The Vine: January 19, 2007
Hi,
I work in a research laboratory, and a coworker of mine from Japan asked me for information on books by famous American authors. I haven’t read any “famous” American authors since high school (which was many moons ago).
I was wondering if you and/or your readers could give me some suggestions to pass on to him. As far as I understand, he’s not limited to a specific time period or genre, just wants a reading list of some popular or common books Americans read.
Thanks!
The only thing I read these days is my horoscope…
Dear Scope,
I won’t recommend any specific books; I will advise him to pick up the Times bestseller list and see what’s been on it for a long time — 162 weeks or whatever. Are those books necessarily good? No. Will they teach these books in American schools in a hundred years? Not necessarily. But if he’s looking for what many Americans read, or what a “typical” American is most likely to read, that’s not a bad place to start.
He could also find a few of those great-books lists and see if any of the titles that keep popping up sound interesting to him.
Readers: we need books that typify American reading — books Americans would have read in school, books Americans would know or know about. It’s a tall order, but: two books per email, please. Email subject line: “American reading.”
Hi Sars,
I have a question for the readers, particularly those
who use Macs. I’m trying to find the name of a game I
used to play when I was younger, sometime in the early
nineties, but I can’t remember it for the life of me.
Here’s what I do remember: it was in black and white
(I was probably playing this on Mac OS 7), and you were
a kid who solved mysteries. You wandered around a high
school, occasionally taking pictures with a camera you
carried around, all while avoiding being caught (by
who, I don’t know). It was a kids’ game.
I realize how
vague this is, but everyone I’ve asked so far
remembers playing the game but can’t come up with the
name. Can you help me?
Thanks,
Extremely Frustrated
Dear Ex,
It doesn’t sound familiar to me, but my only love back then was Crystal Quest so I probably wouldn’t have played it anyway.
Readers? Email subject line: “Mac game.”
I need a watch. I’ve been looking for a while, but can only find cool men’s watches, which are much too large and clunky on me. I would prefer one in metal, though I would consider a nice leather band. I want something nice enough to wear when dressed up, but not too pretentious for everyday use. The kicker is, I want something with personality. I love geometric, architectural styles, with something to make people go “ooh, neat!” I’m leaning towards analog, but would consider a nifty digital design. I love the styles designed by the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, and the ones at our local Modern Art museum, but again, they’re all men’s sizes. I would prefer to stay under $150, but would go up to $300 for something awesome. I’m looking for something solid I can wear for the next few years.
Help! My Googling skills are failing me.
Mickey’s arms finally got tired
Dear Mick,
I like Fossil watches a lot; I don’t have one of their metal watches, but I get compliments on the leather-strap models I wear all the time. Then again, I like a big clunky watch, so I don’t know if Fossil (or Paul Frank, my other favorite) would be to your taste; they’re unique, but sizeable.
Readers, take it away. Email subject line: “neat watch.”
Tags: Ask The Readers popcult retail
