15 Comments

Oh you mentioning Museum of Innocence by Orhan Pamuk! One of his best novels, I am a great fan. I am Turkish so might be biased but I think he truly deserved his Nobel.

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I could not agree more--one of my all-time favorite writers--I LOVE HIM!!!!!

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Great article Leanne, love this kind of thing, comparing notes on books. I'm on holiday now, off somewhere obscure by a lake, but I'll bring this home with me to go through when I can actually buy some of the books.

Also meh on the NYT list, although I give thumbs up to one book on their list in particular, Trust by Hernan Diaz. Maybe just me, but I felt like it was constructed with a lot of thought and kind of backed the reader into the reveal in a novel way.

Cheers for now, thanks.

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It’s so wonderful to hear from you! It’s been a long time! And how lovely to imagine you by a lake! And a mysterious one of that! I absolutely loved the book. Trust I thought it was wonderful! And I was also glad it was on the list.

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My first comment was meant to be a reply to your comment about the Washington Post. Somehow it didn't get in the reply thread.

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I didn’t even check I knew exactly what you meant!

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I do too. Their art critic is also exceptional. And their new classical critic too. I admire music critics whose way with words makes you feel you've listened to the concert. Oddly enough, Richard Brody, the New Yorker's film critic, is able to do that, on the rare occasion that he writes a music review.

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I have not read their Music reviews I will start!

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Oh, you know books like nobody else! I was glad to see you give a thumbs down to NYT choices. Their kinds of choices live in the land of celebrity book clubs for the most part. Your choices are interesting! Thank you!

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I think a lot of people are really annoyed by the New York Times list. It’s very much skewed toward these MFA workshop standards and it’s not that interesting of a list when you think of all the things they left off I mean really I don’t know. Have you read Elena Ferrante?

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No, I browsed something of hers in the store and put it down. I always liked the Boston Globe reviews when I lived there years ago. Theirs were better then than the NYT reviews. No idea how they do now.

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Also, I started Elena Ferrante, but I put it down because I was truly not interested although I do want to read the series someday. I just am less interested and children protagonist even in the beginning and I’m also less interested in books about relationships and family but people love those books so I do want to read them someday.

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I really love the Washington Post reviews, and I subscribe there because of the book reviews! And of course the New York review of books, but they don’t often make big list like this!

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Today, the Times published an alternate, readers' hundred best books of the century. Quite a different story, but not better, with some exceptions. The absence of writers like Pamuk from both lists is inconceivable. The parochialism of these lists quite shocking.

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Oh! I’m so glad you told me because of my issue with having no Wi-Fi and the lack of activity. I haven’t really been checking very carefully! I will check as soon as I can connect! And I totally agree with you about the word parochialism I was gonna say provincialism, but I think you got it better!

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