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Modern Literature

True@1stLight

True@1stLight

New Member
Hello, I am new to this website, and am pleased at having found an active and lively book forum. I am currently still a student with an active life, but in the past few years have really begun to enjoy literature fully as I have come to a better understanding of it. However, as a result of this I have also run into a serious problem.
In my reading I have noticed a pattern that follows with a satisfied and thought provoking feeling at the end of older classic novels, and disappointment as I finish a modern novel. My Favorite authors include the Russian Writers Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy, and Pushkin, while the few modern authors I do enjoy include Achebe, and Marquez.
I work at Barnes and Noble and therefore have limitless books at my fingertips, and for the past year have tried rotating in depth classics or philosophy, with modern or American writers. I have been sorely disappointed by popular authors and books such as The Da Vinci Code, The Life of Pi, Dean Koontz, and James Patterson. These books seem to be meant to entertain with an unabashed storyline only and do not seem to have much depth or style in them. With War and Peace, or Crime and Punishment I cannot stop digging through the levels of writing, while I breeze through a new novel vaguely amused by not feeling or thinking anything as a result.
I would greatly appreciate any suggestions that could be given by the sites peers to help solve this frustrating problem, and hope to partake in many discussions to come! Good day to you all! :)

"A thing is true at first light and a lie by noon and you have no more respect for it than for the lovely, perfect weed-fringed lake you see across the sun-baked salt plain. You have walked across that plain in the morning and you know that no such lake is there. But now it is there absolutely true, beautiful, and believable."
 
There's great stuff out there, unfortunately it isn't "popular". Since you work in a bookstore, you might be able to find and browse through The Reading List Contemporary Fiction. Amazon link is here
 
Thank you, I was hoping for some actual suggestions from people here though, I don't know that I really want to refer to a book FOR a book. I would rather hear people's suggestions so they may articulate why they like it. Any personal suggestions?
 
Ashlea said:
There's great stuff out there, unfortunately it isn't "popular". Since you work in a bookstore, you might be able to find and browse through The Reading List Contemporary Fiction. Amazon link is here
Click to expand...

Was skimming the contents page from that link, and saw A.S Byatt. Reminded me of an excellent book I read of her's just recently. Possession: A Romance. Don't let the word Romance scare you. It's not what you think:

Publishers Weekly said:
Two contemporary scholars, each studying one of two Victorian poets, reconstruct their subjects' secret extramarital affair through poems, journal entries, letters and modern scholarly analysis of the period.
Click to expand...

And even that description doesn't really do it justice. I love getting into the minds of the characters I read about and this entire book is about two characters getting into the minds of two Victorian poets through their writing. Now how cool is that?
 
Sorry Off topic but I want to work at Barnes and Noble and I have a few questions. Is it a good place to work or does it suck? How was the interview process? Any incite you can give me would be great! I'm moving in 3 weeks and BN is the first place im going to try and find a job :)
 
What sort of things have you read and liked, what have you read and hated?

A.S. Byatt is a good one. Gabriel Garcia Marquez is incredibly, but magical realism isn't for everyone. Just finished The Wind Up Bird Chronicles, excellent stuff. There's so much out there, tell us what attracts you and we'll go from there.
 
Ashlea said:
What sort of things have you read and liked, what have you read and hated?

A.S. Byatt is a good one. Gabriel Garcia Marquez is incredibly, but magical realism isn't for everyone. Just finished The Wind Up Bird Chronicles, excellent stuff. There's so much out there, tell us what attracts you and we'll go from there.
Click to expand...

Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, Eco, Hemmingway, Marquez, Rushdie, Wilde, and Achebe attract me.

Koontz, Brown, Patterson, and Evanovich do not.
I agree though Marquez is incredible.

And to sapper's question it is great working at Barnes and Noble, I've worked at 2 and although the pay isn't great the employees usually are. The problem is we are not even in a big town and we recieve about 50 applications a WEEK, so it's best to find some connection or way to try and get in. If you hang around the store make sure to introduce yourself to the manager and express your interest in books and the job. That's the best advice I can give. If you succeed you'll soon learn the joys of helping people that love being, and the pain of dealing with imcompetent people :). The good outweigh the bad though, Good luck!
 
You might like Pynchon, and somewhere around here I've left a thread about The Wind Up Bird Chronicles by Haruki Mirakami. Or you might like Kazuo Ishiguro. And Byatt writes very complex, layered novels with multiple themes, often one of them is language itself and how we use it. As you like Hemingway, you might also like Raymond Carver, especially if you like Hemingway's short stories.
 
Ashlea said:
You might like Pynchon, and somewhere around here I've left a thread about The Wind Up Bird Chronicles by Haruki Mirakami. Or you might like Kazuo Ishiguro. And Byatt writes very complex, layered novels with multiple themes, often one of them is language itself and how we use it. As you like Hemingway, you might also like Raymond Carver, especially if you like Hemingway's short stories.
Click to expand...

Thank you!
 
True,
As you can see, there are plenty of "modern" writers out there who are worth reading (and there are plenty who aren't). A few that come to mind who haven't yet been mentioned here are:
Fred Exley - his book A Fan's Notes is really great
Jorge Luis Borges - Labyrinths or one of the other anthologies is a good place to start
Chuck Rosenthal - his books are out of print, though, and not uniformly good
That's all I can think of right now.
 
hm modern literature eh?

that springs The Stranger by Albert Camus to mind.

The Jungle by Upton Sinclair

you might like stienback.. i've read Of Mice and Men and The Grapes of Wrath. The Grapes of Wrath felt like it was never going to end though.. =P

you might like books by F. Scott Fitzgerald. i've only read the Great Gatsby.

have you read anything by Ernest Hemingway?
 
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