Great list, Greg! I just finished rereading Lolita last month along with another of Malamud’s novels. The Flashman series is great. Royal Flash rewriting The Prisoner of Zenda works so well. I don’t see too many folks mentioning any of Henry Roth’s works on BookTube. I’ll have to check out that Arkansas book. I’ve never heard of either it or the author. Thanks for sharing!
If you just finished rereading Lolita you might want to check out Donald Harington’s tribute novel Ekaterina . A female immigrant novelist from the Ukraine is attracted to boys.
Love this - I'm thinking of making this into a project for myself ("Greg's recommended picks" or something...) - I haven't read any of these and only had one on my radar - Lolita - which I'm hoping to read in Dec or January. What should I call it if I make this a TBR for next year? :D
Lolita is possibly my all time favorite novel. Personally, I felt some sympathy for H.H. despite his abhorrent behavior, which I thought was part of the genius of novel. Interesting list!
You are not biting off more than you can chew. Of these _Stoner_ is the one I feel most drawn to. I’ve heard about Flashman… possibly here though 😂 and the series intrigues me. One installment takes him to Sarawak I believe.
Flashman makes it to many important historical events including the Battle of Gettysburg. Flashman claims he is responsible for Lee losing though he never gives the details.
I've only read Stoner from the list. I rarely reread and haven't found I get a lot more from a reread, unlike many other readers. The next book I want to reread is My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk, which I really liked but found subsequent books I read by the author didn't hit that sweet spot.
Thanks for the synopses on these titles. I’ve been thinking of getting around to Walker Percy in the near future however I’ve been unaware of “Love In the Ruins”, sounds interesting. “The Architecture of the Arkansas Ozarks” has such an intriguing title, I would pick it off a library fiction shelf just to flip through it if not to nestle down for a long read. I was thoroughly engaged in reading “Stoner” only a couple of months ago. So, not yet time for a re-read. Some might think it a bit bleak but I enjoy books like that. (For example, “Revolutionary Road” by Richard Yates. Also,”Ethan Frome” by Wharton.) “A Prayer for Owen Meaney” is so good, poignant and funny. Several scenes in that book made me laugh out loud. The Christmas pageant and the fate of a teacher’s Volkswagen are just two that come to kind. The fate of Owen left me quite teary-eyed. Let us know if you find the high points quite so high when you know how events play out. “The Red Badge of Courage” by Stephen Crane is one of the few novels I re-read. I had hated it as 8th grader. Now, several decades older I really appreciated how good Cranes’ writing was in describing a young recruit’s first day in a Civil War battle. Amazingly, Crane had not been in the army. His brother’s experiences Inspired the story. Enjoy your re-reads. 📚 👀
It would take an excellent library to stock Donald Haringrton. I reread The Red Badge of Courage a few years ago. Crane was an extraordinary author who died so young. I’m especially fond of his poetry.
If I were going to reread some Walker Percy, it’d be Lost In The Cosmos: The Last Self-Help Book. It was my introduction to semiotics, and frequently truly hilarious in a completely deadpan way.
From this list I have read Call it Sleep, The Fixer, A Prayer for Owen Meany and Lolita (I've reread that one). I've always wondered if I'd like Stoner. I hope these are great rereads for you!
This is a great list. I also need to reread Nabokov and I'd like to read almost all the rest. I think Walker Percy's greatest legacy might end up being a book he didn't write--Confederacy of Dunces.
Well I will stick to rereading books by the Belgian Georges Simenon he reminds me much of my uncle Joseph..by the way I met the female author Emily Griffin in person she autographed her book to me and we took a photo together.
I love the idea of rereading books, but there are so many books on my shelves I haven't read that I almost feel guilty when I reread a book. The only book on your list I've read is _Stoner_ , but I don't think it was for me, really. I have a copy of _Love in the Ruins_ on my shelf, it always sounds like a book I'd really like, but at the beginning of this year I read a collection of Percy's essays, _Signposts in a Strange Land_ , and I was so frustrated by them that I think I'll have to cool off a while longer before I can read one of his novels.
I read The Last Temptation in the 80s and Zorba the Greek in the 90s. I have unread copies of Saint Francis, Freedom or Death, and Odyssey: A Modern Sequel on my shelves.
@@anotherbibliophilereads That's nice to hear. I'm sure that a reread of The Last Temptation would be very interesting. In case, though, you are interested for a Zorbas's reread, please consider to read it from the relative new translation made by the leading Kazantzakis's scholar Peter Bien. The translation you have was unfortunately made from the French translation of the novel and not from the original Greek. I think that on Amazon you can read a sample of Bien's introduction, where he talks about several translation issues.
@@Manfred-nj8vz Your recommendation has excellent timing. I’m finishing up my final selection for my 12 Translated Novel I Want to Read. The new Zorba the Greek translation is available from my local library so I give it some thought. I would have lot decided which other book it knock off the list though.
If you ever listen to anything while reading comments, let it be this - go find book called Manifestation Hacks by Olivia Cooper, then come back and thank me