Scratch the Itch

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I’m in between books and it’s one of the worst feelings I know. I love having a book to read, but I get picky. I wander among the aisles and tables of the Strand, and I go to the library, and I browse on Amazon, and nothing appeals to me. I wind up having so much trouble finding a book to read that I begin to wonder if I only like the idea of having a book to read.

It’s like I have an itch and can’t figure out how to scratch it.

In the last few years I’ve given up on fiction and have been reading a lot of history. But yesterday after work I was at the Strand and thought it might be nice to read a novel for a change. The only problem is that I don’t know what novel to read. I keep looking for something that grabs me on the first page and I can’t seem to find something that I know will keep my interest for 200+ pages.

Maybe this ask.metafilter thread will help me. Or maybe this is just a hopeless task.

7 thoughts on “Scratch the Itch”

  2. I thought I was the only one who didn’t read fiction! Good to know I’m not alone, even if you are returning to fiction…

  3. I think the last novel I read was Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl, but it just made me want to re-read The Secret History by Donna Tartt.

    John “VMHLB” McLaughlin’s novel Run in the Family is pretty good, though you’ll have to Amazon it or order it from a small bookstore.

    For something a little older, I really enjoyed Umberto Eco’s The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana.

  4. I used to read almost exclusively history and biography, but now I read a lot more fiction. Truthfully, a lot of it isn’t very good. Too often, I think the writer just doesn’t know how to end the story very well.

    Anyway, it would help if I knew a little more about some of the books you’ve really loved, but I’ll give it a try:

    Small Island, by Andrea Levy
    The Plot Against America and/or
    American Pastoral, by Philip Roth
    Crossing California, by Adam Langer.
    Then We Came to the End, by Joshua Ferris.
    The Kite Runner (if you’ve never read it, I highly recommend it).

    I’ve also enjoyed these memoirs:
    A Year at the Movies, by Kevin Murphy
    Ghostlight, by Frank Rich
    A Tale of Love and Darkness, by Amos Oz
    Destined to Witness, by Hans Massaquoi
    Absolutely American, by David Lipskey (He followed a class through West Point for four years. It’s really interesting).

    Since we’re in the political season:
    What’s the Matter with Kansas, by Thomas Frank
    any novel by Christopher Buckley. He’s absolutely hilarious.

    And since you once lived in Japan,
    Turning Japanese, by David Mura

    I know what you mean about always wanting to have a book to read. BTW, I just finished Marc Acito’s book, How I Paid for College, and I loved it. I’m now reading Seth Rudetsky’s Broadway Nights. (I’m definitely on a theater kick).

  5. I am reading Then We Came to the End by Joshua Ferris. Funny and the writing is pretty great. Also, Miranda July’s short stories: No One Belongs Here More Than You. The Known World by Edward P. Jones is kind of stunning, too.

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