Cats Cradle, and he has done so a couple of times before as well. I will route him in your direction. Otherwise, Into the Wild is my vote. It's on my list too, and if you read it, it might tempt me to take it off the shelf and check it out too! :) Simce you are more into nonfiction these days, another option is reading Night by Elie Wiesel and helping me develop discussion questions for 5the unit I'm planning ;)

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