So many good recommendations here. Thanks very much. For aging, I was profoundly moved by Remembrance of Things Past, by Proust. It was the reading experience of a lifetime. It describes the shock of aging. It could be used to cover 'how to choose the right person to love' as well'. But maybe not as well as Jane Eyre, one of my absolute favorites. I love that you put Rilke in there. Two others that I think of for relationship subjects are Kafka and Doestoevky because they stretch our imaginations. Now very curious to read Tomorrow x3
Thanks Jean! Don't worry, I'm not all that strict about what is and isn't allowed. I love your recommendation, it sounds really interesting. A good memoir is always a joy.
Thanks for this great list! I consider(ed) myself to be reasonably well-read, but there are plenty of books here I need to discover (I'll probably start with Atocha Station) - also, to re-consider in light of your readings. I never thought of it this way before, but of course it's the implicit optimism of good writing for children and young people (peopled by "characters who know what must be done, and try to do it") that makes it such a go-to when feeling stuck (I always thought it was just the comfort factor). Thanks again!
Thanks Andrew! I like your point about children's books. It's often the values at the heart of them, courage and friendship in the face of the gargantuan darkness of the universe, that gives me hope.
I was encouraged to read plays when Emma first posted about Waiting for Godot a few months back. As always, great list Emma! I was surprised to find Tomorrow3x on your list since a lot of people I follow here on Substack didn’t like it. But I love this book so much.
I think they said it lacked “meat” and was just okay for a super hyped book. I think it was just the wrong book at that time for them. But I loved it. One of my best books of 2023z
Gosh... i may have to write a whole piece in defence of it... no meat? 500 pages of meat! It introduced me to a whole new world (gaming) a really complicated multi-layered friendship, it talked about grief, loss, even had some artsy meta narrative sections...
Great list. I'm about to start Atocha Station after it was recommended to me as the perfect read for my various ailments (too many to name 😂)
I'm going way back in my archive, to over two decades ago, the first time I read The Sheltering Sky by Paul Bowles, that was the perfect book to snap me out my ennui. I was working full-time after university and in a stable but humdrum relationship and I thought, 'there's got to be more to life than this' and that was the cure, despite its bleakness. It's not a light read yet I've still read it 3-4 times over the years.
It's been ages since I read Flaubert's A Sentimental Education (for heartbreak? rejection?) but I remember it having a great impact on me at the time, very cathartic. Of Human Bondage (Maugham) might also work in that category.
Stoner (John Williams) is the most recent cathartic read - that was about 4-5 years ago, but it was when things weren't looking so great with my marriage (divorced now - oops) and I was in a rut as a teacher, and that was therapeutic. I find the most rewarding books in this case aren't always the uplifting ones.
So many good recommendations here. Thanks very much. For aging, I was profoundly moved by Remembrance of Things Past, by Proust. It was the reading experience of a lifetime. It describes the shock of aging. It could be used to cover 'how to choose the right person to love' as well'. But maybe not as well as Jane Eyre, one of my absolute favorites. I love that you put Rilke in there. Two others that I think of for relationship subjects are Kafka and Doestoevky because they stretch our imaginations. Now very curious to read Tomorrow x3
Thanks so much for this! Can't wait to read Proust. Which Kafka would you recommend?
The 2 novels of Kafka: The Trial, and The Castle. And all the short stories.
Thanks. I’ve marked a few!
As a rule, I don’t like the self help genre.
I DO realize it’s a fictional therapy list but I’m excited to recommend, if I may, The Sober Diaries, by Clare Pooley, WITTY and charming.
Pooley is also a novelist.
Thanks Jean! Don't worry, I'm not all that strict about what is and isn't allowed. I love your recommendation, it sounds really interesting. A good memoir is always a joy.
Thanks for this great list! I consider(ed) myself to be reasonably well-read, but there are plenty of books here I need to discover (I'll probably start with Atocha Station) - also, to re-consider in light of your readings. I never thought of it this way before, but of course it's the implicit optimism of good writing for children and young people (peopled by "characters who know what must be done, and try to do it") that makes it such a go-to when feeling stuck (I always thought it was just the comfort factor). Thanks again!
Thanks Andrew! I like your point about children's books. It's often the values at the heart of them, courage and friendship in the face of the gargantuan darkness of the universe, that gives me hope.
These are great thanks a lot!
Thanks Sara, glad you like it!
I was encouraged to read plays when Emma first posted about Waiting for Godot a few months back. As always, great list Emma! I was surprised to find Tomorrow3x on your list since a lot of people I follow here on Substack didn’t like it. But I love this book so much.
So interesting! What do people no like about it? I was so blown away I'm struggling to imagine what it could be.
I think they said it lacked “meat” and was just okay for a super hyped book. I think it was just the wrong book at that time for them. But I loved it. One of my best books of 2023z
Gosh... i may have to write a whole piece in defence of it... no meat? 500 pages of meat! It introduced me to a whole new world (gaming) a really complicated multi-layered friendship, it talked about grief, loss, even had some artsy meta narrative sections...
I know I don't need to convince you but here I am shouting into the void anyway. Well glad you liked it at least!
Right!! So many things happened and it was really written well and not just for the plot.
I also *loved* Tomorrow Tomorrow Tomorrow.
Great list. I'm about to start Atocha Station after it was recommended to me as the perfect read for my various ailments (too many to name 😂)
I'm going way back in my archive, to over two decades ago, the first time I read The Sheltering Sky by Paul Bowles, that was the perfect book to snap me out my ennui. I was working full-time after university and in a stable but humdrum relationship and I thought, 'there's got to be more to life than this' and that was the cure, despite its bleakness. It's not a light read yet I've still read it 3-4 times over the years.
It's been ages since I read Flaubert's A Sentimental Education (for heartbreak? rejection?) but I remember it having a great impact on me at the time, very cathartic. Of Human Bondage (Maugham) might also work in that category.
Stoner (John Williams) is the most recent cathartic read - that was about 4-5 years ago, but it was when things weren't looking so great with my marriage (divorced now - oops) and I was in a rut as a teacher, and that was therapeutic. I find the most rewarding books in this case aren't always the uplifting ones.