Pam Webb

a writer's journey as a reader

Archive for the category “Books”

23 Feb 2013
18 Comments

Gently Persuaded


Raise your hand if you prefer Pride and Prejudice.

All right, now raise your hand for Emma.

How about Sense and Sensibility?

Mansfield Park? Okay.

Northhanger Abbey? Just asking.

And the rest of you? It’s got to be for Persuasion–right?

Well, Jane only wrote six novels; it’s got to be for one of them.

Hmm, I shall gently try to persuade you to cast your Austen vote for Persuasion.

Reason 1:

  • Pride and Prejudice gets much too much attention.  Jane has six literary children and P&P will become unbearably too spoiled with so much fuss. Look at all the celebratory brouhaha over the publishing of the novel! Goodness…

Reason 2:

  • Anne and Frederick don’t have to go through that messy “love me, love me not” business found in JA’s other plots; they already love each other.  Getting to the point where they re-realize it makes it so much more satisfying than the on/off dilemma.

Reason 3:

  • Persuasion has THE best love letter.  Here is a partial:

“I must go, uncertain of my fate; but I shall return hither, or follow your party, as soon as possible. A word, a look, will be enough to decide whether I enter your father’s house this evening or never.” 

Who could not met upon receiving this as an encouragement?

Reason 4:

  • Anne and Frederick are older and have been knocked around a bit in life and more truly represent the reality that love’s course is not perfect. In other words: their love is more relatable than the fairy-talish idea of sitting around and waiting for Mr or Ms Right to pop along when least expected (okay–Emma had a bit of that going on).

Reason 5:

  • the 1995 version with Ciaran Hinds and Amanda Root captures well the complicated tango of emotions these two separated lovers endure as they find their way back into each other’s hearts and arms.  Amanda Root’s transformation from wilted and worn down spinister-in-the-making to resolute refreshed woman is transfixing.

True love lingers and is not forgotten

So, five amazing reasons why Persuasion should become THE Jane Austen first mentioned in her stable of renowned novels.

Have I persuaded you?

English: Persuasion(ch. 9) Jane Austen: In ano...

English: Persuasion(ch. 9) Jane Austen: In another moment … someone was taking him from her. Français : Persuasion(ch. 9) Frederick libère Anne de son jeune neveu, qui l’étouffe. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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The Pride and Prejudice Bicentenary Challenge 2013

Posted in Books, Literature, reflections, reviews and tagged , , , , , , , ,
20 Feb 2013
11 Comments

Egads, Those Cads of Literature


You know who they are.  Those bad boys who jilt the girl, cheat the honest friend, and play havoc with the plot.  They are the cads of literature.  Having finished Jane Austen’s Persuasion I have added Mr. Elliot to the list.  His subterfuge was most deplorable.  Then again, I do adore how she swiftly cast him aside for someone much more worthy of her devotion.  My favorite heroines have done just that–put those cads in their place.  Since I am on a Jane Austen revisiting read here are some cads that live in her books:

Henry Crawford (Mansfield Park)–I detected cad from the very start

Frank Churchill (Emma)–what a naughty game you played with so many hearts

Oh, Willoughby (Sense and Sensibility)–we wanted so much to like you

Elliot (Persuasion)–did you really think you could turn Anne’s head or her heart away from Wentworth?

Tsk tsk, Wickham (Pride and Prejudice)–your charm could not cover your secret faults

 

As to Northhanger Abbey, I haven’t decided who the cad truly is.  It’s up on my list to review.  As to other literary cads–any nominees?  Rhett Butler comes to mind, but then was he a cad or simply a foil for Scarlett?

Happy reading!

English: Engraving of Steventon rectory, home ...

English: Engraving of Steventon rectory, home of the Austen family during much of Jane Austen’s lifetime (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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Posted in Books, Literature, Movies, reflections, Uncategorized and tagged , , , , , , , ,
15 Feb 2013
3 Comments

#9: Poems to Know and Grow On


It’s been too long since I paid attention to my Musings of a Voracious Reader list.  Tidying up my files I discovered entry #9: Poems to Know and Grow On and it seems quite appropriate as a post-Valentine’s Day post, since poetry is the food of love (right next to chocolate).

As I teach poetry, especially as I prepare my AP students for their exams in May, I am reading more and more poets and poetry.  This is a good thing.  In fact, I am now taking on what I have deemed as the “Emily Project” which is discovering Emily Dickinson.  Understanding her would be another project in itself.

As I teach, read, and study poems I have gathered a few along the way.  I dearly wish I had a better knack for memorization because I would like to pull out a poem for any occasion and dazzle, delight, and demonstrate the power of poetry to any willing listener. I love it when that moment arrives in a movie when one character starts a poem and another finishes it.  Remember Willoughby and Marianne from Sense and Sensibility? *sigh*

This is simply a sprinkling of poems I have deemed worth knowing and to grow on:

1. My First Memory (of Librarians) by Nikki Giovanni–a Book Booster’s banner poem of delight

2. Harlem (A Dream Deferred) by Langston Hughes–his imagery is enviable

3.Introduction to Poetry by Billy Collins–enjoy poetry, don’t tie it to a chair and beat a confession out of it (love this)

4. Hope Is A Thing With Feathers by Emily Dickinson–hope wings its way into our hearts

5. The Road Not Takenby Robert Frost–almost clichéd by its overuse, it’s still a powerful statement about making choices

6. The Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll–delightfully fun for any age

7. This Is Just To Say by William Carlos Williams–after I discovered this was actually a note to his wife I embraced the poem even more

8. The Tyger by William Blake–imagine seeing a tiger for the first time; how can something so exquisitely beautiful be also so incredibly deadly?

9. One Art by Elizabeth Bishop–the more I read Bishop the more I realize what talent she has for capturing life’s moments

10.I Hear America Singing by Walt Whitman–“a sweaty-toothed madmen” claimed Todd from Dead Poets Society, when asked what he thought of Uncle Walt; Whitman is clearly underrated (check out the Poem Flow when you hit the link or better yet check out this YouTube)

11. Sonnet 130 by William Shakespeare–the Bard employs his wit whilst he poketh funneth at the syrupy nature of sonnets

12. We Real Cool by Gwendolyn Brooks–no matter the era, youth’s self-destruction prevails

13. Fog by Carl Sandburg–its simplicity speaks volumes

14. The Daffodils by William Wordsworth–my heart gladdens of spring’s promise as the daffodils lift their golden heads above winter’s chilly grasp

And there are  fourteen poems, a drop of verses in the deep well of that which stirs the soul, as a nod to Valentine’s Day and the tradition of sweet rhymes, chocolate, and roses.

One last poem to know and grow on, not necessarily my favorite, but definitely memorable.  True love is memorable, as Poe so deftly renders in this tribute to his lost love. This one usually makes my ninth grade students pause, which is one reason I refer to it.

Annabel Lee
by Edgar Allan Poe 
It was many and many a year ago,
   In a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you may know
   By the name of Annabel Lee;
And this maiden she lived with no other thought
   Than to love and be loved by me.

I was a child and she was a child,
   In this kingdom by the sea:
But we loved with a love that was more than love--
   I and my Annabel Lee;
With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven
   Coveted her and me.

And this was the reason that, long ago,
   In this kingdom by the sea,
A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling
   My beautiful Annabel Lee;
So that her highborn kinsman came
   And bore her away from me,
To shut her up in a sepulchre
   In this kingdom by the sea.

The angels, not half so happy in heaven,
   Went envying her and me--
Yes!--that was the reason (as all men know,
   In this kingdom by the sea)
That the wind came out of the cloud by night,
   Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.

But our love it was stronger by far than the love
   Of those who were older than we--
   Of many far wiser than we--
And neither the angels in heaven above,
   Nor the demons down under the sea,
Can ever dissever my soul from the soul
   Of the beautiful Annabel Lee:

For the moon never beams, without bringing me dreams
   Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And the stars never rise, but I feel the bright eyes
   Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side
Of my darling--my darling--my life and my bride,
   In her sepulchre there by the sea,
   In her tomb by the sounding sea.

Virginia Poe watercolor painted after her deat...

Virginia Poe watercolor painted after her death in 1847. From eapoe.org Category:Edgar Allan Poe (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
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Posted in America, creativity, Poetry, Reading, Uncategorized, Writing and tagged , , , , ,
11 Feb 2013
2 Comments

The Little Write Lies We Tell


I think the best writing advice I have taken to heart lately comes from one of my latest reads, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith.  Francie, the protagonist, is a girl of poverty and determination. She begins writing stories that please her teacher, ones that are about butterflies and happiness, receiving praise and the coveted “A” grade mark.  She then switches to tell life how it really is, the heartache of tenement living, and this alienates her teacher.  Fortunately, her teacher sees the struggle Francie is faced with: the write truth does not mean the right truth.

Here is the advice she gives Francie:

“You know, Francie, a lot of people would think that these stories that you’re making up all the time were terrible lies because they are not the truth as people see the truth.  In the future, when something comes up, you tell exactly how it happened but write down for yourself the way you think it should have happened. Tell the truth and write the story. Then you won’t get mixed up.”

 

Another author who swerves  from truthtelling into storytelling is Tim O’Brien, well known for his The Things They Carried.  I found a fascinating article from the United States Naval Academy, of all places, in which there is discussion concerning future military leaders and their discernment of what is truth.  The article relates this need of truth in leaders with a literary course with O’Brien’s novel as the text: (highlights are mine)

Fiction proves the golden means between absolute truth and absolute dream. It is impossible to ascertain the absolute truth of an experience, but it is nevertheless critical that one try to ascertain the multiple truths, to be “in uncertainties, Mysteries, doubts, without any irritable reaching after fact & reason,” and this challenge marks the human condition. Fiction is neither counter to nor identical with the truth, though given the exigencies of war, fiction often provides the best approximation of reality; as O’Brien writes in “How to Tell a True War Story,” “In war you lose your sense of the definite, hence your sense of truth itself, and therefore it’s safe to say that in a true war story nothing is ever absolutely true” (TTTC, 82). O’Brien claims that “My role is not to solve mysteries, but to expand them… To ultimately make readers think of their lives in terms of ambiguity. It’s the human condition and we’re uncertain about almost everything” (Hicks, 89-90). The storyteller takes the facts of experience and embellishes or even alters them in order to get at a closer experience of truth; O’Brien finds in fiction the possibility of expressing “that surreal seemingness, which makes the story seem untrue, but which in fact represents the hard and exact truth as it seemed” (TTTC, 71). Thus, the capacity to tell a story, to make a factual account that leaves out the subjective experience into a fictional but seemingly more truthful account, is essential to understanding the experience of war for all involved and to beginning the long process of recovering from its damages and of correcting its failures.

A US Serviceman reading an Armed Services Edit...

A US Serviceman reading an Armed Services Edition of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

Tell the truth. Write the story.

Anyone know if a poster of this ideal exists out there?  It would go well on my office wall.

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Posted in Blogging, Books, creativity, Literature, Reading, Teachers, writers, Writing and tagged
09 Feb 2013
3 Comments

The Library Times Are Changing


Bob Dylan could very well be singing the theme song for today’s library.

image: travelgoat.com

Are you old enough to remember when libraries only contained books?  I can’t remember back exactly when I noticed that the library went into BB  [beyond books] mode, and I am not sure if it’s a problem or not.

Long time ago when I worked in a middling sized library we held off on offering VHS movies for check out.  Yes, that was a long time ago, wasn’t it?  Our director deliberated for nearly six months whether or not we would incorporate them into our collection because, after all, the library is all about reading, isn’t it?

Counter arguments included: Well then, what about the cassettes we offer?  Not all are  audio books, many are music.

Hmm, that is a good point.

Long story short is VHS movies moved in on the shelves and *Surprise!*–people kept checking out books. People aren’t going to stop reading books.  Even when given options. Yes, I do believe this

As much as I would like to be a purist and spout: Books Only! I realized today’s libraries, like any smart enterprise, has learned to diversify in order to serve the changing public needs and tastes.

Go into any library today and you will find computer labs, video games, DVD collections, and other options among the shelves.  It hasn’t gone so far as this one cartoon portrays though:

I admittedly check out DVDs, audio books, music, magazines, and even video games (for others I know).  Of course, I rarely leave without at least one book in my bag.

Are the times a-changing too drastically? I figure the library is a reflection of current society.  Right now we are currently into media which translates into both entertainment and information. The library folk are savvy enough to know it’s best to provide in order to survive.

So, Bob D–sing through those lyrics one more time, wouldja?

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Posted in Books, Libraries, reflections, technology, Uncategorized and tagged , , , ,
08 Feb 2013
1 Comment

Loving, Living, and Liebstering


I am always glad to turn the calendar page to February for several reasons.  First all, once January is past I begin to rally and anticipate spring, which, of course is next month, and spring leads into summer.  Secondly, there’s Valentine’s Day, and although I’m not real keen on a forced holiday I do like that it’s about love, appreciation, and chocolate.  Plus, it’s fun to see all those cute red and pink heart decorations when shopping (and there are no annoying overdone Christmas songs blasting all over).

So with my happy dance getting underway it was pleasant to open my blog notification up to see http://artsandyouthlove.wordpress.com/ had nominated me for the Liebster Award.  Lovely!  Thank you!!

The rules of the Liebster Award are as follows :

1. Thank your Liebster Blog Award presenter on your blog and link back to the blogger who presented this award to you.

2. Answer the 11 questions from the nominator, list 11 random facts about yourself and create 11 questions for your nominees.

3. Present the Liebster Blog Award to 11 blogs of 200 followers or less who you feel deserve to be noticed and leave a comment on their blog letting them know they have been chosen. (No tag backs)

4. Copy and Paste the blog award on your blog

Questions Answered:

  1. Do you like answering random questions? If given time to think about the answer, I’m okay with it.
  2. If you could meet anyone, who would it be? Living? Meryl Streep or Bobby McFarrin Past? Helen Keller
  3. If you could change your talent for another talent, what would it be? Hmm, I really like writing, and as much I would like to become a world-renowned juggler I will stick to writing, thanks anyway for the wish wand
  4. Do you listen to more than one genre of music? Absolutely!  I’m open to pretty much everything that doesnt’ involve screaming lyrics or screaming guitars. Not too fond of opera or country music though.
  5. What’s your favorite junk food? Is dark chocolate junk food?
  6. Do you watch tv? Blech!!!!!
  7. How do you feel about Valentine’s Day? Hallmark induced sentimentality.  Everyday is a day to express love and appreciation to people.
  8. What is your favorite movie genre? Old black and white comedies, especially Katherine Hepburns, Gary Coopers, Cary Grants.  Don’t mind a good old John Wayne western now and then.
  9. What is your favorite season? Summer 🙂
  10. Do you find it hard to create and answer random questions? Not really, but is this really a question?
  11. How’s your week going? It’s Friday.  Nice….

Elevensies for the next batch of nominees:

1.  It’s 2pm on a sunny Saturday–where are you and what are you doing?

2.  Given the choice of reading a classic novel or the latest bestseller which do you prefer?

3.  Could you work in a job without a window?

4. How do you celebrate the first day of vacation?

5.  Who is your favorite poet?

6.  Do you think technology is affecting they way we converse with one another?

7.  Here’s the magic wand–what’s your wish?

8.  What country would you visit if you won the sweepstakes?

9.  Which pet do you prefer–traditional (dog) or exotic (hedgehog)?

10.  How many blogs do you read during the week?

11.  What do you think of blog awards?

Here are my nominees (and if you are over 200 followers because I couldn’t find your follower indicator, you are still wonderfully worthy of Liebster Blogging Kudos) and I went with reading/writing-themed blogs this time:

1.http://angelagodbout.wordpress.com/

2. http://wetinkpresspublishing.com/

3.http://alibilibrary.com/

4. http://joanngrasso.wordpress.com/

5. http://lazycoffees.wordpress.com/

6. http://runnerwithwords.wordpress.com/

7. http://redpeffer.me/

8. http://literaryman.com/

9. http://ctwesting.com/

10. http://jenniferkblog.wordpress.com/

11. http://befferkins.wordpress.com/

As for the stuff about me…eh, I’ll pass for now. The sun is out after a long absence and it’s time to walk around the block for a dose of vitamin D.

Happy Pages!

Posted in Awards, Blogging, creativity, Uncategorized, Writing and tagged ,
06 Feb 2013
6 Comments

Have You Heard the Latest One About the Library?


I learned from a blogger that Saturday February 9th is National Library Appreciation Day.  Very much excited about this new and most needed celebration I quickly Googled the event only to discover it is a UK holiday–not a USA one.  At least not yet.

However, while researching I happened upon some incredibly funny cartoons about libraries.  Hope you chuckle, giggle, laugh, and enjoy as much as I did.

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Posted in Libraries, Reading and tagged , ,
02 Feb 2013
4 Comments

Literary Library Love Posts


Oh my I love libraries.  Even when I am on vacation I go visit the library.  Some people hit the shops, others browse the galleries, most play, but I go check out the library.  I am so fortunate to have the library that I do.  Have I mentioned this before?

  • image from hofstra.edu

I am not the only one who has a real life love affair with libraries.  I know some great characters who love their libraries as well.  I came across this love letter to a library the other day:

The library was a little old shabby place.  Francie thought it was beautiful.  The feeling she had about it was as good as the feeling she had about church.  She pushed open the door and went in. She liked the combined smell of worn leather bindings, library paste and freshly inked stamping pads better than she liked the smell of burning incense at high mass.
                                             –beginning of chapter two from A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

Francie Nolan loved libraries.  The librarian wasn’t the greatest, but Francie persevered her weekly visits because  Francie had long ago dedicated every Saturday as her library day in order to work her way through all the collection, even though she usually ended up reading the same book.

What an amazing undertaking!  To walk into the local library and take down a book, read it, and move on to the next one until all is read.  A lifetime of literary adventure.

There are other literary library mentions.  For instance, Elizabeth Bennett comments about Mr. Bingely’s library, how fine she hears it is, and then he sheepishly admits he doesn’t read much, being he would rather be outside.  Lizzie’s father, Mr. Bennett, is well-known for hiding in his library.  They sadly are the only Bennetts who bothered with books. In fact, most of Austen’s books have a mention of libraries.  Emma’s father usually hid out in his library, avoiding the world. I’m pretty sure JA would be registered on my Book Boosters page had WordPress been around in her day.

What about you?  What aspects of the library do you love?

  • Is it the sheer volume of knowledge available at your fingertips?
  • What about the amazing amount of FREE reading waiting to jump into your book bag?
  • Are there special librarians or staff who make you feel welcome? (I think Francie’s librarian was an anomaly–all the librarians I have known have been absolutely wonderful)
  • Does the library have a special place where you sit and read or work?

I’m also interested if you have come across libraries mentioned in the books you have read or are reading.

Happy Pages!

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Posted in Books, Libraries, Literature, Reading, Uncategorized, writers and tagged , , ,
31 Jan 2013
3 Comments

Mean Girls Go South


Mean girls.  They make our lives miserable if we end up on the wrong end of their like-you-meter.

I’m not much for mean girl novels or movies because I watch to reach out and smack the snottiness right out of them.  The other night I wanted to smack Fanny Dashwood from Sense and Sensibility–that goes ditto for Edward’s mother.  Remember Bingley’s two sisters and Lady Catherine Pride and Prejudice? They needed a good smacking as well. Jane Austen definitely knew how to get her mean girl quota into her plots.

JA, we all know, is celebrating her 200th anniversary of Pride and Prejudice, but she’s not who I’m writing about. I’m letting Vera handle that, if you are interested.

This post is about a grab-off-the-shelf-new-to-me read:

The Ladies Auxiliary (Ballantine Reader's Circle)

From Amazon.com

When free-spirited Batsheva moves into the close-knit Orthodox community of Memphis, Tennessee, the already precarious relationship between the Ladies Auxiliary and their teenage daughters is shaken to the core. In this extraordinary novel, Tova Mirvis takes us into the fascinating and insular world of the Memphis Orthodox Jews, one ripe with tradition and contradiction. Warm and wise, enchanting and funny, The Ladies Auxiliary brilliantly illuminates the timeless struggle between mothers and daughters, family and self, religious freedom and personal revelation, honoring the past and facing the future. An unforgettable story of uncommon atmosphere, profound insight, and winning humor, The Ladies Auxiliary is a triumphant work of fiction.

Okay, it’s all that.  What I found fascinating was the use of the omniscient narrator voice which came out in plural, like a group of women (a Southern Greek chorus?)was constantly in on the action. It seemed almost voyeuristic, but not really, because after all these are nice Orthodox ladies of the South, y’all. And Bless Their Hearts, they wouldn’t trash anybody.  Just wouldn’t be ladylike.  If you know what I mean.

Before I knew what had happened I found myself much involved in a mean girl novel.  I couldn’t quit it because I was rooting for Batsheva.  I needed to know how she would win all those Memphis ladies over again.  Also, in the back of my mind I realized the reason I liked The Ladies Auxiliary so much is because it reminded me of Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli.

image: amazon.com

I have to admit I liked Stargirl much better simply because the ending had a stronger, more satisfying ending. Stargirl absolutely triumphed over the mean girl in her life and won everyone over once again.  Now that’s a happy ending.

Mean girl literature–who is the mean girl who makes your teeth grit when she appears in the plot?

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Posted in Books, reviews, writers and tagged , , , ,
29 Jan 2013
18 Comments

Those Tough Lit Chicks


I can’t resist those tough chicks of our favorite classic lit reads.

What are the qualifications for a tough chick of lit? Well, how about capable, quick of wit, common sense, a set of skills, determination, fudging the lines of feminine acceptability for the time period, and not necessarily physically a beauty contestant in looks but going for lots of personality?

Here is a grocery list of chicks of lit likables: (all images from GoodReads)

Pippi Longstocking

Scout Finch

To Kill a Mockingbird

Jo March

Little Women

Laura Ingalls

Little House on the Prairie (Little House, #2)

Jane Eyre

Jane Eyre

Elizabeth Bennett

Pride and Prejudice

Janie Crawford

Their Eyes Were Watching God

Shakespeare’s Beatrice and Kate

Much Ado About NothingThe Taming of the Shrew

Lucy Honeychurch

A Room with a View / Howards End

Thursday Next

The Eyre Affair (Thursday Next #1)

Katniss Everdeen

The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games #1)

The Heart is a Lonely Hunter

Mick Kelly

Francie Nolan

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

That’s just a start. I’m working on round two. Any nominations? Who is on your list for literature’s tough chicks?

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Posted in Books, Literature, Reading, reviews, Uncategorized, writers and tagged , , , , ,

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