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David Roberts's avatar

I'm reading once again A Dance to the Music of Time. Powell is a great writer, under appreciated. Like Proust he builds an entire world.

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a. natasha joukovsky's avatar

I haven’t read! Good suggestion thanks

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William Collen's avatar

I'm so glad you read (and wrote about) "Masters of Atlantis."

A recommendation: Paul Fussell's "Class: A Guide Through the American Status System." It is witheringly, wickedly funny, absolutely and exactly correct, and guaranteed to offend everyone. Only problem is it's forty years out of date; our time desperately needs an up-to-the-moment new version of Fussell's observations, so we can know how to look down our nose at other people more precisely. Despite being old it's still an excellent book, though.

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a. natasha joukovsky's avatar

GREAT rec—but already a personal fave! Only 20 years out of date when I first read it…

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William Collen's avatar

Ah, excellent! Will an extended review be forthcoming? Or (dare I even hope) will your third book be a "Class" for the current era?

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a. natasha joukovsky's avatar

This is related! https://open.substack.com/pub/joukovsky/p/the-creative-class-against-itself?r=7yhbb&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

Perhaps I will expand, but unlikely to book length—I have an idea for a third novel…

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Isabel Kaplan's avatar

Aspects of the Novel is also brilliantly funny, which I wasn’t expecting

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a. natasha joukovsky's avatar

Too true! Great wit

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Gretchen Hughey's avatar

I'm curious what prompted you to read the Truman biography this year? I read it several years back and quite enjoyed it.

Since you asked for recommendations, here are some of the books I most enjoyed this year: https://notjustmyown.substack.com/p/a-trauma-informed-best-of-books-list?r=1ezccm

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a. natasha joukovsky's avatar

Lingering Oppenheimer/arms race fascination—& ya I thought it was great

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