# Joyce Carol Oates- recommendations?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joyce-carol-oates-recommendations/925119>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Tags:** books-writing-myths\
**Created:** [November 9, 2020, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joyce-carol-oates-recommendations/925119 "2020-11-09T04:15:08Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\
**Post date:** [November 9, 2020, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joyce-carol-oates-recommendations/925119/1 "2020-11-09T04:15:08Z")

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I somehow never got around to reading any of Joyce Carol Oates’ books, until _Night. Sleep. Death. The Stars._ which I’m close to finishing. I want more. Any recommendations?

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**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\
**Post date:** [November 9, 2020, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joyce-carol-oates-recommendations/925119/2 "2020-11-09T11:23:56Z")

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_A Bloodsmoor Romance_ is blurbed as “_Little Women_ as written by Stephen King.” I think it represents Oates’s scalpel-sharp humor the best of all her books that I’ve read.

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**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\
**Post date:** [November 9, 2020, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joyce-carol-oates-recommendations/925119/3 "2020-11-09T18:12:31Z")

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I would recommend against reading _Foxfire: Confessions of a Girl Gang_ - and even more strongly against viewing the 1996 film version of it - as I found it repetitive and not wholly convincing. I thought _On Boxing_ was interesting and I’m not even a fan of boxing. Pretty sure I’ve read some okay short stories by her as well, but I do not recall them at the moment and have no idea what collection they might have come from.

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**Author:** ![Wilson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/96bed5/32.png) [@Wilson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wilson)\
**Post date:** [November 9, 2020, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joyce-carol-oates-recommendations/925119/4 "2020-11-09T22:07:03Z")

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_Them_ is often mentioned as one of her best, but I’m not a big fan. I haven’t read a lot by JCO, but I certainly enjoyed _We Were the Mulvaneys_ and _Because It Is Bitter, and Because It Is My Heart_ more. I keep meaning to get to _Blonde_.