John Irving and end-of-summer reading.

I love John Irving so, so much. And in the light of having finally decided that my FAVORITE BOOK is Irving's The Cider House Rules, I thought I would write a post about him.

First, though, I would like to describe why choosing a favorite book is such a momentous occasion. I despise people who have favorite books, largely because their favorite book is usually something appalling like The Notebook. People are always asking me what my favorite book is (well, sometimes asking me, as most people do not care about books, much less what books I like to read) and I am always at a loss for what to say. I have different favorite books for different moods and sometimes for different months (for example, I feel differently about Michael Cunningham in the winter than I do in the spring - I always love him but I seem to love him more passionately when it's cold out). I have favorite books in many different genres and all of them are so wildly unlike the others that it is impossible to make any kind of comparison.

Yet I realize it is important to have an answer to this question, especially if people are asking you for recommendations (though you should know I try to tailor my recommendations to each individual person, which is also important). If you don't have an answer, then people assume not that you are widely read and thus cannot choose from the many books you have read, but rather that you do not actually read and instead sit in your house accumulating large stocks of books for show purposes. As both of my younger brothers have taught me, non-readers who are flirting with the idea of becoming readers are like very nervous birds. You have to be careful not to make any sudden or threatening movements (i.e. not knowing your favorite book, which is something they assume should be simple) or they will take flight and then you will have lost them forever! I spend a lot of time trying to subtly lure people into becoming readers, so I know that it's best, on the whole, if they wind up thinking it happened mostly by accident.

I spent way more time discussing that than I thought I would. But anyway, onto Irving. I wrote out this huge paragraph about why I love John Irving and why I chose The Cider House Rules, but then it just devolved into this frenzy of superlatives and wild praise and I hate writing things like that, so I will spare you by turning it into a conveniently numbered list (I am limiting myself to 5 general things). Sorry if I'm slightly inarticulate - I'm also watching the Daily Show while I write this.

This is why I like John Irving:
1. He writes the best characters. Period. Homer Wells from The Cider House Rules is my favorite male character in fiction.
2. His writing is so very much a boy's writing, if that makes sense, which means that the unexpected moments of tenderness and heartbreak are all the more poignant.
3. His books are comfortingly familiar (they almost always include some or all of the following: boys' prep schools, wrestling, New England, writers, and European whores) without ever becoming predictable.
4. He does his research. Particularly for The Cider House Rules, which centers around illegal abortions in 1940s Maine.
5. Homer Wells. Seriously. I love him.


Okay. Now let's move on to other things, namely my impending departure for the hallowed halls of Yale. I got a giant cardboard box to put my books in and I am going to tape it up and check it with my other luggage at the airport. Unfortunately we had to take back the bookshelf we originally bought because we had no way to get it to New Haven and downgrade to a smaller one, so I can only fit probably about 40 books. I'm not sure yet how many books will fit in the box, so that might actually determine how many I take rather than shelf space. Anyway, during the course of making this list (which I won't post here as it is much too long), I made a second list of books I need to read before I leave. Most of these I own, though some I will need to borrow from other people. Here it is!

1. Notes on a Scandal by Zoe Heller (I just bought this yay)
2. Winter's Tale by Mark Helprin (also just bought it)
3. The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
4. Les Miserables by Victor Hugo (seriously, it's about time, I've been meaning to do this forever)
5. Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson
6. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens (I read a "young classics" version of this when I was like eight but seriously, it's time for the real thing)
7. The Plot Against America by Philip Roth
8. The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje
9. The Hotel New Hampshire by John Irving
10. Atonement by Ian McEwan
11. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
12. At Swim, Two Boys by Jamie O'Neill
13. Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs
14. House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus
15. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers (I have seriously started this at least three times and have never been able to get into it, but Sarah loves it so I might give it another try)
16. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke (I am really excited for this one)

As you can see, I have a lot to do in the next four weeks. I'll keep you updated on my progress. There are a few on that list that I doubt I'll finish - some of them I've already started several times and have never been able to finish, which doesn't bode well for them this time around. But I think I can get through 10 or so if I just read at a moderate pace and restrain myself from rereading old books, which I've found myself doing a lot this summer.

Also, on a final note, I got Jasper Fforde's latest Thursday Next book and it is no good at all. Don't waste your time with it. I got halfway through and quit in disgust.