Posted by Steven
on 24/10/2009, 13:05:08, in reply to "Re: Where is the 21st Century?"
76.187.110.226
--Previous Message--
: Steven, are we allowed to lobby?
Yes, please do. (I well remember your effective lobbying for Memed, My Hawk a couple of years ago.)
: I'm looking forward to reading "Homecoming."
: I think Marilynne Robinson is a brilliant writer, and
: I too have heard great things about this overlooked
: book.
The title is actually "Housekeeping." Her third novel is titled "Home." Yes, it is very good. It is beautifully written, but in an understated way that--unlike Nabokov or Banville--doesn't leave you constantly aware of the author's presence.
: I will also vote for this book, because I already have
: it. (This may be a good time to share one of my many
: idosynchracies: If someone, whose previous readings I
: am not sure of, gives me a book as a gift, I don't
: give that book any chance at all. Homecoming was given
: to me 3-4 years ago, by a friend with whom I had never
: discussed any books. So, I stuck the book in the book
: case never intending to read it. I didn't think I
: would ever take it out of where it was squeezed in,
: until I saw it mentioned in this thread a few days
: ago.)
I think I would feel the same way, and for that reason I rarely give books as gifts either. Someone would have to be both highly familiar with my reading tastes and well-acquainted with the contents of my library to give me a book that I would actually use and don't already own. So I assume the same is true for me as regards gifts of books to other persons. Fortunately there are Amazon's (and other retailers') wish lists. (Unfortuantely, however, there are people like my wife who refuse to buy off a wish list because "it isn't a surprise.")
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