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I am soon tired of reading complaints under "my ten favorite books". There aren't enough women, what's wrong with _______, the list isn't multicultural enough, blah, blah. This in a snapshot of a person's aesthetic and literary interests and imagination, probably fluid over time. If someone reads 10 Shakespeare books, or Milton, Dante, Homer, etc. more power to them. Or maybe the list is Isabelle Allende, Louise Gluck, Jorie Graham, Marilynne Robinson etc. Charles Simic's list would differ from Derek Walcott's or Wes Anderson's. Remember how Gloria Steinem's list was deemed too dour, political and serious for some commenters. These lists are just a quick glimpse, and applying a politically correct requirement to the person making the list, or sniping at it, defeats the purpose of these columns to present something fun, interesting, maybe inspiring. The Times should offer them without comment. Love this list: confessional poetry, classics, modern fiction. Aesthetically varied and thoughtful. The literary police should give it a rest.
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James, no love for any woman writer? None? I never get this male, macho fiction fixation, but, hey, I'm just a girl.
Rachel Glaser is wicked female, though I doubt she'd appreciate being defined by it
Why should we care what James Franco favorite books are? Is he a profound intellect? Gadzooks though he is a handsome devil and achingly hip. I guess I answered my own question.
5
Franco received two masters in art at the same time...maybe three...I think it was three, NYU, RISD and Yale. He also has a book of poems that has been published and I am pretty sure he has many more accomplishments under his young and handsome belt. So, you didn't answer your question correctly and he most likely is a profound intellect. At least we know he's creative as all get out.
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Simply based on his short reviews of these books, he appears to be a thoughtful reader, and recommendations from such a person should always be welcome.
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Let's not pretend Mr. Franco endeavored multiple college courses for the sake of his intellectual curiosity. Despite his degrees and published work, he has failed create anything meaningful. In fact, evidence of his lack of intelligence and talent are found in his adapatations of McCarthy and Faulkner. They are simply embarrassing. Unwatchable. Indeed, this man has failed to understand the real value of two of his favorite authors. Mind you, my criticism is not at the visual representation of Child of God or As I Lay Dying, but Mr. Franco failing to understand the SUBTEXT of these works. The art is never in the text but in the subtext. That is what must be dramatized. And so, Mr. Franco simply does not understand narrative structure, despite his multiple degrees in art. Therefore, I am under the impressions that Mr. Franco likes these literary works simply because it makes me look erudite and cultured. Actually, he revealed as much when he disparaged a film critic with profanity and of course, proceeded to peacock his credentials: "I went to art school, so that means I'm an artist."
Whenever someone does this books on a desert island theme I am always surprised that nobody ever selects the OED.
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Excuse my ignorance but does OED stand for the Oxford English Dictionary?
Caitlin Moran did!
Good point from Lisa M. about so few women writers here; she overlooked Rachel Glaser, though. But there are so many others... Woolf anyone? At least. Austen, Brontes... and check out Joanne de Longchamps' poetry. And of course Elizabeth Bishop (poet). Re 20th-century prose, Jackie Kay's _Trumpet_ is a must.
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Isabel Allende
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Jane Gardam might not make my "10 on a desert island" list, but she's very good. If i had to pick ten novels written before 1900, a Bronte book or two would make it for sure.
Jean Rhys.
Deborah Digges (poet).
Deborah Digges (poet).
Great choices.
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Would have been nice to cite Franco's adaptation of Faulkner, and that William Gay passed away four years ago at age 70, and that two of Gay's books will be published posthumously.
Jesus' Son is my favorite book, so I'm always happy to see it get any recognition. I remember hesitating at the Stand Book Store counter over whether to buy it because it cost more than $5.00 and the clerk convinced me to get it. I read my copy so many times it's now in tatters.
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There is no better writer than Cormac McCarthy. None. Even if you don't enjoy the stories, the themes, or the characters, no one is more talented. Cormac McCarthy packs more mood/feeling/emotion/etc. in a single line, and without any of it coming across as forced or contrived, than any modern writer can produce in an entire chapter.
10 Books for me? 6 or 7 would be McCarthy titles. Kudos to Franco for including one of his best.
10 Books for me? 6 or 7 would be McCarthy titles. Kudos to Franco for including one of his best.
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Just a ridiculous statement.
A good author? Sure.
The "best"? No, not by a long shot. As if you could even measure that.
A good author? Sure.
The "best"? No, not by a long shot. As if you could even measure that.
1
Too bad women don't write any good books.
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What do you recommend? Should we all go through our bookshelves and throw things out until we have 50% men and 50% women?
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I have often remarked that it is a pity.
A great and varied list -- you should read the first collection of short stories by Adam Haslett. You might like his voice a lot.
A great list! Just last night I was introducing my daughter to the wonders of Raymond Carver and to my mind 'What we Talk About' is indeed his finest work. Cormac McCarthy and William Faulkner of course are both giants and should be on everyone's desert island list. I am keen to explore some of the others.
2
Very acute of James Franco to include Frank Bidart among his favorite writers. Bidart has long been one of America's most original and powerful literary figures, whose collage-like dramatic monologues deserve a wider audience beyond the poetry world.
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After I finish this little note to the Times, I'm ordering all ten books....Thanks
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Happy to see "As I Lay Dying," which Franco also made into a fine movie, at least for Faulkner fans. The aforementioned Faulkner fans are wondering why we are unable to access Franco's movie of "The Sound and the Fury." We don't care what the critics may have had to say about it -- those of us conversant with Faulkner want to see it.
Please release the DVD of this film!
Please release the DVD of this film!
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I don't think S&F has been released yet, at least I have not heard anything so far.
"Tableaux" and "roiling." You must read The Times, too.
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Like, cool choices, James.
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There is nothing simple about "As I Lay Dying," written mostly at night on a wheelbarrow's back. I know two chapters of this book by heart. Here they are:
"My mother is a fish."
"My mother is a fish."
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AS I LAY DYING is unreadable, as are most of Faulkner's novels. Only English professors -- and now James Franco -- seem to like them.
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well... Profs, James, and The Nobel Committee and the Pulitzers....
...and was identified as writing three of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century.
Oh yeah... and little ol' me
...and was identified as writing three of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century.
Oh yeah... and little ol' me
1
Read it again. And if you still don't get it, read it a third time until the sanity of Faulkner's words begins to wash over you. It is a book so very much about life, marriage, fidelity, infidelity, sibling rivalry, love of family, poverty, determination, promise fulfillment, sex, and just simply, the desire to do the right thing in the face of a body slipping off its moorings in mud and water. These are not prettified people, but their thoughts are real. And when you begin to understand that, you might be ready for A Brief History of Seven Killings, which As I Lay Dying inspired. We are fortunate to have "History" as a response. Marlon James is brilliant.
To call Blood Meridian a Western is like saying Moby Dick is a book about whaling. The Judge is one of the greatest characters in all literature, an equivalent to Ahab as a driver of men. He is a man of total caprice. Think of Thomas Hardy's poem "Hap". The image of The Judge at the end of the book says it all.
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And I thought you were weird. I have read and have loved every one of those books!
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Yay, two books of poetry, AND _Blood Meridian_! And Faulkner. And Carver. Great list. Wish more people were reading this stuff!
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I'd take: The Soul's Code: Search for Character and Calling, Metamorphosis (not Kafka's, already in company buggy creatures) Larsen's Passing: Provocative novelita for its time, subtexts... Some of Franco's own texts. They'll enhance the stay; Lifelines to keep me afloat. Lastly, a libretto and maybe Semaj: Might mount a musical!