Table Of Contents
Introduction
Hey readers,
We have the books that you guys are reading this week. Let us know if there are any others that we may have missed.
We included links to each book mentioned at the end of the article.
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Thanks. Enjoy reading.
Books Our Readers Are Reading - Week of June 26th, 2023 - News
Book 1 – The Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger
One reader is reading The Catcher In The Rye. This young adult book is an old favorite of ours back in high school. The writing ability of Salinger is very underrated, for most like to talk about the character’s motives rather than the writer’s use of language. The book's first part, probably the first 20 pages or so, is some of the best writing you will see, as everything flows naturally.
We heard that readers who have reread this book throughout their lives have taken different things from it. When you are a kid, you relate to the narrator, but when you are an adult, you pray that none of your children are him.
Also, for the fans of Green Day, we want to point out how their classic hit song “Basket Case” is basically the plot of the book. Compare the two side by side, and you will notice how they are saying the same thing.
Book 2 – Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy
Another reader is revisiting a late author’s book, Cormac McCarthy. We won’t pretend we are well-versed in his career because we just aren’t. We feel like we can be honest with you guys about what authors we know and who we don’t know. But here is how the reader describes it, “Dark, deprived, violent: Powerful stuff. Symbolic thinking is a must.”
Dark-deprived and violent, I knew a girl in college that was like that. I can’t say she was much into symbolic thinking, though.
We don’t have McCarthy on our reading list, but let us know if you want us to pick up a book by him and give him a review.
Also, if you like, McCarthy may want to check out Easton Press’s William Faulkner collection. If you have the money, then we suggest buying it.
Book 3 – Log From The Sea of Cortez by John Steinbeck
Yes, Steinbeck is about as good as it gets. You can’t really go wrong with him. We haven’t read him for a while, but we want to get back into reading one of the best.
I was actually teaching one of my after-school students, and they brought up Of Mice and Men, a good book for kids but not the best by Steinbeck. Anyway, I was being a jerk about the whole book,
“Someone dies, or do they? Maybe it is all a dream, and no one dies, or everyone dies because they are all in a dream.”
“You are lying.”
“Maybe…. The woman in the dress never had a chance.”
“What?”
“You’ll find out.”
I like messing with people over plot points, especially when they don’t know the book. I sprinkle in the truth with the lies, and the person never knows what I am saying. It is a joke that gets me through teaching a kid who struggles with basic vocabulary and understanding the main ideas.
Book 4 – Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury
Last on the list of books being read by the readers is a book by Ray Bradbury, which is funny because we just spoke about him the other day and how we are not that crazy about his writing style. The college girl in the room even said that it is strange that she even likes him, which we never thought about Bradbury until then.
The one reader said they are not much of a sci-fan, so reading Bradbury is strange. We aren’t really much of Sci-fi fans either, although we do a good amount of them due to their prominence over the past half-century in books. We would love to hear what a non-Sci-fi fan thinks of it. We have always found Sci-fi to be a genre that a reader must be ready to enter, for if you don’t suspend your belief, then the book may appear too odd for you. Also, Bradbury's style is a topic in itself, something we would love to dissect one day. He had a very unique way of writing, which if we are honest, we don't always agree with. He doesn't emphasize the characters or the story itself, enough for us to like him as much as we do other writers who are as descriptive but also put the characters or story first. Like we said, though, we don't want to make this a review of the writing style of Ray Bradbury. That is for another day. (We hope the reader likes Bradbury more than us)
We are such Shakespeare fans here. We know that the title comes from when Macbeth walks up to the witches. They are saying that they can sense his poor decisions to come.
Book We Are Reading - The Maple Stories by John Updike
Since we are sharing books you guys are reading; we wanted to share a current book on our list. The book is a short story collection featuring the Maple couple. We have recently gotten into this author, and we must say that we suggest him if you are looking for a new author to read. We love how there is always more going on in his stories than the plot. Without making this a book review, we do love how the characters are presented in such a way, where you know them, and can see them in real life, yet there is enough to the story, where we can appreciate the character element to their makeup.
Those are the books you guys are reading this week. We are happy to say there are even more books than this you guys shared with us. From what we see, you guys aren’t afraid of a book that makes you think and are willing to try an author or two that you may not like. Do you think of yourself as this type of reader? How would you describe yourself as a reader?
Here are links to the Amazon page for the books we mentioned in this article. Click on the title to go to the page.
Ending
Hey readers,
We know that we are very heavy on the op-ed pieces on this blog and we wish to change that with more posts like this, and book reviews, and even some short stories.
We hope you enjoyed this piece as we plan on making more like it.
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About The Blogger
Greg Luti is an editor and blogger on pensandwords.com. His favorite writers are Robert Frost and Charles Bukowski. He enjoys reading up on history, watching comedies, and playing video games, when he is not writing down a few notes for his next piece. He started this blog out of his love for literature and hopes the reader shares that passion.
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