- My Forums
- Tiger Rant
- LSU Recruiting
- SEC Rant
- Saints Talk
- Pelicans Talk
- More Sports Board
- Fantasy Sports
- Golf Board
- Soccer Board
- O-T Lounge
- Tech Board
- Home/Garden Board
- Outdoor Board
- Health/Fitness Board
- Movie/TV Board
- Book Board
- Music Board
- Political Talk
- Money Talk
- Fark Board
- Gaming Board
- Travel Board
- Food/Drink Board
- Ticket Exchange
- TD Help Board
Customize My Forums- View All Forums
- Show Left Links
- Topic Sort Options
- Trending Topics
- Recent Topics
- Active Topics
Started By
Message
This might be a silly question, but how do you track contemporary good literature?
Posted on 4/13/20 at 2:52 pm
Posted on 4/13/20 at 2:52 pm
I've been reading too many old (ish) classics lately and I want to read some modern good lit.
Is there an online resource available that tracks newly(ish) released books/novels that are good literature?
Let's say I want to explore some really good works of lit that were written from 2010-2019. What's the best resource available to help me get a reading list going?
Is there an online resource available that tracks newly(ish) released books/novels that are good literature?
Let's say I want to explore some really good works of lit that were written from 2010-2019. What's the best resource available to help me get a reading list going?
This post was edited on 4/13/20 at 2:55 pm
Posted on 4/13/20 at 4:47 pm to HailHailtoMichigan!
I’d say start with the book awards, enter the ones you like onto a Goodreads account, and go from there. But in my experience, it’s a low percentage shot. The books never seem to live up to what they’re proclaimed to be, to me anyway. The decades of criticism that the classics go through does that work instead.
What I’ve had the most success with, and what I think you might be looking for, is the New York Review of Books series. The titles are obscure, the writing styles I’ve found are more modern, and they definitely go deeper than your normal fiction. Haven’t read one I didn’t like, and loved the John Williams novels, as well as Warlock.
But if what you’re looking for is a steady stream of good literature written since 2010 I can’t help you. Would love to find that as well.
What I’ve had the most success with, and what I think you might be looking for, is the New York Review of Books series. The titles are obscure, the writing styles I’ve found are more modern, and they definitely go deeper than your normal fiction. Haven’t read one I didn’t like, and loved the John Williams novels, as well as Warlock.
But if what you’re looking for is a steady stream of good literature written since 2010 I can’t help you. Would love to find that as well.
Posted on 4/13/20 at 5:10 pm to HailHailtoMichigan!
Yup, Goodreads has a huge community and they have rarely steered me wrong.
Posted on 4/13/20 at 8:51 pm to Kvothe
quote:I have a goodreads account.
Yup, Goodreads has a huge community and they have rarely steered me wrong.
Is it through community lists that I find good 21st century lit?
Posted on 4/13/20 at 8:54 pm to HailHailtoMichigan!
Goodreads tho I haven’t looked at mine in a minute
Posted on 4/13/20 at 10:22 pm to HailHailtoMichigan!
I think Michael Chabon might be an author you need to check out.
Posted on 7/1/20 at 8:00 pm to HailHailtoMichigan!
The problem is that political correctness is dominating the book review genre, so you can’t tell if THE BEST BOOK EVER is really good, or if it just champions LGBQTR theory.
The key is to find a critic you trust and go back through the last few years of his/her recommendations. One I trust is Nancy Pearl. She won’t recommend it if it’s not good fiction. I go through her recommendations of underappreciated novels and sort out the ones that appeal to me.
The key is to find a critic you trust and go back through the last few years of his/her recommendations. One I trust is Nancy Pearl. She won’t recommend it if it’s not good fiction. I go through her recommendations of underappreciated novels and sort out the ones that appeal to me.
Posted on 7/2/20 at 1:07 pm to HailHailtoMichigan!
Oprah’s recommendations
Posted on 7/2/20 at 11:32 pm to biglego
Goodreads + author's FB fan pages usually full of recs
Posted on 7/5/20 at 2:39 pm to HailHailtoMichigan!
Start with awards shortlists rather than winners, but focus on authors with multiple nominations rather than titles.
Once you have a list of authors, skim through their bibliography and look for plot summaries that you find interesting.
If necessary, search for spoiler free reviews of the author or selected works. Be aware that it is frequently very difficult to avoid spoilers online, most people have no sense of nuance when it comes to literary criticism (It's the best book ever because I liked it, it's the worst book ever because I didn't), and book communities are just as liable to circlejerk themselves into an echo chamber as anything else.
Worse yet, there is a tremendous push by the publishing industry to blur the line between genre fiction and literary fiction at the behest of and in pursuit of the twitter/social media audience and their outsize presence online. Progressives and their sympathetic postmodern intellectuals in academia have attacked literature with fervor so that books are no longer battles in the culture war but merely casualties. Authors like Jonathan Franzen or Jeffrey Eugenides win heaps of praise, then disdain, seemingly at random.
I would suggest Chabon, Franzen, Eugenides, Tartt, and Saunders if you are looking for contemporary, broadly "American" lit.
Once you have a list of authors, skim through their bibliography and look for plot summaries that you find interesting.
If necessary, search for spoiler free reviews of the author or selected works. Be aware that it is frequently very difficult to avoid spoilers online, most people have no sense of nuance when it comes to literary criticism (It's the best book ever because I liked it, it's the worst book ever because I didn't), and book communities are just as liable to circlejerk themselves into an echo chamber as anything else.
Worse yet, there is a tremendous push by the publishing industry to blur the line between genre fiction and literary fiction at the behest of and in pursuit of the twitter/social media audience and their outsize presence online. Progressives and their sympathetic postmodern intellectuals in academia have attacked literature with fervor so that books are no longer battles in the culture war but merely casualties. Authors like Jonathan Franzen or Jeffrey Eugenides win heaps of praise, then disdain, seemingly at random.
I would suggest Chabon, Franzen, Eugenides, Tartt, and Saunders if you are looking for contemporary, broadly "American" lit.
This post was edited on 7/5/20 at 2:41 pm
Posted on 7/7/20 at 7:36 pm to HailHailtoMichigan!
I read the Heap recently and enjoyed it a good bit.
ETA: Am also reading Dolores Redondo books right now. Spain is a very literature-focused country and it doesn’t seem to be as controlled. Reverte is another good contemporary author from there
ETA: Am also reading Dolores Redondo books right now. Spain is a very literature-focused country and it doesn’t seem to be as controlled. Reverte is another good contemporary author from there
This post was edited on 7/7/20 at 7:39 pm
Popular
Back to top
Follow TigerDroppings for LSU Football News