I Have Never Read The Catcher In The Rye!

It's time for another big confession from the books of the history of Paul. The title is not a massive clickbait thing. Let me explain.

I enjoy Vocal for the challenges because they help prompt me when run dry on ideas (it does happen sometimes!). I have three ideas I am still working on for the Mythmaker challenge and at least one and possibly another for the Ode to Ordinary challenge. Both of which you can find out more about below:

I feel like my poetry and fiction collection is growing, and it's often thanks to these prompts. That's why I will soon be self-publishing some work in fancy mass-produced fashion (and digitised, too, because it's 2023, apparently)

However, the recently launched Next Great [American] Novel Challenge has me feeling a bit lost for a number of reasons.

You can find out more about the challenge here:

What I Love About the Next Great [American] Novel Challenge

What I love about the challenge is the opportunity to write a big meaty introductory chapter to a novel. My hope at some point in my writing journey is to write a novel, so this challenge would be ideal to try writing with a much longer form in mind.

Now, the reasons why I probably won't enter.

I Am Not American

First and foremost, it is probably not a shock to anyone, given it's there plain as day in my profile, that I am not American. I've never visited the United States for a holiday or stayed there long-term.

I realise that this may be something of a setback but not a reason for avoiding the challenge. Neil Gaiman is English and wrote American Gods, after all. Though he did have experience of living in the States.

So perhaps I would be able to look past that reason. But, I feel woefully inexperienced and uncertain of my abilities to nail any kind of American life experience.

Quick Edit - I Am Also An Idiot

I didn't read the rules properly. As was kindly pointed out to me by Naomi Gold in the comments section of this post - it doesn't have to specifically be about America and can be about the country you live in/know. So...I might still enter it!

I Have Never Read Catcher in the Rye (and other Classic GANs)

Nope, sorry. The title was not some clever clickbait. The truth is that while I have read plenty of books and even many by American authors, I've not read many of what would be classified as a Great American Novel.

That means...along with The Catcher in the Rye, I have not read the following books:

• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
• The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
• The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
• Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell
• East of Eden by John Steinbeck
• On The Road by Jack Kerouac
• Moby-Dick by Herman Melville

To name a few. Some of those I am more embarrassed about than others.

I have read Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain.

It's not because I am not a reader. I love books and love getting lost in them. Generally, if there was a film based on a book I was interested in seeing, I would try and read the book first. I was just selective with what I chose to read when I was younger.

My Solution - I Have Some Reading To Do!

Whether I do or do not enter the challenge, I have not decided yet. As there is a longer-than-usual deadline for submission, I may still give it a go.

Given the number of books I have not read that are held up in the highest regard from the other side of the pond, the only solution would be to do some reading. I plan to start with The Catcher in the Rye, To Kill a Mockingbird and On The Road (I'm irritated that I have not read that one in particular.)

So there you go, folks! The big, bad confession - I have not read some truly classic books.