U means we're almost to the end of the alphabet. Almost, I said. We're not done yet. I didn't find too many titles for the letter 'U' and I couldn't find anything on my shelves by John Updike. I guess I could have used Upton Sinclair, but my paperback copy of The Jungle must be hidden away in some dark secret place. And since I've posted many books so far about the United States (they fit in all sorts of other categories) there doesn't seem much point in setting aside this topic as something separate.
However, there were still a few 'U' books to be found and they're pretty good ones...
Understanding Fiction edited by Cleanth Brooks & Robert Penn Warren
In the previous post I was discussing textbooks and I've got another here by name: Understanding Fiction. This is a marvelous collection of short stories that includes commentary and discussion questions for each. This book was edited by two major authors and literary critics who were highly regarded when I was in college in the 1970's. This was a textbook in my Short Story class conducted by Dr. Robert Drake at the University of Tennessee. Considering the nature of this book I saw no reason to sell it back to the bookstore like I did with most of my textbooks. I've gone back to this book several times over the past 50 years.
Under the Eye of the Storm by John Hersey
As I had mentioned in my H post, John Hersey is among my favorite authors. I have a few books by this great author. Conveniently, one of them fits into my listings for the letter 'U'. This one is in my to-read-again stack. I read it many many years ago. Time to read it again.
Under the Dome by Stephen King
During a bout of sickness that kept me in bed for a couple weeks back in 2010, I read this huge book pretty rapidly. Like other King books it's an easy read. The story was pretty good though I thought the ending was weak. I reviewed this book on Tossing It Out after I read it. You can find the review here.
What author would you consider among your favorites? Do you tend to buy many books by an author you enjoy reading? Do you find short story compilations with expository notes to help you write better?
