Elizabeth Strout's Reading List

The author of “The Burgess Boys” and “Olive Kitteridge” thinks the president should read Barbara Pym to give him “a few minutes to completely relax.”

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By the Book: Elizabeth Strout (2013)

NYT By the Book column (2013-03-28).

Source: www.nytimes.com

For Whom the Bell Tolls

Ernest Hemingway · Buy on Amazon

"Last summer I reread Hemingway. It was very strange: I felt like I’d never read “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” even though I had. I absolutely loved it."

The Meddybemps Letters

William Pattangall · Buy on Amazon

"“The Meddybemps Letters,” by William Pattangall. It came out in the early 20th century, and it’s quite arch, very funny. They’re really, really funny, but the voice has that inimitable Puritan hyper — criticality."

Sons and Lovers

D. H. Lawrence · Buy on Amazon

"I remember in my early 20s reading “Sons and Lovers” and feeling very excited and thinking, O.K., this is getting at it, this is doing something amazing, I want to see how he does that."

Some Tame Gazelle

Barbara Pym · Buy on Amazon

"Barbara Pym’s “Some Tame Gazelle.” I mean, what a job! You want to think of this guy as having a few minutes to completely relax."

The Easter Parade

Richard Yates · Buy on Amazon

"If that’s not his cup of tea, he could chase it down with Richard Yates, maybe “The Easter Parade.”"

The Pink Maple House

Unknown · Buy on Amazon

"in third grade I read a book called “The Pink Maple House,” and I loved that book with my whole heart. It’s hard to express how much I loved that book, what it meant to me."

Pigeon Feathers

John Updike · Buy on Amazon

"I was 6 when Updike’s “Pigeon Feathers” came out, and probably 8 or 9 when I read a paperback version I found in the living room. It was a wonderful, mysterious experience. I understood there was a secret world of grown-ups and it was written about. This was huge."

Tender Is the Night

F. Scott Fitzgerald · Buy on Amazon

"Dick Diver from “Tender Is the Night.”"

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