This week’s book recommendation is What We Talk About When We Talk About Love by Raymond Carver. This is a collection of short stories (almost all of Carver’s work consists of short stories). Raymond Carver is another well-loved and influential author among a populous of the world. His stories have influenced plays and movies and other stories. The most notable movie his work has influenced recently is probably Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance). It was an interesting movie and the title story of this collection “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love” is at the center of it. This story is also mentioned in a movie I really enjoy called Stuck In Love. 

Movies aside, Carver paved his own way with his writing. His work is taught in classrooms around the world and his style is often its own topic of discussion. He began writing in 1958 at the age of twenty and stopped thirty years later when he passed away from lung cancer in 1988. He was often credited as being a writer for the working, everyday people. He wrote about people, not heroes. The same year, 1988, he was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters. 

Even if you are not a fan of short stories, I suggest you read at least the following two of Carver’s: “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love” and “Cathedral.” Yes, short stories take less of a commitment (which may be a pro or con depending on your mood), but that doesn’t mean they aren’t as impactful. Some stories can do in a handful of pages what entire books do in hundreds. These two stories are prime examples. Since they won’t take up too much of your time, why not give them a shot? The worst that can happen is you don’t like them and you put them down and wipe them from your memory (and unfollow my blog…please don’t, I like you).

Happy Reading.