What Are You Reading Now?

[falafel]

For me, this is describing Demon Copperhead to a T.

I just realized I didn't finish Demon Copperhead, mostly because I became so disillusioned with Demon being absolutely taken advantage of at every turn.

[BigPiney]

I just realized I didn't finish Demon Copperhead, mostly because I became so disillusioned with Demon being absolutely taken advantage of at every turn.

He was very frustrating.

[SteelBlue]

He was very frustrating.

I think I wrote this in my "review" here when I first read the book, but I have a sister who is an addict and who I can barely be in the same room with for more than 20 minutes. Demon reminded me increasingly of her as the book wore on which made me think it was an accurate portrayal but also made me dislike the reading experience.

[chrisrenrut]

I think I wrote this in my "review" here when I first read the book, but I have a sister who is an addict and who I can barely be in the same room with for more than 20 minutes. Demon reminded me increasingly of her as the book wore on which made me think it was an accurate portrayal but also made me dislike the reading experience.

The book took a huge turn when his new girlfriend introduced him to hard drugs. Having an addict family member definitely made it a challenging read from that point. But good books should challenge us. to make us think and feel.

[SteelBlue]

The book took a huge turn when his new girlfriend introduced him to hard drugs. Having an addict family member definitely made it a challenging read from that point. But good books should challenge us. to make us think and feel.

I don't disagree. This was my original review here:

So I finally finished Demon Copperhead. The opioid crisis becomes the main theme midway through the novel and that caused some difficulty for me having a sister who is an addict and several friends who have struggled the past few years (none of them opioids but the behaviors are all too familiar). The difficulty came from me being somewhat exhausted with the ups and downs of it all. Because it’s not a problem for me currently, I find I have decreasing patience with them at times. Reading about people doing the same stupid shit became irritating. But as all good fiction does, it made me look inward and reflect on why those behaviors make me so angry and what kind of a mental place my family and friends are coming from.

TLDR: phenomenal novel that took an unexpected turn and challenged my empathy. Recommend.

[SteelBlue]

I’ll be the contrarian here on Stoner. I got the audiobook and thought it was just ok. I did think the first part was good. but liked it less as it went on. I thought pretty much all of the supporting characters didn’t have much depth, and while Stoner had a bit more, his passivity and lack of character growth didn’t make him too compelling to me. It kind of reminded me of a Willa Cather novel if she stopped taking Prozac and decided she hated people.

Just one dummy’s opinion though. Glad some of you are enjoying it.

I appreciate contrarian opinions on books I love because they make me think a lot more about why it is that I'm enthralled. I am now approaching the halfway point of Stoner, and I would still say it's got some of the finest writing I've read in years. I just finished the chapter where he lost both parents and he is looking at their graves, contemplating their lives:

“He thought of the cost exacted, year after year, by the soil; and it remained as it had been—a little more barren, perhaps, a little more frugal of increase. Nothing had changed. Their lives had been expended in cheerless labor, their wills broken, their intelligences numbed. Now they were in the earth to which they had given their lives; and slowly, year by year, the earth would take them. Slowly the damp and rot would infest the pine boxes which held their bodies, and slowly it would touch their flesh, and finally it would consume the last vestiges of their substances. And they would become a meaningless part of that stubborn earth to which they had long ago given themselves.”

I was struck by the sacrifices they had made to put Stoner in what the reader automatically assumes will be a much better place than farming was for his parents. But we're seeing that his existence while less physically demanding than theirs is no less brutal and probably just as unremarkable. That's the main thing that is drawing me to the story so far as I'm a sucker for a life reminiscence and the dreams vs reality that these novels elucidate. For me, what makes this novel work (so far) is the fact that Stoner is so mediocre. Also, I'm not sure I've ever identified more with the notion he expresses that he can feel so passionately about what he's reading and that it all feels so life changing, but he so often fails at making that knowledge and passion functional.

[BigPiney]

I am reading the new novel by Karen Russell, Antidote. Only 60 pages in, but I like it. I really liked Swamplandia! so my hope is that this is as good.

[SteelBlue]

I am reading the new novel by Karen Russell, Antidote. Only 60 pages in, but I like it. I really liked Swamplandia! so my hope is that this is as good.

I really like her. Wondered where she went. After she won the MacArthur Genius Grant she seemed to disappear except for a short story called Sleep Donation.

[BigPiney]

I really like her. Wondered where she went. After she won the MacArthur Genius Grant she seemed to disappear except for a short story called Sleep Donation.

I liked that one as well.

[Mormon Red Death]

Based on earlier comments in this thread, I just checked out both East of Eden and Stoner on the Libby app. EofE is an e-book while Stoner is of the audiobook variety. Now the big question is whether I'll actually read (or listen to) either one before they are auto-returned.

I read East of Eden last year and loved it.

[Mormon Red Death]

If you liked East of Eden then I highly recommend Big Rock Candy Mountain by Wallace Stegner. This is the type of book that after you read it you think on it and want to discuss. Plus, a decent part of the book is set in Salt Lake.

I recently read "Abundance" by Derek Thompson and Ezra Klein. While I'm not left leaning politically speaking there were some good ideas on how our country good get better.

[bluegoose]

If you liked East of Eden then I highly recommend Big Rock Candy Mountain by Wallace Stegner. This is the type of book that after you read it you think on it and want to discuss. Plus, a decent part of the book is set in Salt Lake.

I recently read "Abundance" by Derek Thompson and Ezra Klein. While I'm not left leaning politically speaking there were some good ideas on how our country good get better.

I've got Big Rock Candy Mountain next up on my list. I loved Angle of Repose, so I'm looking forward to this one.

[falafel]

If you liked East of Eden then I highly recommend Big Rock Candy Mountain by Wallace Stegner. This is the type of book that after you read it you think on it and want to discuss. Plus, a decent part of the book is set in Salt Lake.

I recently read "Abundance" by Derek Thompson and Ezra Klein. While I'm not left leaning politically speaking there were some good ideas on how our country good get better.

Thanks for the recommendation. I have never read Stegner, though I know of his connection to Utah and the state's beauty. My sister basically did a major on Stegner at the U with all the stuff she did about him.

[Green Monstah]

The First 90 Days, a book about transitioning jobs. So far, I really enjoy the insight. I’m gonna need it.

[Northwestcoug]

"The Bones Beneath My Skin" by TJ Klune. It was alright. I really enjoyed The House on the Cerulean Sea and was hoping a similar wholesome feel-good vibe from this. It had its moments, but just not as an enjoyable read. The characters were not as easy to love as in the other one, which was probably by design.

Klune can tell a good story. I'll still read other books of his.