@Barrett Chase, Ever since Christa went on her Miranda July love-a-palooze, I’ve wanted to watch that movie and see if it colors the way I feel about that collection she put out a few years back. But right now I’m firmly in the Meh camp.

I love the shit out of Lorrie Moore and read her How to be a Writer at least once a month.

When you dive into New Yorker stories, seek out George Saunders. He’s amazing.

@Barrett Chase, I had a prof who told me to read Look Homeward Angel, too AND I tried and quit because it was boring. What was it about that book? Maybe it was the thing for profs to suggest to college kids in the early 90s?

What short stories are you reading now? I’ve been really bad about reading them this year even though I tend to love the crap out of them.

(P.S. I’m pretty on the fence about Chabon. I disliked K&C but I really liked Wonder Boys. However, I think that had more to do with the writingness of it than anything else.)

I never read Kavalier and Clay. I think I started it and hated it on impact, but I’m not sure whether it was that or some other Michael Chabon book. I just don’t like his style.

In college, a professor told me to read Look Homeward, Angel, explaining that he loved it at my age but had grown to hate it over time. “But you should read it. You’ll love it. I envy you. I have no patience for that kind of thing any more,” he said. I gave it a try and abandoned it because I thought it was boring. Every now and then I think about trying it again to see if I’m ready for it.

I think we have a copy of Portnoy, but I probably won’t read it soon as I’m all about short stories right now.

@Barrett Chase, Okay, I cannot deny that mocky son of a bitch is pretty great. And I get that it’s one huge screaming rant, and the relentlessness of it was just, just, too much for me. I wonder if I would have read it when I was 22 if I’d have loved it too. I think maybe my time to enjoy Portnoy has passed.

Maybe it’s just one of those books guys love. . . which I know is sexist, but I’m convinced there are certain books dudes really really love that just aren’t as loved by women. (I would argue that Kavalier and Clay is one of those books, but a lot of women are going to jump out of the woodwork now and be all, ‘I love that book!’).

If you’d like to re-read and you don’t have a copy, you are more than welcome to mine (seriously, let me know and I’ll send it right on up).