tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post8153980174754073223..comments2024-03-29T03:14:14.401-04:00Comments on Patricia Abbott (pattinase): Books That Shaped Americapattinase (abbott)http://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-29613470729896045032012-08-20T23:42:55.314-04:002012-08-20T23:42:55.314-04:00“This list is a starting point,” said Librarian of... “This list is a starting point,” said Librarian of Congress James H. Billington. “It is not a register of the ‘best’ American books – although many of them fit that description. Rather, the list is intended to spark a national conversation on books written by Americans that have influenced our lives, whether they appear on this initial list or not.”<br /><br />We hope you will view the list, nominate other titles, and most importantly, choose to read and discuss some of the books on this list, reflecting America’s unique and extraordinary literary heritage, which the Library of Congress makes available to the world.<br /><br /><br />FUN WITH DICK AND JANE.<br /><br />Nathaniel Hawthorne, TWICE-TOLD TALES.<br /><br />James T. Farrell, STUDS LONIGAN<br /><br />Howard Zinn, THE PEOPLE'S HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES<br /><br />RED CHANNELS; WITNESS by Whittaker Chambers<br /><br />Edith Wharton, THE HOUSE OF MIRTH<br /><br />Personally, of course, I'd add LIVING MY LIFE by Emma Goldman and perhaps THE CHOMSKY READER by Noam Chomsky.<br /><br />And certainly GROWING UP ABSURD by Paul Goodman<br /><br />Collected works, Edgar Allan Poe<br /><br />Collected works, Ambrose Bierce<br /><br />THE OX-BOW INCIDENT, Walter Van Tilburg Clark<br /><br />JURGEN, James Branch Cabell<br /><br />THE FRONT PAGE, Hecht and MacArthur<br /><br />GO ASK ALICE, that inept fraud.<br /><br />SMILING THROUGH THE APOCALYPSE: ESQUIRE'S HISTORY OF THE 1960s<br /><br />THE EVERGREEN REVIEW READER<br /><br />DANGEROUS VISIONS, edited by Harlan Ellison<br /><br />GREAT STORIES OF TERROR AND THE SUPERNATURAL edited by Wise and Herbert<br /><br />CREEPS BY NIGHT edited by Dashiell Hammett<br /><br />VALLEY OF THE DOLLS by Jackie Susann (happy birthday)<br /><br />ARIEL by Sylvia Plath<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Todd Masonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01815516018079824802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-84050239366676071762012-08-20T09:16:14.007-04:002012-08-20T09:16:14.007-04:00There is not enough diversity in the list in terms...There is not enough diversity in the list in terms of westerns, crime, SF and even romance. pattinase (abbott)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-31487987369485816132012-08-20T09:13:20.999-04:002012-08-20T09:13:20.999-04:00Pretty good list. I would agree on adding SHANE.Pretty good list. I would agree on adding SHANE.Al Tuchernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-88346412972626354512012-08-20T01:02:07.520-04:002012-08-20T01:02:07.520-04:00I'd replace Red Harvest with The Maltese Falco...I'd replace Red Harvest with The Maltese Falcon. I'd add something by Chandler, either Farewell, My Lovely or The Long Goodbye. Definitely I, the Jury by Mickey Spillane. There aren't enough Westerns. How about Shane or True Grit or Riders of the Purple Sage? Cap'n Bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11783977137812876489noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-44734891132156512242012-08-19T19:48:24.505-04:002012-08-19T19:48:24.505-04:00That's on the list.That's on the list. pattinase (abbott)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-4604869460880621202012-08-19T19:21:09.147-04:002012-08-19T19:21:09.147-04:00UNCLE TOM'S CABINUNCLE TOM'S CABINAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-30975312683685497712012-08-19T17:19:49.169-04:002012-08-19T17:19:49.169-04:00It's always strange to think that Americans, s...It's always strange to think that Americans, so diverse in their ethnic heritage, share a common literature among so much else. pattinase (abbott)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-91308663411805617152012-08-19T17:14:54.174-04:002012-08-19T17:14:54.174-04:00Definitely Cooper. I think should be be on there.Definitely Cooper. I think should be be on there.Charles Gramlichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02052592247572253641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-15393631286329412802012-08-19T17:10:37.981-04:002012-08-19T17:10:37.981-04:00I'm with you on Little House, Patti, no doubt ...I'm with you on Little House, Patti, no doubt about it.<br /><br />I think <i>Diet for a Small Planet</i> by Frances Moore Lappe was a big deal, considering our country's fascination with food and diet, and that book in particular inspired a generation's worth of back-to-the-landers.<br /><br />For me, this list isn't complete without Thoreau's <i>Walden</i> either. Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10070278104646895235noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-81484477005644867322012-08-19T14:29:19.155-04:002012-08-19T14:29:19.155-04:00WHAT!WHAT!pattinase (abbott)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-71466995394677066572012-08-19T11:33:45.272-04:002012-08-19T11:33:45.272-04:00HA! Psst, someday let me tell you the story of the...HA! Psst, someday let me tell you the story of the massive joke played on Julia Child that is still, even in the latest edition, in her book.Kieran Sheahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16681787953865476304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-56200308549401793562012-08-19T11:11:15.460-04:002012-08-19T11:11:15.460-04:00I remember reading FEAR so well. A good addition. ...I remember reading FEAR so well. A good addition. And so too SEX AND THE SINGLE GIRL.pattinase (abbott)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-58271201883471099782012-08-19T10:11:44.449-04:002012-08-19T10:11:44.449-04:00SEX AND THE SINGLE GIRL had an enormous impact.SEX AND THE SINGLE GIRL had an enormous impact.Georgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04546161337366365635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-21293148757791883492012-08-19T09:01:26.707-04:002012-08-19T09:01:26.707-04:00It may seem weird, but I'd include two books, ...It may seem weird, but I'd include two books, published approximately the same time in the 1970s, which led to a whole revolution in the way women read, write, and even think about sex: Erica Jong's Fear of Flying (now considered such a time capsule, I don't think anyone has read it for a long time, but it was startlingly new when first published) and Rosemary Rogers's Sweet, Savage Love (the first truly sexually-explicit "bodice-ripper" with sex scenes written from a woman's point of view for a predominantly female readership).<br /><br />I'm also surprised at the omission of young adult books, particularly Judy Blume's Are You There God, It's Me Margaret. Perhaps LofC didn't think what children and young adults read has shaped our nation, but young readers become adult readers eventually.Debnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-58120103000988002702012-08-19T08:28:52.230-04:002012-08-19T08:28:52.230-04:00Lists like these are often as interesting for thei...Lists like these are often as interesting for their omissions as what they include. pattinase (abbott)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-30320368926948276542012-08-19T08:28:42.725-04:002012-08-19T08:28:42.725-04:00I'm with Jeff on THE GOOD EARTH. This was the...I'm with Jeff on THE GOOD EARTH. This was the first book published by Pocket Books and it's popularity paved the way for the paperback explosion in America, making books of all types far more accessible to the average American.Jerry Househttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09482856733981933159noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-15224007612075982722012-08-19T08:15:36.809-04:002012-08-19T08:15:36.809-04:00What an interesting list. Thanks Patti. --JoeWhat an interesting list. Thanks Patti. --JoeJoe Baronehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10275991273751678636noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-971250878312293842012-08-19T08:12:54.581-04:002012-08-19T08:12:54.581-04:00Or THE SUN ALSO RISES.
He's out of fashion no...Or THE SUN ALSO RISES.<br /><br />He's out of fashion now, but if you're talking about Books That Shaped America shouldn't there be something by James Fenimore Cooper?<br /><br />Or Dreiser? Or Sinclair Lewis? Or THE GOOD EARTH?<br /><br />William James but not Henry? What about "Daisy Miller"?<br /><br />Lastly, for now at least, James M. Cain.<br /><br /><br />Jeff M.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-26361206944788002452012-08-19T08:10:36.045-04:002012-08-19T08:10:36.045-04:00Strange choice, ism' it. Why his book about th...Strange choice, ism' it. Why his book about the Spanish Civil War? I'd pick the Nick Adams stories, I think. pattinase (abbott)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-76838315098900263232012-08-19T07:55:51.068-04:002012-08-19T07:55:51.068-04:00Not sure I would have put Hem's BELL TOLLS on ...Not sure I would have put Hem's BELL TOLLS on there. Maybe "The Old Man and the Sea."David Cranmerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04749857752139212888noreply@blogger.com