Sorry, you must be a member of the group to do that. Join this group.
New Providence Memorial Library's Online Reading Group discussion
Escape Ordinary Summr Rdng 2015
>
Escape the Ordinary - Week 9
date
newest »
newest »
I have become completely enamored with the movie The Duchess. I've watched it twice, and I probably listen to the music everyday. I ordered the book on my Kindle, and it's really taking me into the politics and life of the late 18th century in England. Even though the story is nonfiction, there's still a sense of "character," and I'm glad I can delve into Georgiana a little more. I'm hoping the book shows as much of her heartbreak as the movie did.I'm having trouble getting into anything else. I put down the Judy Blume book because I couldn't get into that either. I've heard the people familiar with Elizabeth are really enjoying it.
I'm not sure I'm going to pick up the new Harper Lee. Here's an interesting perspective from Brilliant Books in Michigan. I liked what they had to say:
We at Brilliant Books want to be sure that our customers are aware that “Go Set A Watchman” is not a sequel or prequel to ‘To Kill A Mockingbird'. Neither is it a new book. It is a first draft that was originally, and rightfully, rejected. The book, and some of the characters therein, are very much a product of this era in the South.
We suggest you view this work as an academic insight rather than as a nice summer novel. This situation is comparable to James Joyce's stunning work 'A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man', and his original draft 'Stephen Hero'. 'Hero' was initially rejected, and Joyce reworked it into the classic 'Portrait'. 'Hero' was eventually released as an academic piece for scholars and fans—not as a new 'Joyce novel'. We would have been delighted to see “Go Set A Watchman” receive a similar fate.
It is disappointing and frankly shameful to see our noble industry parade and celebrate this as “Harper Lee’s New Novel”. This is pure exploitation of both literary fans and a beloved American classic (which we hope has not been irrevocably tainted.) We therefore encourage you to view “Go Set A Watchman” with intellectual curiosity and careful consideration; a rough beginning for a classic, but only that.
Karen: Thank for your the comments by Brilliant Books, that is exactly how I feel. Having grown up with parents born in the South in the 1900 teens, I know too well the mentality and cruelty they could show towards the Blacks and Jews. Lisa: I know you see Atticus too good to be true, but
there were some progressive thinkers in the South as you know from other writer's, Mark Twain comes to mind first thing as well as several other's. To Set a Watchman was rejected because the character of Atticus was so flawed and the rage that Scout had as an older women would never have appealed to me to read. I think the editor was extremely wise to see both characters were just a true representation of South and offered little insight or social justice which is why TKMB was so profound. Unless you lived in the South, not many people knew what it realy was like. Gone With The Wind only depicted the blacks as being house maids and servants that were well treated. Not the beatings, Angola Prison, the slave labor and the chains and neck shackles etc. I doubt many people had any clue how the black women were treated if they were unfortunate enough to be pretty or a decent body. Men treated their plow mules better. AND the Klan were monsters that had the blacks fearful of everything!
Hi! I can honestly say I have found my first MUST READ of the summer. For those that are familiar with Wally Lamb, "She Comes Undone" MUST read "I Know This Much is True". Audio is 26 discs, so it a daunting book/audio when you to take it on. HOWEVER, this is one of the best books I have read in years!I never copy quotes off the dust jacket because I tend to be able to do a good enough job myself. However, I will and put it in quotes.
In keeping with this weeks theme, not only are the character's believable, I KNOW them! I feel like I have met each person and know them intimately. I love, hate, like, respect, distain, and even feel the emotional pain. I can clearly experience the character's joy of first love, a new baby, the loss of a parent, best friend and the mental illness of your other half, your identical twin.
Briefly, the story is told from the view point of Dominick Birdsey. "All his life he has been angry and afraid. The elusive identity of his biological father, a bullying step-father, and a very paranoid schizophrenic identical twin(messiah complex) have haunted his struggle for sanity and wholeness. Now his brother had done committed an unthinkable act (not murder) and middle-aged Dominick is in a tailspin(understatement)." Parentheses are mine.
When I say this is brilliantly written and is phenomenal story telling, it is far beyond any expectations I have ever had. "George Guidall's exquisite narration highlights the joyous, profound, and mystical experience of arriving with Dominick at comforting answers to some of life's most unsettling questions." A HUGE understatement!! Guidall's performance is one of the best yet!
Every person, every event is so believable, I feel like I am right there! I know these people, I can feel what they are feeling.
I have already gone through 10 discs in less than 2 days because it is just that damn good. I'm sorry I did not listen to or read this years ago because it has already given so much insight to human nature that I would expect Freud or Jung to even be challenged. This is a must read at some time in your life because at some point, the reader will see themselves, their family, loved ones and the events of their own lives. The characters are flawed, because as humans, we all are. But some times we do such a great job of denial or blind acceptance, we miss living that event and understanding how it develops who we really are as individuals and the lens we look through. I am going to read his other books when I finish this one and because I am only 1/3 through, I will have some other thoughts when I finish the book.
I just finished TKAM this afternoon. From what I have read and heard about slavery in the South, I do believe that there were people who treated their slaves well, or had an inclination to end slavery. The young Scout was idealist enough and I think her character is realistic. As for Atticus: He seemed braver in the beginning defending Tom, but when he didn't succeed it seems he lost his drive. I did buy a TIMES magazine special issue on TKAM, and cannot wait to see what other insights I'll get going through that.
Mod
"TKAM is a successful piece of work. It is frankly and completely impossible, being told in the first person by a 6YO girl with the prose style of a well-educated adult. Miss Lee has to be sure, made an attempt to confine the information in the text to what Scout would actually know, but it is no more than a casual gesture toward plausibility...What happens in the story is never seen directly by the narrator. The surface of the story is an Alcottish filigree of games, mischief, squabbles with an older brother, troubles at school and the like.
A variety of adults, mostly eccentric in Scout's judgement, and a continual bubble of incident make TKAM pleasant, undemanding reading."
I can't disagree with Ms. Adams assessment but she is in the minority about brushing this off as just a "pleasant" pastime. Perhaps it's more because of the time when it appeared than the actual writing and because, as another reviewer points out, the dialogue and narrator's voice looks strongly to Hollywood and conversion into a movie.
Hi! For any of you that like the Linda Castillo's series (NP has all of them) about an ex-Amish women that returns to her home town to be the Sheriff. Netfix has "An Amish Murder" which looks like it should be pretty good. The casting works and I personally love the books for a quick fun escape. I think the author is a ex- Amish because her command of their traditions, culture and Amish language is impressive. Anyone needing a temp. escape and likes murder mysteries, especially when the community you work for has ZERO respect and you are treated like an outcast, now add being a women in a male dominated society. Very good books.
Update. I am now through 2/3 of Wally Lamb's Book "I Know This Much to Be True" and I will just say, it gets better and better, and is still a must read. Maybe being a fraternal twin has more of an impact, but I do not think so. Close siblings are no different. I saw a piece on some 9 pm show, did not pay attention until the Doc delivered the twins in tact holding each other as he put them under a faucet of warm water and let them cradle each other for 15 minutes before he attempted to separate them. They cradled and held each other the entire time and them cried out when they tried to separate them and gave them both to the mother to hold and nurse. My twin Bro has another take, we were only 7 1/2 old and I wanted out and kicked him to do so. He got the incubator. I came home.
Lisa, I just read your post about Ms. Adams critique of TKMB.However, anyone doing films/movies either fiction or non-fiction is with-in the plausibility of "The Suspension of Disbelief" code. I think everyone misses
the whole point about Scout. Kids growing up in the 30's and 40's were well aware of what was going on around them. No one buried their heads in video games, Iphones/Ipads etc. These people lived in a very harsh reality so she is well beyond the average 6 year today. The point of the age, I believe, is she still had NOT become so jaded and imprinted, her curiosity had not already hit the saturation point unlike kids since the 50's. TV brought "Leave it to Beaver, Donna Reed Show, Father Knows Best and the Nelson family." Kids in the South would have thought this was STRICKLY fiction and some one had a great imagination. Life was very hard then. There was NO age of innocence or day dreaming to become rich and famous. Chores were not cleaning your room for an allowance, these kids worked hard. If you did not, you were seriously punished. There were the elite few that would inherited land and free slaves etc.
The foundation for the Civil War was about the South losing cheap labor and forced to give up masses amount of land they needed to survive. If you ever saw a cotton field or a tobacco farm, even migrant workers today get hurt and killed all the time. Have anyone here ever to talked to any other these people? There was no cotton gin to separate the cotton was the plant and getting by those thorns is hard enough. Tobacco harvesting is probably the worse thing done by hand. It is back breaking work, in a very hot sun and the resin gets on your hands and it never comes off. It stinks right up their with a skunk. Try smelling that for 12 hours a day. What did the North want? They wanted the cotton and tobacco. THE 2 BIGGEST wanted products in the US next to alcohol. There were NO synthetic cloth and tobacco was in demand ALL around the world. People forget about any of this. They put the focus on the freeing the slaves, not raping the South of a long heritage. I do not believe in slavery, and everyone deserves fair payment for the job done. But I guess we can justify the millions of Chinese, Asians that work in sweat shop for 1 dollar a day. It's out of sight and out of mind as long as we can get the best price at Best Buys for a new smart phone. What about ALL the outsourcing that has happened and the collaspe of this economy?; with still more to come.
Has anyone made that connection yet? Everyone wants a ton of luxuries, but do not want to pay the people fair market wages. So how is THAT any different then the North wanting the cotton and tobacco for very low cost that kept the South in an economic slump for MANY years after the War was over. We have not evolved at ALL if anyone would look at the last 150 years.
This has been a fun summer read, I'll see you all on Thursday at 7pm.
Lisa, thanks for all the work you've done on the Online Reading Forum again this summer. it's been fun! see you all thursdayMarie, you are spot-on about our desire for cheap clothing, electronics, food, but at what human "cost"?
as to this week's question, i'm reading a book that's been hyped as a fun and light summer read for booklovers, but am finding it disappointing so far. The Book of Speculation by Erica Swyler has found its way to several book lists, but i think the characters are unlikable and uninteresting, and considering the story's circumstances, unbelievable. the story, which sounded promising is falling flat. Simon is vapid and not particularly nice. His sister Enola is simply obnoxious. some of the language is gratuitously foul, and i have gotten to the point where i'm skimming through it. oh well, gotta read some duds to appreciate the good ones, right ? ;-D
I liked the two main characters a lot in The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion. It is the story of a fellow with Aspergers and his search for a wife. In The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton the characters, particularly Anna Wetherell, had a strange and unusual power that appealed to me. On the negative side, I did not feel any of the characters in Gone Girl or The Girl on The Train were believable. I can't make the tea tomorrow but have enjoyed following the discussions.
hi alli got a goodreads friend request from karen "thornton". is that karen or k on this list ? thx
It's me! Or should I say, it's I! I would just love to see everyone's lists if everyone is open to that.
Lisa - adding my thanks for organizing this for the summer. I hope I remember to come back here and check out what people are posting after this is over.I am planning to join you all at the library on Thursday night at 7 PM. I've a busy day tomorrow but should be able to make it.
And, thanks to all for such wonderful posts. Enjoyed reading them.
Mod
I'll be giving it out tonight and will put it into the Pinterest board for Summer Reading as well.
If you'd like a written copy or you want me to email it to you and are not coming tonight, send me a message here on Goodreads with your email address and I'll send it off or stop by my desk and I'll print it.
Thank you Lisa for a very nice evening. The list gives me many ideas for books to read next.
Mod
Thank you Lisa for being our Mod as well as making our group so much fun. This was a great summer, and I did what I promised, I read 10 books TOTALLY out my comfort zone and fell in love with Wally Lamb's book.Let's keep this going and I will use my gift card to bring refreshments to our next Face2face. How cool was that I got the M&M Liquor gift card?? Must be karma LOL. Thank you again for the time and energy you put into our group and make it so much fun. YOU are the best and I am so glad to be a member. >^..^< M
New Providence wrote: "fyi: Helene, I dipped into one of those huge, imposing and hard-to-decipher reference series that has since been computerized called Contemporary Literary Criticism. It is just that, a summary of ..."It's been awhile since I read TKAM- but I've read it several times. I thought it was written as the adult Scout's recollection of these events not a 6 year old's story. Am I right???
Eileen - yes, Scout is an adult when she tells the story. In the story she is 6-9 and I missed the part that she was telling the story as an adult and had a great deal of trouble believing that the vocabulary Scout used was that of a 6-9 year old. I have the book and will have to re-read the first few pages to see where that information is.
It's been many years since I got my degree in English but I remember dipping in to those huge Contemporary Literary Criticism books at NPML many times. I must have found something of value because I kept going back for more.
Mod
Mod
We will continue the discussions here with a monthly question as we've done over the past year. Jump in whenever you can and we'll keep the discussion going.
Also, I'd like to invite you all to Thursday's end of program party - that's July 30 @ 7PM. We are not having a formal program this year. We'll just be drawing for grand prize winners and choosing a new book to take home as last year courtesy of a friend at Random House. And of course, chatting and enjoying refreshments.
Finally, I want you to write this event down on your calendars and save the date because it's at a busy time of year. On Tuesday, December 8 @ 7:30PM, Roz Reisner is coming. Who is she? She's a former librarian who specializes in Reader's Advisory. She'll be talking about new memoirs and books that are great for discussion and reading groups. I've heard her speak in various webinars and she is really fun to listen to and talk to. She has a website and blogs about books. You may want to follow her to get some suggestions. She's at:
http://areadersplace.net/
And last but not least, to finish off a great program I'd like to ask a question that sort of relates to TKAM but relates to anything that you're reading. Are the characters convincing? Has the author breathed life into them so that they are consistent and believable as people you might meet?
I have my doubts so far about Atticus. He seems too perfect and selfless and I am wondering why and how he changed from the best shot in the county to somebody who completely eschews guns and doesn't even tell his kids that he knows how to shoot.
I'd contrast this with Scott Simon's mother in "Unforgettable" which I recently finished. It is a true story of Mr. Simon's time at his mother's bedside while she was dying of cancer. He does an excellent job of bringing her to life. She seemed to be a fun-loving, witty kind of gal who had her hard knocks but didn't become hard. Instead, she never lost her curiosity for life and for people's stories.
What about your book?