literary realism books I've read before
anthologies * dystopia/apocalypse * fantasy * humor * literary realism * nonfiction * nostalgia * philosophy/religion * science fiction

These are books I read before I ever started writing reviews for my website. Maybe eventually I'll reread some of them and write proper reviews, but probably not all of them. But I still want to at least mention as many books that I've read as I can recall.


Cold is the Sea, by Edward L. Beach (pub. 1978)
Amazon; B&N; Goodreads; U.S. Naval Institute

I could swear that at some point, I heard someone (probably Captain Kirk, either in an episode of Star Trek or more likely in one of the movies) recite some bit of poetry or something that included the line "Cold is the sea." However, when I try to google the line now, I can't find anything about a poem. I found a quote of Kirk saying, in Star Trek IV, "They say the sea is cold, but the sea contains the hottest blood of all," which is from "Whales Weep Not!" by D.H. Lawrence. Maybe that's what I'm thinking of, but I absolutely, positively cannot shake the feeling that I have specifically heard Kirk (or someone) say "Cold is the sea." (Then again, maybe I even read it in a Star Trek novel, or something.) I don't know. But I do know that one day when I was browsing in my high school library, I saw a book with that title, and because of the line sounding familiar, I decided to read it. And, um... it's about a submarine. That is the only thing I remember about the book. It's about a submarine. There's a part of me that wonders if maybe I only thought about reading it, but decided not to, or maybe started to read it but didn't finish it. I don't know, but I suspect I probably did finish it. If I read it again, maybe bits of it would be vaguely familiar, and maybe none of it would be. Because my memory is just that bad. (The book is set in 1961, so maybe I should classify it as "historical fiction," but I'm not sure.)


Junky, by William S. Burroughs (pub. 1953)
Amazon; B&N; Goodreads; TV Tropes; Wikipedia

This is something my friend Jerry gave me, probably when we were in college together in the mid-90s. So that's probably about the time I read it. And I'm afraid I don't really remember anything specific about it, but I surely must have found it interesting. (I guess it's semi-autobiographical, so if I ever did reread it and write a review, I might put it under "nonfiction," but I'm not really sure.)


A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, by James Joyce (pub. 1916)
Amazon; B&N; Dover; Goodreads; Penguin; TV Tropes; Wikipedia

There are two books by Joyce- this, and "Dubliners"- that I feel like I might have read at some point, in the Aughts. It's possible I read both, or that I read only one of them. In the latter case, this is the one I feel more likely to have read, though it could have been the other. It's also possible I read neither of them, or that I started one of them and never finished. In any event, whatever I read or didn't read, I remember nothing whatsoever of the plot(s). Which is odd, because I always wanted to read Joyce (though I really want to read "Ulysses," eventually, and maybe "Finnegans Wake"). It's quite possible that whatever I read, I didn't like as much as I'd hoped. Or it's possible that my memory fails me simply because my memory sucks. Either way, I should probably try to reread this someday (or read it for the first time), as well as Dubliners. And the other things. I guess. (This is a semi-autobiographical book, but I think it's mostly fiction. Still, if I ever did reread it, I'm not sure where I'd put the review.)


A Separate Peace, by John Knowles (pub. 1959)
Amazon; B&N; Goodreads; TV Tropes; Wikipedia

This is something I read in high school, I think either Freshman or Sophomore year. I don't really remember anything about it, but I probably thought it was okay, and I might want to reread it someday (though I don't suppose I have a copy of it). I do think there was probably a scene the class was reading out loud one day, vaguely reenacting. At least I think this is the book I'm thinking of, when I went out into the hall because that's what the character I was reading did, and I made a bunch of noise like I was falling down stairs or something. Which I think is what my character did. I dunno. But anyway, people came out of other classrooms to see what was going on. That's what I call good acting. (If I ever reread this, I'm not sure where I'd put the review. Possibly "historical fiction," since it's set during World War II. But since it's not directly about any real people or events, maybe not.)



literary realism index

anthologies * dystopia/apocalypse * fantasy * humor * literary realism * nonfiction * nostalgia * philosophy/religion * science fiction