My Personal Reading Profile
I suspect that my favorite genre is "literary fiction," but I don't yet know how that elevated status is awarded to only certain fiction. I definitely appreciate good writing, and absolutely love delicious writing. Jose Saramago is my favorite author, and although I have only read his work translated, he is a delicious writer. Phrases, sentences, whole paragraphs will make me pause, smile, reread. I like how James McBride captures a character's voice (Good Lord Bird) or George Saunders describes the supernatural (Lincoln in the Bardo). Anthony Doerr is a delicious writer (Cloud Cuckoo Land, All the Light We Cannot See), as is William Kent Krueger (This Tender Land).
A common theme that resonates with me is loneliness--Saramago captures it in my favorite book, All the Names. Also featuring loneliness, I loved Amor Towles' A Gentleman in Moscow and Dave Egger's What is the What, and I enjoyed Nita Prose's The Maid, and Alan Bradley's "Flavia de Luce" mysteries. I also seem to enjoy problematic or unlikable narrators like those in Wally Lamb's She's Come Undone, John Kennedy Toole's A Confederacy of Dunces, Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl, and Donna Tartt's The Goldfinch.
I also like fantasy and magical realism. I devoured George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series and was surprised by how much I liked Steven King's 11/22/63 (I had never read a Steven King book before); Neil Gaiman's American Gods sneaks magic into the world beautifully and believably. The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wacker is a favorite I recommend to everyone (I have yet to read the sequel, but I own it!).
Louis de Bernieres blends delightful magical realism into stories where the world goes to shit (Senor Vivo and the Coca Lord); come to think of it, de Bernieres is really good at presenting an idyllic community faced with the ravages of war (Birds without Wings, Corelli's Mandolin). Khaled Hosseini is a gripping writer of worlds I don't know or understand (A Thousand Splendid Suns, e.g.)
This list is lacking in female authors. I also enjoy works by Barbara Kingsolver (especially The Poisonwood Bible), Alice Hoffman, Ann Patchett (especially Bel Canto), Margaret Atwood, and Isabel Allende.
Hi Jenni,
ReplyDeleteI love that about a book, when it makes you pause and smile. Such a good feeling. Do you speak any languages besides English?
Hi Jackie--I was fluent in Spanish back in the 90's--I could actually read Isabel Allende in Spanish! but have since lost most of my ability.
ReplyDeleteHi Jenni! Yes our tastes are quite similar! 11/22/63 was my first Stephen King too. I also love The Golem and the Jinni. I have read the second one and it's just as good as the first!
ReplyDeleteLiterary fiction is one of my favorite genres ever! The Goldfinch is an absolute gem.
ReplyDeleteLincoln in the Bardo was definitely a unique delight. And I'm glad that you mention A Thousand Splendid Suns, because I read The Kite Runner way back when (and I LOVED it), and I've been planning to read A Thousand Splendid Suns since, but I haven't found the motivation yet.
ReplyDeleteI love how you wrote this! You have great taste and did an excellent job identifying appeals that resonate with you!
ReplyDelete