so-so(1741) In 1740 Samuel Richardson wrote Pamela, an epistolary novel about a servant girl who resists her employer's increasingly forceful sexual advances until he proposes marriage, at which point they happily wed. In this 1741 novella, Henry Fielding lampooned Pamela by pretending to publish Pamela's original letters, which expose her as a fraud. Fielding's wit is sharper than Richardson's, but his classism and misogyny are, if anything, worse.
I've gotten back into the #1001books list a little more consistently, I've read I think 4 in the last few months. I'm using Serial Reader to tackle some - currently it's Erewhon, and honestly I'd be finding it a slog if it weren't for the bite sized installments.
Anyone else reading the #1001books list have recommendations for real gems you've found on the list? The last several I've read have all been fine, but I'm hoping for more than fine.
I could not resist posting this. Laugh out loud funny of course. Warning: #ranttime
https://youtu.be/_GXNJ3V9lzg
pickThis satire is a blazing takedown of cancel culture and our collective obsession with social media and being chronically online. I love John Boyne‘s books but have read about his own recent situation which he was “cancelled”. Knowing his personal views and in light of recent events, I read this through a lens of “this is how the author feels” when outrageous and over the top “woke” characters were skewered. An absurd #dysfunctionalfamily.⬇️
so-soIt has been ages since I've picked up a Vonnegut novel and I did not particularly enjoy this one, which deeply saddens me. Mayhap the passage of time for me personally or the passage of time culturally, or maybe just the bitterness of the modern era stole the zest from this satire. So it goes.
pickAn epistolary novel that imagines former Sen. Strom Thurmond‘s wish (and that of his PR aide) to chronicle his part in shaping African American history in the U.S. (It‘s not a spoiler alert to say they believe he was a positive influence.) This book is totally bonkers but also makes pointed statements about the hypocrisy of Northern states condemning Southerners for racism while ignoring their own lack of commitment to civil rights.
Fishing for sharks, cutting off their fins for soup, and then throwing the rest back into the sea is a hideous practice, but the sharks may be getting the last laugh. Researchers at the University of Miami found out in 2012 that shark fins contain a neurotoxin that scientists have linked to Lou Gehrig's disease and other degenerative conditions, such as Alzheimer's.
pickWhat if Hitler appeared today—alive, confused, and pissed off? In the times we are living in, I fear he might receive more welcome than disgust. This book is satire, but it‘s also a warning. Fascism is on the rise all over the world. It needs no Hitler, because it has new ways and voices that allow it to spread and thrive. This book asks how we respond when it shows up. Shown: Nazis in Indianapolis.
