A Tree Grows in Brooklyn - Pre-Read

[Betsy]

Welcome to our April 2020 Classics group read! This month we'll be reading A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith.

This is a spoiler free zone. If you’ve already started, join the conversation over here.

What are your impressions before starting? Is it the kind of book you’d pick up by yourself? What are you hoping to discover?

[Veronika]

I've heard of this book many times, but have never even read the description. Now that I have, the English-Lit part of my brain is firing away. I'm looking forward to discovering an old classic, and seeing if I love it or hate it. (Because there are some books that make you wonder... :) )

[Kristen]

I have actually never heard of this book before this group. I am not great with knowing which books are considered classics minus the usual ones such as To Kill a Mockingbird or Of Mice and Men.

I do not read many coming-of-age stories, so I'm hoping that this book may encourage me to read more stories similar to it.

[Renee]

It is one of my favorite books. I love a good coming of age story. I read this in my teens. It resonated with me. I wish the teachers had picked this over Catcher in the Rye.

[Cj]

I have heard great things about this book and am excited to read it!

[Jeannie]

Added to my reading list as well as to Kindle. I actually have the Chinese translation version at home when I was a lot younger. My parents read it then and commented that it was, as I quote, "utterly depressing" so I avoided reading it for a long time. Anyway, as this is a book in the quarter list, I decide to pick it up. After skimming through the first few pages, I am excited to read it.

[Renata]

Library is closed, so will actually have to buy this book. Rats!

[Cheryl]

My husband, growing up four decades ago, loved this. I'd never heard of it, so a few years after we met, about two decades ago, I did read it. I think it's time to revisit it.

Btw, it is avl. on openlibrary.org.

[Betsy]

Thanks for that Cheryl, I'll be checking it out on openlibrary.org

I read this a young teen and don't remember feeling anything, which I hope is just a memory issue.

Jeannie, the utterly depressing comment is definitely not a page starter haha!

And Renata, I feel your pain. I got most of my books from the library and now it's a no go. What are we going to do?

[Veronika]

Betsy, have you ever used the Libby app? Or Overdrive? You may be able to still find your reads for free.

[Betsy]

Veronika, I have and that is what I will be using more of it seems in the coming months. I just am an old-fashioned book sniffer. Never could get into the lack of smell and touch from an ereader. Understand its benefits and all, but the whole experience of reading changes when you haven't actually got the book in your hands, at least for me.

[Betsy]

I just looked on my Overdrive connected to my library and can you guys believe they don't have A Tree Grows in Brooklyn? Or any of the other BOTMs (minus Wuthering Heights)...

[Renata]

I too love the feel and smell of a book. Call me old-fashioned, but I will be checking Amazon for used books to buy.

[Betsy]

Glad to hear there are some of us left ;) Give me a really used copy any day. I have been sporadically buying secondhand books to last over this quarantine period. But none of them are this month's reads.

[Cheryl]

I much prefer paper books myself, esp. for ones written before ebooks were invented. But I could never get so many of the titles I want to read w/out libby or openlibrary, and so I've gotten used to the digital alternative. So, let's see, what the neologism? You know, some ppl are ambidextrous, so those of us who read both formats are ... what ??

(oh, and then there are audiobooks... still my personal last resort but, again, since I read so very many books, it does turn out that a high enough percentage of them are only avl to me on audio and so I'm getting used to it... also, I can't afford hundreds of books a year even thrift...)

[Cristina]

I also prefer paper than ebooks, but as we're quarantined I had to get this as an ebook from my library website, where you can also rent ebooks for free. I already started it but it doesn't feel the same, though the story is pretty interesting.

[Lisa]

I was super excited that this group is doing this book this month. I'm lucky to have my own physical copy that I bought at a book sale last year.

I read this back in high school and it has stuck with me for all these years. I think it was the first book I ever loved that I was required to read in high school English. I'm really glad to have a chance to read this book again, and see if it resonates with me again.

In my copy there's a foreword by Anna Quindlen and she writes "A Tree Grows In Brooklyn is not the sort of book that can be reduced to its plot line. The best anyone can say is that it is a story about what it means to be human." I think that's a pretty apt description based on what I remember.

Also, I ended up looking up what the tree growing in Francie's yard looked like. It's name is Ailanthus altissima and it's an invasive species in my neck of the woods (I'm from Connecticut). I actually have some growing in a lot next to my house and I can see it out of my library window.

[Cheryl]

Wait, what? You have a library in your home?! Yay for you, but envy here, too. :)

[Veronika]

I much prefer books, too. This is the first month I have gone to ebooks--with no libraries open, I had to act fast for these read-alongs. :-) Hopefully I can snag a few of these via ThriftBooks and Amazon...but I didn't want to wait!

[Lisa]

Cheryl wrote: "Wait, what? You have a library in your home?! Yay for you, but envy here, too. :)"

Ha, well we call it the library. It's basically the third bedroom furnished as an office with bookshelves. No clue what we're going to do if/when we have a second kid. :)

[Lina]

I am looking forward to reading this book with everyone. I had not heard of it before it was chosen, but coincidentally in one of the books I recently read (A Woman is No Man) one of the characters talks about it being one of her favorites. 👍🏽

[Cheryl]

(Lisa, that is lovely. What a great example to set for the kiddo.)

[Jordyn ♡ Lynsey]

I’ve never heard of this book! In my HS English classes we read books like Tom Sawyer or The Scarlet Letter, which was fine but I feel like from your comments this book would have made more of an impact on me as a teenage girl. Excited to read it as a person in her thirties to see how this coming of age story will inspire me!

Also I love paper books too! I live a block from my library, but unfortunately it’s also closed like so many others.

[Kaseadillla]

Just started it! Beautiful writing thus far... has kept my interest despite nothing really happening yet....

[Joelle]

I just finished reading this in Libby and returned it early, so 'you're welcome' to whoever was next in line. :) Just a warning, there are spoilers in the preface by Anna Quindlen.

[Jaclyn~she lives! catching up on reviews~]

I have had A Tree Grows in Brooklyn on my TBR since the beginning of the year. I decided I wanted to read 1-2 books for each of the 50 states, and this was one of my picks for New York! Despite that, I wasn't familiar with the plot and bought a physical copy earlier this month. I'm looking forward to diving into it once I finish Wuthering Heights.

[Lisa]

I'm loving this writing all over again. It's been 18 years since I first read this book, and I'm surprised by how much of the story I remember. Goes to show that this is the kind of book that sticks with you for a long time.

I agree with Joelle that Anna Quindlen's foreword does have spoilers (including what happens at the very end), but if you did read it, I don't think it ruins the book for you. There's so much to the story that you'll enjoy it regardless.

[Megan]

I’ve been meaning to read this book for years! It’s one of my mom’s favorites. I’m listening to the audiobook via Overdrive.

For people looking for an alternative to Amazon for online book purchases, check your local independent book seller’s websites. They may still be operational. I know Prairie Lights in Iowa City still takes orders. So does Powell’s in Portland, Oregon, and they’ll ship anywhere in the US.

[Cheryl]

Ty Megan for the shout out to independent booksellers.

[Kyra]

I’ve started and have read the first 10 chapters, gosh it’s long! But I’m excited to read it and was happy that I got this for Christmas 2 years ago. This book was on that Great American Read that PBS did, and I’ve wanted to try to read all of those if possible so I’m glad we are reading this.

[Lisa]

I just reached the halfway through point in this book. I'm really loving this read.

It's funny, but back when I was reading this in high school, I found myself really relating to Francie. Now at 32, I'm finding that while I'm still relating to Francie's love of books, I'm relating more to Francie's mother. Maybe it's because I'm now a mom too, or maybe it's because I'm older now, but I find Katie's opinions make more sense this time around.

[Lina]

I hadn’t heard of this book before we chose to read it here, but one of the characters in another book I just finished reading “No Woman is a Man” said it was one of her favorite books. Looking forward to reading alongside you all!

[Ashley]

For anyone still looking for a copy of this book, it's available on Kindle and Kobo for $2.99 right now.

I loved this book the first time I read it. debating if I'm going to do a reread or stick to something new.

[Cheryl]

Or it's free on openlibrary.org.

[Betsy]

Love being reminded about that Cheryl :) Open Library is my new favourite 'place' to go.

[James]

I haven’t been in the group long, so I’m playing catch up and hoping to finish this within the month. I’m just shy of the halfway mark and enjoying it so far.

I like how it meanders through the family’s life, with lots of small but important moments unfolding rather than anything hugely pivotal or pace changing happening. Obviously that may change as I read on.