Comparing apples and oranges
December 2, 2022 3:53 AM Subscribe
My wife has a copy of Oranges by John McPhee next to "oranges are not the only fruit" by Jannette Winterson. What cheap paperback fiction books could I buy her that could add to this conversation?
Is there a book called:
"How about them apples though?"
or
"Oranges are the best fruit"
or
"Have you considered pears?"
and so on....
Is there a book called:
"How about them apples though?"
or
"Oranges are the best fruit"
or
"Have you considered pears?"
and so on....
The color rather than the fruit, but how about Bright Orange for the Shroud, a Travis McGee novel by John D. MacDonald?
A Clockwork Orange, though, has to be the right answer. There are several really good covers out there in its paperback publication history, too.
With a What If in between?
posted by redfoxtail at 4:27 AM on December 2, 2022 [3 favorites]
A Clockwork Orange, though, has to be the right answer. There are several really good covers out there in its paperback publication history, too.
With a What If in between?
posted by redfoxtail at 4:27 AM on December 2, 2022 [3 favorites]
Rubyfruit Jungle by Rita Mae Brown.
a) Also about fruit
b) Just like Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit, Rubyfruit Jungle is also about lesbians.
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries at 4:29 AM on December 2, 2022 [5 favorites]
a) Also about fruit
b) Just like Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit, Rubyfruit Jungle is also about lesbians.
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries at 4:29 AM on December 2, 2022 [5 favorites]
Vampires in the Lemon Grove by Karen Russell.
Bonus: It's actually a really good book, well written, enjoyable, witty and clever.
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries at 4:32 AM on December 2, 2022
Bonus: It's actually a really good book, well written, enjoyable, witty and clever.
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries at 4:32 AM on December 2, 2022
(I feel I have to say, for the record, since I said something in mine "has to be the right answer" that "It Might Be an Apple" is a way better answer! Respect.)
posted by redfoxtail at 4:32 AM on December 2, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by redfoxtail at 4:32 AM on December 2, 2022 [3 favorites]
Jeanette Winterson also wrote Sexing the Cherry.
posted by dr. boludo at 4:46 AM on December 2, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by dr. boludo at 4:46 AM on December 2, 2022 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: Current attempt:
Oranges
Oranges are not the only fruit
It might be an apple
Never count apples
Apples should be red
Bring Me some apples and I'll make you a pie
Apples never fall
it's a bit apple heavy though. Might need to swerve into another fruit.
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 4:52 AM on December 2, 2022
Oranges
Oranges are not the only fruit
It might be an apple
Never count apples
Apples should be red
Bring Me some apples and I'll make you a pie
Apples never fall
it's a bit apple heavy though. Might need to swerve into another fruit.
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 4:52 AM on December 2, 2022
What about There There by Tommy Orange. The paperback cover is ever orange colored!
posted by saladin at 4:58 AM on December 2, 2022 [5 favorites]
posted by saladin at 4:58 AM on December 2, 2022 [5 favorites]
Grapes of Wrath, man
posted by nouvelle-personne at 5:00 AM on December 2, 2022 [14 favorites]
posted by nouvelle-personne at 5:00 AM on December 2, 2022 [14 favorites]
So you're looking for more of an exchange/conversation, not just other books about fruit. Maybe Code Name: Bananas?
posted by nkknkk at 5:05 AM on December 2, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by nkknkk at 5:05 AM on December 2, 2022 [3 favorites]
Oh, this is fun. How about The House On Mango Street or When Life Gives You Mangos (another orange fruit!)?
posted by Empidonax at 5:17 AM on December 2, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by Empidonax at 5:17 AM on December 2, 2022 [3 favorites]
Something by Banana Yoshimoto
A Mango-Shaped Space – Wendy Mass
Each Peach Pear Plum – Janet Alhberg
Tangerine – Edwin Bloor
Ritual Papaya - Yaissa Jimenez
posted by mr. remy at 5:26 AM on December 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
A Mango-Shaped Space – Wendy Mass
Each Peach Pear Plum – Janet Alhberg
Tangerine – Edwin Bloor
Ritual Papaya - Yaissa Jimenez
posted by mr. remy at 5:26 AM on December 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
If you wanted to swerve at the end to another food, I submit:
Fortunately, The Milk by Neil Gaiman
So Long and Thanks for All the Fish by Douglas Adams
posted by carrioncomfort at 5:46 AM on December 2, 2022 [2 favorites]
Fortunately, The Milk by Neil Gaiman
So Long and Thanks for All the Fish by Douglas Adams
posted by carrioncomfort at 5:46 AM on December 2, 2022 [2 favorites]
I think Bitter Lemons by Lawrence Durrell should go at the end.
posted by protorp at 5:54 AM on December 2, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by protorp at 5:54 AM on December 2, 2022 [2 favorites]
And Driving Over Lemons: An Optimist in Andalucía by Chris "Genesis" Stewart.
posted by BobTheScientist at 6:06 AM on December 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by BobTheScientist at 6:06 AM on December 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
When Life Gives You Lemons by Fiona Gibson
Oranges and Lemons by Christopher Fowler
Apples, Oranges and Lemons: Surviving the Automobile Business by Phillip James Grismer.
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 6:12 AM on December 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
Oranges and Lemons by Christopher Fowler
Apples, Oranges and Lemons: Surviving the Automobile Business by Phillip James Grismer.
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 6:12 AM on December 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
Came here to also say something by Banana Yoshimoto, specifically Kitchen, which is a wonderful book and also a small paperback.
posted by happy_cat at 6:17 AM on December 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by happy_cat at 6:17 AM on December 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
Fruit of the Lemon by Andrea Levy
The House of Blue Mangoes by David Davidar
posted by basalganglia at 6:20 AM on December 2, 2022
The House of Blue Mangoes by David Davidar
posted by basalganglia at 6:20 AM on December 2, 2022
The Oranging of America is a book of short stories, and the author's name is for real Max Apple.
posted by FencingGal at 6:30 AM on December 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by FencingGal at 6:30 AM on December 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: This conversation is all in my amazon basket right now. (Except the first two).
I think the narrative holds together
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 6:35 AM on December 2, 2022 [4 favorites]
I think the narrative holds together
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 6:35 AM on December 2, 2022 [4 favorites]
The Art of Peeling an Orange
Note: It's largely lesbian erotica surrounded by a psychological thriller. The only reason I read it is because it popped up as a free offer on BookBub, and I think I got out of it about as much as I paid.
posted by fuse theorem at 6:54 AM on December 2, 2022
Note: It's largely lesbian erotica surrounded by a psychological thriller. The only reason I read it is because it popped up as a free offer on BookBub, and I think I got out of it about as much as I paid.
posted by fuse theorem at 6:54 AM on December 2, 2022
I think there's more than one book called Comfort Me With Apples.
posted by BibiRose at 7:07 AM on December 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by BibiRose at 7:07 AM on December 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
Personally, I'd put Dr. Seuss's classic 10 Apples Up on Top! laying supine across the stack.
posted by Mchelly at 7:31 AM on December 2, 2022 [6 favorites]
posted by Mchelly at 7:31 AM on December 2, 2022 [6 favorites]
Following Apples Never Fail you could have If These Apples Should Fail but it might descend into some sort of meditation on crop failure which would be a bit depressing.
posted by Erinaceus europaeus at 7:33 AM on December 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by Erinaceus europaeus at 7:33 AM on December 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
Not to be all epony-something but I can immediately think of two candidates.
posted by tangerine at 7:34 AM on December 2, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by tangerine at 7:34 AM on December 2, 2022 [2 favorites]
Big Sur and the Oranges of Hieronymus Bosch by Henry Miller
posted by cubeb at 7:51 AM on December 2, 2022
posted by cubeb at 7:51 AM on December 2, 2022
Tropic of Orange by Karen Yamashita!! Bonus: it's a very good book.
posted by kensington314 at 7:52 AM on December 2, 2022
posted by kensington314 at 7:52 AM on December 2, 2022
The Perfect Fruit
Epitaph for a Peach
posted by jocelmeow at 8:03 AM on December 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
Epitaph for a Peach
posted by jocelmeow at 8:03 AM on December 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
I think there's more than one book called Comfort Me With Apples
...because it's a line from the bible (Song of Solomon 2:5). Catherynne M. Valente's comes up first while searching but the one I've read was by Peter DeVries (and despite that generally positive review, not recommended; and I've never seen it in paperback).
posted by Rash at 8:32 AM on December 2, 2022 [2 favorites]
...because it's a line from the bible (Song of Solomon 2:5). Catherynne M. Valente's comes up first while searching but the one I've read was by Peter DeVries (and despite that generally positive review, not recommended; and I've never seen it in paperback).
posted by Rash at 8:32 AM on December 2, 2022 [2 favorites]
If she enjoys food essays, _Comfort me with Apples_ by Ruth Reichl is charming.
posted by The Devil's Grandmother at 9:06 AM on December 2, 2022
posted by The Devil's Grandmother at 9:06 AM on December 2, 2022
If you need more apples, or something to pair with Apples Never Fall...
Three Apples Fell from the Sky by Narine Abgaryan.
It's quite good!
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 10:09 AM on December 2, 2022
Three Apples Fell from the Sky by Narine Abgaryan.
It's quite good!
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 10:09 AM on December 2, 2022
Oranges in the book is sometimes a pun on origins; these are not fiction and may or may not be available in paperback, but among many other books with "origins" in the title there are books called The Origins of the Labour Party, The Origins of Christian Art, The Origins of European Dissent, and The Origins of Modern Science, any of which would send the conversation in different ways. There are also a couple of books called The Origins of Fruit(s).
Also, you could go non-book; scented rubbers in the shape of fruit, for instance. Or, and I do see this might take longer than you want to spend on it, stitch a sampler of Matthew 7:16.
posted by paduasoy at 10:10 AM on December 2, 2022
Also, you could go non-book; scented rubbers in the shape of fruit, for instance. Or, and I do see this might take longer than you want to spend on it, stitch a sampler of Matthew 7:16.
posted by paduasoy at 10:10 AM on December 2, 2022
Apples and Pears and Other Stories
The Orange Eats Creeps
Into The Orange Grove (poems)
James and the Giant Peach
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
posted by Iris Gambol at 10:44 AM on December 2, 2022
The Orange Eats Creeps
Into The Orange Grove (poems)
James and the Giant Peach
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
posted by Iris Gambol at 10:44 AM on December 2, 2022
What's Eating Gilbert Grape?
posted by The corpse in the library at 1:21 PM on December 2, 2022
posted by The corpse in the library at 1:21 PM on December 2, 2022
Just for the visual iconography, maybe a printing of Freakonomics with the orange-inside-an-apple imagery on the binding.
posted by cortex at 1:56 PM on December 2, 2022
posted by cortex at 1:56 PM on December 2, 2022
Unfortunately, Frank O'Hara never actually wrote twelve poems called ORANGES, as far as I know. But Why I Am Not a Painter is a fantastic poem and maybe you can work it in somehow.
posted by aws17576 at 9:15 PM on December 2, 2022
posted by aws17576 at 9:15 PM on December 2, 2022
Bliss Montage by Ling Ma (look at the cover) here
posted by Violet Hour at 11:35 PM on December 2, 2022
posted by Violet Hour at 11:35 PM on December 2, 2022
I don't know if you want to add a kids book (the spine isn't very thick anyway) but The Big Orange Splot by Daniel Pinkwater is great!
posted by vespabelle at 9:13 AM on December 3, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by vespabelle at 9:13 AM on December 3, 2022 [2 favorites]
Marmalade & Rufus is a mere 84 pages. There was a TV series about the main character.
posted by Calvin and the Duplicators at 12:31 AM on December 4, 2022
posted by Calvin and the Duplicators at 12:31 AM on December 4, 2022
You are Eating an Orange. You are Naked. Sheung-King
My Life in Orange Tim Guest
The Orange Eats Creeps Grace Krilanovich
The Art of Peeling an Orange Victoria Avilan
Farewell, My Orange Kei Iwaki
Out of Orange Cleary Wolters
Actually, I may read several of theses!
posted by BlueHorse at 8:07 PM on March 1, 2023 [1 favorite]
My Life in Orange Tim Guest
The Orange Eats Creeps Grace Krilanovich
The Art of Peeling an Orange Victoria Avilan
Farewell, My Orange Kei Iwaki
Out of Orange Cleary Wolters
Actually, I may read several of theses!
posted by BlueHorse at 8:07 PM on March 1, 2023 [1 favorite]
« Older Helping a friend who's apparently becoming a flat... | Non-dairy replacement for yogurt - savory edition Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by uncleozzy at 4:08 AM on December 2, 2022 [1 favorite]