books – Page 12 – Sally Allen

February 26, 2016May 30, 2017

On reading Nick Hornby’s The Polysyllabic Spree

I’ve been trying, unsuccessfully, to figure out which Gilmore Girls episode features The Polysyllabic Spree, Nick Hornby’s delightful collection of book pieces.

Music by The Polyphonic Spree is featured in “Say Goodbye to Daisy Miller” (season 5, episode 1), but I have yet to find a reference to Hornby’s book. Was its inclusion on the official Gilmore Girls reading list a mistake, or does the book appear without a verbal reference? I dunno, but if you do, you are cordially invited to enlighten me.

In the meantime … whatever. The Polysyllabic Spree is on the list, and I embrace any opportunity to (re)read Nick Hornby. Continue reading “On reading Nick Hornby’s The Polysyllabic Spree”

February 24, 2016May 30, 2017

10 times Because of Winn-Dixie moved me

It’s a curious exercise, thinking about why something moved you. Reading Kate DiCamillo’s Because of Winn-Dixie* last weekend, I wondered, Why can’t I stop the water from leaking out of my eyes?! (Something that also tends to happen when I read Brian Selznick’s books!) It wasn’t just during the sad bits, either. It was non-stop waterworks and sniffling and nose blowing. Sounds attractive, eh? Continue reading “10 times Because of Winn-Dixie moved me”

February 21, 2016May 30, 2017

Do spoilers really spoil a reading experience?

Do spoilers ruin a reading experience or just change it? Does knowing what’s coming in a story put one off reading it?

Thinking about these questions reminds me of something one of my favorite professors once said. It was during a Jane Austen seminar, and we were discussing Austen’s endings. “Reading a Jane Austen novel is like listening to a Mozart sonata,” he said. “You know where it’s going. The fun is in getting there.” His obvious point was that knowing the outcome doesn’t spoil the experience of reading her.

On that note, let’s begin with… Continue reading “Do spoilers really spoil a reading experience?”

February 19, 2016May 30, 2017

Thank you for To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee

Tributes have been pouring in for Harper Lee, who has died at the age of 89. I hope she will always be remembered for penning To Kill a Mockingbird, a great American novel if ever there was one.

For me, the soul of To Kill a Mockingbird is Atticus, who showed us what empathy for all human beings, regardless of whether we agree with, like, or identify with them, looks like. Atticus represents the ideal of American justice, meaning equal treatment under the law for all. This doesn’t mean we all need to be exactly the same or live exactly the same way or believe exactly the same things. For Atticus (and how beautiful if for all of us) it does mean having one standard of treatment grounded in respect, love, and belief that all human lives are of equal value.

This is, I believe, the ultimate American ideal. Continue reading “Thank you for To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee”

February 18, 2016May 30, 2017

Hallelujah! I finally discovered audiobooks I love!

If I seem unduly excited about audiobooks, it’s been a long road: I’ve been trying to get into them for three years. This is because reading is my favorite pastime, but I also need to exercise. Or so they tell me.

Ergo: Listen to audiobooks while exercising. A match made in heaven! Except …

I like to go at my own pace. I hear something I want to pause and think on, but the narrator keeps yammering on. Plot points are missed. Confusion abounds. Crankiness ensues.

But I was determined! Because cardiovascular health. Continue reading “Hallelujah! I finally discovered audiobooks I love!”

February 16, 2016May 30, 2017

#BBAW: 5 books that inspired me to do and be better

Today I feel inspired by The Estella Society’s Book Blogger Appreciation Week, going on Feb. 15 – 19. The day one challenge: “Introduce yourself by telling us about five books that represent you as a person or your interests/lifestyle.”

I love this because it feels so impossible. At first, I couldn’t think of any books and then I couldn’t narrow down the list. In the end, I picked five whose characters and stories have inspired me to do and be better, in some way. In my heart of hearts, I’d like these books to represent me as a person, but I’m happy for them to represent what I aspire to live up to and be. Continue reading “#BBAW: 5 books that inspired me to do and be better”

February 9, 2016May 30, 2017

Why are people lying about the books they’ve read?

Years ago at a party, one of my cousins introduced me to a schoolmate of his with the description, “She’s studying English Literature.”

“Really?” the friend asked (slyly, I thought). “Have you heard of the book Gobbledy Gook“?

I told him (haughtily, I hoped) that no, in fact, I’d never heard of Gobbledy Gook. That’s when he laid some truth on me: the book didn’t exist. He’d made up the title, apparently to test whether I was legit. At the time, I thought it was kind of a douche move, but maybe he had a point.

Lying about books is apparently a thing. Continue reading “Why are people lying about the books they’ve read?”

February 4, 2016May 30, 2017

3 ways reading Edith Wharton is like a dementor attack

If you’ve spent time reading Edith Wharton, amiright?

Full disclosure: I haven’t read Wharton’s most well known novels, The Age of Innocence and The House of Mirth. I think I was assigned the former, at some point, and the latter, well, I’m guessing there’s little actual mirth involved.

My experience of Wharton is limited to Ethan Frome, Tales of Men and Ghosts, and the short story “Roman Fever.” Each is so shudder inducing in its own way that I’m a bit wary of tackling one of her longer works. Though her writing is so beautiful. I don’t know. I’m torn. Continue reading “3 ways reading Edith Wharton is like a dementor attack”

February 3, 2016May 30, 2017

5 New Books to Look for in February

New month, new books! In the interest of pursuing my 2016 reading challenge to read the books I own, I’m restricting new purchases. I’m only buying books I’ll read in the near future. Or (*clears throat*) trying to, anyway. (January results were slightly less than stellar.)

Still, that doesn’t mean I can’t keep a running list of books to read in the unspecified future. And if I share said list with you, maybe you’ll read one (or three or all – whatever works!)? And tell me which I should move up to the top of my list? Continue reading “5 New Books to Look for in February”

February 2, 2016May 30, 2017

“Groundhog Day” as Expressed by 7 Revered Writers

Groundhog Day makes for a festive mid-winter distraction, when it’s not going horribly wrong. But it’s not exactly the stuff around which writers have penned great books. It does, however, provide the backdrop for one of my favorite films, “Groundhog Day” starring Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell.

Murray plays self-absorbed Phil Connors who is grudgingly sent to Punxsutawney, PA to cover the goings on of a certain groundhog (with whom he shares a name). MacDowell is his loveable and sweet-natured news producer. Grumpy and derisive of everything around him, Phil can’t wait to leave Punxsutawney. But after a blizzard grounds him, he gets trapped in a time loop, reliving the same despised day over and over and over… and over … until he learns the lesson he’s meant to absorb. Which is a little something like what the following authors have touched on in their work. Continue reading ““Groundhog Day” as Expressed by 7 Revered Writers”