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Hi,

What book should I read next? I have really struggled finding something to tug at my heart strings since reading War and Peace. It was an agonizing read, and I'll never endure it again, but remains my favorite book because I gained so much from it. It truly changed me. I remember how, for the few months it took me to finish, I was counting down the pages until I finally finished and it seemed like such an impossible, unpleasant task, but once I reached the end and closed it for the last time, and thought about what I had just experienced in retrospect I was in awe. I had gone on a serious journey reading that book, emotionally, intellectually... and that's when I realized it was a masterpiece unlike anything I had ever read. Anna Karenina was a similar feeling for me except not quite as powerful.
I'm looking for a classic. Something not quite as grueling as War and Peace, preferably, but maybe if it's worth it... Something I can learn from, something with substance if you know what I mean... It's tough to explain, but I am reading Don Quixote right now and this book has no substance and is very difficult for me to get through for that reason. If I am going to read a thousand pages written in totally archaic vernacular, I would like to gain something from of it please! But I'm trucking on, and only have 200 pages left, and am looking forward to when I will finally be able to put this book behind me... (not trying to offend any Quixote fanatics but don't care if I do; it simply doesn't appeal to my taste)
Gone With the Wind is a possibility, but preferably no Dostoyevsky... something with a bit more liveliness, as I travel for a living to very desolate, barron areas so when I read I am also looking for an escape! And nobody is trying to escape to a Russian monastery.
Some non fiction may even be in order, who knows?

If you're looking for vast amounts of good writing that'll eat up time, you could do worse than Thomas Wolfe:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Wolfe

His four novels would have earned him the Nobel Prize for Literature had he lived longer.

His editor at Scribner's was Maxwell Perkins, who also edited Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald. All three writers are worth reading in large doses.

EDIT: Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead just sprang to mind. A powerful book, very strong characters.

I tried Thomas Wolfe. I think it was Look Homeward Angel. Just didn't work for me because of his prose style, mostly. I'm a little particular about that, maybe too much so.

I like Quixote, with the exception of the very long story-within-a-story. One hefty novel that pops into my mind that I'd like to reread is George Eliot's Middlemarch. Anna Karenina is not grueling at all, if you want another Tolstoy.

higgyhann10 wrote:Hi, What book should I read next?

Hello higgyhann, and welcome to Booktalk. I recommend The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov, discussed at booktalk in 2017 - the-master-and-margarita-by-mikhail-bulgakov-f271.html

higgyhann10 wrote: I have really struggled finding something to tug at my heart strings since reading War and Peace. It was an agonizing read, and I'll never endure it again, but remains my favorite book because I gained so much from it. It truly changed me. I remember how, for the few months it took me to finish, I was counting down the pages until I finally finished and it seemed like such an impossible, unpleasant task, but once I reached the end and closed it for the last time, and thought about what I had just experienced in retrospect I was in awe. I had gone on a serious journey reading that book, emotionally, intellectually... and that's when I realized it was a masterpiece unlike anything I had ever read. Anna Karenina was a similar feeling for me except not quite as powerful.

Me too. I read War and Peace in 1993. I remember the process vividly, if not all the content. I was commuting by bus between Sydney and Canberra, and when I had nearly finished I accidentally left my copy on the bus. When I got a new copy from the library it was a different translation, so I had to find the Maude translation.

higgyhann10 wrote: I'm looking for a classic. Something not quite as grueling as War and Peace, preferably, but maybe if it's worth it... Something I can learn from, something with substance if you know what I mean...

I think Master and Margarita would fit that bill, as a modern Russian classic grounded in satirical magical realistic truth about life under Stalin.

higgyhann10 wrote:It's tough to explain, but I am reading Don Quixote right now and this book has no substance and is very difficult for me to get through for that reason. If I am going to read a thousand pages written in totally archaic vernacular, I would like to gain something from of it please!

Maybe you need to find a better translation. It makes a big difference. I loved Don Quixote, and saw it as a satire against Christianity. We discussed it in 2010 at don-quixote-translated-by-edith-grossman-f154.html

higgyhann10 wrote:But I'm trucking on, and only have 200 pages left, and am looking forward to when I will finally be able to put this book behind me... (not trying to offend any Quixote fanatics but don't care if I do; it simply doesn't appeal to my taste)

Long haul reading is a great skill in these days of zomboid phubbing.

Hello there!

Do you love mystery books? You should check out Kinfolk Killers by L.V. Nield
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1946063533/?tag=cocapr-20

It won't tug on any heart strings, but it will definitely get your heart racing! The language is light-nothing too gory.

Read The Painted Room by Lounis Tiar. Trust me you won't be disappointed. the story is so unique like nothing I ever read before!!

Highly recommend "The Silence of Bonaventure Arrow" What a story!!!

"A magical debut novel from Rita Leganski, The Silence of Bonaventure Arrow is the tale of a mute boy whose gift of wondrous hearing reveals family secrets and forgotten voodoo lore, and exposes a murder that threatens the souls of those who love him.
Bonaventure Arrow didn’t make a peep when he was born, and the doctor nearly took him for dead. But he was listening, placing sound inside quiet and gaining his bearings. By the time he turns five, he can hear flowers grow, a thousand shades of blue, and the miniature tempests that rage inside raindrops. He also hears the voice of his dead father, William Arrow, mysteriously murdered by a man known only as the Wanderer."

Truly will pull those heart strings.

Have you read 100 Years of Solitude by Marquez? For me it had the depth of War & Peace but read quite differently. The writer incorporates magical realism creating an almost dreamlike sense with moments of crystal clarity like you'll find in other classics.

East of Eden by Steinbeck is also very worth the read.

This is a fantastic book written by a fantastic author! I've looked into some of him famous books and this one just blew me away, I loved it!!

'The Adventures of Captain Bonneville by Washington Irving' - Oh! This is the most thrilling and interesting book!

Where to get this gorgeous master piece: https://amzn.to/2OgGSgT

I have a newly released wonderful summer novel called Irrevocable Consequence. Check it out on Amazon, B&N and Smashwords. It will take your breath away...
https://www.amazon.com/Irrevocable-Cons ... ext&sr=1-2.

David Foussler is incarcerated for his role in the murder of a wealthy couple whose son, Robert Bryon is the sole survivor. Conflicted my guilt and loneliness, David becomes haunted by nightmares of the murder and suffers a nervous breakdown which eventually leads him to the riveting Ally, his therapist who he falls in love with. They have undeniable chemistry and one day they succumb to their passion.

A whirlwind of unforeseen circumstances takes place that separates them but eventually they reconnect and plan a life together when David’s released from prison. But David is doomed... In a terrible twist of fate, David’s unforgiving past comes back to rear its ugly head and to haunt him and he will be forced to make a terrible, heart-rendering decision as he faces the consequences of his actions.

Anastasia Simonds masterfully crafts a powerful yet dramatic novel that exudes raw emotion, will, and surrender. Irrevocable Consequence is a poignant and heart-wrenching tale of redemption and revenge, love, and death...where the losers win and the winners lose.