Iowa Writers' Workshop: Curtis Sittenfeld (part 1 of 4)

Author Curtis Sittenfeld discusses her fascination with former First Lady Laura Bush and how she inspired Sittenfeld's newest novel "American Wife".

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[wwatson136]

@Iamviolethee just say you like her and stop trying to be a writer.

[HOOKEDonPANIC]

does anyone know if it is going to be made into a movie?

[Whizkid103]

Judy Blume is a fantastic author, and really, I think she's one of the most important authors in history. Her books dealt with masturbation, and menstruation, and everything.

[edlaurs]

The Count of Monte Cristo, Presumed Innocent, The Golden Notebook, In Cold Blood, The Great Santini, The Maltese Falcon, Native Son, Pale Fire, The Magnificent Ambersons, Fear of Flying, Trinity, Gone With the Wind, The Old Forest

SWEET!

[edlaurs]

I've got some book suggestions for you! I LOVED American Wife so read that if you haven't already... Some good classics are 'Anna Karenina', 'Roots', 'Germinal', 'The Odyssey', 'The Picture of Dorian Gray', 'Lady Chatterly's Lover', 'Frankenstein'

and in American Wife there are tons of books that the author or her husband or her grandma read, which I assume the author is suggesting as good books, I'm going to read them all. They are:

[younevergotmeright]

shes such a good writer.

[IUHB27]

I absolutely LOVE the book "Prep". I'm a man and I actually read it while in prep school in Virginia and it gave a great insight into what kids go through in that type of environment.

[Whizkid103]

If you want a horror novel, The Excorsist scared the living shit out of me. Are You There God? It's Me, Margret is a pre-teen novel, so I dunno if you're interested, but it's a good book in my opinion. The Spy Who Came In From The Cold is a great spy thriller. That's all I can think of right now. Really, the book I've read the most is Prep. I'm currently on my 10th re-read of it.

[Whizkid103]

If you like Prep, I would highly recommend American Wife, which is based on Laura Bush. Fantastic novel. Unlike Lee, Alice is very confident in herself, so it's nice to see Sittenfeld write from that perspective. There's a ton of sex in it too. XD

I also like Angels and Demons, which I recommend you read BEFORE The DaVinci Code. Hmm..another good one is the graphic novel Watchmen. There's a ton of reading involved in that. And Then There Were None is probably the best mystery novel I've read.

[ernestbungle26]

Wow Whizkid, its good to hear from another fellow book reader, I am a 28 year old male and I was a journalist in The U.S. Airforce so I am a natural reader and always have beenBeing a 28 year old male here in Detroit, well i'll just say its sad, the number of young people here who actualy read books. Do you have any recomendations?