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Every book Joyce Carol Oates recommended on podcasts
Joyce Carol Oates appeared on The Tim Ferriss Show to discuss her writing process, creative living, and various literary works. Throughout the conversation, Oates examined several notable books and authors. She mentioned James Joyce's Ulysses and Finnegans Wake, pointing out that while Joyce was a surrealist writer, he believed in the beauty and sanctity of the actual. She also used Ulysses and Finnegans Wake to illustrate how an experimental writer could theoretically continue revising indefinitely. Oates discussed using Shirley Jackson's The Lottery for a creative writing assignment with her students at UC Berkeley, where they wrote stories from the perspective of a minor character. In addition, she cited Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice and Emma as examples of prominent novels, while noting that Mansfield Park receives slightly less readership compared to Austen's most famous works. Oates also discussed William Shakespeare's Measure for Measure and Troilus and Cressida to illustrate how some of his plays are less popular and less important than Hamlet, yet still contain wonderful and fascinating elements.
Books recommended by Joyce Carol Oates
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Emma
Emma by Jane Austen is a brilliant comedy of manners following a clever, wealthy, and self-deluded young woman who fancies herself a matchmaker in her small community.
Discussed“there are probably jane austen novels that are you know pride and prejudice and emma and then you get to mansfield park not as many people would read that”
Where to get it
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Finnegans Wake
Finnegans Wake by James Joyce is a famously complex, dense, and linguistically experimental modernist novel.
Discussed“eventually you just have to stop doing it you know but in theory james joyce could still be working on ulysses and finnegan's wake because he was like that he was experimental”
Where to get it
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Hamlet
Hamlet is William Shakespeare's famous tragedy exploring themes of mortality, revenge, madness, and moral hesitation in the Danish royal court.
Discussed“measure for a measure just not as popular as hamlet it's not as important to play but it has wonderful things in it try this in cressida is a fascinating play of shakespeare but if you're only going to teach two or three plays of shakespeare you would not be teaching troilus and cressida you would be teaching macbeth and”
Where to get it
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Light in August
Light in August by William Faulkner is a classic American novel addressing complex themes of race, isolation, and identity in the deep South.
Discussed“somebody might prefer faulkner's the hamlet to faulkner's the sound and the fury they might prefer sanctuary to light in august”
Where to get it
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Mansfield Park
Jane Austen's "Mansfield Park" is a classic novel examining morality, social status, and quiet endurance through the life of the young and displaced Fanny Price.
Discussed“there are probably jane austen novels that are you know pride and prejudice and emma and then you get to mansfield park not as many people would read that”
Where to get it
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Measure for Measure
Measure for Measure by William Shakespeare is a complex dramatic play exploring themes of justice, morality, and human flaw.
Discussed“measure for a measure just not as popular as hamlet it's not as important to play but it has wonderful things in it try this in cressida is a fascinating play of shakespeare”
Where to get it
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Pride and Prejudice
Pride and Prejudice is a classic 1813 romantic novel by Jane Austen that explores themes of love, class, and reputation in British society.
Discussed“there are probably jane austen novels that are you know pride and prejudice and emma and then you get to mansfield park not as many people would read that”
Where to get it
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The Lottery
The Lottery by Shirley Jackson is a chilling and iconic short story that examines the dark side of tradition, ritualistic scapegoating, and unthinking conformity in a small American village.
Discussed“and what one of them i i did recently at uc burke we read shirley jackson's a lottery and instead of writing a critique of the story i said if you want to you can write a little story from the point of view of wanting to carry in the lottery a minor character”
Where to get it
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The Sound and the Fury
The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner is a modernist masterpiece known for its challenging, fragmented narrative style and stream-of-consciousness technique.
Discussed“somebody might prefer faulkner's the hamlet to faulkner's the sound and the fury they might prefer sanctuary to light in august”
Where to get it
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Titus Andronicus
Titus Andronicus is a tragedy by William Shakespeare widely regarded as his bloodiest and most violent play, telling the story of a Roman general's cycle of revenge with a Gothic empress.
Discussed“those are the ones that come to the surface but the other place of shakespeare i mean every one of them even titus andronicus they have much to them he is always a very remarkable playwright”
Where to get it
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Ulysses
Ulysses by James Joyce is a landmark modernist novel that chronicles a single day in the life of Leopold Bloom in Dublin, mirroring the structure of Homer's epic.
Discussed“james joyce who was in many ways a surrealist writer nonetheless he believed in in this the beauty and sanctity of of the of the actual so that one can walk in dublin and sort of walk through the you know the day of ulysses”
Where to get it
Books Joyce Carol Oates wrote
- Fifty Best American Short Stories
- Night-side
- The best American essays of the century
- Other Worlds Than These
Appearances
| Episode | Podcast | Date | Books |
|---|---|---|---|
| #497: Joyce Carol Oates — A Writing Icon on Creative Process and Creative Living | The Tim Ferriss Show | 2021-02-10 | 12 |
Other mentions (3: passing, ad reads, own books)
“this is probably aimed for people who were english majors and who were reading the great classics you know if you're reading paradise lost or the great place of shakespeare or middlemarch or ulysses you're overwhelmed”
“this is probably aimed for people who were english majors and who were reading the great classics you know if you're reading paradise lost or the great place of shakespeare or middlemarch or ulysses you're overwhelmed”
“this is probably aimed for people who were english majors and who were reading the great classics you know if you're reading paradise lost or the great place of shakespeare or middlemarch or ulysses you're overwhelmed”