Q&A with Derek Gentry discussion

I read John Irving’s The World According to Garp when I was twelve, and as you might expect, all of the book’s absurdity, sex, and violence had a corrupting effect on my young mind: it made me want to write fiction.

So I read all of the Irving that I could get my hands on, even as I was plowing through the works of my other favorite novelist, Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.. It wasn’t until years later that I learned Vonnegut had been Irving’s teacher in Iowa, a thought that still makes me smile.

Over the years since, I’ve found many new favorites. I’m going to link a bunch of them below, and maybe others can share theirs as well?

Well, I'm a Red Sox fan, which I think is pretty close! The Cubs are definitely my favorite National League team.

I'm right with you on several of those favorites. I've read all of Vonnegut's novels, and I love Borges, Douglas Adams, and Nicholson Baker's early novels (esp. The Mezzanine). I haven't been able to get through Cosmicomics, but I loved Invisible Cities.
I'd add:
Richard Powers' The Gold Bug Variations
David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest
Michael Chabon's The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay
Nicholas Christopher's A Trip To The Stars
Lorrie Moore's Anagrams
Matt Ruff's Set This House in Order: A Romance of Souls

I haven't had a chance to read any Chabon yet, but I've wanted to try something. Sounds like The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay might be a good place to start?

For DFW, I've only read A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again, but I loved it. Just looking at Infinite Jest scares the crap out of me...but you think it's worth a shot?

I haven't read anything else by Chabon (his publisher appears to be refusing to release his novels as ebooks, and I've all but stopped reading paper), but The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay is excellent.

Infinite Jest is a tour de force -- an absolute whirlwind. Borrow a copy and read 50 pages. If you haven't fallen in love with DFW's sentence-level craft, you will probably end up hating it. If you're hooked, go for it. It defies nearly all of the conventions of novelistic structure, but it's chock-full of inventiveness.

I like your suggestion about Infinite Jest. I'm guessing that I'll enjoy the book, and the idea of committing to just 50 pages makes starting it much less intimidating. Thanks!

How strange & disappointing that Chabon's books aren't available electronically. Given how quickly things are changing on that front, I have to think they'll be out soon. Otherwise, his publishers are just losing potential sales.

i just finished reading The Lost Symbol By Dan Brown it was great

Kokanut wrote: "i just finished reading The Lost Symbol By Dan Brown it was great"

I've never tried any Dan Brown myself. Watching chunks of the movie on cable has pretty much ruined The DaVinci Code for me, so maybe Angels & Demons or The Lost Symbol?