I recently got into George Saunders’ short stories and saw that you were a fan of his. (I know I’m behind in reading my Substack, I’m behind in reading books, email, life...) Anyway, quick question - which book of stories is your favorite? After seeing your list of fave books from last year, I believe that your tastes align with mine. Thanks for your insight/help.
I know well the feeling of being behind. Thankfully, Saunders is one of those writers whose stories always seem fresh. So you're in luck. Personally, my favorite collection of his is Tenth of December. His novel, Lincoln in the Bardo, is also really well done if you're looking for something a little longer to get started with.
Love this challenge for yourself to systematically dig into an author and his works. I've been slowly working/re-working my way through Wendell Berry's fiction over the last 2-3 years. But to get through all his non-fiction... that would take a long-game mindset!
Dostoyevski and Flannery are others that would make for a good systematic challenge. I scratched the surface of their writing in the last year or so, but Jessica Hooten Wilson's work researching and dissecting them has me inspired.
I recently got into George Saunders’ short stories and saw that you were a fan of his. (I know I’m behind in reading my Substack, I’m behind in reading books, email, life...) Anyway, quick question - which book of stories is your favorite? After seeing your list of fave books from last year, I believe that your tastes align with mine. Thanks for your insight/help.
I know well the feeling of being behind. Thankfully, Saunders is one of those writers whose stories always seem fresh. So you're in luck. Personally, my favorite collection of his is Tenth of December. His novel, Lincoln in the Bardo, is also really well done if you're looking for something a little longer to get started with.
Thanks so much for getting back to me! I have “Lincoln” (unread) on my bookshelf, and I’ll look into the collection of short stories.
Love this challenge for yourself to systematically dig into an author and his works. I've been slowly working/re-working my way through Wendell Berry's fiction over the last 2-3 years. But to get through all his non-fiction... that would take a long-game mindset!
Dostoyevski and Flannery are others that would make for a good systematic challenge. I scratched the surface of their writing in the last year or so, but Jessica Hooten Wilson's work researching and dissecting them has me inspired.
Funny. Hooten Wilson's writing is a big reason why I started down this road as well. She's great.
I'm a little ashamed to say I've never read anything by Berry though. How has reading his fiction been for you?