I recently reread Catcher, and I almost couldn't believe how good it was. Almost perfect (though also stranger than I remembered). I said so much to a friend a few days ago and they looked at me like I had a bug in my teeth. Oh well. Getting oxygen is all I care about....no matter where it comes from.
I used to read/teach Catcher every December back in the late 90s / early 00s. Never got old for me. Always looked forward to it. I should reread it. It's been a beat. Sometimes we need to risk getting bugs in our teeth in order to breathe in that oxygen, especially when we are moving at high speeds. Thanks for being here today, Mark Cecil! Here's to oxygen! (And to strange!)
I recently deleted Goodreads, because I do not think there is a more personal blueprint to how someone thinks than the books they have read. I prefer to keep mine private (besides now of course) because I love that my mind is private.
Thank you for sharing so candidly and authentically about reading. I love reading and it made me feel great to be conscious of someone else’s love for it as well. Have a great day!
Totally agree, Tyler. Reading is intimate. Should we be intimate with anonymous masses? And if so, when and how and to what end? And at what cost? Because there is always a cost. What do we gain? What do we lose?
When I talk to trusted friends about novels we've read or movies we've watched—people with whom I feel safe enough to be absolutely honest—I'm less interested in rating and more interested in talking about how stories work. And I'm also looking for new reading experiences that will light me up. The people who know me intimately can help steer me in the right direction. But those trusted people are few and maybe that's how it should be. You can't be intimate with the masses.
Thanks for being here, Tyler. I appreciate the good words!
I have a discarded library copy of The Corrections. It was once on my dad’s shelf and I took it when he passed away over 11 years ago. I don’t know if he ever read it but I wanted to read what he had read.
Sadly, I still haven’t read the book. I remember the Oprah hype and know the reputation of Franzen. I don’t know why I haven’t read it, but I’m often intimidated by dense books. I am a slow reader.
Your post is bringing light to this book again. I love your viewpoints so I’m thinking I may also enjoy the books you like? I suppose that is why readers ask that question of authors- what are your favorite books? But I agree it is a loaded question.
I am also 50 and love it because I have finally reached the point where I really don’t think I can be hurt by what others think of my choices. I’m glad you are feeling that too.
Thank you for sharing some of your favorites with us. Some I have also loved. Others, I think I will add to my list.
Sure seems like something wants you to read The Corrections, Nancy. A lot of synchronicities going on. Wow. I wonder what Franzen will have to offer you, if anything?
I often fear that readers want authors to be just like whoever the readers already are—to like what they like, to think like they do. And we book-promoting authors are just trying to avoid popping that fantasy bubble. (Some of us more successfully than others.) Don't ever meet your heroes, they say. LOL.
Happy reading, Nancy! May fifty bring us both more freedoms! Thanks for being here today!
Gotta admit: Every time I read your Substack, I’m ‘lit up’ like a pinball machine, Matthew! I can’t tell you how much I’m moved by your confessed vulnerabilities. In fact my favourite human characteristic is in those who readily admit their vulnerabilities in order to help others. It just blows me away - and you have that in spades my friend.
So glad to know my words are lighting you up, Roxanne. Even here at fifty, with twenty years of full-time writing under my belt, 'confessed vulnerabilities' do not come out easily and/or without consequences. I wish it were otherwise. It sometimes feels like a compulsion, maybe because I don't really know any other way. Or maybe it's just what I have to give in this lifetime, so I keep finding ways to pass along what I have.
Thanks for being here today, Roxanne! I very much appreciate the fuel.
Love this, Matthew! Makes me want to find space to rethink/re-explore my "favorite" authors. You are one of them, but thinking back to young adulthood, my faves were John Steinbeck (I don't think that one will change); Ray Bradbury (yep, no change there); and Pat Conroy (don't think he can be moved). You and Roland Merullo join those 3 in my top 5. I'm thinking just continuing to read authors I haven't read before might upset my top 5. I haven't read Franzen, so because you wrote this, I'm thinking I'll begin. Thank you!
I've never read The Corrections. Or any Franzen, for that matter! I think it's time I check him out.
And, hey, we love what we love. When it comes to movies, music, and books, I try to aim only for what lights me up. Life is too short. That said, I am ever the explorer, taking chances on new authors and musicians and directors - certain that there is still light out there that I have not yet discovered. Awesome post, Matthew!
Thanks for the Conroy information! Prince of Tides rocked my world, and the movie is terrific. Roland's Buddha books are iconic in so many ways. Of Mice and Men was never one of my Steinbeck favorites--not sure why. I LOVE East of Eden, Cannery Row, The Pearl, and Winter of our Discontent.
Another post that left me thinking about life and my place in it. I am still trying to figure out who I am and I hope that never stops. I spend a lot less time than I used to worried about what others think of my artistic selections. I also spend more time on early morning walks thinking about life, family, and the days gone by. I recently read Meditations and that gave me so much to process. For pleasure, I enjoy Matthew Norman's work. His novels are always connected to the world of music and his 40-something brain thinks similarly to mine.
As for providing light, your novels have done that for so many of your readers. It is your work that I am reading under a book light in the evenings or early mornings. I take your books with me to sporting events or conferences and I want to personally thank you for all of the light you have provided.
Glad you are still on the road to self discovery, Mark. I'm right there with you. I went through a big Stoic reading phase maybe ten years ago. Read The Daily Stoic every morning for a couple years. Lots of wisdom, for sure.
Really glad to know that my work has provided light. Means a lot to me. I appreciate the fuel. Thank you!
When I taught 4th grade, we spent a good chunk of time talking about abandoning books--when to do it, why you should do it, when you should push through and try to stick with a text...but I really struggled with this as an adult reader. I often wouldn't even notice that I had casually abandoned a book and just stopped reading for a few days altogether. Oliver Burkeman did a great seminar last year about creativity and practice, and he used the example of building a reading practice by only allowing yourself 10 pages per day as a way of building intrinsic motivation. The idea was that you wouldn't want to stop after 10 pages, but by forcing yourself to, you'd dive back in the next day. I found it was a helpful way for me to realize when it was time to abandon a text. If I wasn't excited to read the next 10 pages, why was I reading this book in the first place? Who was I reading it for? It's a funny thing that reading is such a private and personal experience but we do often find ourselves treating eat like eating spinach rather than chocolate. Thanks, as always, for your words.
"Who was I reading it for?" Yes, an excellent question. Always. A dark chocolate spinach combo sounds intriguing to me. Kale covered in 90% dark chocolate and red pepper flakes. I think I'd like the literary equivalent of that. LOL. Oliver Burkeman interviewed me once—maybe ten years ago—in a yurt when I was on tour in the UK. True story. Good man. I like his take on reading. I've heard the same applied to writing. Stop while you still know what is going to happen next. That way you never get stuck. Start the next day with momentum. I've never been able to follow that excellent advice. LOL. Thanks for being here today, Erin!
Different works of art (literature, music, textiles, sculptures, paintings, etc) speak to us at different times in our lives for different reasons. My current confessional title would be "I don't want Greta van Fleet to be my favorite band." Nevertheless I was bit by some kind of bug nearly six years ago. The I'm nearly 62 years old and have traveled around the country to attend the rock concerts this young band from Frankenmuth, Michigan. I've not been a fan of social media, but now I am on a few groups (Greta van Fleet Elders is my favorite) so I can be sure to know what is happening next in their career. I'm not the oldest there either! This is so uncharacteristic for me that my family thinks I have gone mad. I think I may have gone mad. Who knows what causes this to happen in ways that are so unique to us? All I know is that It is a great gift when art speaks to you and lights you up. Don't ignore it!! Thank you for sharing what lights you up. I felt I needed embarrass myself and share one of my own guilty pleasures so you wouldn't feel alone in this! The fact that it is rock music and not literature even makes it more embarrassing!
Greta van Fleet Elders. Oh, how I love that, Belinda. And traveling around the country to rock at sixty-two. I salute you. Here's to being lit up anyway we can. Thanks for being here with us!
I loved how you brought up that tension between admiring someone’s work and comparing it to our own. It’s really interesting in what cases am I inspired to create and in what instances does it make me want to give up and watch old Dallas re-runs.
Thanks! I once heard a wise man on The One You Feed podcast say, "Comparison is the thief of joy." And I love how specific your give-up fantasy is. Dallas re-runs! LOL. Perfect. I appreciate your being here this week, Eric. Hope your writing is going well. Keep fighting the good fight, brother.
I appreciate this take. I never read Franzen but now I will seek him out. I have no preconceived notions about him... other than now, I know he's one of your (not-so-secret) favorites.
This reminds me of the "Private Session" feature on Spotify. I guess the idea is that you'd want to shield the world from any off-brand listening habits you have. I never really understood that. I guess if you have kids and most of your listening is centered around "Baby Shark", it makes more sense. But if you're a true music lover, what have you got to hide? That the feature lives on in 2024 feels extra silly. No one is on the same page culturally anymore, so who cares?
To your point, I think we'd get way more "oxygen" seeing the real-world, real-time listening habits of a popular artist than reading their latest PR exercise or softball interview. The differences in taste, the cultural blindspots, the "embarrassing" things we like are what make life significantly more varied and interesting.
I think maybe for some people—particularly introverts—much of personal life is deeply private. I do think some things—again, for some of us—can be heightened in value if they are not shared with the world at large. But everyone is different.
Totally agree that all of the things you mentioned in the third paragraph are what make us human. It's all the stuff you'd need to know to build a three-dimensional character in a novel. And it's what you need to know if you want to truly be intimate with another human being.
Hope you have a meaningful experience with Franzen if you do go there. Thanks for being here with us.
I recently reread Catcher, and I almost couldn't believe how good it was. Almost perfect (though also stranger than I remembered). I said so much to a friend a few days ago and they looked at me like I had a bug in my teeth. Oh well. Getting oxygen is all I care about....no matter where it comes from.
I used to read/teach Catcher every December back in the late 90s / early 00s. Never got old for me. Always looked forward to it. I should reread it. It's been a beat. Sometimes we need to risk getting bugs in our teeth in order to breathe in that oxygen, especially when we are moving at high speeds. Thanks for being here today, Mark Cecil! Here's to oxygen! (And to strange!)
Reminds me of that old joke...how do you tell a happy motorcyclist? He's got bugs in his teeth. ;)
Ha! We could do much with that metaphor.
I recently deleted Goodreads, because I do not think there is a more personal blueprint to how someone thinks than the books they have read. I prefer to keep mine private (besides now of course) because I love that my mind is private.
Thank you for sharing so candidly and authentically about reading. I love reading and it made me feel great to be conscious of someone else’s love for it as well. Have a great day!
Totally agree, Tyler. Reading is intimate. Should we be intimate with anonymous masses? And if so, when and how and to what end? And at what cost? Because there is always a cost. What do we gain? What do we lose?
When I talk to trusted friends about novels we've read or movies we've watched—people with whom I feel safe enough to be absolutely honest—I'm less interested in rating and more interested in talking about how stories work. And I'm also looking for new reading experiences that will light me up. The people who know me intimately can help steer me in the right direction. But those trusted people are few and maybe that's how it should be. You can't be intimate with the masses.
Thanks for being here, Tyler. I appreciate the good words!
I have a discarded library copy of The Corrections. It was once on my dad’s shelf and I took it when he passed away over 11 years ago. I don’t know if he ever read it but I wanted to read what he had read.
Sadly, I still haven’t read the book. I remember the Oprah hype and know the reputation of Franzen. I don’t know why I haven’t read it, but I’m often intimidated by dense books. I am a slow reader.
Your post is bringing light to this book again. I love your viewpoints so I’m thinking I may also enjoy the books you like? I suppose that is why readers ask that question of authors- what are your favorite books? But I agree it is a loaded question.
I am also 50 and love it because I have finally reached the point where I really don’t think I can be hurt by what others think of my choices. I’m glad you are feeling that too.
Thank you for sharing some of your favorites with us. Some I have also loved. Others, I think I will add to my list.
Sure seems like something wants you to read The Corrections, Nancy. A lot of synchronicities going on. Wow. I wonder what Franzen will have to offer you, if anything?
I often fear that readers want authors to be just like whoever the readers already are—to like what they like, to think like they do. And we book-promoting authors are just trying to avoid popping that fantasy bubble. (Some of us more successfully than others.) Don't ever meet your heroes, they say. LOL.
Happy reading, Nancy! May fifty bring us both more freedoms! Thanks for being here today!
Gotta admit: Every time I read your Substack, I’m ‘lit up’ like a pinball machine, Matthew! I can’t tell you how much I’m moved by your confessed vulnerabilities. In fact my favourite human characteristic is in those who readily admit their vulnerabilities in order to help others. It just blows me away - and you have that in spades my friend.
So glad to know my words are lighting you up, Roxanne. Even here at fifty, with twenty years of full-time writing under my belt, 'confessed vulnerabilities' do not come out easily and/or without consequences. I wish it were otherwise. It sometimes feels like a compulsion, maybe because I don't really know any other way. Or maybe it's just what I have to give in this lifetime, so I keep finding ways to pass along what I have.
Thanks for being here today, Roxanne! I very much appreciate the fuel.
Love this, Matthew! Makes me want to find space to rethink/re-explore my "favorite" authors. You are one of them, but thinking back to young adulthood, my faves were John Steinbeck (I don't think that one will change); Ray Bradbury (yep, no change there); and Pat Conroy (don't think he can be moved). You and Roland Merullo join those 3 in my top 5. I'm thinking just continuing to read authors I haven't read before might upset my top 5. I haven't read Franzen, so because you wrote this, I'm thinking I'll begin. Thank you!
Thanks, Dixie! Here in Beaufort, SC Pat Conroy is the one and only true fiction god. There is even a Pat Conroy literary center.
https://patconroyliterarycenter.org
We just rewatched The Prince of Tides. Made me want to reread the book.
I've been having a nice email exchange with Roland, who is well. I'll pass on the high praise.
Have you seen the Gary Sinise John Malkovich Of Mice And Men? I used to watch that with my students. Back in the day.
Surreal to be included with those names. Thanks for the kind words, Dixie! Much appreciated.
I've never read The Corrections. Or any Franzen, for that matter! I think it's time I check him out.
And, hey, we love what we love. When it comes to movies, music, and books, I try to aim only for what lights me up. Life is too short. That said, I am ever the explorer, taking chances on new authors and musicians and directors - certain that there is still light out there that I have not yet discovered. Awesome post, Matthew!
I think The Corrections would hit you hard, Kent. Here's to finding undiscovered light! Thanks for being here today!
Thanks for the Conroy information! Prince of Tides rocked my world, and the movie is terrific. Roland's Buddha books are iconic in so many ways. Of Mice and Men was never one of my Steinbeck favorites--not sure why. I LOVE East of Eden, Cannery Row, The Pearl, and Winter of our Discontent.
Love the Buddha books!
Another post that left me thinking about life and my place in it. I am still trying to figure out who I am and I hope that never stops. I spend a lot less time than I used to worried about what others think of my artistic selections. I also spend more time on early morning walks thinking about life, family, and the days gone by. I recently read Meditations and that gave me so much to process. For pleasure, I enjoy Matthew Norman's work. His novels are always connected to the world of music and his 40-something brain thinks similarly to mine.
As for providing light, your novels have done that for so many of your readers. It is your work that I am reading under a book light in the evenings or early mornings. I take your books with me to sporting events or conferences and I want to personally thank you for all of the light you have provided.
Glad you are still on the road to self discovery, Mark. I'm right there with you. I went through a big Stoic reading phase maybe ten years ago. Read The Daily Stoic every morning for a couple years. Lots of wisdom, for sure.
Really glad to know that my work has provided light. Means a lot to me. I appreciate the fuel. Thank you!
When I taught 4th grade, we spent a good chunk of time talking about abandoning books--when to do it, why you should do it, when you should push through and try to stick with a text...but I really struggled with this as an adult reader. I often wouldn't even notice that I had casually abandoned a book and just stopped reading for a few days altogether. Oliver Burkeman did a great seminar last year about creativity and practice, and he used the example of building a reading practice by only allowing yourself 10 pages per day as a way of building intrinsic motivation. The idea was that you wouldn't want to stop after 10 pages, but by forcing yourself to, you'd dive back in the next day. I found it was a helpful way for me to realize when it was time to abandon a text. If I wasn't excited to read the next 10 pages, why was I reading this book in the first place? Who was I reading it for? It's a funny thing that reading is such a private and personal experience but we do often find ourselves treating eat like eating spinach rather than chocolate. Thanks, as always, for your words.
"Who was I reading it for?" Yes, an excellent question. Always. A dark chocolate spinach combo sounds intriguing to me. Kale covered in 90% dark chocolate and red pepper flakes. I think I'd like the literary equivalent of that. LOL. Oliver Burkeman interviewed me once—maybe ten years ago—in a yurt when I was on tour in the UK. True story. Good man. I like his take on reading. I've heard the same applied to writing. Stop while you still know what is going to happen next. That way you never get stuck. Start the next day with momentum. I've never been able to follow that excellent advice. LOL. Thanks for being here today, Erin!
Oh man, I gotta find that interview.
I'm not sure it was recorded. I'd be curious to hear what I said back then. LOL!
I just ordered The Corrections and The Discomfort Zone: A Personal History. so we'll see how this goes. Thank you for the inadvertent recommendation!
Hope you enjoy, Kandice! Thanks for being here this week!
Different works of art (literature, music, textiles, sculptures, paintings, etc) speak to us at different times in our lives for different reasons. My current confessional title would be "I don't want Greta van Fleet to be my favorite band." Nevertheless I was bit by some kind of bug nearly six years ago. The I'm nearly 62 years old and have traveled around the country to attend the rock concerts this young band from Frankenmuth, Michigan. I've not been a fan of social media, but now I am on a few groups (Greta van Fleet Elders is my favorite) so I can be sure to know what is happening next in their career. I'm not the oldest there either! This is so uncharacteristic for me that my family thinks I have gone mad. I think I may have gone mad. Who knows what causes this to happen in ways that are so unique to us? All I know is that It is a great gift when art speaks to you and lights you up. Don't ignore it!! Thank you for sharing what lights you up. I felt I needed embarrass myself and share one of my own guilty pleasures so you wouldn't feel alone in this! The fact that it is rock music and not literature even makes it more embarrassing!
Greta van Fleet Elders. Oh, how I love that, Belinda. And traveling around the country to rock at sixty-two. I salute you. Here's to being lit up anyway we can. Thanks for being here with us!
I loved how you brought up that tension between admiring someone’s work and comparing it to our own. It’s really interesting in what cases am I inspired to create and in what instances does it make me want to give up and watch old Dallas re-runs.
Thanks! I once heard a wise man on The One You Feed podcast say, "Comparison is the thief of joy." And I love how specific your give-up fantasy is. Dallas re-runs! LOL. Perfect. I appreciate your being here this week, Eric. Hope your writing is going well. Keep fighting the good fight, brother.
I appreciate this take. I never read Franzen but now I will seek him out. I have no preconceived notions about him... other than now, I know he's one of your (not-so-secret) favorites.
This reminds me of the "Private Session" feature on Spotify. I guess the idea is that you'd want to shield the world from any off-brand listening habits you have. I never really understood that. I guess if you have kids and most of your listening is centered around "Baby Shark", it makes more sense. But if you're a true music lover, what have you got to hide? That the feature lives on in 2024 feels extra silly. No one is on the same page culturally anymore, so who cares?
To your point, I think we'd get way more "oxygen" seeing the real-world, real-time listening habits of a popular artist than reading their latest PR exercise or softball interview. The differences in taste, the cultural blindspots, the "embarrassing" things we like are what make life significantly more varied and interesting.
Thanks for these thoughts, Steve P.
I think maybe for some people—particularly introverts—much of personal life is deeply private. I do think some things—again, for some of us—can be heightened in value if they are not shared with the world at large. But everyone is different.
Totally agree that all of the things you mentioned in the third paragraph are what make us human. It's all the stuff you'd need to know to build a three-dimensional character in a novel. And it's what you need to know if you want to truly be intimate with another human being.
Hope you have a meaningful experience with Franzen if you do go there. Thanks for being here with us.