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Book advice: if you were a college instructor...
Posted: Tue Nov 28, 2006 4:24 am
by connor_Archive
sunlore wrote:I would choose Thomas Hardy's Jude The Obscure and Paul Auster's The New York Trilogy
I took a shit in Paul Auster's bathroom. It was atrocious. The shit, I mean. The bathroom however was classy.
This is my literary claim to fame.
Book advice: if you were a college instructor...
Posted: Tue Nov 28, 2006 4:28 am
by Cranius_Archive
connor wrote:Christopher J. McGarvey wrote:The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Hotdamn! My all-time favorite novel (or top 5 at least). I even like the much-debated ending.
I have a great affection for this book, ending and all. I guess it's the journey that matters.
Book advice: if you were a college instructor...
Posted: Tue Nov 28, 2006 4:34 am
by sunlore_Archive
connor wrote:I took a shit in Paul Auster's bathroom. It was atrocious. The shit, I mean. The bathroom however was classy.
I couldn't imagine it being anything else. The bathroom, I mean. Being classy. I see black marble, lush, shiny chrome and towels so thick you could loose a nickel in them. If I were a writer of Auster's magnitude, I would build such a bathroom and proceed to never leave it.
Salut, connor! Taking a shit in other people's places is always a tacky affair, and you chose fucking Paul Auster's shack to do it in. That's just awesome.
He lives near Prospect Park, am I right?
Book advice: if you were a college instructor...
Posted: Tue Nov 28, 2006 8:41 am
by Earwicker_Archive
Out of curiosity were you just bursting and so knocked on a door and low and behold it was Paul Auster on the other side or was there some reason for you to be in the apartment of Paul Auster?
I am also a fan of his.
Book advice: if you were a college instructor...
Posted: Tue Nov 28, 2006 9:16 am
by Wood Goblin_Archive
Moby Dick is the obvious choice from the 19th century
I'd go with Dubliners for the 20th century, even though it's not a novel. If short story collections don't count, then just take "The Dead" and call it a novella.
Unless we're talking about a writing class, in which case I'd go with The Great Gatsby over Joyce.
Book advice: if you were a college instructor...
Posted: Tue Nov 28, 2006 9:28 am
by enabledisabled_Archive
moby dick & naked lunch
Book advice: if you were a college instructor...
Posted: Tue Nov 28, 2006 9:31 am
by Ty Webb_Archive
19th - I don't like pre-20th century fiction, by and large. Dry dry dry. But I'll heartily second the nomination of Huck Finn. It might be the greatest American novel.
20th - Absalom, Absalom!. They'd hate me for it, but with some careful coaching, some of them would get it and it can be life-changing.
21st - The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon. Chabon's other works are merely fine, but this one was lightning out of a clear sky. Brilliant, eloquent to the point of song, and deeply moving.
Book advice: if you were a college instructor...
Posted: Tue Nov 28, 2006 9:57 am
by chopjob_Archive
19th: Thomas Carlyle, Sartor Resartus
20th: Vladimir Nabokov, Lolita
Book advice: if you were a college instructor...
Posted: Tue Nov 28, 2006 12:02 pm
by Brett Eugene Ralph_Archive
chopjob wrote:20th: Vladimir Nabokov, Lolita
Good call.
Book advice: if you were a college instructor...
Posted: Tue Nov 28, 2006 12:21 pm
by Angus Jung
My own picks would be Melville's Pierre for the 19th century and William Gaddis's The Recognitions for the 20th. But both of these books would be a bitch to teach, I think.
That's why something like Lolita is a good choice. It's a great book, it is extremely perceptive about (mid) 20th-century America, and you have a pretty good shot at holding your students' attention with it.