The Reading List: Contemporary Fiction: A Critical Guide to the Complete Works of 125 Authors

I'm an avid reader of books about books, especially other people's annotated lists of books to read, and this is one of the very best I've seen. It's subtitled "A Critical Guide to the Complete Works of 110 Authors," and it's an excellent introduction for even the most serious reader of modern literary fiction to those authors and books one inevitably misses. Some of my favorites are here, including Steven Milhauser, David Lodge, and Jane Smiley, but I was also made to think again about Mian Kundera, Barbara Kingsolver, and a few others by whom I had not been particularly impressed. The biographical notes will also give you some clues to where an author's work comes from, and the annotations on individual books are uniformly excellent -- even when I disagree with them. This is one for making marginal notes in!

A fantastic resource whether you are looking for book club suggestions or ideas for your own reading. I have just begun on the journey to increase my knowledge of contemporary authors and their novels by reading the starred books --the ones the editor considers to be "the best" by each author included. I'm sure anyone will "discover" unfamiliar authors or novels not yet read. It makes a terrific gift for the book lovers on your list.

David Rubel's READING LIST has opened the door to so many books for me. Shortly after finishing it, I sought out Beryl Bainbridge's YOUNG ADOLF and several of Martin Amis' works. Not only that, but READING LIST spurred me into re-trying Thomas Pynchon's massive MASON & DIXON; this time around, I actually enjoyed it. Through this book, I have discovered the joys of John Irving, Salman Rushdie, and many others. Book groups would do well to consider READING LIST when choosing their next selection. Who knows? Maybe it would be great selected material itself. There's certainly enough room for discussion.

David Rubel compiles a reading list of 110 authors and describes their books. Two good aspects of this book are that he doesn't just give his opinion of the books, but tells how the works were received by the critics and the public; and he lists every book written by each author. Thus one is not presented by a select list of what Mr. Rubel considers to be an author's best works.When a book such as this comes out there is the usual cry about what authors didn't make the book. I may have my own criticisms in this regard, but that's not the point. I am not interested in knowing about writer's that I already love or hate; I want to hear about authors that I am unfamiliar with. The first novel that I read after perusing this reading list was Cathie Pelletier's "The Funeral Makers." That book alone made the entire purchase price of the Reading List worthwhile.