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WI 15-16 20.1 Grazia Deledda
Elizabeth found a series of articles in this document - which speaks to many contemporary authors (and in many cases titles) that address a sense of place in the US. It's a pdf, so not as accessible as many might want, but it should be helpful.usa.usembassy.de/etexts/art/ijse0896.pdf
Late in the article is this definition:
A sense of place is best exemplified by passages in which figurative and literal sites are revealed, in geographic, visual and social contexts.
More helpful links:
Any book listed for either the Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize or the Ondaatje Prize qualify for this task. Also qualified are books where the GR description specifically references "sense of place" or elsewhere on the web in which the book summary specifically references a "sense of place." In this latter case, please provide a link.
Examples:
All the Birds, Singing - http://www.barnesandnoble.com/b/books...
The Kite Runner - http://www.asle.org/syllabi/sense-pla...
Shotgun Lovesongs - http://read.infosoup.org/wla-literary...
Admittedly I am skimming the article, but keep getting hooked in ...Eudora Welty is mentioned in the first article, and reading around place seems to be important to the nature of her works. WillLosing Battles work ? ( It's the only book of hers that I own, and I was going to try to get a short story collection, but my library is coming up empty ).
Anne Tyler comes up for Baltimore, and I have a wealth of her on my shelves, but from my own reading I am thinking Carson McCullers would also work ?
I should finally get Go Set a Watchman next month. To Kill a Mockingbird would seem to fit, I think, would this also?
The authors and titles mentioned in the pdf articles will qualify. For others, you will need to find a description of the book that references sense of place and link to it when you claim your book. So, Eudora Welty and Anne Tyler qualify, but you will need to find specific references for Carson McCullers and/or titles and the same for Harper Lee.
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "The authors and titles mentioned in the pdf articles will qualify. For others, you will need to find a description of the book that references sense of place and link to it when you claim your book..."Thanks Elizabeth. Still trying to use as many of my own books as possible. We seem unable to borrow books from the library without incurring fines most weeks in this house ...
The pdf article is US based - you shouldn't feel restricted to any US sense of place, it's just what I found.
You know, I just got notification that Go Set a Watchman is now available for me to pick up! Of course! I have only been waiting ALL FALL SEASON for it!!I am not sure if I could find books by women writers for Australia on my bookshelves to work for this task, which would be what I would probably consider, to balance off against the translated works I have already chosen. I will have a look and see what there is, and perhaps look at mixing it up.
Amanda wrote: "I am not sure if I could find books by women writers for Australia on my bookshelves to work for this task"We may have a surprise for you coming, don't give up hope.
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Amanda wrote: "I am not sure if I could find books by women writers for Australia on my bookshelves to work for this task"We may have a surprise for you coming, don't give up hope."
Hahaha! You are making that sound like I CAN get all women writers! I will stick with my selections here I think, based on your comment ( I DO have 2 women writers in the sub challenge, one of whom is the wife / mother of the best friends of my husband and daughter. Very glad to have an added incentive to read this recent book sale purchase! )
Amanda wrote: "You are making that sound like I CAN get all women writers! "You have All the Birds, Singing on your shelves, and Evie Wyld is identified as an Anglo-Australian author. This one is pre-approved in the above help thread.
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Amanda wrote: "You are making that sound like I CAN get all women writers! "You have All the Birds, Singing on your shelves, and Evie Wyld is identified as an Anglo-Australian aut..."
I read this one when it was the group read :( But I did enjoy it, and would recommend it to anyone who hasn't read it.
I am almost finished adding all the books on my bookshelves ( 1.5 shelves to go! ), in readiness for the last book sale of the year, next weekend. Hoping I might find some of the books I am having to borrow for the next challenge whilst I am there ( at this stage, I am thinking at the most 2 of them ). But, who knows what I will pick up ?!
The works of these authors, from the above pdf, are qualified for this task. While some of an author's works may not strictly apply to this task, enough of them do that we will accept all of them. (If I have inadvertently overlooked an author, feel free to let us know, with the appropriate page number in the document and we'll get him/her added to the list.)https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...
I've just bought All the Birds, Singing on Friday! woohoo! ;)
I have A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley on my shelf. Since she is listed in the google doc, I am planning to read that one.
Bea wrote: "I have A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley on my shelf. Since she is listed in the google doc, I am planning to read that one."That was a 5-star read for me - I hope you like it!
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Bea wrote: "I have A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley on my shelf. Since she is listed in the google doc, I am planning to read that one."That was a 5-star read for me - I..."
Me too! When you read it, watch for the Quaker School in West Branch. My daughter attended for 3 years. It's only one sentence though, not descriptive of that place
Coralie wrote: "Would Paris work for this task?"Yes - here is a book review that specifically uses the phrase "sense of place" - please link to it when posting.
https://thebookloversboudoir.wordpres...
(And I look forward to a review from you, Coralie. I've had this on my wish list for awhile.)
Does the book for this task have to be fiction? Would non-fiction essays or travel type books work?For instance, I read Four Seasons in Rome: On Twins, Insomnia, and the Biggest Funeral in the History of the World by Anthony Doerr a few months ago, and it strikes me that this book fits the task perfectly.
Krista wrote: "Does the book for this task have to be fiction? Would non-fiction essays or travel type books work?For instance, I read [book:Four Seasons in Rome: On Twins, Insomnia, and the Biggest Funeral in ..."
No, it doesn't. But the books needs to have said about it somewhere that is said a "sense of place". See post #2, where
"Also qualified are books where the GR description specifically references "sense of place" or elsewhere on the web in which the book summary specifically references a "sense of place." In this latter case, please provide a link."
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Krista wrote: "Does the book for this task have to be fiction? Would non-fiction essays or travel type books work?For instance, I read [book:Four Seasons in Rome: On Twins, Insomnia, and the Bigg..."
Got it -- thanks!
Sue Grafton is mentioned in the .pdf article provided. If I'm understanding the explanation correctly, any book by Sue Grafton will qualify without having to provide a specific link that includes a reference to a 'sense of place'. Is that correct?
Krista wrote: "Sue Grafton is mentioned in the .pdf article provided. If I'm understanding the explanation correctly, any book by Sue Grafton will qualify without having to provide a specific link that includes a reference to a 'sense of place'. Is that correct? "That is correct. All of the works by the authors linked to the google doc in #12 above will qualify for this task. (There were more than we anticipated!)
For linking to an article, does it have to be specific to a book or can it be the author as a whole? I've found a few articles that talk in general about Mary Stewart's novels having a sense of place, but nothing specific for the book I'm planning to read.
Sam wrote: "For linking to an article, does it have to be specific to a book or can it be the author as a whole? I've found a few articles that talk in general about Mary Stewart's novels having a sense of pla..."That would be fine - if you want to link to one of the better ones here, I can add her to the author list.
I'll offer the works of Thomas Hardy to this task as well. The pdf was for American authors, and we should be able to find plenty in other countries. Anyway, here is an article that describes Hardy's work as having a sense of place (on the 4th line!).https://writersinspire.org/content/ch...
Here's a blog post that talks about her sense of place: https://ela21.wordpress.com/2011/05/2...And a "listicle" from another site: http://forbookssake.net/2014/05/19/10...
Awesome, thanks! :) I was hoping to squeeze her into this round but I ran out of time, so I'm glad to have found a spot for her this time!
I looked in the article and I thought Amy Tan was listed, I went back and couldn't find it. Can anyone confirm this?
Jayme(the ghost reader) wrote: "I looked in the article and I thought Amy Tan was listed, I went back and couldn't find it. Can anyone confirm this?"Yes, Amy Tan is on the list.
So any book by her would work?
Jayme(the ghost reader) wrote: "So any book by her would work?"Yes, any book by Amy Tan is OK for this task.
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Bea wrote: "I have A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley on my shelf. Since she is listed in the google doc, I am planning to read that one."That was a 5-star read for me - I..."
me too!
Richard Price is listed in the PDF document...would The Whites work? On the cover it lists "Richard Price writing as Harry Brandt" and both are listed as authors on GR. Odd way to use a pseudonym!
Katy wrote: "Richard Price is listed in the PDF document...would The Whites work? On the cover it lists "Richard Price writing as Harry Brandt" and both are listed as authors on G..."Odd, indeed! Because Richard Price is listed first as an author on the GR book pages, we will be listing him the author for this one - so it qualifies.
Is this academic paper http://www.academia.edu/6938968/Zakes... enough to qualify Zakes Mda for this category?
Ed wrote: "Is this academic paper http://www.academia.edu/6938968/Zakes... enough to qualify Zakes Mda for this category?"We will accept the two titles specifically referenced in that article:
Ways of Dying
The Madonna of Excelsior
If you are interested in other titles by this author, other references will need to be found.
Would The Tsar of Love and Techno by Anthony Marra work for this? Both of his books focus on place - post-war Chechnya in A Constellation of Vital Phenomena and the Russian city of Kirovsk in The Tsar of Love and Techno. This NY Times Book Review states "The most vivid character in “The Tsar of Love and Techno,” Anthony Marra’s new story collection, is not a person but a place, specifically the Russian city of Kirovsk, an arctic purgatory of nickel smelting plants, where one out of every two residents contracts lung cancer."
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/25/boo...
Claire wrote: "Would The Tsar of Love and Techno by Anthony Marra work for this? Both of his books focus on place - post-war Chechnya in [book:A Constellation of Vital Phenomena|1..."Yes, we will accept that.
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Claire wrote: "Would The Tsar of Love and Techno by Anthony Marra work for this? Both of his books focus on place - post-war Chechnya in [book:A Constellation of Vi..."Thank you!
Would either of these articles qualify George Sand? http://articles.latimes.com/2005/may/...
"Sense of place" is mentioned in the last sentence of paragraph 5.
https://www.questia.com/library/journ...
"Sense of place" is mentioned in the first sentence, after the quote written in French.
Someone has claimed her for Dominoes but I was thinking of the main challenge. Thanks.
D wrote: "Would either of these articles qualify George Sand? http://articles.latimes.com/2005/may/...
"Sense of place" is mentioned in the last sentence of para..."
Very nice, D. The first article is generalized as to the writings of both George Sand and George Eliot. All of the writings of both authors are approved for this task. (And thank you, this pushes my Eliot selection up the list!)
Does it count if the mention of a sense of place is in an Amazon review? My Family and Other Animals is set on Corfu and I think it fits the task, but all I could find was in the review by Vinegar Tom (or search the page for "sense of place") here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B002RUA524...
Rosemary wrote: "Does it count if the mention of a sense of place is in an Amazon review? My Family and Other Animals is set on Corfu and I think it fits the task, but all I could find was in the revie..."Yes, that will satisfy the requirement - for just this one book, not for the author. Nice sleuthing!
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "D wrote: "Would either of these articles qualify George Sand? http://articles.latimes.com/2005/may/...
"Sense of place" is mentioned in the last senten..."
Thanks, Elizabeth! It was nice to get home from a harrowing day of doctor's appointments and find your reply. I'm looking forward to some works by these authors!
Rebekah wrote: "would this work for these two authors?https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5..."
That doesn't seem to be what we're looking for. Those authors might work for this task, but you'll need to find a different reference.
Here is an article which would qualify all works for Margaret Laurencehttp://www.enotes.com/topics/margaret...
Ok, so if Amazon reviews count then maybe iBooks would too? I found this for Rage Against the Dying:https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/rage...
Ron in Baltimore is short and to the point, but he does say it has a great sense of place. It's only for combo points right now, so no big if it doesn't work, but I did feel like for a crime novel it focused a lot on place.
Cory Day wrote: "Ok, so if Amazon reviews count then maybe iBooks would too? I found this for Rage Against the Dying:https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/rage...
Ron ..."
Yes, it works for that one title. Be sure to reference it (or this) in your claim. (There are quite a few crime/mystery writers on the original list. I was surprised!)
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Read a book which evokes a sense of place. (See help thread for further information.)