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lookingland Apr. 12th, 2006 09:41 am)
lookingland Apr. 12th, 2006 09:41 am)last night i finally returned doctorow to the the library and got some fresh books. maybe now i can get back on track with the ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
50bookchallenge since i'm so far behind. i was going to get the first book of Kristin Lavransdatter, but i'm in the midst of getting my writing into high gear and i felt it would be better to read work closer to "home". so i got a book of stephen crane's Country Sketches which i have never read, a strange little old book by aline kilmer (who i suspect is better known as a poet) called Hunting a Hair-Shirt and other Spiritual Adventures (published 1923), and The Luck of Roaring Camp by bret harte.
i can only guess that bret harte isn't well known in the literary circles because i can't imagine otherwise how i got to be 34 years old without ever having read his work or having it recommended to me by someone ~ anyone! while he works in a more specifically "western" genre, he's a contemporary of twain and eggleston, just exactly the sort of regional writer i look for. he was also terrifically prolific (why o why did crane have to die so young!). if i actually like harte's work, i'll be busy for a long time.
amusing side note: harte has a story called "Tennessee's Partner". guess the name "Tennessee" wasn't all that uncommon in the 19th century after all.
i still feel a bit bad about The March, if only because i promised i would try to read a balance of contemporary authors in the mix this year. i'm just not predisposed to contemporary writers, clearly. a lot of it has to do with dominating contemporary themes (which i don't tend to find interesting), contemporary first-person introspective narratives (which i usually can't relate to), and modern settings (which i'd just as soon rather escape from).
that said, if anyone has any recommendations, feel free to make them. i am notoriously picky, but i'd like to know what other people are reading and enjoying. every blue moon i manage to crawl out of my carapace and read something out of the predictable genre/era, so you never know!
: D
50bookchallenge since i'm so far behind. i was going to get the first book of Kristin Lavransdatter, but i'm in the midst of getting my writing into high gear and i felt it would be better to read work closer to "home". so i got a book of stephen crane's Country Sketches which i have never read, a strange little old book by aline kilmer (who i suspect is better known as a poet) called Hunting a Hair-Shirt and other Spiritual Adventures (published 1923), and The Luck of Roaring Camp by bret harte.i can only guess that bret harte isn't well known in the literary circles because i can't imagine otherwise how i got to be 34 years old without ever having read his work or having it recommended to me by someone ~ anyone! while he works in a more specifically "western" genre, he's a contemporary of twain and eggleston, just exactly the sort of regional writer i look for. he was also terrifically prolific (why o why did crane have to die so young!). if i actually like harte's work, i'll be busy for a long time.
amusing side note: harte has a story called "Tennessee's Partner". guess the name "Tennessee" wasn't all that uncommon in the 19th century after all.
i still feel a bit bad about The March, if only because i promised i would try to read a balance of contemporary authors in the mix this year. i'm just not predisposed to contemporary writers, clearly. a lot of it has to do with dominating contemporary themes (which i don't tend to find interesting), contemporary first-person introspective narratives (which i usually can't relate to), and modern settings (which i'd just as soon rather escape from).
that said, if anyone has any recommendations, feel free to make them. i am notoriously picky, but i'd like to know what other people are reading and enjoying. every blue moon i manage to crawl out of my carapace and read something out of the predictable genre/era, so you never know!
: D
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