Відео

8:35 😂😂 but why not? 🤭

Dodo is so cute 😂

That’s strange - I too work in a powered milk factory. Ok, I don’t, but it sounds like an oddly interesting day job. 🤭 I must sample some Blackwood soon..

“Number 69 - Stella Maris by Cormac McCarthy. Heard of it, never read it”

"The Ceremonies" has been a favorite of mine for years. Have it in paperback and hardback, thanks to my mom's horror book collection from the 80's. On my list to re-read this August/early fall.

Slowly crawling my way through Bovary, caterpillar style, chewing every sentence slowly, gaining sustenance from Flaubert's faultless sensibility-no gimmicks, no cleverness or authorial intrusions; and the deep understanding of these people by their author is so sad and yet endearing. About a 3rd in. A serious author, a serious man to be sure, an artist non pareil.

Wow, I've not read any of these. Saw a bit of the film Atonement but not all of it. Watched all of the film The Last Samurai (if it is the same thing). Watch the tv series Wolf Hall. Am I missing out on reading any of these or are they, you know, 'modern?'

Just needed something pointless. Thank you!

100. Denis Johnson: Tree of Smoke 99. Ali Smith: How to Be Both 98. Ann Patchett: Bel Canto 97. Jesmyn Ward: Men We Reaped 96. Saidiya Hartman: Wayward Lives Beautiful Experiments 95. Hilary Mantel: Bring Up the Bodies 94. Zadie Smith: On Beauty 93. Emily St. John Mandel: Station Eleven 92. Elena Ferrante: The Days of Abandonment 91. Philip Roth: The Human Stain 90. Viet Thanh Nguyen: The Sympathizer 89. Hisham Matar: The Return 88. Lydia Davis: The Collected Stories of Lydia Davis 87. Torrey Peters: Detransition, Baby 86. David W. Blight: Frederick Douglass 85. George Saunders: Pastoralia 84. Siddhartha Mukherjee: The Emperor of All Maladies 83. Benjamin Labatut: When We Cease to Understand the World 82. Fernanda Melchor: Hurricane Season 81. John Jeremiah Sullivan: Pulphead 80. Elena Ferrante: The Story of the Lost Child 79. Lucia Berlin: A Manual for Cleaning Women 78. Jon Fosse: Septology 77. Tayari Jones: An American Marriage 76. Gabrielle Zevin: Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow 75. Mohsin Hamid: Exit West 74. Elizabeth Strout: Olive Kitteridge 73. Robert A. Caro: The Passage of Power 72. Svetlana Alexievitch: Secondhand Time 71. Tove Ditlevsen: The Copenhagen Trilogy 70. Edward P. Jones: All Aunt Hagar’s Children 69. Michelle Alexander: The New Jim Crow 68. Sigrid Nunez: The Friend 67. Andrew Solomon: Far from the Tree 66. Justin Torres: We the Animals 65. Philip Roth: The Plot Against America 64. Rebecca Makkai: The Great Believers 63. Mary Gaitskill: Veronica 62. Ben Lerner: 10:04 61. Barbara Kingsolver: Demon Copperhead 60. Kiese Laymon: Heavy 59. Jeffrey Eugenides: Middlesex 58. Hua Hsu: Stay True 57. Barbara Ehrenreich: Nickel and Dimed 56. Rachel Kushner: The Flame Throwers 55. Lawrence Wright: The Looming Tower 54. George Saunders: Tenth of December 53. Alice Munro: Runaway 52. Denis Johnson: Train Dreams 51. Kate Atkinson: Life After Life 50. Hernan Diaz: Trust 49. Han Kang: The Vegetarian 48. Marjane Satrapi: Perseopolis 47. Toni Morrison: A Mercy 46. Donna Tartt: The Goldfinch 45. Maggie Nelson: The Argonauts 44. N. K. Jemisin: The Fifth Season 43. Tony Judt: Postwar 42. Marlon James: A Brief History of Seven Killings 41. Claire Keegan: Small Things Like These 40. Helen Macdonald: H Is for Hawk 39. Jennifer Egan: A Visit from the Goon Squad 38. Roberto Bolano: The Savage Detectives 37. Annie Ernaux: The Years 36. Ta-Nehisi Coates: Between the World and Me 35. Alison Bechdel: Fun Home 34. Claudia Rankine: Citizen 33. Jesmyn Ward: Salvage the Bones 32. Alan Hollinghurst: The Line of Beauty 31. Zadie Smith: White Teeth 30. Jesmyn Ward: Sing, Unburied, Sing 29. Helen DeWitt: The Last Samurai 28. David Mitchell: Cloud Atlas 27. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: Americanah 26. Ian McEwan: Atonement 25. Adrian Nicole LeBlanc: Random Family 24. Richard Powers: The Overstory 23. Alice Munro: Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage 22. Katherine Boo: Behind the Beautiful Forevers 21. Matthew Desmond: Evicted 20. Percival Everett: Erasure 19. Patrick Radden Keefe: Say Nothing 18. George Saunders: Lincoln in the Bardo 17. Paul Beatty: The Sellout 16. Michael Chabon: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay 15. Min Jin Lee: Pachinko 14. Rachael Cusk: Outline 13. Cormac McCarthy: The Road 12. Joan Didion: The Year of Magical Thinking 11. Junot Diaz: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao 10. Marilynne Robinson: Gilead 9. Kazuo Ishiguro: Never Let Me Go 8. W. G. Sebald: Austerlitz 7. Colson Whitehead: The Underground Railroad 6. Roberto Bolano: 2666 5. Jonathan Franzen: The Corrections 4. Edward P. Jones: The Known World 3. Hilary Mantel: Wolf Hall 2. Isabel Wilkerson: The Warmth of Other Suns 1. Elena Ferrante: My Brilliant Friend

100. Denis Johnson: Tree of Smoke 99. Ali Smith: How to Be Both 98. Ann Patchett: Bel Canto 97. Jesmyn Ward: Men We Reaped 96. Saidiya Hartman: Wayward Lives Beautiful Experiments 95. Hilary Mantel: Bring Up the Bodies 94. Zadie Smith: On Beauty 93. Emily St. John Mandel: Station Eleven 92. Elena Ferrante: The Days of Abandonment 91. Philip Roth: The Human Stain 90. Viet Thanh Nguyen: The Sympathizer 89. Hisham Matar: The Return 88. Lydia Davis: The Collected Stories of Lydia Davis 87. Torrey Peters: Detransition, Baby 86. David W. Blight: Frederick Douglass 85. George Saunders: Pastoralia 84. Siddhartha Mukherjee: The Emperor of All Maladies 83. Benjamin Labatut: When We Cease to Understand the World 82. Fernanda Melchor: Hurricane Season 81. John Jeremiah Sullivan: Pulphead 80. Elena Ferrante: The Story of the Lost Child 79. Lucia Berlin: A Manual for Cleaning Women 78. Jon Fosse: Septology 77. Tayari Jones: An American Marriage 76. Gabrielle Zevin: Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow 75. Mohsin Hamid: Exit West 74. Elizabeth Strout: Olive Kitteridge 73. Robert A. Caro: The Passage of Power 72. Svetlana Alexievitch: Secondhand Time 71. Tove Ditlevsen: The Copenhagen Trilogy 70. Edward P. Jones: All Aunt Hagar’s Children 69. Michelle Alexander: The New Jim Crow 68. Sigrid Nunez: The Friend 67. Andrew Solomon: Far from the Tree 66. Justin Torres: We the Animals 65. Philip Roth: The Plot Against America 64. Rebecca Makkai: The Great Believers 63. Mary Gaitskill: Veronica 62. Ben Lerner: 10:04 61. Barbara Kingsolver: Demon Copperhead 60. Kiese Laymon: Heavy 59. Jeffrey Eugenides: Middlesex 58. Hua Hsu: Stay True 57. Barbara Ehrenreich: Nickel and Dimed 56. Rachel Kushner: The Flame Throwers 55. Lawrence Wright: The Looming Tower 54. George Saunders: Tenth of December 53. Alice Munro: Runaway 52. Denis Johnson: Train Dreams 51. Kate Atkinson: Life After Life 50. Hernan Diaz: Trust 49. Han Kang: The Vegetarian 48. Marjane Satrapi: Perseopolis 47. Toni Morrison: A Mercy 46. Donna Tartt: The Goldfinch 45. Maggie Nelson: The Argonauts 44. N. K. Jemisin: The Fifth Season 43. Tony Judt: Postwar 42. Marlon James: A Brief History of Seven Killings 41. Claire Keegan: Small Things Like These 40. Helen Macdonald: H Is for Hawk 39. Jennifer Egan: A Visit from the Goon Squad 38. Roberto Bolano: The Savage Detectives 37. Annie Ernaux: The Years 36. Ta-Nehisi Coates: Between the World and Me 35. Alison Bechdel: Fun Home 34. Claudia Rankine: Citizen 33. Jesmyn Ward: Salvage the Bones 32. Alan Hollinghurst: The Line of Beauty 31. Zadie Smith: White Teeth 30. Jesmyn Ward: Sing, Unburied, Sing 29. Helen DeWitt: The Last Samurai 28. David Mitchell: Cloud Atlas 27. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: Americanah 26. Ian McEwan: Atonement 25. Adrian Nicole LeBlanc: Random Family 24. Richard Powers: The Overstory 23. Alice Munro: Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage 22. Katherine Boo: Behind the Beautiful Forevers 21. Matthew Desmond: Evicted 20. Percival Everett: Erasure 19. Patrick Radden Keefe: Say Nothing 18. George Saunders: Lincoln in the Bardo 17. Paul Beatty: The Sellout 16. Michael Chabon: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay 15. Min Jin Lee: Pachinko 14. Rachael Cusk: Outline 13. Cormac McCarthy: The Road 12. Joan Didion: The Year of Magical Thinking 11. Junot Diaz: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao 10. Marilynne Robinson: Gilead 9. Kazuo Ishiguro: Never Let Me Go 8. W. G. Sebald: Austerlitz 7. Colson Whitehead: The Underground Railroad 6. Roberto Bolano: 2666 5. Jonathan Franzen: The Corrections 4. Edward P. Jones: The Known World 3. Hilary Mantel: Wolf Hall 2. Isabel Wilkerson: The Warmth of Other Suns 1. Elena Ferrante: My Brilliant Friend

Percival Everett is fantastic! Give him a shot. I won’t complain about publicity stunts to get people to purchase and read books….

I had not read Dennis Johnson books before. I just finished Nobody Move, Fantastic, all great. I wanted more.

no inherent vice!

A bird in the hand is worth.......

Sebald is brilliant - maybe too lugubrious for the bathtub? His understated sense of humor (especially in Rings of Saturn, his best book) alleviates the constant thrum of melancholy.

Scott, the movie you were thinking of was Living-a remake of Ikiru. I thought it was good in a Masterpiece Theater sort of way. Ikiru is arguably Kurosawa's best film and one of the greatest movies ever made. Living was not in the same league although I was rooting for Bill Nighy to win the Oscar.

At last, my status as an old fart is confirmed. I've read an even dozen of the 100. Of those I'd consider returning to The Road, Fun Home, Train Dreams, and Pulphead (fascinating essays by JJ Sullivan.) The rest barely made ripples, though The Goldfinch almost killed me. Three vaunted writers I've tried my best to appreciate -- N.K. Jemisin, David Mitchell, Jennifer Egan -- have been serious disappointments. Two of my faves from this century are story collections, Sidle Creek by Jolene McIlwain and Exhalation by the great Ted Chiang. And Rusty Brown by Chris Ware, a graphic novel that rocked me, however not for all tastes. Thanks for showing me what I've missed, and that's it's all right not to care!

Could never get into Gilead, but Housekeeping is one of the few novels I've read multiple times. Beautiful prose. Loved the Bill Forsyth film, as well.

Bolaño is fantastic. The books are loong, but the style is very light, you can just pour through it. 2666 is the masterpiece, but Savage Detectives is up there as well.

A less than my brilliant list to the latest century start… and not particularly interested in what’s coming. I have 900 unread books on my kindle to keep me busy in the 🛁. Predominantly cheap, good ebooks gathered in the past 10 years in Bezos bargainville from the 2nd 1/2 of the 20th century… mystery laden but some quality “lit” in the mix. My 🛁 is overflowing. I have read 15 of the NYT 💯 list, ✅ off a dozen more as want to read, but not rushing to get any… the 21st century largely unwanted in my tub, movie releases lack interest, social & comedic topics can get off my lawn, & political-environmental news makes me feel like -Lucky. But life is good, and my kindle shall see me through, cheers Scott & bathers.

I was waiting all day for this! A list of books I wont read. 😅 Edit: Persepolis was good

I watched American Fiction, enjoyed it, read, 'Erasure,' liked that too. Will read more of Everitt. Never let me go by Ishiguro is terrible: the whole premise is pointless and doesn't stand up to scrutiny. He gets evisecerated for dabbling in speculative fiction that has no basis in logic. Underground railroad is vastly overrated too: another dabble in SF . Harlem Shuffle was ok but is a Chester Himes rip off. Donna Tartt : yawn. Milkman, by Anna Burns, isn't on this list, is a book set in N.I. but is excellent. Very original.

The Rings of Saturn is the key Sebald work I reckon. Unoriginally.

Also G, by Berger, although it’s been decades since I read it.

I like the life and times of Michael K by Coetzee - a Booker winner - a lot.

Seventeen minutes of I haven't read that or I didn't like that. Perfect.

Robinson isn't Raymond Chandler but I did like Housekeeping.

My tip re: Marilynne Robinson is to try some of her essays. She is definitely one of the finest essayists in America today. And I say this as someone who also doesn't love the novels. Her book The Death of Adam is from the 90s but if it were a bit later would definitely deserve a spot here. Also, please read Outline at some point, if only so you can read the other books in the trilogy, Transit and Kudos. You would blaze through each of those very quickly. The end of Kudos is a brilliant gut-punch, which is especially impressive since it's not plot-heavy.

Nothing like a nice aimless adventure in the bathtub. 2666 is a masterpiece, hands-down; the pacing is unmatched. The audiobook is very well done, as well. Cheers my friend.

Basically, an irrelevant list. They also put together a readers' list, which is beyond depressing.

Dear Master Bather, I say this as a compliment, not as a condemnation, but you seem to be very out of tune with the post-2010 “literary” zeitgeist. Ignorance (or, in this case, mere indifference) really does seem like bliss!

Agree with you completely about Lydia Davis. I read one of her collections (Samuel Johnson is Indignant) and found it to be underwhelming (to say the least). There were about two I found interesting, but I just don't understand her angle/appeal; she's a flash fiction writer who sacrifices almost everything but language yet fails to construct effortlessly playful/interesting/memorable sentences or passages. I guess if people enjoy the literary equivalent of being condescended by a bunch of stuffy New York intellectuals who have forgotten how to genuinely laugh, it's the perfect book for them.

Does the 21st century belong in the bathtub? I have serious doubts. Can any of these stand up to Clark Ashton Smith? Brian Moore??

algernon blackwood is henry james on acid

Most of this list is garbage but Benjamin Labatut’s books are amazing. Super- compelling and extremely well-written.

The Poisonwood Bible by Kingsolver. 😅 You are right. The writing was just so pretentious. And palindromes?! 😂

Yes to William Trevor. Compared to Alice Munro he has a wider imaginative range. Eminently rereadable.

As a member of the Denis Johnson cult, I was irate to see him at one hundred! Shorter length Johnson is a much better experience, Train Dreams being a good example and my favorite, Fiskadoro. When We Cease to Understand the World blends fact with fiction about many European physicists, showing how looney they were. Heisenberg had repeated religious breakdowns, Dostoevsky level stuff. And the less said about Schrodinger the better. The Lyndon Johnson bios by Robert Caro are great! Four volumes showing how a man who changed America so positively was, as a person, corrupt and repellent. Enjoyed Plot Against America also.

If it means anything, big fan of the Lucia Berlin stories, definitely not phony.

hey sb, well, i finally got around to watching (just returned from our anniversary dinner)...so, as you mentioned, no serious writer or reader every takes this kind of bullshit list at all serious...and the list is not only idiotic but is just, as you pointed out, just a publishing gimmic to sell books and to sell books that already are selling well...some of the best and most important writers and books are left off....of course, no pynchon, no poetry, no enard, no etc....anyway, i want even go that much farther...there are great books and writers on the list, of course, but it is totally pointless and meaningless....btw, Berlin's short story collection is brilliant and she was totally unknown and this collection is posthumous...very special writer, ignore the pompous description...2ne hand time is towering, READ IT...really...all her books, nobel winner, but 2nd hand time is sui generis....stay true is my fave non-fiction of last year (pulitzer) and he is a california boy, read it....anyway, i wont go further...ive read more than half of the books and most of the fiction and, well, ho hum...but, im only writing cause, as. buddy, im here to share; here is the full list without numbering where they ranked....okt.....www.goodreads.com/list/show/203571.NYT_The_100_Best_Books_of_the_21st_Century

As for good old Denis Johnson, I'd say that Angels is his best novel and Largesse of the Sea Maiden is a perfect collection. Loved the Elvis conspiracy story. And loved the Ukiah and Santa Rosa stories. Wow. I spent an awful month in Ukiah one night. I think that's an old Jonathan Winters line or something.

I've been a fan of Blackwood ever since Anne Rice recommended him to me about 30 years ago. The couple of episodes of his late life BBC series reading his stories are on UA-cam and are fabulous. Thanks, Scott!

The Hilary Mantel you mentioned is Beyond Black. I recently read it. I’ve been skirting around the Cromwell books for some time, reading Mantels earlier work instead. I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve read so far.

No one cares about my opinion, but Hilary Mantel should be far higher up this list for the Cromwell Trilogy. My feelings about Saunders are unmixed so far, and I loved the Tenth of December collection. You’re the second reliable source I’ve seem dismiss Kingsolver. Just the concept of Demon Copperhead was enough to deter me.

I’d love to hear your mixed feelings on Saunders. I also have mixed feelings about him.

There are six John Silence stories, but the last one wasn't in the John Silence collection. 'A Victim of Higher Space' is in the collection, Day and Night Stories (2017). There's a complete John Silence collection from Dover Books, edited by Joshi. Simon Callow is still alive. I'm currently editing an anthology of new John Silence stories for Belanger Books.

This list is basically a compilation of books that won a prize such as The Booker, The Pulitzer, The Womens Prize, Hugo ect... Occasionally they get one right.

OMG....i havent listened yet, but cant wait...their list is AWFUL...i mean really, Franzen top 10 BEST...NO POETRY...and almost no books from other parts of the world...no genre books, it is the WORST list i've seen....DODO COULD COME UP WITH A BETTER LIST and one more repsentative of the great books being written in this century from around the world....and My Brilliant Friend (i read) THE BEST NOVEL OF THE 21st century.....my big bath-clean butt it is....hahahah anyway, more after i watch your vid SB

I’ve gone back to reading Len Deighton, bk2 of 9 in Bernard Sampson series…Mexican Set. Having read some time ago bk1 London Match and bk3 Berlin Game… seems like whole in the 🛁 that needed plugging. Something about reading Cold War spy novels, I find calming and much simpler than the incoherence of current geopolitics, which is perilously leaning towards tilt. Highly recommend Deighton, stay safe in the tub.

Always loved Blackwood's stories, for that very sense of unease they evince. The Willows remains one of my favorite weird tales. Reminds me of another writer whose finest work carries the same strange charge, Robert Aickman, though I've found a number of his pieces damn near opaque. I'm heading back to the bathtub with Algy.