Book Needs

I'm reading Moll Flanders these days, but it would be more accurate to say I'm "reading" Moll Flanders these days.  I keep it tucked under the second pillow of my bed, and when I climb into bed I pick it up and read a few pages until I notice that I've fallen asleep and am having dreams instead of seeing the words in front of me.  I put the bookmark in, tuck it back under the pillow beside me, and go to sleep.  When I pick up the book on a new night of course I don't remember what's going on, so I go back a page.  Even then I have only the vaguest idea.  That's because, besides the narrator, there are no characters to speak of, and very little action.  Just a lot of description and moralizing for the first 140 pages, with strange spelling, cryptic use of italics, and arcane capitalization.  Anyway, it's pretty slow going.      

I'm heading to Chicago soon, which means airplane time and hotel room time, which means a novel or two.  I'll probably be reading bankruptcy commentaries and educational materials, too, but I would love a nice novel, heavy on the plot and the characters.  Recommendations? 

Comments

[SLA]

Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson (1st in a triology and out in paperback!)

[ML]

I'm probably going to recommend The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, by Mark Haddon, to book-group as our next read, while you're in Chicago. Either that or Father Joe, by Tony Hendra. And Drop City, by T.C. Boyle, all meet your requirements. I could lend you Drop City, but will need the other two to show the group.

[Sylvia]

Red Azalea by Anchee Min- I recommend this to everyone. Also, if you haven't read Of Human Bondage it was surprisingly good.

[Rufus]

The Fortress of Solitude by Jonathan Lethem. It's the best post 2000 American novel I've read.

[win]

I was going to suggest Quicksilver, but at about 1000 pages, it may be a little meaty to cram into an already full weekend. It certainly has plenty of both plot and character, as well as good deal of history - political, scientific and technological, some of which is bogus, or should I say fictional, but all of which is enthralling. Stephenson is clearly fascinated by the world of ideas, from the etymology to 'sabotage' to the simultaneous invention of the calculus by Newton and Leibnitz, from 17th century silver mining technology in the Hartz mountains to the court intrigues of Louis XIV's Versailles. A wonderful, sweeping book.

[otis]

First, regarding Quicksilver, it's not the first 1000 pages that is the time suck...its the fact that it's the first of a 3 book "cycle" which leads to the overpowering need to know how the story finishes.

Second, I'm currently reading "American Gods" by Neil Gaiman, and it's proving to be a great read...and the first part of the book takes place in and around Chicago.

[christine]

You could try Middlemarch by George Eliot. She gives a lot of insight into her characters' motivations in the book, and I think that makes it a compelling read.

[Hal O'Brien]

Lost in Translation, by Nicole Mones, I thought was very good. A mix of philosophy, anthropology, and observation of China -- which is what one would expect of someone chasing a dig of Teilhard de Chardin, Raiders of the Lost Ark-style.

I also very much liked A.S. Byatt's Possession. This one also has a puzzle aspect to it, as a pair of 1980's academics go hither and yon trying to track down a literary mystery. What's fascinating here is how Byatt keeps adding the voices she writes in, both Victorian and contemporary.

[Emily]

Gangster by Lorenzo Carcettera

[ijk]

Two quick options:

J. Stroud: The Bartimaeus Trilogy (book 1) - Well written, fun and snappy fiction...great airplane fare (couldn't resist)...

Wilton Barnhardt: Gospel: A Novel - historical fiction/quest for the lost gospel of Mathias...think Eco's Name of the Rose meets Indiana Jones (with better characters than both)....really a jem. Skip the trans sections if they are too dense for the second reading . Highly rec. this...though heavier (literally and figuratively) than Stroud.

best,
/ijk

[gretchen]

I love Possession and recommend it constantly. I just read Prep, by Curtis Sittenfeld, and I think it's worth a read. I was ultimately frustrated with the narrator, but its focus on status and prestige and wealth and the experience of outsiders in a world of exclusivity is entirely resonant with my Ivy League experience. She has an uncanny gift for the details, too. If you haven't read The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, by Michael Chabon, it is an absolutely wonderful read, much like a nineteenth century novel in its attention to plot and character, but incredibly readable. And I just read Case Histories, by Kate Atkinson, which I highly recommend if you are interested in mysteries.

You might try "West With the Night" by Beryl Markham if you haven't already read it. This is not a novel, it's a memoir. Written by the first woman to try flying from Europe to the U.S. (but only ending with that anecdote). I read it in an airport and on a plane, and absolutely could not put it down. It makes my top 10 books of all time list.

Based on your reading proclivities and comments, I think you would also like Annie Dillard. Both "An American Childhood" and "Pilgrim at Tinker Creek" are Pulitzer Prize winners. Try Pilgrim first - it's a collection of essays, you can jump in and out at will.

"Goodbye Without Leaving" by Laurie Colwin. I think you'd like her sense of humor.

"The Time-Traveler's Wife" by Audrey Niffenberger.