Yesterday morning I had a hilarious conversation with my sister regarding Dylan Ratigan's book Greedy Bastards: How We Can Stop Corporate Communists, Banksters, and Other Vampires from Sucking America Dry and Matt Taibbi's Griftopia. She is reading the Ratigan book currently, and is planning to read the Taibbi. Because I cannot help but have an opinion on ALL nonfiction books, even those I haven't read (and I haven't read the Ratigan), I did have to say that I thought Ratigan, host of The Dylan Ratigan Show on MSNBC, has a bit more of a "shtick"* than Matt Taibbi and therefore his book might not be as good. Although, I admitted, Taibbi does swear a lot.
At which point my sister pointed out, and rightly so, that swearing is Taibbi's shtick, and that I don't think he has a shtick simply because I like his shtick better. Well played, Sis. But I maintain that anyone who has an MSNBC show has more of a, for lack of a better word, "salesmanesque" approach** to furthering their media and publishing brand, than does a Rolling Stone columnist such as Taibbi.
This is all neither here nor there. The point of this post is that it got me thinking: Who are the authors (fiction or non) who you feel the most righteous for liking? That's an odd question, I know. But I think it's an interesting one. I think a lot of readers, if they're honest, have authors they feel a bit superior for a) knowing about, and b) liking to the point of being blind to that author's particular shtick. The authors I feel most righteous about are Taibbi, William Langewiesche, Wendell Berry, and Anne Tyler (and no, I do not consider what she writes to be "women's fiction"--more book snobbishness on my part!). How about you? Come on, give in, feel superior--and list your faves in the comments!
*Shtick, defined.
**I read the description of Greedy Bastards at Amazon, and this part also struck me as very schticky: "This country, now more than ever, needs passionate debate and smart policy, a brazen willingness to scrap what doesn’t work, and the entrepreneurial spirit to try what does." Puke. Because we all know all it ever takes to get ahead is an "entrepreneurial spirit."
I love that you included Anne Tyler! I was feeling pretty righteous for liking Stewart O'Nan. The only over-arching "schtick-y" theme I can see throughout his work (fiction and non) is his attention to characters. Other than that, no two pieces are alike. Sadly, I can no longer feel like he's my own personal discovery now since Bookmarks Magazine featured a whole feature article on him this month. He's gone mainstream now.
Posted by: Phaedosia | 27 February 2012 at 12:20 PM
Phaedosia,
Yes, I've always felt a little uppity about Anne Tyler, although she is quite mainstream too.
Well, Bookmarks Magazine is not exactly People Weekly, so I think you can still feel a bit righteous about Stewart O'Nan. You just don't get any better than "Last Night at the Lobster." What nonfiction has he written? I've only seen his novels.
Posted by: Citizen Reader | 27 February 2012 at 01:01 PM
I read mainly fiction and I feel righteous about reading, understanding, and enjoying Peter Carey, Julian Barnes, Colm Toibin, Anita Brookner, Toni Morrison, and Haruki Murakami. Authors that my friends like that I feel totally intimidated by and wish I could read, understand, and enjoy are Don Delillo, David Foster Wallace, David Mitchell, Thomas Pynchon.I think reading any of those four would make me feel totally righteous!
Posted by: Nancy Wilson | 27 February 2012 at 02:07 PM
Well, Nancy,
You've got me beat, although I do love Anita Brookner. But Julian Barnes, Toni Morrison, AND Haruki are all beyond me. And frankly I've never understood the appeal of Don Delillo or Thomas Pynchon! I have tried Pynchon about 5 times and never gotten past the first five pages of anything of his.
Have you tried David Foster Wallace's essays? Spectacular stuff, even if you usually read fiction. (I can't read his fiction at all but love his essays.) Re: David Mitchell, try Black Swan Green. It is not like his other novels, but it was a really interesting coming-of-age type read that I enjoyed immensely.
Posted by: Citizen Reader | 27 February 2012 at 05:29 PM
I know--"Last Night at the Lobster" is my absolute favorite of his. I read his non-fiction book, "The Circus Fire" about the Hartford Circus fire of 1944 last year. I'm not sure if "enjoy" is the right word to describe my feelings about the book, since it's just so sad. But, he is definitely engaging, spending time with each of the major characters, from the bandleader to certain audience members to the police investigators. You really care about everyone involved.
I think he co-wrote a book about the Boston Red Sox with Stephen King, too. But, I haven't read it.
Posted by: Phaedosia | 28 February 2012 at 12:43 PM
John McPhee
Ursula LeGuin
Barbara Tuchman
Dorothy Dunnett
Aldo Leopold
Posted by: joel hanes | 31 March 2012 at 02:57 PM