March/April 2011 Group Read -- Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns

[Becky, Moddess]

This book was chosen by Evelina C. She won the HF Challenge #5 and her prize was a group read choice.

I'm looking forward to this one, and hope to get it from the library this evening. :)

[Holly]

I won't be able to participate in this particular group read, however, I read Cold Sassy Tree several years ago and loved it. Hope you all enjoy it.

[Sandra]

I will be downloading an audio version today and look forward to discussing with the group. This will be my first group-read so are there any rules .... number of pages per day/week?

[Becky, Moddess]

Nope - we're free and easy 'round here, Sandra. You read at your own pace and discuss however you want. :)

I only ask that you mark any spoilers.

[Margaret]

This is my first group read also. Looking forward to it.

[LemonLinda]

I have had this one forever but never got around to it so I think this might be the perfect time to do so.

[jb]

I actually own this book. I got in a box of other books when my friend moved away as she could not transport everything. Yay! I might be able to participate in this read!

[Margaret]

I just read the first chapter, my goodness I think I am really going to like this book. Thanks to whoever picked it, I don't think I would ever have found this book o n my own.

[Renee]

Cold Sassy Tree is one of my favorite books. It is the book responsible for reawakening my love for reading.

I read constanly as a girl. I forgot how much as I grew older. I was convinced by a friend to join her book group.Cold Sassy was the book.

Its a magical coming of age story that reminded me of my all time favorite book, To kill a Mockingbird. I finished Cold reread To kill and my old love has been reborn.

[Debik]

Yay! Cold Sassy Tree is one of my favorites! I actually listened to the audio tape while on vacation with my daughter and husband, and we all three fell in love with the book. It made us anxious to get back in the car to pick the story back up. I will definitely be rereading to join along with the group!

[Anna]

I'd never heard of this book before but I'm about 6 chapters in now and it's great.

[Becky, Moddess]

Wow! I am glad that the reaction to this choice is so great! Good choice Evelina C!

I don't think I would have ever thought to pick it up on my own, but I'm really looking forward to this book. :)

[Tasha]

I put it on hold at the library. With all the great comments, I'm going to try to get to it before April 15.

[Jackie]

I downloaded this from audible this evening. I listened to a bit and I feel like the narrator reads a little too fast. :( It's supposed to be Southern. They usually speak slower.

[jb]

LOL it is funny you say that Jackie! I had some jerk at work tell me I had a slow southern tongue when talking (and HIS insinuation was southerns are dumb). He was an absolute idiot....he was talking and mumbling and I told him to speak more clearly and slow down. So he slinged that insult my way.

But I agree with you....a lot of southerns do speak slower :)

[Jackie]

Wow, that'a jerky thing for him to say. :/ When I saw the location was down south I was expecting a narration like The Help (I highly recommend it, btw), but when I turned it on he was just motoring through. lol.

I audioed up to chapter 3 last night. I still don't like the narrator, but I did get used to his narration. I think he's narrating faster because the book has a gossipy tone to it.

The story itself though is pretty good so far. I didn't expect it to be funny, so that was a nice surprise.

[jb]

I have the book and will ask my husband to get it down for me tonight. I am excited to start reading it!

[Margaret]

Anne, what did you think of The Postmistress? Everywhere I go I see, starting to think this is a sign of something.

Looking forward to curling up for a good hour tonight with Cold Sassy Tree.

[Sandra]

(audio verison) Almost finished Chapter 1 and I'm loving it. Yes, the narrator speaks at a brisk clip - but I find that refreshing. It's a welcome change of pace (pun intended) from some of the tiresome readers I've encountered in the past.

[Becky, Moddess]

I picked up a copy of CST from the library, so I should be able to start it soon. :)

[jb]

My husband got my copy off of the shelf (way up high above the aquarium). I threatened him with bodily harm if he dropped it in the aquarium.

I started it last night and I am only on page 10.

[Becky, Moddess]

So I've finally finished one of my other books and I can focus more on Cold Sassy. :)

I'm kind of torn on the dialect in the book. I grew up in North Florida about 20 minutes south of the Georgia border, so I'm pretty used to the southernisms, but still I feel like it's a little distracting seeing it phonetically spelled out like it is. Like "cudn" took me about 3 tries to figure out was "cousin". The first one was "For one thing, Mary Toy had gone home with Cudn Temp the day before." I thought 'Cudn Temp' was the flu! LOL It doesn't help contextually that the name "Temp" isn't very name-like! LOL

But other than that, I'm really liking this one so far. I'm still only about 35 pages in, but I feel kind of drawn into the community, and like I've known these people for a while. You can really tell that through Will Tweedy's eyes, he adored his Grandmother. :)

I also really liked Grandpa's prayer around page 35 (in the HC edition)... I thought it was really honest and heartfelt and intimate - the way prayers should be. I liked that Grandpa talked to God rather than just praying, like they have a relationship. That made me smile even though it was it was sad.

[jb]

Becky....I liked that part too. It just seemed real nice he was having a conversation with God with his grandson!

I had a bit of a problem with the dialect at first as well, but I think I got most of it figured out.

[Jackie]

I finally finished this yesterday :) Anyone else done?

As I stated before I was listening to the audio for it, which I downloaded from Audible. Did anyone who get the audio notice repeats? On several occasions mine would repeat itself. It was sort of annoying. However, the narrator did end up growing on me. In the beginning I was expecting slow Southern speech, but this sounded more like country Southern which fit the story more. I hope that doesn't offend anyone. It just sounds different to me, but as a Yankee what the heck do I know? :P

I ended up giving it 4 stars. I really enjoyed Will's take on things. I thought he was very preceptive and honest in his narration. My favorite character had to be Rucker Blakeslee. I loved his take on religion and how he paved his own way in the town.

Ending spoilers:
(view spoiler)[ Rucker's death made me so sad. I actually teared up listening to the last couple of chapters. However, I loved that he wanted to celebrate his life and give the town something to talk about one last time.

At first I wasn't sure about his relationship with Love and I was really surprised that he was lusting after her even while married. However, I thought she was really good for him especially towards the end. I could understand why the daughters wouldn't like her much. I don't think I would like her either even though she was originally there as a housekeeper and I definitely would not have liked her coming in and removing stuff from the house. But I thought she bought out another side of Rucker and really gave him a second chance at life. (hide spoiler)]

There was something that was bothering me though...the scene with the gypsies. I've never heard of gypsies in the US, so I was wondering if anyone had more info on this or have heard of it.

[Anna]

I've just finished it too. I really liked this book. I'd never heard of it before it came up on here and now I want to read the sequel.

I'd loved Will's character. He came over as a normal mischievous boy but who could also act very responsibly.

Rucker was a fantastic character and was definitely the life and soul of Cold Sassy.

[Margaret]

Oh I glad to hear that audible has this book. I just finished an audiobook and looking for another one, this is perfect timing. I think it would be great to listen to it.

[Jackie]

Anna wrote: "I've just finished it too. I really liked this book. I'd never heard of it before it came up on here and now I want to read the sequel.

I'd loved Will's character. He came over as a normal mi..."

Interesting! I didn't know there was sequel until you mentioned it. Unfortunately, it's unfinished because the author died while writing it-
Leaving Cold Sassy: The Unfinished Sequel to Cold Sassy Tree :( I think I'll stop with Cold Sassy. I think it concluded well enough.

[Becky, Moddess]

I can't seem to focus on reading this, so I'm going to try the audio since Jackie said that she liked it. I'm downloading it now from Audible. :)

[jb]

I like it so far....Will is a good story teller thus far.

[Becky, Moddess]

Yeah, he is. I like him. He's observant and interesting. :)

I'm waiting for this to download so that I can put it on my MP3 player and lie down and listen. I have a bit of a headache today. :(

[Maude]

Jackie, There are about 20,000 gypsies in Texas and more than 1 million in the USA. They have been here for some time - centuries, I think it said. I am no expert - I just looked this up.

[Anna]

I hadn't realised that it was unfinished. I'm not sure I will bother now as it will probably be quite unsatisfying as it's unfinished. I'll always be wondering where the author was planning on going with it. As you say, Cold Sassy concluded rather nicely anyway.

[LemonLinda]

Planning to start this one tomorrow. I am looking forward to it as I have had the book for quite a while, but never got around to reading it.

[Becky, Moddess]

I liked it quite a bit! I probably wouldn't have ever picked it up on my own, but I'm glad that I read it. It's one of those books that really sets you down inside someone else's head, and I like that. :)

[Katy]

A bit behind, I'll start this book today.

[Margaret]

I finished the audio the other day. I have to agree that the reader was quite fast in the beginning, but as the book progressed he did slow down. And mine did repeat in places to (that was annoying).

I enjoyed the story, would have liked maybe a couple more chapters. I listen to mine on an iPod shuffle, so really I don't know when it will end, so maybe if I knew the end was near I wouldn't have minded the ending (make sense?). Not that I didn't like the ending, I just wasn't prepared for it to end there, I was waiting to see what would happen.

I am glad to whoever picked this book, I would never have discovered it and am happy I listened to it.

[LemonLinda]

I really enjoyed this book maybe more so because of growing up in a small southern town (NC, not Georgia) and remembering with such fondness my grandmother who would have been very near to Will Tweedy's age. I loved hearing stories from her youth so it was easy for me to understand the dialect and to connect to life in the south.

I thought this was a great story of family, their unique differences and support of spite of those differences. The characters, I felt, were richly developed and gave me quite a number of laughs as well as a few tears.

[jb]

I finished this book the other day and I quite enjoyed it. I did not know there was another book to be coming out. Although I do feel it concluded rather well, I can see where it could leave room for more from the story teller's POV.

[Becky, Moddess]

Did I miss something here? I know there is a sequel to this one, but it is unfinished, and the Olive Ann Burns has passed away.

My Google-fu (I saw this term yesterday and now I get to use it! YAY!) shows there is a omnibus edition coming out in 2011, but it looks like it's just the original two books. Link here: http://www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com/c...

I'm curious about what the sequel is about though. The first book seems like such a complete story in itself. :)

[Helen]

I thought the book was great. My son is almost the same age as Will and to see the world though his eyes in a different era was completely engaging. There was a nice balance of light hearted antics and serious life questions. I felt committed to the characters and was sad to see the story end. Thanks for the recommendation.

[Sandra]

I am almost done reading this book and want to thank TPTB for the recommendation. Southern story-telling with its endearing cadence is so enjoyable and I really enjoyed the audio version (except for the weird repetitions). The wisdom of Will's grandfather and Miss Love seen through the eyes of a young adolescent boy was powerful.

[Jackie]

Interesting. Thanks for the info on the dialect BunWat. I'm a northerner through and through and I have not been exposed to many of the dialects other than the typical southern drawl. I did get used the narrator after awhile, but it was a bit jarring at first.

[Becky, Moddess]

I never thought about that, BunWat, but you're right. It was rather strange that he should be there for so much.

I loved Rucker too. He was by far my favorite character. :)