Jul
23
Early reflections.
July 23, 2008 |
So I’m still letting the dust settle in my head–I assume tomorrow’s exam will only raise the clouds up again–and therefore I’m not really ready to start reflecting on this class yet. But some things I know: I’ve been changed (for the better, I’d like to think); I’ve thought about things in new combinations, new ways; I’ve learned about far more than just Milton; I’ve written the longest paper of my life thus far (which I didn’t really think I could do!); and far from insignificant, I’ve grown to have a real love for our class. No matter how I do, gradewise, I know I’ve learned a lot, grown, and have had an experience I will definitely value.
From the meeting today at the Hyperion we got started talking about all our favorite books. To that end, I’ve compiled a brief list of some books I’ve read and enjoyed. I’m not saying these are all amazing, I’m not saying they’re all great literature, but I think there’s something to get out of every book here. If I were to recommend three to go for first, I would say: Paradise, by Toni Morrison; The Sound and the Fury, by William Faulkner; and Straight Man, Richard Russo. A lot of that is just based on my feeling right now, but they’re all rewarding texts. And of course if you haven’t read Catcher in the Rye, I really don’t know what you’re waiting for. So here’s the list:
FICTION
J. D. Salinger, Catcher in the Rye
J. D. Salinger, Nine Stories
J. D. Salinger, Franny and Zooey
Michael Chabon, Wonder Boys
Richard Russo, Straight Man
Richard Russo, Empire Falls
Richard Russo, Bridge of Sighs
Saul Bellow, Henderson the Rain King
Toni Morrison, Jazz
Toni Morrison, Song of Solomon
Toni Morrison, Paradise
Toni Morrison, Sula
Thomas Pynchon, Crying of Lot 49
Gloria Naylor, Bailey’s Cafe
Gloria Naylor, Mama Day
Haruki Murakami, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
Haruki Murakami, The Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World
Haruki Murakami, Kafka on the Shore
Flannery O’Connor, Collected Short Stories
Flannery O’Connor, Wise Blood
Cormac McCarthy, Child of God
Cormac McCarthy, The Road
William Faulkner, The Sound and the Fury
Diana Wynne Jones, Fire and Hemlock
Diana Wynne Jones, The Homeward Bounders
A. S. Byatt, Possession
China Mieville, Perdido Street Station
China Mieville, The Scar
China Mieville, Looking for Jake
Neal Stephenson, The Diamond Age
Neal Stephenson, Snow Crash
Margaret Atwood, Cat’s Eye
Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale
Margaret Atwood, Oryx and Crake
Seamus Heaney (trans.), Beowulf
John Gardner, Grendel
Don DeLillo, The Body Artist
Mark Z Danielewski, House of Leaves
Jhumpa Lahiri, Interpreter of Maladies
POETRY
Lia Purpura, Stone Sky Lifting
Lia Purpura, The Brighter the Veil
Faith Shearin, The Owl Question
Octavio Paz, Collected Poems 1957-1987 (Bilingual)
Pablo Neruda, Poems
Wallace Stevens, Collected Poems
NONFICTION
Bill Buford, Heat
Michael Pollan, The Omnivore’s Dilemma
Flannery O’Connor, Mystery and Manners (Essays)
Flannery O’Connor, The Habit of Being (Collected Letters)
Italo Calvino, Six Memos for the Next Millennium
Bill Bryson, A Short History of Nearly Everything
S. I. Hayakawa, Language in Thought and Action
In addition, I’m going to try to write a little bit in here every time I finish a book. That’s a pretty hefty goal, but I’d like to try to live up to it if I can. I already have some stuff lined up for my brief break before fall semester: The Bluest Eye, Dante’s Divine Comedy, Absalom, Absalom!, Aristophanes, Aeschylus, Dickens, Austen, and Woolf. And scads more, of course, but that’s what’s lined up right now.
And hopping on the trend started by Madeline and Emma: here is my paper. I highly suggest you do yourself a favor and skim it, if you’re planning on actually reading it. Like most, I felt the time crunch in a highly uncomfortable way.
Apropos of nothing, I would like to link to this post of Madeline’s, which I find enlightening and beautiful and extremely well-written. I suggest you read it if you’re interested in food in even the smallest way; it’s quite thought-provoking.
I know I’m going to be thinking about this class for a long time, but I’m already starting to miss it. We’ll just have to keep in touch.
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