J.D. Salinger, Dead at 91

That book gave me angina in the same way that Camus' The Stranger and Rand's The Fountainhead gave me angina. Like, yeah, it is phony, you guys, it is, but for the LOVE OF ALL THINGS GOOD AND DECENT JUST LIE AND GET OVER IT.

I overshare in my columns all the time -- but this statement may be the most telling about the kind of deeply closeted subversive I really am.

I wouldn't read Catcher in the Rye again. That said, the skill shown by Salinger in its composition -- in terms of voice and story-telling, is undeniable.

AV Flox is the editor of Sex and the 405 ( http://sexandthe405.com )--what your newspaper would look like if it had a sex section.

When I heard he'd passed, I decided to order it and read it again. It was one of the first novels I was assigned to read in high school back when dinosaurs roamed the earth.

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For me, it's all about Nine Stories. A Perfect Day for Bananafish, Uncle Wiggily in Connecticut (Walter is one of my favorite boys' names ever, due to Walt Glass and Walter Blythe; I totally hear Melissa on the "falling in love with a bit player who's already dead", because that's me and Walt Glass), For Esme with Love and Squalor...

-- Jeanne - The Periodic Elements of Style: http://periodicstyle.blogspot.com

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/2010/0... ( http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/2010/0... )

Rita Arens writes at Surrender Dorothy ( http://surrenderdorothy.typepad.com ) and BlogHer and is the editor of Sleep is for the Weak ( http://tinyurl.com/9pg62e ). She is BlogHer's assignment and syndication editor.

My older cousin who attended The Dalton School in NYC was reading the book for her class. I wanted to read it too and my father let me.  The first time I read it, obviously I didn't understand all of what I was reading, but that was okay. This book was written on a few different levels, and I've reread it almost every year. Every time I read it, I get another perspective. What I love about the book, is it captured the New York I knew so well as a kid and at the same time, illustrated how New York could influence a person's childhood. 

Regardless of whether anyone believe Salinger to be a genius or a crackpot, I think he was adept at developing authentic characters who held up over time and never seemed dated.

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I was absolutely, beyond in love with Ally.  Which I think speaks to JD Salinger's incredible skill--that he could make a girl fall in love with a bit character, one only there to support the main character, who is dead before the story begins.

Melissa writes Stirrup Queens ( http://stirrup-queens.com ) and Lost and Found ( http://lostandfoundandconnectionsabound.blogspot.c... ). Her book is Navigating the Land of If ( http://thelandofif.blogspot.com/ ).

I thought Holden was so negative that I couldn't get into him at the time. Also arrogant. And for some crazy reason, I constantly mix up Catcher in the Rye and Of Mice and Men in my head.

That said, Salinger was an important writer, and I'm glad he lived a long life.

Rita Arens writes at Surrender Dorothy ( http://surrenderdorothy.typepad.com ) and BlogHer and is the editor of Sleep is for the Weak ( http://tinyurl.com/9pg62e ). She is BlogHer's assignment and syndication editor.

And I read it in high school. I was a bit surprised by it...it wasn't the kind of book we usually read in high school. I think Holden was a bit too removed from my rural/small town lifestyle at the time. I should read it again. Or maybe give one of his other books a try. 

Contributing Editor Sassymonkey also blogs at Sassymonkey ( http://sassymonkey.ca ) and Sassymonkey Reads ( http://sassymonkeyreads.ca ).