30 Comments
Oct 10Liked by Petya K. Grady

I had not read JD before I started this challenge. I watched the documentary about her and then read The year of Magical Thinking. I loved her writing and how she worked through the tragedy in her life. It helped to have heard her voice in the documentary and get a sense of her before reading. This also is a new experience for me. I don't usually research an author before I read their work. I love it! Next is Let Me Tell You What I Think. (I think that's the title.) I also want to try Slouching Toward Bethlehem. This is such fun!

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I am so glad you doing this and having fun with it!!! I remember watching the documentary and thinking... oh my gosh... she is so boring at times but of course, like many writers... her mind is sharpest when she's writing. And it is absolutely amazing to have her voice in your head as you read, especially the non-fiction. The Year of Magical Thinking was my first book I read by her, too. And I loved it.

I will be switching to an essay collection after I slog through this novel. 🫣

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"Oh my gosh...she is so boring at times" this really made me laugh! 😃 i know what you mean though; you expect her to speak so strong and forceful but she is so different to her writing persona.

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I felt bad for being so disappointed! She is TOUGH to interview because she is so aloof and almost... I don't know... literal.

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Oct 10Liked by Petya K. Grady

Thanks for tagging my piece on Democracy, which sounds like it has similar elements to the The Last Thing He Wanted. Funny that was turned into a cheesy movie— I learned while reading Didion & Babitz that she and her husband were the screenwriters for the 1970s version of A Star is Born. And Play It As It Lays is also a bit of a soap opera.

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It IS a bit of a soap opera!!! 😂

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“For me, reading encapsulates the entire experience of immersing myself in the world of the book and learning about the author who wrote it.”

Same! I always look up the author of the book I’m reading. I find it to be such a fun part of the process.

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I have been thinking about this a lot since I read the Sally Rooney interview with David Marchese. He basically fell out of his chair when Rooney insisted that she does not care about the lives and biographies of the authors she enjoys reading:

DM: Do you find yourself having thoughts about the writers who are meaningful to you that it seems people have about you and your work?

SR: No.

DM: Really? You don’t?

SR: No!

DM: You’ve never read a biography of a novelist?

S: I’ve actually never read a biography of a writer.

DM: There are some good ones!

SR: People say that there are, and I’m recommended them on a regular basis. I must have some kind of mental block to reading them. There are natural gaps in my reading — I wish there weren’t — but this is more than a gap. It’s a stubborn lack of curiosity. I don’t tend to wonder about the relationship between the writer’s life and the writer’s work. Part of it might be that that’s an imposed relationship that comes from outside, and I want to resist engaging in that. But I think part of it is a genuine lack of interest. Before I ever became a published writer, I also didn’t read writers’ biographies or even really know anything about writers. I would know what period they lived in. That’s kind of it, and I’m still a little bit like that.

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Oct 10·edited Oct 10Liked by Petya K. Grady

I wonder if she genuinely feels this way or just says that in defense of people wanting to know more about her personal life/the age of social media. I get it, but I can't relate. I find people fascinating in general, and I love to read, so mix the two together, and I want to know all the things—within reason, of course. I don't need to know their exercise routine, but I find interesting tidbits to discover, like what they enjoy reading in their leisure time, hobbies, dislikes, do they write in the morning or evening, etc. It's fun and makes them more human instead of just words on a page.

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Ooooh. I love that! The world is an INCH!

I have The Topeka School on my shelf but haven't read it. Adding to my Notes app.

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I did not like the ending but the rest of the book was great.

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I feel the same. I just find it hard to believe. Especially because I have heard her say that she loves Sheila Heti, Ben Lerner and Rachel Cusk -- who are THE poster children for auto fiction.

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Oh wow!! Yea. Ben truly is the poster child of auto fiction. He's from Topeka (our hometown) and we went to the same high school (not at the same time-he was best friends with my high school bf's brother so I would see him when he came back to visit from college). The Topeka School was WILD and fun to read because that was our life. Ben was always a gem. God, such a small world.

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Ok, Petya, firstly: you can totally still call yourself a Joanie superfan without her fiction. (I have no actual authority here, but I'm telling you it's ok). I always tell people how she's one of my favourite writers of all time but, in all honesty...I don't love her fiction. There. I said it. I did like Play it as it Lays, gave up on The Book of Common Prayer AND Run, River, and have not tried any others. I fell for her writing because I wanted to be a journalist and, for me, nobody wrote longform journalism or essays better. I think maybe that's why Magical Thinking and Blue Nights are so good- because she writes them like she writes her essays.

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There is something so straight-forward and matter-of-fact about her nonfiction... just... I will tell it like it is quality to it, that makes it so fantastic to read. Like, she will report the thing without fear or judgment or pride. It feels objective (whatever that means). And, in a way, I feel like the fiction is similar... but maybe that doesn't work for fiction?! Like, I feel like she didn't even try to make me care about any of these people before she started confusing me about their goals and motivations. I don't need likable characters, but I need to have a reason to care. And she gives none.

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Omg and thank you for the JD playlist!!!! Duly downloaded and ready to play as I clean out my fridge. Rock n Roll, Friend 😎

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My husband walked into the room the other day and was like... you are listening to Jimmy Hendrix?! 😂 😂

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Oct 10·edited Oct 10Liked by Petya K. Grady

I love Joan Didion and have ever since the early 80s when her writing was assigned for reading in my city college English lit course. Having said that, I can really only read her nonfiction. Slouching Toward Bethlehem was a masterpiece. I've tried her fiction a couple of times, and just can't do it for many of the reasons you nailed. You're not alone.

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I am starting to realize that many share our view.

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Just watched the Netflix trailer… Maybe all the novel was lacking was a suspenseful soundtrack 🤣

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I'm still finishing up my spooky season reads but by next week I will be SO ready for some Didion.

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I can't wait to see what you read/write!

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Oct 10Liked by Petya K. Grady

I have only read 'Play It As It Lays' and to be honest, it wasn't very memorable. I tried reading her non-fiction but got so lost that I gave up (I rarely give up on books). When you posted about the challenge I thought... this could be the turning point, and me, like everybody on the internet, will finally understand what Joan Didion was all about. I picked 'Run River' at random. I'm about halfway through and I'm pleasantly surprised. There is something to her after all (but more in my book review at the end of the month - hopefully!) I keep reminding myself that it took me three tries to fully understand Virginia Woolf and she's my absolute favourite writer now. Life is all about chances.

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I fully believe that so much of bad reading experience is just really bad timing. And, like you said, good experiences are just chance. I don't know anything about Run River!!!

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Oct 10Liked by Petya K. Grady

Loved following along on your internal experience. I’m having a hard time with my piece, but I’m following your advice and doing one essay at a time. Off to go read one now 🏃🏼‍♀️

Got my transparent post it’s last night 🤓 what a great tip!

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It's a reading challenge, not a writing challenge! Don't let pressure rush you!

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Oct 10Liked by Petya K. Grady

I needed to hear that. Thank you 🙏🏼

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I have not ready any yet! I started listening to The Year of Magical Thinking and immediately stopped because it felt like one I want to read. This month you've devoted to her has inspired me though. What one should I start with?

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Didion for me lands really differently depending where I’m at in life, my general sense of things. The first time I tried to read her, I didn’t like it. The second time, Iyears later, I was hooked. Her work is so lean and without joy that it can be hard to take. Dave Eggers first book, the memoir, is still one of my favorites!

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I loved Democracy and felt Last Thing echoed that. I liked the inherent criticism of US foreign policy as a subtext to the personal drama and thriller plot line. Play it as it Lays is unfortunately more relevant today than when I read it pre-Dobbs.

These days, I'm leaning towards her essays which are quicker to read. I read On Keeping A Notebook this morning. I've read most of the essays in her collections - Slouching, Political Fictions, Where I Was From, South and West, and the White Album.

I like the space that she leaves for the reader in her novels, she does that in her essays, but it's a more difficult experience in a novel. I feel like you could teach any one of her essays but her novels are more of an adventure.

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