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Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Join the discussion
We invite your comments about books
you loved, or hated, books you couldn’t put down, questions about books you would like to pick up. Feel free to
write a short review of something you have read, to recommend a book or ask for recommendations. This site is an online
book discussion group, designed to include comments by anyone who enjoys reading.To Kill a Mockingbird was published 50 years ago, and people
are still talking about it, reading it and watching the movie. Gregory Peck, who played Atticus, said once that atticus
Finch was the role he was most proud of and the one the more people identified him with. Much has been said about Harper
Lee’s authorship and her friendship with Truman Capote, but, whatever the circumstances of the writing, the book strikes
a chord with audiences now, just as it did in 1960. The book I enjoyed the most over the past year was World Without End by Ken Follett. This story of a smalll town and
its people during the 1300s is wonderful and riveting aon ever page. Great history lesson while particpating a great story. Try "The City and The City" by China
Mieville. Guaranteed to be something different no matter what you have been reading. Ditto Faimon! That was a great book! I just finished reading
To Kill A Mockingbird for the 3rd time! I have never re-read a book other than this one. I really got more out of it than
I thought I would. I just somehow relate to the story; possibly growing up in a small, small town that somehow reminds me
of Maycomb, Alabama, or perhaps it is more the people I relate to. (This makes me want to be back in an LSU English class
discussion!) The current issue of Southern Living has a nice story on Harper Lee and her home town. What is your take on the
book? I noticed that some of the reviews on Amazon were really "poor." Comments ranged from "most boring book
I ever read" to "can't believe it won a Pulitzer!" Of course, the overwhelming majority of the reviews were
positive. Several years ago (well,
maybe more than several) Scott Simon (Saturday Edition on NPR) did a wonderful story on TKM. I think at one time it had sold
more copies than any book, other than the Bible. I used to get my students to read it and watch the movie, which gave the
rhetoric and argument class so much to discuss and gave me chance to illustrate many points I wanted to make about argument. I read recently (perhaps in the Southern Living
article) that a survey was taken and the question asked was what book had the greatest impact on your life. TKM was second
only to the Bible. Awesome! And of course, Harper Lee's life is so interesting, too. Imagine that both Truman Capote and Harper
Lee would come from such a small town. As a teen ager, I was totally taken by Capote's writing; really not knowing anything
much about Capote the man (?)but that I loved his short stories. I spent many a "long hot summer" night reading
Capote and Tennessee Williams! My friends and I recently
had a discussion on TKM. It came about after one friend said, "I wish JK Rowling would write more books, but I know why
she hasn't; she doesn't need to." I immediately thought of Harper Lee and TKM. To have TKM be your first novel, and be
such an influential book in so many lives of several generations, where would you go from there as a writer? Anything a person
would write after that would surely get them crucified by critics and possibly the public, and maybe she didn't want to have
to deal with that. I wonder if she's written for her own enjoyment over the years, or if that was her opus and she never felt
the need to write anything else? I haven't read the Southern Living article, but I heard it was great. I look forward to reading
it. And in astonishing and horrifying news, the school system in Plaquemines Parish banned TKM for being "racist."
I'm still questioning whether or not any of them have actually read the book. I think all kids should read the book, for I
can't think of a greater novel of tolerance. I found the comment about JK Rowling interesting! There was a comment in the Southern Living article that relates to
Meran's comment about where do you go from writing such a book on the first time? I always thought writers "had to write"
much like many other artists who say they are compelled to practice their art (craft?) but I guess writing is different. I
wonder if Harper Lee still writes for her own "enjoyment\pleasure" or if she truly has put the pen down forever.
Maybe she is a gardener! I somehow don't see her doing needlepoint or crocheting doilies. A friend of mine once theorized that almost everyone had one
good book in them. Most people never get it written, some people write many books, but only one good one, and some write only
one good one. Perhaps Harper Lee said everything she wanted to say in TKM, so there was no need to write another one. Matt Clark, a wonderful writer who died much too
young, had a charming memory about Harper Lee. He and a friend decided to visit her hometown and drop in on her. They asked
several people if they knew where she lived. "Oh, honey, I don't think she lives here anymore," was the typical
response. It wasn't until much later that Matt realized the townsfolk had hoodwinked him and protected Ms. Lee's privacy.
But being Matt, he was charmed by their response. I am so glad you mentioned that story. I had forgotten it, so I am glad you reminded me. It says a lot about Matt that
he was charmed rather than frustrated at being tricked. As I remember, he took great pleasure in telling the story. That's so cool that they'd protect her in that
way. It says a lot about small town living and the kind of people there.
5:27 pm cdt
Sunday, June 27, 2010
summer reading
The unrelenting heat of these long summer
afternoons makes me want to escape to a mountain hideaway with an armload of absorbing, well written books that tell stories.
Truth or fiction, it doesn’t matter, as long as I can lose myself in what happens to the characters whom I have
come to know in the pages of the book. Indeed, some of my fondest vacation memories are the hours I had for uninterrupted
reading. I remember sitting on the porch of a mountain inn in North Carolina reading a Joanne Harris novel -- Five
Quarters of the Orange. I found it hard to close the book and enjoy the stunning scenery, the hiking, or the local art
galleries. Several years later, I was sitting on the same porch reading another Joanne Harris novel, The Girl with
no Shadow. All of Harris’s novels make good summertime reading -- well written, absorbing plots and well
drawn characters. If I go to that mountain inn this summer, I will probably take along the second Stieg Larrson
book (The Girl who Played with Fire). The Sweetness
at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley is an entertaining mystery, a perfect choice for summer reading. The narrator,
Flavia de Luce is an eleven year old whose passion is chemistry, a knowledge which she sometimes uses to bedevil her two sisters.
Set in England in the 1950s, the book offers a temporary escape from the summer heat. I like it. In the summer, I prefer to keep it extraordinarily light. Can't
go wrong with a Crichton or Grisham thriller usually, or for something longer, several of the Micheners will do. I recently
read Caravans, and found a book that was written 40 years ago eerily prescient. I've been on a Sidney Sheldon kick lately, but
am about to read the Steig Larson books. I like light summer things. If you haven't read David Baldacci, you should. His mysteries
are sometimes conspiracy plots, but very interesting. 'The Collectors' and 'The Winner' were my favorites of his, but I haven't
read one I didn't like. I
went to Amazon to read about the book Betty mentioned (Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley) and found a delightful
interview with the author. I have downloaded the book and hope to get to it soon! (I am an eternal optimist!) I know what you mean about being
an optimist. (I am just new getting to The Art of Racing in the Rain.) My stack of "books to read" grows faster
than I can read and includes the second book in the Alan Bradley series, The Weed that Strings the Hangman's Bag, the third
book in the Portuguese Irregular Verbs series (very funny satire), The Help and several other things. The Art of Racing in the Rain.......what
a wonderful book; would like to hear comments from Anonymous and others if and when they read it. A definite Pet Lovers book! Look at the Birdie, Kurt Vonnegut
Sometimes you just do not want to start a new book, wait for pages to get to know the characters or to figure where the story
is going. Then you may have to wait for a whole lot pages to see if the author can do what they set out to do. So, I have
been reading collections of short stories this summer. Start fast, get to know the characters, think you know where the story
is going and then BAM, an ending. Good, bad or indifferent, an ending. Look at the Birdie is a set of short stories about
people who probably do not live on your street or in your neighborhood but it is true Kurt. Wonderful stores for the beach,
the bed before you go to sleep or while you are waiting for who knows whom. My sister and I must have read The Secret Garden five or six times when we were young. We
had it in the bookcase at home, and we loved it. That and The Princess and the Goblin were our favorites, I think. I also read Ford County; I had really tired of Grisham's books (they all seem
the same and predictable to me) but heard an interview with him last summer about the book and decided to give it a try. I
was pleasantly surprised! Great stories!
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I just finished Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie! What a delightful book! The precocious 11 year old girl "chemist" is quite a character! I really liked this one. The author really was clever (and humorous) in the "thought processes" that he gave to the little girl. I can't wait for the second in this series of "mysteries" to be released. I also just read The Good Pirates of the Forgotten Bayous by Ken Wells. This is a very gripping account of some of residents from the St. Bernard Parish area who survived Katrina. The author, who grew up in Houma and is now a writer for Wall Street Journal, hooks up with a fisherman when he first arrives in LA to cover the story and decides to write about their experiences. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this and was truly amazed how some of them were able to survive what they were faced with...from the very elderly to the young. A story that should be read by all.
26 Jul 10 @ 8:43 AM
Ford County by John Grisham Ever lived in a small southern town? Maybe not just a southern town, but people you might meet anywhere. You will know some or all of these people and enjoy laughing with or visiting with them. This is a set of short stories (seven) about a place many of us have known and enjoyed or escaped. Faimon Roberts
27 Jul 10 @ 6:50 AM
I just finished reading The Sweetness At the Bottom of the Pie and it was a wonderful book! Thanks Betty for mentioned it. The main character, a precocious 11 year old English girl, is one of the most loveable characters I have read about all summer! I don't know the proper description to name the technique that the writer uses but the main character's comments are just so endearing and CLEVER! I can hardly wait for the second in the series that he is writing. I also finished The Good Pirates of the Forgotten Bayous by Ken Wells. If you are not familiar with the book, it focuses on the personal account of several families in St. Bernard Parish who survived during the Hurricane Katrina. It is a remarkable book about survival.
27 Jul 10 @ 6:55 PM
I just read The Secret Garden. This was the first time that I had read it; however, when I was in the 4th grade my teacher read us one chapter each day right after lunch (she read to us every day from a book but this is the only book I remember!!!) She sat in the corner of the room in a rocking chair and we sat on the floor. I could hardly wait each day for that time to come when she was reading The Secret Garden! I could really smell the earth and the heather as she read that story to us. I loved that book then and it has always remained a favorite. I had purchased a copy a year or so ago to have to read to my grand daughter when she would be old enough to appreciate it but I decided to read it for myself last night and loved it!
30 Jul 10 @ 10:47 AM