J.D. Salinger Died

[Squids]

Not sure if anyone here still reads words on paper but if you grew up and read "Catcher In the Rye" (one of my favorite books), the author J.D. Salinger just died the other day. I always wanted to meet him... although who knows what that would have been like. He dropped out of society in a sort of mythical way. I wonder if he kept writing still under a different name. Probably. He hated movies so unfortunately no one has been able to make a movie of Catcher but it would be incredible on the screen if done right. I secretly wanted to make that film all these years. I still need to make ANY film first. But, reading the book is better than any film could be anyway so I highly recommend it.

He lived a long life and left quite a legacy in literary history. So it isn't that it is tremendously sad that he's passed... but it is still a bit for me.

Some people don't know this but the character in the movie "Field of Dreams" who finds James Earl Jones to take him to a ballgame... that came from a book called "Shoeless Joe" or a name like that. In the book the character finds J.D. Salinger and takes him to a game - a fantasy game that would have pleased him. He seemed like a hard guy to please and even other authors had dreamed of meeting him and making him smile. In reality, probably a grumpy old man you wouldn't want to know... but Old Sally, Ackly Kid, Stradlater, Maurice, Carl Luce, Old Jane, Pheobe, D.B. and everyone else I'm sure misses him and has for a long time.

[sockofgold]

I honestly didn't know JD was still alive. Franny and Zooey and Nine Stories both have very special places in my heart. I always loved his works, but I wished there were more.

I someday hope to be as great a recluse as he was. I hate society, so his anti-social ways are inspirational to me.

[ZombyWoof]

I'm one of the few Americans who's never read 'Catcher in the Rye'. I just started it today out of respect for his legacy.

On another sad note, Howard Zinn passed on the same day. His 'People's History of the United States' is going on my re-read list.

RIP, gentlemen...you did well.

[zedd]

Some people don't know this but the character in the movie "Field of Dreams" who finds James Earl Jones to take him to a ballgame... that came from a book called "Shoeless Joe" or a name like that. In the book the character finds J.D. Salinger and takes him to a game...

I knew that! Great book and a great movie. The author lives in the same small town I grew up in, which is just 30 miles outside of my current location in Vancouver (where Winter Olympics are just getting underway).

As a result of the movie, I always imagine J.D. Salinger as being James Earl Jones.

Salinger was recently in the news with regards to a lawsuit he filed against someone who wrote a sequel to "Catcher in the Rye". Not sure how that ended up.

Gotta hand it to him... he sure built up quite a legend for himself.
Sorry to hear of his passing.

[Squids]

His son Matt Salinger is an actor ironically (J.D. Salinger supposedly hated movies... Holden definitely did). I believe he was in "Revenge of the Nerds" and he may have had something to do with "Under the Tuscan Sun" on the production side. Pretty wide there. If anyone could get Catcher made into a movie it'd probably be him... assuming he had some kind of relationship with his dad. His sister I believe wrote a book about growing up that way (with a recluse famous author). All interesting stuff as well as what happened to that law suit. I'd actually be curious to read a sequel even if interpreted and written by someone else... except, who knows if they'd really get it right or if it was cheese? I'm betting on cheese but you never know.