They sold those condensed books by the millions. Wild, since the market for that today is nearly nonexistent. Many if these judgements are just the ups and downs of cultural trends.
They were great for my teen reading habits. Introduced me to lots of books and authors, which probably informs my wildly varied reading preferences today. Although, back then, I wasn't paying attention to abridgement versions, etc. - I just wanted to read and they were readily available everywhere.
We got given dozens of issues by someone with a yearly subscription in my childhood. I read them all, and learned a lot, although the 'true crime' narratives were terrifying, and made the world seem a very unsafe place.
I was unaware they had fallen from fashion although I do know they are very much of their time. I love D. L. Sayers and I prefer Lord Peter to most of the other literary detectives of the Golden Age of detection.
I love Brideshead Revisited, by Evelyn Waugh (and the Granada TV adaptation with Jeremy Irons and Anthony Andrews at least as much). But when as a youngster from an unremarkable school I won a place at Oxford, I was derided as a 'Brideshead' wannabe by friends.
The general left-wing consensus was that Oxford was a place of unimaginable, unearned privilege, replete with champagne, Turkish cigarettes and foppish androgynous men sporting Teddy bears called Aloysius - all of which was in evidence in the beautifully produced television series, of course.
In 1989, it simply was no longer like that - and for most, it never had been. The story is at heart one of utter tragedy, in any case, not of upper class hijinks.
It is trite to apologise and say 'the rich also suffer'. It is even more trite to suggest that class consciousness should govern one's approach to a work like this masterpiece of Waugh's.
Do read it (and dig out the serialisation if you can, too).
That’s an interesting one! So many potential conflicts among potential readers: e.g., Catholics who appreciate the redemptive element of the story, yet conservative types who object to the homosexuality and don’t want to develop sympathies for characters they loathe. Meanwhile, those competing urges are what drive the narrative.
'My Early Life' by Winston Churchill. The autobiographical account of his childhood, boyhood, and young manhood depicts the rarified, highly privileged upper class male sphere of the late Victorian era, an era that is not popular now. But while Churchill, who wrote this after WWI, recalls his hot blooded youth with nostalgia, he also acknowledges how much was taken for granted, even seeing some, though not all, of the injustice that was done. He is a great storyteller. The account of his escape during the Boer War is highly entertaining and the description of his boyish struggle to learn Latin is laugh out loud funny.
Four historical works by Thomas B. Costain. Costain was a Canadian-American novelist who wrote sweeping historical epics of the kind that was wildly popular in the mid-20th century, the kind that got the Hollywood widescreen, technicolor, star-studded cast treatment. He also wrote five actual history books. I was given one of his Plantagenet history quadrilogy in my teens, and got hooked on his ability to write history like it was a novel. Is it completely accurate history? I didn't find it any less accurate in the main facts than drier historical works.
Churchill has definitely fallen on hard times among some critics. I guess that’s always been true to a degree, but today he seems only really loved by a certain kind of conservative. The anticolonial vibe makes it difficult to redeem anyone who ever defended the system.
Churchill was a teenage hero of mine. I read his 'History of the English Speaking People' and the first two volumes of his WWII account (he got too bogged down in day to day details, so that I kept losing the overall picture and finally gave up). Did I feel deeply disappointed when I learned he wasn't perfect, and had in fact, helped cause a severe famine in India? Yes, of course, but by that time I had matured beyond needing a hero and was not surprised at the capability of humans to commit both good and evil. It also underscored just how terrible earthly power is to hold - the higher a human climbs in worldly power, the more suffering their failings will cause.
I LOVE the Plantagenet books by Costain. I found a vintage boxed set a few years ago and want to re-read them this year. They're great reference points for the life and times of the Plantagenets. I've read other novels of his, but nothing comes close to the greatness of those books.
I have the first three of the Plantagenet books - I've read the fourth but haven't found a copy to own yet. My editions all happen to be from the first printing when Costain was intending to do a complete history of English monarchy, so the first volume is called The Conquerors instead of The Conquering Family and starts with William the Conqueror. Costain wrote another single history, about the colony of New France in what is now Quebec, Canada, called the 'White and the Gold' - that's the fourth Costain I have, and it is as interesting to read as the Plantagenet series.
An old and incredibly funny book, The Years With Ross, was first published by Little, Brown, and Company, in 1957. It is still in print through Harper Perennial Modern Classics. The Years With Ross is a "tell all" about author and humorist James Thurber's years writing for The New Yorker under its brilliant and very eccentric founder, Harold Ross.
I had my own office for many years and would often read there during my lunch hour which was from 12 noon to 1 pm. After lunch, I faithfully opened my office at 1:00 pm on the dot but found that while I was reading The Years With Ross, I had to stop reading at 12:50 pm to give myself 10 minutes to stop laughing before I opened the door to the public.
If you are a Thurber fan, or a fan of The New Yorker, or simply love to read about the literati in the long-ago days of NYNY, this book might be for you. It is helpful to keep in mind that this is an OLD book. Some of its contents are off base in our current cultural climate – e.g., Harold Ross was quite sexist. If you can get past that, the humor in The Years with Ross is focused on The New Yorker Magazine’s head honcho, who was almost always the target of Thurber’s understated but oh-so-funny commentary. Bonus: Drawings in the book are by the author.
Thurber is great, but you bring up a great issue—what one generation considers humor, another might find offensive, possibly for good reason. Still, Thurber! He’s a riot.
I love Thurber's children's stories 'Many Moons' (we had a taped recording of Peter Ustinov reading it that forms a part of my childhood soundtrack), 'The Thirteen Clocks', and 'The Wonderful O'. He also wrote the short story 'The Secret Life of Walter Mitty' which has inspired two films - I have only seen the 1947 version with Danny Kaye, which I enjoyed.
This sounds like a book I would enjoy. (I'm a big Thurber fan. If you ever get a chance to tour the Thurber museum in Columbus, Ohio -- do it! It was the Thurber family home and will give a whole new dimension to his short story about the night the bed fell.) In some ways, modern readers seem unable to withstand the shock of discovering that their ancestors did not have 21st century attitudes. But I like reading older books because it allows me to get inside a different mindset. It's like time traveling.
I'd say most stories with the white savior trope aren't as accepted as they once were. I also think the primary moral it conveys is that murder is okay under the right circumstances.
“Neuromancer” by William Gibson, “Green Eyes” by Lucius Shepherd, “The Anubis Gates” by Tim Powers, and “Norstrillia” by Cordwainer Smith—all pioneering SF novels.
Sci-fi definitely comes into it for some disapprobation—as if it’s just silly, fantastical stuff. Some of it certainly is, but great sci-fi is as piercing as any great literature.
1. I try to avoid conversations about favorite Shakespeare plays when in polite company because tragically my favorite one is Pericles.
2. B. F. Skinner became a psychologist because everyone agreed he lacked the skill to achieve his original dream of being a novelist, but Walden Two is one of my favorite books.
3. I will stand by being deeply moved by certain scenes in Twilight, especially the one where Bella has a stomach bug. I still think a large part of why that book took off had nothing to do with pretty boys or vampires.
4. I once told a Japanese friend's husband that my favorite Japanese author is Tanizaki Junichiro, and he grimaced, shook his finger at me, and admonished me with one mortifying and disapproving word: "Sexy."
One of those I-wish-I-could-disappear moments. I thought it was safe to say that you like any classic author or book (no one's ever blinked at me for liking Lolita!), but I learned that this is not the case.
I don't think so! He received some of Japan's highest cultural honors and it seems like a movie adaptation of one of his works has come out just about every year since 1920 (I'm only slightly exaggerating). But how can I know for sure when I don't dare whisper his name in the presence of a Japanese person ever again?
The Children of Men by P.D. James—One friend who loves James’s mystery novels hates this book, saying it was a sermon more than a novel. I enjoy dystopian novels, and this is one of the best.
Capturing the Culture: Film, Art, and Politics by Richard Grenier—The first and best conservative film critic, who took on such favorites as Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi.
The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White—The bête noire of descriptivists, who have ruined popular usage. I hope they enjoy the tidal wave of moronic writing they helped create.
All R Dahl. He has been v criticised for various things but you can’t escape the fact there’s never quite been a children’s author like him. I am rediscovering just how incredible he was now as I read to my kids. No one else has ever come close. The chapter the BFG within the book the BFG is one of the best chapters in a kids’ book ever written and so relevant now with its analysis of how awful humans can be to one another
I took love Roald Dahl and find no shame in saying that. I realize some are offended by who he was and some of his word choices but honestly I still can not fully understand why. Ultimately, I believe to some extent that if people are looking to be offended, they will be offended. Roald loved to poke fun at the absurd and grotesque and he did so with great youthful and perfectly boyish humor.
If Mark Twain is on your list of “possibly questionable” books, there’s something deeply wrong with your society. Crikey.
Much more questionable of course is a literary hero of mine in Robert E Howard. I feel I can argue successfully that even his most racist stuff is less racist than you think, and some of his stories are arguably anti racist. He also is just a good writer.
I love Mark Twain, and Huckleberry Finn is a work of genius. H.L. Mencken said it was the greatest American novel. The trouble is that while it used to be taught in public schools, it’s been on the outs for a while because of the language in the book. It’s a sad and frankly silly.
Ah, I do have what might be a guilty pleasure. I have a small stack of Damon Runyon books on my shelf because I so much enjoy the language as reflected in old B&W movies set in New York between the wars - and of course Guys and Dolls.
I feel a little guilty that The Sun Also Rises is one of my favorite novels. It’s kind of cloying and bro-ey (is that a word) that makes me a little uncomfortable today, but it’s still Papa.
I recently re-read The Sun Also Rises which was my all-time most favorite book EVER in the history of reading. The tragic story of Lady Brett and Jake resonated so deeply in my soul when I was in high school and college. I don't even know how many times I have read it. Reading it as a 60 year old woman, "Brett get over yourself." hahahahah
Readers Digest.
My grandfather submitted so many short stories to Reader's Digest they put him on a blacklist. Shame - his humor was a great fit!
Every month I read it cover to cover as a teen. And the condensed books! Read so many that way.
They sold those condensed books by the millions. Wild, since the market for that today is nearly nonexistent. Many if these judgements are just the ups and downs of cultural trends.
They were great for my teen reading habits. Introduced me to lots of books and authors, which probably informs my wildly varied reading preferences today. Although, back then, I wasn't paying attention to abridgement versions, etc. - I just wanted to read and they were readily available everywhere.
LOL. Love it. Used to be very fashionable, now considerably less so.
We got given dozens of issues by someone with a yearly subscription in my childhood. I read them all, and learned a lot, although the 'true crime' narratives were terrifying, and made the world seem a very unsafe place.
Dorothy Sayers' Peter Wimsey mysteries. Love that character.
Why do you think those have fallen from fashion?
I was unaware they had fallen from fashion although I do know they are very much of their time. I love D. L. Sayers and I prefer Lord Peter to most of the other literary detectives of the Golden Age of detection.
And of course Dame Agatha Christie!
I love Brideshead Revisited, by Evelyn Waugh (and the Granada TV adaptation with Jeremy Irons and Anthony Andrews at least as much). But when as a youngster from an unremarkable school I won a place at Oxford, I was derided as a 'Brideshead' wannabe by friends.
The general left-wing consensus was that Oxford was a place of unimaginable, unearned privilege, replete with champagne, Turkish cigarettes and foppish androgynous men sporting Teddy bears called Aloysius - all of which was in evidence in the beautifully produced television series, of course.
In 1989, it simply was no longer like that - and for most, it never had been. The story is at heart one of utter tragedy, in any case, not of upper class hijinks.
It is trite to apologise and say 'the rich also suffer'. It is even more trite to suggest that class consciousness should govern one's approach to a work like this masterpiece of Waugh's.
Do read it (and dig out the serialisation if you can, too).
That’s an interesting one! So many potential conflicts among potential readers: e.g., Catholics who appreciate the redemptive element of the story, yet conservative types who object to the homosexuality and don’t want to develop sympathies for characters they loathe. Meanwhile, those competing urges are what drive the narrative.
My reply showed up at the top instead of within the comments here. Loved Brideshead book and show.
'My Early Life' by Winston Churchill. The autobiographical account of his childhood, boyhood, and young manhood depicts the rarified, highly privileged upper class male sphere of the late Victorian era, an era that is not popular now. But while Churchill, who wrote this after WWI, recalls his hot blooded youth with nostalgia, he also acknowledges how much was taken for granted, even seeing some, though not all, of the injustice that was done. He is a great storyteller. The account of his escape during the Boer War is highly entertaining and the description of his boyish struggle to learn Latin is laugh out loud funny.
Four historical works by Thomas B. Costain. Costain was a Canadian-American novelist who wrote sweeping historical epics of the kind that was wildly popular in the mid-20th century, the kind that got the Hollywood widescreen, technicolor, star-studded cast treatment. He also wrote five actual history books. I was given one of his Plantagenet history quadrilogy in my teens, and got hooked on his ability to write history like it was a novel. Is it completely accurate history? I didn't find it any less accurate in the main facts than drier historical works.
Churchill has definitely fallen on hard times among some critics. I guess that’s always been true to a degree, but today he seems only really loved by a certain kind of conservative. The anticolonial vibe makes it difficult to redeem anyone who ever defended the system.
Churchill was a teenage hero of mine. I read his 'History of the English Speaking People' and the first two volumes of his WWII account (he got too bogged down in day to day details, so that I kept losing the overall picture and finally gave up). Did I feel deeply disappointed when I learned he wasn't perfect, and had in fact, helped cause a severe famine in India? Yes, of course, but by that time I had matured beyond needing a hero and was not surprised at the capability of humans to commit both good and evil. It also underscored just how terrible earthly power is to hold - the higher a human climbs in worldly power, the more suffering their failings will cause.
I LOVE the Plantagenet books by Costain. I found a vintage boxed set a few years ago and want to re-read them this year. They're great reference points for the life and times of the Plantagenets. I've read other novels of his, but nothing comes close to the greatness of those books.
I have the first three of the Plantagenet books - I've read the fourth but haven't found a copy to own yet. My editions all happen to be from the first printing when Costain was intending to do a complete history of English monarchy, so the first volume is called The Conquerors instead of The Conquering Family and starts with William the Conqueror. Costain wrote another single history, about the colony of New France in what is now Quebec, Canada, called the 'White and the Gold' - that's the fourth Costain I have, and it is as interesting to read as the Plantagenet series.
Costain is one of my favorites from my youth.
An old and incredibly funny book, The Years With Ross, was first published by Little, Brown, and Company, in 1957. It is still in print through Harper Perennial Modern Classics. The Years With Ross is a "tell all" about author and humorist James Thurber's years writing for The New Yorker under its brilliant and very eccentric founder, Harold Ross.
I had my own office for many years and would often read there during my lunch hour which was from 12 noon to 1 pm. After lunch, I faithfully opened my office at 1:00 pm on the dot but found that while I was reading The Years With Ross, I had to stop reading at 12:50 pm to give myself 10 minutes to stop laughing before I opened the door to the public.
If you are a Thurber fan, or a fan of The New Yorker, or simply love to read about the literati in the long-ago days of NYNY, this book might be for you. It is helpful to keep in mind that this is an OLD book. Some of its contents are off base in our current cultural climate – e.g., Harold Ross was quite sexist. If you can get past that, the humor in The Years with Ross is focused on The New Yorker Magazine’s head honcho, who was almost always the target of Thurber’s understated but oh-so-funny commentary. Bonus: Drawings in the book are by the author.
Thurber is great, but you bring up a great issue—what one generation considers humor, another might find offensive, possibly for good reason. Still, Thurber! He’s a riot.
I love Thurber's children's stories 'Many Moons' (we had a taped recording of Peter Ustinov reading it that forms a part of my childhood soundtrack), 'The Thirteen Clocks', and 'The Wonderful O'. He also wrote the short story 'The Secret Life of Walter Mitty' which has inspired two films - I have only seen the 1947 version with Danny Kaye, which I enjoyed.
This sounds like a book I would enjoy. (I'm a big Thurber fan. If you ever get a chance to tour the Thurber museum in Columbus, Ohio -- do it! It was the Thurber family home and will give a whole new dimension to his short story about the night the bed fell.) In some ways, modern readers seem unable to withstand the shock of discovering that their ancestors did not have 21st century attitudes. But I like reading older books because it allows me to get inside a different mindset. It's like time traveling.
A Time to Kill by John Grisham
Why do you think that one has fallen out of favor?
I'd say most stories with the white savior trope aren't as accepted as they once were. I also think the primary moral it conveys is that murder is okay under the right circumstances.
Interesting on both counts. It’s weird how that second one seems a bit wobbly today: a lot of people lionize Luigi Mangione.
Good points. I guess the moral is a little uncomfortable for me but maybe not the public at large. Even still, I can’t help but love that book. Haha
And the movie!
“Neuromancer” by William Gibson, “Green Eyes” by Lucius Shepherd, “The Anubis Gates” by Tim Powers, and “Norstrillia” by Cordwainer Smith—all pioneering SF novels.
Sci-fi definitely comes into it for some disapprobation—as if it’s just silly, fantastical stuff. Some of it certainly is, but great sci-fi is as piercing as any great literature.
1. I try to avoid conversations about favorite Shakespeare plays when in polite company because tragically my favorite one is Pericles.
2. B. F. Skinner became a psychologist because everyone agreed he lacked the skill to achieve his original dream of being a novelist, but Walden Two is one of my favorite books.
3. I will stand by being deeply moved by certain scenes in Twilight, especially the one where Bella has a stomach bug. I still think a large part of why that book took off had nothing to do with pretty boys or vampires.
4. I once told a Japanese friend's husband that my favorite Japanese author is Tanizaki Junichiro, and he grimaced, shook his finger at me, and admonished me with one mortifying and disapproving word: "Sexy."
One of those I-wish-I-could-disappear moments. I thought it was safe to say that you like any classic author or book (no one's ever blinked at me for liking Lolita!), but I learned that this is not the case.
I love this list. Thanks for sharing—especially Skinner. I haven’t even thought about him in years now.
I like Tanizaki. Is he considered low class in Japan?
I don't think so! He received some of Japan's highest cultural honors and it seems like a movie adaptation of one of his works has come out just about every year since 1920 (I'm only slightly exaggerating). But how can I know for sure when I don't dare whisper his name in the presence of a Japanese person ever again?
The Children of Men by P.D. James—One friend who loves James’s mystery novels hates this book, saying it was a sermon more than a novel. I enjoy dystopian novels, and this is one of the best.
Capturing the Culture: Film, Art, and Politics by Richard Grenier—The first and best conservative film critic, who took on such favorites as Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi.
The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White—The bête noire of descriptivists, who have ruined popular usage. I hope they enjoy the tidal wave of moronic writing they helped create.
All R Dahl. He has been v criticised for various things but you can’t escape the fact there’s never quite been a children’s author like him. I am rediscovering just how incredible he was now as I read to my kids. No one else has ever come close. The chapter the BFG within the book the BFG is one of the best chapters in a kids’ book ever written and so relevant now with its analysis of how awful humans can be to one another
I took love Roald Dahl and find no shame in saying that. I realize some are offended by who he was and some of his word choices but honestly I still can not fully understand why. Ultimately, I believe to some extent that if people are looking to be offended, they will be offended. Roald loved to poke fun at the absurd and grotesque and he did so with great youthful and perfectly boyish humor.
Going to see a play in London in May about him - Giant - starring John Lithgow. It is getting great reviews so I’m looking forward
I loved Brideshead revisited. I think I have read it twice and I remember watching the show when it came out. Congrats on Oxford!
If Mark Twain is on your list of “possibly questionable” books, there’s something deeply wrong with your society. Crikey.
Much more questionable of course is a literary hero of mine in Robert E Howard. I feel I can argue successfully that even his most racist stuff is less racist than you think, and some of his stories are arguably anti racist. He also is just a good writer.
I love Mark Twain, and Huckleberry Finn is a work of genius. H.L. Mencken said it was the greatest American novel. The trouble is that while it used to be taught in public schools, it’s been on the outs for a while because of the language in the book. It’s a sad and frankly silly.
My best examples:
- Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe stories
- Blake Crouch's smart sci-fi, especially his Wayward Pines series and Dark Matter
- Forget Conclave, but I do like other Robert Harris novels, such as Fatherland and The Second Sleep
Really enjoyed Robert Harris' Cicero trilogy.
Excellent.
Ah, I do have what might be a guilty pleasure. I have a small stack of Damon Runyon books on my shelf because I so much enjoy the language as reflected in old B&W movies set in New York between the wars - and of course Guys and Dolls.
Love it!
Philip K. Dick. I don't know why I like his writing style, but I do. It probably helps that all his novels are so short...
I just purchased a boxed set of his novels. Hoping to dig in soon.
I feel a little guilty that The Sun Also Rises is one of my favorite novels. It’s kind of cloying and bro-ey (is that a word) that makes me a little uncomfortable today, but it’s still Papa.
Yeah, Hemingway gets a lot of love-hate stuff going among readers.
I recently re-read The Sun Also Rises which was my all-time most favorite book EVER in the history of reading. The tragic story of Lady Brett and Jake resonated so deeply in my soul when I was in high school and college. I don't even know how many times I have read it. Reading it as a 60 year old woman, "Brett get over yourself." hahahahah