"Man is but a reed, the most feeble thing in nature, but he is a thinking reed" – Blaise Pascal
I noted in my earlier reading list post that I wanted to read more fiction in 2011. To that end, I’ve started a pile at home of novels I’ve acquired but never got around to reading. So far I’ve got
– Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale
– Cormac McCartrhy, All the Pretty Horses
– W. Somerset Maugham, The Painted Veil
Other suggestions welcome!
As you know, I searched for addition fiction to read a few days ago. After going through all the recommendations I received, the two I’m pretty certain about committing myself to reading this year are Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamozov, and Robinson, Gilead. I’m still mulling over some others.
Some books I’ve liked – Seabiscuit: An American Legend (Hillenbrand), The Three Musketeers, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Necromancer (Gibson), The Doomsday Book (Willis), Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (Dick).
Russell:
The Bros. Karamazov is one of my all-time faves, although it’s been over a decade since I read it. Maybe I should re-visit it…
Crystal:
Thanks for the suggestions. I’ve been meaning to read some Philip K. Dick; maybe that’s a good place to start.
Time and Again by Jack Finney offered a great time travel story. His method of time travel was borrowed for Somewhere in Time. Finney offers more detail. And a great sense of how much places change over time.
I just finished a second reading of Dracula. Good in so many ways. His horror is more effective because Stoker knows how to write about happiness.
I’m currently reading Wolf Hall (set in the English Reformation) and Vanity Fair (which has a hilarious narrator).
Goodbye, Mr. Chips is short and sweet.
Thanks for the recommendations, Rick. Time and Again sounds intriguing. I’ve seen Wolf Hall suggested by others too, and it sounds like something I’d enjoy.
A Thinking Reed 
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