Melissa Rochelle's comments (member since Jan 12, 2008)

Melissa Rochelle's comments from the The Rory Gilmore Book Club group.

The Portable Dorothy Parker
The Sound & The Fury

Even though the world described in 1984 is similar to our world now (technology...tv screens...etc), it is still incredibly different. Sure, there are TVs everywhere, but the people in the TV can't talk back and tell you to stop daydreaming and do your jumping jacks (however, it might be helpful if it did). Not to mention, there's no mandatory two minute "breaks" where we all stand around and scream about how much we hate someone. Sometimes, I may feel like it's a two minute hate when I watch FOXNews...but I have the freedom to turn the channel.

I think that the names of the government departments are brilliant...they are exactly the opposite of their names.

I'm still not clear on one thing though...how do people become part of the "party'? Is just something that one is born into? A class structure that I missed...party members and proles. Is that it?

I always had a hard time understand how those doctors and med students rotated through the ER so it isn't surprising that they fooled me in the last episode! It doesn't help that I hadn't watched it in years!

However, I wish I had watched it all season, it was a really great episode!

has she been on before or did she just appear as a doctor?

1. Bee Season
2. Stiff
3. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time

**Spoilers**

I just finished the book last night and I found the last few pages overwhelming. So much happens...Cal in San Fran...Milton's death...Cal finds out about Desdemona and Lefty. Perhaps it was that way for a reason, that's the way Cal was feeling so the reader gets a tatse of it.

It happens to me a lot where I LOVE a book, then I get to the last couple of chapters and I start losing interest. It's a problem.

1. The Sound and the Fury
2. Siddhartha
3. The Fountainhead

(Is everything that's nominated put one this list or just the most popular nominations? I'm guessing it's everything...)

I refuse to believe that the traditional novel is dying. We have been on the verge of the e-book device of the future for a decade. It's not going to happen. The technology is too expensive and there are far too many people without access to it. They say that soon they'll develop an e-book that looks and feels just like a book...crap! Just pick up an actual BOOK! I understand that the publishing world is changing, but it's not dead yet! Mega bookstores are destroying independent booksellers, but again...that's just change, not death of the book.

Sorry...I'm in Library School and we talk about this all the time...sometimes I feel like the only one that doesn't want traditional books to disappear. It's nice to see I'm not alone!

Gwynne...I did the same thing while I was reading! I kept comparing Cher to Emma and the step-brother to Mr. Knightley. And also trying to figure out which characters just weren't in Clueless. I haven't seen Clueless in years, but just from memory, it really is a good adaptation. And Chere's voice-overs compared to Emma's "voice-overs"...love it.

Siddhartha
Complete Tales & Poems of Edgar Allan Poe
The Sound and the Fury

Hi Regina,

Currently, I'm going to grad school for my Library Degree (technically, it's an MLS, MLIS, or MA in IRLS). I've always loved books and libraries. I worked in my college's library and loved it! Then I relocated and started working in retail. I was a Sales Manager for 2 years and I hated it. So I went back to work in a library and loved it all over again...and that let me back to school. Most Librarian positions (Reference Librarian, Cataloger, etc) require an MLS, but it really depends. I know that School Media Specialist positions here in AZ require the teaching cert and then there's some kind of test that you have to pass. That's my story...

I'm not a fan of the Bronte sisters. I never finished Jane Eyre and I feel like Wuthering Heights was a bit of a waste. I even tried to read Villette. I think WH and JE are just a little too dark and twisty for me while Jane Austen is just the right amount of d&t mixed with a lot of bright and shiny. I've read every JA book and loved -nearly- every book (I've got to give Northanger Abbey another chance). Perhaps it comes down to picking one or the other...The Bronte sisters or Jane Austen.

On the topic of movies...I do not enjoy the movie adaptations of any of the Bronte books, but I love every JA adaptation that I've seen. They aren't all perfect (I mean, Keira Knightly as Lizzy Bennet, seriously?), but they keep me entertained.

Emma is a difficult novel to get through. The story doesn't seem to flow quite as nicely as Pride & Prejudice or even Persuasion. However, I recommend sticking with it! It's worth it!

(After I wrote all of this, I realized it might contain spoilers. Read with caution.)

I think it's interesting that in Clueless they decided to make the Frank character gay and that only Elton kept the name.

Bingley/Edward Ferrars/Mr. Knightley...they all equate to the shy, second best leading man. Unfortunately, the cads get more attention, Wickham/Willoughby/Frank. The thing that's strange about Mr. Knightley getting second billing is that he IS the leading man. I guess I can see how some people can say that nothing happens until the very end. However, the relationship between Knightley and Emma is set up in Ch. 5 when Knightley is talking to Mrs. Weston about Emma's friendship with Harriet. Or maybe I see that now because I've read Emma a few times.

This is at least my 3rd time reading Emma and it was the first Austen I ever read (I got it from the public library...I was in 9th grade.) Ten years later, it's still one of my favorites. There's just something about Emma that really makes me love her. Part of it is that she's not mean or shallow, she's just real. She sees the world through her eyes and she doesn't really understand that other people have a different view. For me, Emma is the one Austen character that I can actually relate to. She's not perfect, she makes mistakes, she falls for idiotic men, she is oblivious to men that are interested in her (i.e. Mr. Elton/Knightley), and she picks friends that make her feel better about herself. I feel that compared to Marianne, Emma's an angel...but that's getting into a completely different book.

I agree about the ending...a reconciliation with T. Ray would have made me feel a little more warm & fuzzy than Lily staying with August. I would have loved to know more about T. Ray, but I realize it's Lily's story.

1. The Kite Runner
2. My Sister's Keeper
3. Middlesex

The Zookeeper's Wife A War Story was really good, but also very sad.

I really like autobiographies too...if you like (or don't like) the Clinton family, both My Life By Bill Clinton and Living History are quite enjoyable. Then again, I'm a Clinton fan, so I might be a little biased.

Another one that I'm hoping to read when I have a chance is Traffic Why We Drive the Way We Do, I'm hoping it'll explain why everyone drives so slow here in Tucson! AND there's a new John Lennon biography out (also looks good).

The main thing with NF is that you have to be interested in the topic. Good luck on your quest!