Quote:
Originally posted by dtheriault
would you rather have her expose us to the latest "Message in a Bottle" or "Where the Heart Is"?
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Oh my no. But my point is that Steinbeck's already a well-recognized part of the Great American Canon. He's great, sure, but there are tons of obscure writers who deserve attention (some of whom blow most canonized writers' socks off); what's more, I think that readers deserve to hear about these writers, too.
Part of what cheeses me off about Oprah is that when she ended her club's first incarnation, she said, "it has just become harder for me to find books on a monthly basis that I am really passionate about." Maybe she was just burned out, but if she was serious, then she simply wasn't looking hard enough. Check out the
Review of Contemporary Fiction or
Rain Taxi or
BookForum, et al., for reviews of tons of great books, many of them by writers who count themselves lucky if they sell a thousand copies.
At the same time, I agree that better Steinbeck than many/most of her previous choices. Ultimately I wish she were more adventurous, but one must walk before one runs, etc.