William Gaddis, one of America’s great under-read novelists, used to rage against Carnegie as a symbol of everything wrong with our “culture”. This description from The Recognitions is one of my favorites:

> Here was no promise of anything so absurd as a void where nothing was, nor so delusive as a chimerical kingdom of heaven: in short, it reconciled those virtues he had been taught as a child to the motives and practices of the man, the elixir which exchanged the things worth being for the things worth having. It was written with reassuring felicity. There were no abstrusely long sentences, no confounding long words, no bewildering metaphors in an obfuscated system such as he feared finding in simply bound books of thoughts and ideas. No dictionary was necessary to understand its message; no reason to know what Kapila saw when he looked heavenward, and of what the Athenians accused Anaxagoras, or to know the secret name of Jahveh, or who cleft the Gordian knot, the meaning of 666. There was, finally, very little need to know anything at all, except how to “deal with people.”

Tales of the Unexpected, from the 1970s, many of the early British ones were written by Dahl. I think they're on Youtube. ISTR it was Roald Dahl's Tales of the Unexpected at first.

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Check out The Landlady

Did you read the book?

It’s okay to like what you like, and if you don’t like romances that’s okay. There’s also a massive variation in what people think of as romances, from cozy to erotic, historical, contemporary, supernatural, etc.

In general though, romances are highly character driven—the story isn’t about what happens, the story is about how what happens changes the people in the story. It can make it feel like nothing much is happening, because what is happening isn’t the important part.

It may be worthwhile to look at “Women’s Fiction” or “beach reads” rather than outright romance. There’s some great stuff out there. It’s still going to be a large departure from a thriller, but I’d recommend Modern Lovers by Emma Straub or The Arrangement by Sarah Dunn.

You could also try contemporary fiction such as Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng, or for something dark and unsettling but in a different way, Room by Emma Donoghue.

delicious is right

Borges! Arguably the greatest short story writer of all time, any of the stories from “The Garden of Forking Paths” will give you a great sense of his style.

1. Oh I don't know, I think she enjoys being mean to Mr. Rochester and she gets to call him ugly at the end.
2. 20 in a college lit class. There was a deli near my old apartment called St. John's market and we used to call it Sinjin's just to be annoying.

I get that feeling too. I think its pretty normal with a great story (for me that also includes series, movies or games). But I must admit, that I kinda like that feeling.

I often take an intentional break for a few days (sometimes even weeks) when that feeling happens and dwell a little more on the story. I guess that feeling means that the book has touched you in some way and is now a part of you. And THAT is what I want actually.

But you asked for tips so here is mine:

To cope with that feeling, I often write about the book in my journal. Why I think it has impacted me so much, learnings that I withdraw from it etc. You said you compare the protagonists life with yours and that makes you sad, because their life is "perfect" compared to yours. Well that means you admire something about them. Find out what that is. And try to implement that in your own life. I know that sounds cheesy or like life-guru bullshit but it hepls a lot to reflect while writing. And it helps to get rid of that feeling quicker, like you want it :)

I feel Tamora Pierces writing has evolved over the past couple decades. I also feel they are related to the age group and time period they were written.

Her later series and books are much more detailed. I still love Alanna’s series for the simplicity in the writing style. Lady Knight is my absolute favorite and I love her newer series.

Lord Henry loved all the attention he got when he was with Dorian.

oh this is ME! thanks i cant wait to see what my problem is!

cool, I bought this collection today in a online old book store

Oh how my life went from "How to win friends and influence people" to "No more Mr. nice guy".

Yeah this about sums up my feelings towards a majority of the book. Reading about people either salivating or being shocked over Lord Henry‘s fancy preaching became tedious quite quickly.

I can’t wait to read the brothers karamazov!

I agree that these 6 “lessons” can help anyone in everyday life and in developing friendships. Respect for the other person, admitting you were wrong on something, sweetening advice by truthfully mentioning positive traits the person already has—these are all great points.

It doesn’t mean you can never debate a point with a friend or relative—although I agree that arguing rarely causes anyone to change their minds. But consider time and place, and don’t tell your friend they are stupid for taking their position if you sincerely hope to convince them of anything.

Likewise, if you’re advising your teen or adult son or daughter about budgeting, try to come up with something they’re already doing that’s positive before “helpfully pointing out” places where they’re “wasting money.”

Yes, the advice can be utilized superficially for the purpose of selling or simply using others. But if it’s done that way, the “friendships” and “influence” won’t last for long. But all salesmanship and influencing aren’t negative. In order to put ideas into action and move any kind of social change, there must be leader(s) who can sell their ideas and motivate others to join them in their cause.

One of the questions I was thinking of asking, is how much Jane would have been looked down upon, in Rochester's social setting. She was a penniless governess, who ends up with the lord of the manor. I like your line of thinking though....those are some very good thoughts!! Thanks!!

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Could be worse

I hate it too

Is Jane Eyre the proto "white feminist" protagonist? How do we reconcile her desire to give more rights to a certain type of woman at the exclusion of others? (That type of women she advocates the advancement of being those like herself - white, native-born, religious, and conservative with money.)

• Jane often compares herself positively to other women, emphasizing her pale skin and English-ness. She disparages the foreign French and German ladies Rochester had known before.
• The incredibly racist treatment of Bertha being from Jamaica and being Creole in origin. Rochester marrying a beautiful and racially ambitious woman is treated like a curse on his house... that only Jane can fix ofc by usurping the position of wife and birthing a 100% Caucasian male heir.

Oooo, those are good ones, especially #6!! LOL I like these!!

His children's stories do not prepare you for his adult stories.