A Shooting Star

pan

The best thing I can say about this book is that it‘s been on my shelf for 7 years and now it‘s leaving the house.

A woman who has grown up with wealth has an affair, retreats to her family home to stay with her mother who she finds annoying &unloving. She drinks a lot, expresses her self-loathing constantly, finds wealth to be a burden, and generally is exceedingly unpleasant. I like Stegner‘s writing but I did not like this book. #offtheshelf

Tamra That‘s too bad! I really enjoyed some of his works, especially The Angle of Repose. (Due for a reread.) 3w

Suet624 @Tamra yes, I really liked that one too. 3w

AmyG I loved Angle of Repose. @Tamra 3w

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Suet624 @tamra @AmyG in the back of the book under his biography it states that he was the teacher of Larry McMurtry, Ken Kesey and Ivan Doig. I had no idea. I love those authors. (edited) 3w

Tamra @Suet624 oh, that makes sense. Quintessentially American western themed story telling! Stegner and Steinbeck were contemporaries and I‘ve often thought they have similar writing styles. (edited) 3w

Lcsmcat I didn‘t know he taught Doig. That makes sense though. Love Doig‘s writing. 3w

Suet624 @Lcsmcat 💕💕💕all three. 3w

Lcsmcat @Suet624 Where would you start/what would you recommend for the other two? Any favorites? 3w

Suet624 @Lcsmcat McMurtry = Lonesome Dove. You‘re gonna look at the book and think you won‘t like it, but you will love it. Ken Kesey = One Flew Over the Cuckoo‘s Nest or Sometimes a Great Notion. Either one of those is great. 3w

Lcsmcat @Suet624 OK, I‘ve read Cuckoo‘s Nest - just didn‘t make the connection, it‘s so different from Doig and Stegner. 3w

Suet624 @Lcsmcat I wonder if sometimes a great notion would be closer to Stegner‘s writing. I can‘t quite remember. 3w

Lcsmcat @Suet624 I haven‘t read that one so I may give it a try. 3w

Suet624 #10BeforetheEnd 3w

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Christine

A Shooting Star | Wallace Stegner

My husband was heading out for a surf when he noticed that our neighborhood library branch was having an outdoor book sale; he immediately called to alert me. He is a very occasional reader and a never book collector, and I do NOT surf. It was a sweet morning for both of us as our non-shared interests collided. :) Pictured is my pleasant haul. (Litsy posts now have me questioning whether the tagged was worth the 25 cents, though. C‘mon, Stegner!)

KatieB I would have been tempted by the Stegner too. Fingers crossed it‘s good! 5y

SamAnne I love Stegner. I‘m planning some rereads of my favorites. 5y

Hooked_on_books That‘s a good husband, scouting the sale for you! 5y

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Tamra Nice haul! 5y

Christine @KatieB Yes! I‘d never heard of this one. 5y

Christine @SamAnne I‘ve only read (semi-recently) Crossing to Safety, which I loved. Have you read this one? ⬆️ 5y

Christine @Hooked_on_books I was surprised and grateful! :) He told me it would have been a dereliction of duty to not report it. 😆 5y

Christine @Tamra It was so fun to be back at a book sale! Even though my library branch is tiny and their sale selection was similarly so. I was surprised to leave with as much of a stack as I did! :) 5y

SamAnne @christine I haven‘t read that one but Angle of Repose is one of my favorite novels. I loved Crossing to Safety. And I love his essay collection Where the Bluebird Sings at the Lemonade Springs. I grew up in the rural west and read it while commuting on the Metro when I was living in Washington DC and learning then differences between East and West and how growing up in the West had shaped@me. 5y

Christine @SamAnne Thanks for sharing all of that! Really lovely. Your thoughts make me want to get to Angle of Repose sooner than later. 5y

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