Noah Hurowitz Book Recommendations & Book Mentions

Noah Hurowitz

11.Slouching Toward Bethlehem – Joan Didion Embarrassed to admit it but until this year, the only Didion I had only ever read was Miami. So after she died, I went on a Didion bender, starting with the classics.

Noah Hurowitz

Crossroads — Jonathan Franzen I loved this book, Franzen is a freaky genius, I don't care how annoying he is lol this was so much fun and I can't wait for the second and third installments in the eventual trilogy (as long as JF doesn't overdo it with his own POV lol)

Noah Hurowitz

35. Harlem Shuffle — Colson Whitehead A great mix of Whitehead's more serious tendencies a la Nickel Boys mixed with the lightness of previous work and obvious pleasure he takes in writing fun/funny. Again, more first-rate authors need to try their hand at gangster fiction

Noah Hurowitz

I’m finally reading Elif Batuman’s The Possessed and I LOVE it! I’m curious if ppl have recommendations for similar books, essays that blend memoir and deeply knowledgeable and playful exploration of a specific (or broad!) body of literature??

Noah Hurowitz

6. Devil House – John Darnielle A seemingly straightforward story of recollection, true crime, and misunderstood youth takes a turn and becomes a fascinating critique and exploration of true crime as a genre and as an exploitative menace

Noah Hurowitz

28. Chilean Poet – Alejandro Zambra I know I just dissed books about writers, but this one I loved. Very fun and really brought the characters to life. There’s a very funny part making fun of gringos who love Bolaño, aka like 80 percent of the ppl reading the translation lol

Noah Hurowitz

45. The Dog of the South — Charles Portis Oh my god what a joy this book was. Just deranged and hilarious throughout. The deadpan detachment of the narrator combined with increasingly absurd action and ludicrous observations will make you look at your surroundings anew

Noah Hurowitz

“We are supposed to like these people, these octogenarian sadists and their twisted vendetta against a vulnerable young man.” Great @jamesdgreig analysis of dreadful revanchist boomer fantasia lurking below surface-level twee satire https://www.gawker.com/culture/the-thursday-murder-club-books-are-criminally-bad-richard-osman

Noah Hurowitz

21. The Committed — Viet Thanh Nguyen Wickedly funny sequel to “The Sympathizer.” I love when extremely good writers try their hand at gangster fiction, and this didn’t disappoint — for the most part. At times the writing over indulged a bit but overall it was a blast

Noah Hurowitz

28. Whereabouts — Jhumpa Lahiri Another spare, introspective pandemic novel. I have always loved the restrained melancholy of Lahiri's writing, and was excited to see how this held many of the same characteristics as early work while also clearly representing new direction