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Posts tagged ‘the corrections’

Aug 8

grilled-rare-steak
30 Comments

When Books Make You Hungry

Food is awesome.

I like to cook it. I like to eat it. I like to experiment with it. I like to try different types of it.

And I also like to start blog posts with the feel of a third grade essay. Food is the coolest.

Anyway, books are cool, too. Maybe you like them? That’s why, when I saw this article by Summer Tomato, I knew I had to share.

She theorizes that reading can make you cook better. You’re thrown into different cultures and places in time with different takes on food and its deliciousness.

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Jun 1

to-kill-a-mockingbird
10 Comments

5 Famous Authors & Their Controversies

If there’s one thing literary types like, it’s a good controversy.

Don’t let the literary world fool you—they may snub their nose at celebrity gossip, but replace “Paris Hilton” with “Jonathan Franzen,” and suddenly their ears perk up.

I find it interesting that, out of the first 43 books I’ve read and researched from the Time list, the large majority of the novels—or at least the authors—have been through some type of small controversy at some point.

Noticing that trend, I put together some of the more memorable “controversies” or rumors—some of which still linger today.

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Mar 16

franzen2
17 Comments

Stuff Jonathan Franzen Hates

Jonathan Franzen is an excellent writer. I loved the modern feel of The Corrections, and his 10 writing rules have generated a ton of traffic for this blog.

But let’s be honest: The guy comes off as a curmudgeon. He seems like an old grizzly curmudgeon who hates rainbows and doesn’t smile.

Franzen has been open about his disdain for ebooks (yeah, I’m not an ebook guy, but I’m not mean about it). He also hates Twitter and Facebook. All of this has been in the news again recently, when Franzen said this about Twitter (via The Guardian):

“Twitter is unspeakably irritating. Twitter stands for everything I oppose…It’s hard to cite facts or create an argument in 140 characters …It’s the ultimate irresponsible medium. People I care about are readers … particularly serious readers and writers, these are my people. And we do not like to yak about ourselves.”

The beauty of Twitter? People–obviously not Franzen’s “people”– immediately began poking at him, suggesting other things that Jonathan Franzen also hates because it seems like he hates a lot of things.

So that’s what today’s post is about. We know he hates Kindle, Facebook, and Twitter. What else does the curmudgeonish Jonathan Franzen hate?

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Dec 7

Thecorrectionscvr
12 Comments

The Corrections: Coming To A TV Near You

Let’s hope HBO can do justice to Jonathan Franzen’s The Corrections, which has begun casting for an upcoming HBO series.

According to Franzen, Chris Cooper and Dianne West have been cast as the Lambert parents, and casting continues for the role of the kids. A few years ago, names like Tim Robbins, Brad Pitt, and Cate Blanchett were mentioned as possible actors in a potential movie. But those guys are probably too old these days. And now Entertainment Weekly says Ewan McGregor has been cast as Chip.

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Mar 14

37 Comments

Book #12: The Corrections

Have you ever read a novel that includes talking poop? No, you say? Well here’s your chance. Before I get to the talking poop, though, let’s back up a bit.

In all honesty, I was extremely skeptical of this book before I read the first word. First off, I’m always leery of books in which the front cover features the author’s name larger than the title itself. Author ego?

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Mar 10

225 Comments

Jonathan Franzen’s 10 Rules of Writing

Last week, I posted about George Orwell’s rules for writing, so while I’m finishing book #12: The Corrections I thought this would be a great opportunity to check out what Jonathan Franzen has to say on the subject.

This list came from The Guardian:

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Mar 7

3 Comments

The Corrections: Dialogue Done Right

Nothing kills a book like bad dialogue. Cheesy one liners. Conversations that don’t advance the plot or mean anything at all.

As I continue to quickly plow through Jonathan Franzen’s The Corrections, my favorite aspect of Franzen’s style is his beautiful dialogue. Conversations between characters come across as so natural.

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Mar 3

14 Comments

Franzen: Dudes Don’t Dig Oprah’s Book Club

If you’re looking for ten-year-old news, then you’ve come to the right place. When The Corrections was published in 2001, Queen Oprah selected the novel to be the newest member of her book club. Great news for Jonathan Franzen, right?

Maybe not.

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Mar 2

Next Up: The Corrections

The Corrections is a little 576 page tale about The Lamberts—a traditional Midwestern family with all sorts of issues.  Consider them the anti-Cosbys.

Dad is sick with Parkinsons. The unstable grown kids have moved away from their oppressive parents. They loathe their parents and each other. Sounds like a real pick-me-up.

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Feb 4

9 Comments

The Next Five

One of the most fun aspects of this project is investigating which books to read next. Four books slowly trickled in via Amazon this week.  I already own The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

Now, it’s just a matter of digging in, once I finish, I, Claudius–which is turning out to be a wonderful read. Not sure yet about the order in which I’ll read the next five.

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