Hanff, 84, Charing Cross Road (1970)

Helene Hanff.
84, Charing Cross Road.
New York: Penguin Books, 1990.
Originally published: New York: Grossman Publishers, 1970.

Book Information : Publisher; Google Books; Archive.org; Wikipedia; GoodReads.com; Amazon.com.

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Author Information : Helene Hanff

• Helene Hanff (1916 – 1997), Wikipedia.
• Helene Hanff, GoodReads.com.
• Helene Hanff, 84, Charing Cross Road (1970), Wikipedia.
  This article lists many of the books Hanff discusses in 84, Charing Cross Road and/or ordered from Marks & Co.
• 84, Charing Cross Road (1987), Wikipedia.
  A film adaptation of Helene Hanff's book.
• Helene Hanff. Underfoot in Show Business. New York: Harper & Row, 1962; Boston: Littlem Brown and Company, 1980; Mt. Kisco, NY: Moyer Bell, 1989, 2007.
  [Google Books; Archive.org; GoodReads.com; Amazon.com.]
• Helene Hanff. The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott, 1973; New York: Harper Perennial, 2016.
  [Helene Hanff finally travels to England; a sequel to 84, Charing Cross Road.]
  [Publisher; Google Books; Archive.org; GoodReads.com; Amazon.com.]
• Helene Hanff. Apple of My Eye. London: Andre Deutsch Ltd., 1977, 1988; Wakefield, RI: Moyer Bell, 1988; Mt. Kisco, NY: Moyer Bell, 1995.
  [A guide to the attractions of New York City.]
  [Google Books; Archive.org; GoodReads.com; Amazon.com.]
• Helene Hanff. Q's Legacy. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1985; New York: Penguin Books, 1986.
  [A memoir; the role of Arthur Quiller-Couch ("Q") in Hanff's intellectual development; and a sequel to 84, Charing Cross Road.]
  [Publisher; Google Books; Archive.org; GoodReads.com; Amazon.com.]
• Helene Hanff. Letter from New York. Aurum Press, 1992; Mt. Kisco, NY: Moyer Bell, 1992.
  [Vignettes of daily life in New York, 1986-1991, originally broadcast on the BBC.]
  [Google Books; Archive.org; GoodReads.com; Amazon.com.]

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Notes:

• I read this short book 84, Charing Cross Road in order to not leave the July slot in my reading record empty (and, of course, because it is highly recommended). In May I started reading Don Quixote and the accompanying assigned reading in Roberto González Echevarría's lecture course Cervantes' Don Quixote. However, concomitantly over the last few months, my non-reading activities have increased substantially, and thus my Don Quixote related reading progress has been very slow. Last month's entry on The Song of Roland has some other notes associated with Don Quixote.
• Miguel de Cervantes (1547 – 1616). Don Quixote (1605, 1615). Translated by Edith Grossman. New York: Ecco / HarperCollins Publishers, 2003.
  [Publisher; Google Books; Wikipedia; GoodReads.com; Amazon.com.]

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Weir, Project Hail Mary (2021)

Andy Weir.
Project Hail Mary.
New York: Ballantine Books (Penguin Random House), 2021.

Book Information : Publisher; Google Books; Wikipedia; GoodReads.com; Amazon.com.

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Author Information : Andy Weir

• Andy Weir (b. 1972), Wikipedia.
• Andy Weir, Penguin Random House.
• Andy Weir, andyweirauthor.com (author's website).
• Andy Weir, @andyweirauthor, X / Twitter.

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Moore, The God of the Woods (2024)

Liz Moore.
The God of the Woods.
New York: Riverhead Books (Penguin Random House), 2024.

Book Information : Publisher; Google Books; Wikipedia; GoodReads.com; Amazon.com.

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Author Information : Liz Moore

• Liz Moore (b. 1983), Wikipedia.
• Liz Moore, Professor and Director of the MFA Program in Creative Writing, Department of English, College of Liberal Arts, Temple University, Philadelphia.

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Johnson, Train Dreams (2002; 2011)

Denis Johnson.
Train Dreams.
New York: Picador (Farrar, Straus and Giroux / Macmillan Publishers), 2011, 2012.
Originally published in The Paris Review, Summer 2002.

Book Information : Publisher; Google Books; Wikipedia; GoodReads.com; Amazon.com.

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Author Information and Wikipedia Articles :

• Denis Johnson, Macmillan Publishers.
• Denis Johnson (1949 – 2017), Wikipedia.
• Train Dreams (2002; 2011), Wikipedia.
• American literature: Contemporary fiction, Wikipedia.

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Toomer, Cane (1923; 2011)

Jean Toomer.
Cane.
In Harlem Renaissance: Five Novels of the 1920s.
Edited by Rafia Zafar.
Book Series: Library of America, number 217.
New York: The Library of America, 2011.

Book Information : Publisher, Harlem Renaissance box set; Publisher, Harlem Renaissance: Five Novels of the 1920s; Google Books; Wikipedia; GoodReads.com: Harlem Renaissance box set; GoodReads.com: Harlem Renaissance: Five Novels of the 1920s; GoodReads.com: Cane only; Amazon.com: Harlem Renaissance box set; Amazon.com: Harlem Renaissance: Five Novels of the 1920s; Amazon.com: Cane (Penguin Classics); Amazon.com: Cane (Norton Critical Edition).

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Author and Editor Information :

• Jean Toomer (1894 – 1967).
• Jean Toomer GoodReads.com.
• Rafia Zafar, Department of English, Washington University in St. Louis.
• Rafia Zafar, Department of African & African American Studies, Washington University in St. Louis.

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Wikipedia Articles :

• Cane (1923).
• African-American literature.
• Harlem Renaissance, 1920s and 1930s.
• Waldo Frank (1889 – 1967), edited Toomer's Cane; and Margaret Naumburg (1890 – 1983), wife of Waldo Frank from 1917 to 1924.

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Le Guin, Ursula K. Le Guin’s Book of Cats (2025)

Ursula K. Le Guin.
Ursula K. Le Guin’s Book of Cats.
New York: Library of America, 2025.

Book Information : Publisher; Author's Website; Google Books; GoodReads.com; Amazon.com.

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Author Information :

• Ursula K. Le Guin, official website.
• Ursula K. Le Guin's Blog.
• Ursula K. Le Guin (1929 – 2018), Wikipedia.

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Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937; 2006)

Zora Neale Hurston.
Their Eyes Were Watching God.
New York: Amistad (HarperCollins Publishers), 2006.
Originally published: Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott, 1937.

Book Information : Publisher; Google Books; Wikipedia; GoodReads.com; Amazon.com.

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Wikipedia Articles :

• Zora Neale Hurston (1891–1960).
• Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937).
• Eatonville, Florida.
• Belle Glade, Florida.
• 1928 Okeechobee hurricane.
• African-American literature.
• Harlem Renaissance, 1920s and 1930s.

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Some Internet Discussions of Their Eyes Were Watching God :

• Alice Walker, "Zora Neale Hurston and the People She Looked at Very Hard and Loved Very Much", Barnard Center for Research on Women, YouTube, posted 07 July 2014, talk delivered 03 October 2003.
• Adam Gussow, Blues Talk 7 - Zora Neale Hurston and southern blues culture", Modern Blues Harmonica, YouTube, 22 January 2013.
  (Begins with Hurston as an anthropologist in the US South, then discusses blues themes in Their Eyes Were Watching God. Very good discussion.)
• Cheryl Wall, "Zora Neale Hurston: Her Eyes Were Watching God", Chicago Humanities, YouTube, posted 24 November 2014, talk delivered 01 November 2014.
  (Cheryl Wall edited the Zora Neale Hurston volumes in the Library of America series: Novels & Stories and Folklore, Memoirs, & Other Writings.)
• David Kern, Heidi White and Tim McIntosh, "Their Eyes Were Watching God", Close Reads Podcast, Substack, August and September 2021.
  1. Their Eyes Were Watching God: Chapters 1-5, 06 August 2021.
  2. Their Eyes Were Watching God: Chapters 6-10, 13 August 2021.
     (Perhaps due to the absence of the leader of the group during the first half of this episode and then his late arrival, the speakers seemed unusually undisciplined in staying focused on the topic.)
  3. Their Eyes Were Watching God: Chapters 11-17, 20 August 2021.
     (In contrast to the previous episode, the discussion here is tighter and more insightful.)
  4. Their Eyes Were Watching God: Conclusion, 27 August 2021.
  5. Their Eyes Were Watching God: Q&A Episode, 04 September 2021.

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Penelope, The Monsters We Defy (2022)

Leslye Penelope.
The Monsters We Defy.
New York: Redhook (Hachette Book Group), 2022.

Book Information : Publisher; Google Books; GoodReads.com; Amazon.com.

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Author Information :

• L. Penelope, author website.
• L. Penelope, My Imaginary Friends podcast.
  Also available at YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts.
• Leslye Penelope, YouTube channel.
  Has more than just her My Imaginary Friends podcast.
• Leslye Penelope, Instagram.
• L. Penelope, GoodReads.
• leslyepenelope, X / Twitter.

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Wikipedia Articles :

• Aspects of The Monsters We Defy :
  • Fantasy.
  • Historical fantasy.
  • Supernatural fiction.
  • Paranormal fiction.
  • Hoodoo.
  • Audie Award for Fantasy: 2020s; The Monsters We Defy won this award for 2023.
• Historical People and Events mentioned in The Monsters We Defy :
  • Red Summer, 1919.
  • Washington race riot of 1919.
  • Charles W. Chesnutt (1858–1932), The Conjure Woman (1899).
  • W. E. B. Du Bois (1868–1963), The Souls of Black Folk (1903).
  • Carter G. Woodson (1875–1950), founder of The Journal of Negro History.
  • Jean Toomer (1894–1967), Cane (1923).
  • The New Negro (1925), edited by Alain Locke (1885–1954).
  • Langston Hughes (1901–1967).
  • John Whitelaw Lewis (1867–19##); Industrial Savings Bank founded 1913; Whitelaw Hotel built 1919.
• General Cultural History and Background :
  • African-American literature.
  • Black Renaissance in D.C., 1919 to late 1920s.
  • Harlem Renaissance, 1920s and 1930s.

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Bourdain, Kitchen Confidential (2000; 2007)

Anthony Bourdain.
Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly, Updated Edition.
New York: Ecco (HarperCollins Publishers), 2007.
First published: New York: Bloomsbury USA, 2000.

Book Information : Publisher; Google Books; Wikipedia; GoodReads.com; Amazon.com.

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Wikipedia Articles :

• Anthony Bourdain (1956 – 2018).
• Kitchen Confidential (2000).

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Krakauer, Into the Wild (1996; 2015)

Jon Krakauer.
Into the Wild.
New York: Vintage Books (Penguin Random House), 2015.
First published: New York: Villard Books (Random House), 1996.

Book Information : Publisher; Google Books; Wikipedia; GoodReads.com; Amazon.com.

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Wikipedia Articles :

• Jon Krakauer (b. 1954).
• Into the Wild (1996).
• Chris McCandless (1968 – 1992).
• Chris McCandless Reading List:
  • Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862).
  • Leo Tolstoy (1828–1910), War and Peace (1869).
  • Jack London (1876–1916).
  • Boris Pasternak (1890–1960), Doctor Zhivago (1957).
• Everett Ruess (1914–c.1934), another young man who enjoyed solo wilderness expeditions.
• Human condition.

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O'Brien, The Things They Carried (1990)

Tim O'Brien.
The Things They Carried.
New York: Mariner Books (HarperCollins Publishers), 2009.
First published: New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1990.

Book Information : Publisher; Google Books; Wikipedia; GoodReads.com; Amazon.com.

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Wikipedia Articles :

• Tim O'Brien (b. 1946).
• The Things They Carried (1990).
• American literature: Post-World War II fiction.
• American literature: Contemporary fiction.
• Vietnam War, 1955 – 1975.
• Quảng Ngãi province.

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King, The Long Walk (1979; 2025)

Stephen King.
The Long Walk.
New York: Scribner (Simon & Schuster), 2025.
(Originally published in 1979 under the pseudonym Richard Bachman.)

Book Information : Publisher; Google Books; Wikipedia; GoodReads; Amazon.com.

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Wikipedia Articles :

• Stephen King (b. 1947).
• The Long Walk (1979), originally published under the pseudonym Richard Bachman.
• Richard Bachman, pseudonym of Stephen King.
• Death drive, suggested by a character as a motivating factor for participation in the Long Walk.
• Young adult literature.

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McBride, The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store (2023)

James McBride.
The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store.
New York: Riverhead Books (Penguin Random House), 2023.

Book Information : Publisher; Google Books; Wikipedia; GoodReads.com; Amazon.com.

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Wikipedia Articles :

• James McBride (b. 1957).
• James McBride, The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store (2023).
• James McBride, The Good Lord Bird (2013) won the National Book Award for Fiction.
• James McBride, The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother (1995).

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Vonnegut, Breakfast of Champions (1973; 2011)

Kurt Vonnegut.
Breakfast of Champions.
In Novels & Stories 1963–1973.
Edited by Sidney Offit.
Book Series: Library of America, number 216.
New York: The Library of America, 2011.

Book Information : Publisher; Publisher, slipcase edition; Google Books; Wikipedia; GoodReads.com: Novels & Stories 1963–1973; GoodReads.com: Breakfast of Champions only; Amazon.com: Novels & Stories 1963–1973; Amazon.com: Breakfast of Champions only.

Novels & Stories 1963–1973 also contains three short stories:

• "Welcome to the Monkey House," 1968
• "Fortitude," 1968 [actually a play / screenplay]
• "The Big Space Fuck," 1972

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Wikipedia Articles :

• Kurt Vonnegut (1922–2007).
• Breakfast of Champions (1973).
• "Welcome to the Monkey House" (1968).
• Fortitude (1968).
• Sidney Offit (b. 1928).

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Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse-Five (1969; 2011)

Kurt Vonnegut.
Slaughterhouse-Five.
In Novels & Stories 1963–1973.
Edited by Sidney Offit.
Book Series: Library of America, number 216.
New York: The Library of America, 2011.

Book Information : Publisher; Publisher, slipcase edition; Google Books; Wikipedia; GoodReads.com: Novels & Stories 1963–1973; GoodReads.com: Slaughterhouse-Five only; Amazon.com: Novels & Stories 1963–1973; Amazon.com: Slaughterhouse-Five only.

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Wikipedia Articles :

• Kurt Vonnegut (1922–2007).
• Slaughterhouse-Five (1969).
• Sidney Offit (b. 1928).

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Vonnegut, God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater (1965; 2011)

Kurt Vonnegut.
God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater.
In Novels & Stories 1963–1973.
Edited by Sidney Offit.
Book Series: Library of America, number 216.
New York: The Library of America, 2011.

Book Information : Publisher; Publisher, slipcase edition; Google Books; GoodReads.com: Novels & Stories 1963–1973; GoodReads.com: God Bless You ... only; Amazon.com: Novels & Stories 1963–1973; Amazon.com: God Bless You ... only.

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Wikipedia Articles :

• Kurt Vonnegut (1922–2007).
• God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater (1965).
• Sidney Offit (b. 1928).

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Notable Quotes :

• "What in hell are people for?" (Chapter 2, God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, page 204 in the Library of America edition.)
• "The problem is this: how to love people who have no use?" (Chapter 14, God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, page 332 in the Library of America edition.)

Vonnegut, Cat’s Cradle (1963; 2011)

Kurt Vonnegut.
Cat’s Cradle.
In Novels & Stories 1963–1973.
Edited by Sidney Offit.
Book Series: Library of America, number 216.
New York: The Library of America, 2011.

Book Information : Publisher; Publisher, slipcase edition; Google Books; GoodReads.com: Novels & Stories 1963–1973; GoodReads.com: Cat’s Cradle only; Amazon.com: Novels & Stories 1963–1973; Amazon.com: Cat’s Cradle only.

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Wikipedia Articles :

• Kurt Vonnegut (1922–2007).
• Cat's Cradle (1963).
• Sidney Offit (b. 1928).

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