Open Thread: One Book or Author You Can’t Stop Talking About?
When a Book or Author Takes up Long-Term Residence in Our Minds
Whenever we read, we entertain the thoughts of others. Sometimes those thoughts are so entertaining, persuasive, meaningful, or otherwise important to us we simply can’t stop thinking about them. And that means we usually can’t stop talking about them.
We all probably have several authors like that in our lives. Recently, I’ve been fixated on Joan Didion. I binge-read seven of her books and have now written about her connection to California, as well as her life as a writer. I’ve also returned to C.S. Lewis several times in the last year—about his feud with T.S. Eliot, the death of his wife, his own waning days, his very best book, the eastern influences on his work, and more besides.
But who else can’t I stop thinking and talking about? Eugene Vodolazkin.
Vodolazkin is the critically acclaimed writer of such novels as Laurus and The Aviator. I’ve reviewed his two most recent novels here, both Brisbane and A History of the Island. I even interviewed his translator, Lisa C. Hayden. I recommend all things Vodolazkin but above all The Aviator; it’s among my favorite novels of all time, and I suggest it to anyone who will stand still long enough to listen.
Which book or author is like that for you? Whose work do you enjoy so much you can’t stop talking about it? Share them with us in the comments!
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