Books

Recommended Reading

I spend a lot of leisure time reading fiction. My tastes are eclectic, but I have some favorite authors whose novels I recommend. Here is a list of old favorites and recent books you might enjoy:

My favorite book that I have reread many times is Richard Farina's Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up to Me. If you are interested in the subculture of folk music in the early 1960's and key figures David Hajdu's Positively 4th Street : The Lives and Times of Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Mimi Baez Farina, and Richard Farina is a must read.

Because I like books set in academia I think all of the books by David Lodge are terrific. His latest book, Thinks, is a great read, but if you have never read Lodge start with his trilogy: Changing Places, Small World, and Nice Work. Jon Hassler has also written academic novels, including Rookery Blues and The Dean's List, but I think that his best book is North of Hope. Among other books set in academia that I recommend are Richard Russo's Straight Man and two books by James Hynes,The Lecturer's Tale and Publish and Perish: Three Tales of Tenure and Terror. Also try Jane Smiley's Moo , Donna Tart's The Secret History, Blue Angel by Francine Prose and Michael Chabon's Wonder Boys.

Two other authors I particularly enjoy are Ian McEwen and David Guterson. McEwen's Enduring Love will keep you awake at night and I especially recommend Black Dogs and Amsterdam. McEwen's latest books, Atonement and Saturday, are perhaps his best. Guterson is from the Pacific Northwest and sets his novels in places I know well. His Three novels, Snow Falling on Cedars , East of the Mountains and Our Lady of the Forest leave me wanting to read more by him. I also recommend the police-detective novels written by Ridley Pearson. His latest is Cut and Run, but I also recommend Art of Deception, Middle of Nowhere and Beyond Recognition.