June Booklist

Proust, Marcel - Swann's Way (1913)

I've started this one before without making it very far, lets see how far I get this time.

Steinbeck, John - Tortilla Flat (1935)

This was a pleasant read; it's one of Steinbeck's earlier novels. Though it reads like a fable or a child's story, the content is serious enough. I enjoyed it, but I didn't come away from it with strong feelings one way or another. Steinbeck's vision of early 20th Century California is very compelling though - across so many of his novels.

Doctorow, E.L - World's Fair (1985)

I started this one and then left it in a friend's car; chances are I won't see it until next weekend, so I'll have to start another!

Roth, Philip - Portnoy's Complaint (1969)

This was much more than I expected. I've enjoyed almost all of Roth's books immensely, but I have noticed that his earlier works interest me less than his later writing. However, I found this one to be nearly as good a read as the later books that I love so much. I was familiar with this book both by reputation - for its crudity - and through the "Carnovsky" in the Zuckerman books - also for its crudity, and its ability to ostracize relatives. I was therefore expecting something funny and lewd, but I was not expecting the excellent writing. I've made my way through 14 of his 25 or so books; I'm anxious to read them all, but I know I will be sad to be done as well.

Bukowski, Charles - Hollywood (1989)

A friend of mine has been pushing Bukowski on me for a while - I think the reason that he likes Bukowski so much is that B. Is equally (if not more) readable when heavily intoxicated. Said friend seems to be headed down a road of alcoholism and despair, so I'll read a book when he asks me too - anything to get the drink out of his hand! Just kidding obviously, Hollywood is an enjoyable read and it is fun to try to figure out which Hollywood types are being used with altered names; though sometimes their names aren't all that altered, e.g.Francis Ford Loppola. I enjoyed this novel more than Bukowski's earlier Post Office - primarily I think because here you get a sense that his heavy drinking has not been the death of him but actually has been part of his success. In Post Office I was always waiting for things to go bad.

Hornby, Nick - About a Boy (1998)

Better than the movie, yet less touching. Will in the book is not nearly as good a person and Marcus is not nearly as daft. The movie was more heart-warming, but the book was more realistic. Which I prefer depends on the day or the mood.

Woolf, Virginia - To the Lighthouse (1927)

I have only read 17 pages of this novel so far and I have to stop. It is not that it is not good, it is just that I can't read it now. I'll read two pages and realize that I have no idea what is going on. Something about her writing style makes it very difficult for me to extract meaning; I know this from other things that I have read of hers. For now, I'm moving on to something a little more straight forward; I'll come back to it.