Literary Blog Hop: Most Despised

The Literary Blog Hop takes place every other week at The Blue Bookcase.

This week's question:
Discuss a work of literary merit that you hated when you were made to read it in school or university.  Why did you dislike it?


My answer:

It's been a long time since I've had to read a book for school, but The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane immediately comes to mind as one I particularly despised.  During high school, I was selected for a summer enrichment program at nearby university and Crane's book was assigned for the literature class.

War books have never really appealed to me and, I supposed it can be traced back to my experience with The Red Badge of Courage. The only thing I recall is the Civil War setting... no plot, characters, or themes.

A vague feeling of guilt has been nagging me for years. Should I give Mr. Crane another chance?  Should I stop saying I dislike 'war books'?  Have I ever really read any war books?  A new project may be in the making...

More answers to this question can be found here.

Literary Blog Hop: Poetry

The Literary Blog Hop is hosted at The Blue Bookcase. Our question this week comes from Gary at Parrish Lantern:

What is your favorite poem and why?

Poetry intimidated me. In fact, I hadn't read poetry since my high school English classes.  That changed earlier this year when I won a copy of Poetry Speaks Who I Am from Bellezza.  Inside, I found this poem about a kitchen table:

Perhaps the World Ends Here

by Joy Harjo

The world begins at a kitchen table. No matter what, we

must eat to live.

The gifts of earth are brought and prepared, set on the table.

So it has been since creation, and it will go on.

We chase chickens or dogs away from it. Babies teethe at the

corners. They scrape their knees under it.

It is here that children are given instructions on what it

means to be human. We make men at it, we make women.

At this table we gossip, recall enemies and the ghosts of lovers.

Our dreams drink coffee with us as they put their arms

around our children. They laugh with us at our poor falling-

down selves and as we put ourselves back together once

again at the table.

This table has been a house in the rain, an umbrella

in the sun.

Wars have begun and ended at this table. It is a

place to hide in the shadow of terror. A place to

celebrate the terrible victory.

We have given birth on this table, and have prepared

our parents for burial here.

At this table we sing with joy, with sorrow. We

pray of suffering and remorse. We give thanks.

Perhaps the world will end at the kitchen table,

while we are laughing and crying, eating of the last

sweet bite.

Finally, a poem that spoke to me! "Perhaps the World Ends Here" is the poem that gave me the courage to give poetry a second chance.

Find my complete review of Poetry Speak Who I Am here.

Visit The Blue Bookcase for links to other participants.

Literary Blog Hop: Non-Fiction

It's time for another Literary Blog Hop hosted by The Blue Bookcase. If your blog features reviews of literary fiction, classic literature, or general literary discussion, then grab the button, answer the question, and hop along!


This week's question:
Is there such a thing as literary non-fiction? If so, how do you define it? Examples?

My answer:
Of course literary non-fiction exists... and I love it! Defining it, however, is difficult. My attitude tends to be 'I know it when I see it' but, if pressed for a definition, it would be one of exclusion. It's far easier to talk about what literary non-fiction is not.

Literary non-fiction, in my opinion, is the polar opposite of a textbook. It's purpose is not solely to impart fact upon fact. The writing style is not dull, dry, or boring. Instead, the topic is explored in a style worthy of the best novelists.

My favorite literary non-fiction works include:

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

by Rebecca Skloot

a favorite this year

(my review)

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down

by Anne Fadiman

an all-time favorite

The Devil in the White City

by Erik Larson

an audio favorite

In Cold Blood

by Truman Capote

a classic

My nonfiction tbr list is sure to grow over the next few days as I visit other participant's blogs. If you're not 'hopping', please share your favorite title in a comment. Reading more non-fiction is one of my goals for 2011.

Links to more posts on this topic can be found at The Blue Bookcase.

Literary Blog Hop: Hard Times?

It's time for another Literary Blog Hop hosted by The Blue Bookcase. If your blog features book reviews of literary fiction, classic literature, and general literary discussion, go ahead and answer the question, grab the button, and hop along!

This week's question:

What is the most difficult literary work you've ever read? What made it so difficult?

My most 'difficult' literary works have been read on my own (too much chemistry and not enough lit in college) and by choice.  I won't shy away from reading a 'difficult' book but, if it doesn't offer a sense of personal satisfaction or enjoyment, I won't hesitate to put it aside either.

What might make a book 'difficult' for me?  Several ideas came to mind:

• length... can be daunting, but doesn't mean difficult (Bleak House)
• long, convoluted sentences (Henry James)
• flowery, long-winded description (Dickens, again)
• historical setting where my knowledge is a little thin (Les Miserables)
• language or dialect
• obscure symbolism
• novels of 'ideas'
• magical realism
• extended passages in verse

Finally, it hit me - stream of consciousness. Novels featuring stream of consciousness have always been difficult for me to follow.  They seem to demand more from the reader.

Earlier this year, as part of Woolf in Winter, I decided to give Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf one more try.  After two previous failures, not only did I make it to the end, but I enjoyed every page! It has even given me the courage to attempt To The Lighthouse this winter.

 My thoughts on reading Mrs. Dalloway are posted here.

Visit The Blue Bookcase for links to other Literary Blog Hop posts.

Literary Blog Hop

Have you seen this?  I missed it yesterday, but The Blue Bookcase is hosting a Literary Blog Hop "open to blogs that primarily feature reviews of literary fiction, classic literature, and general literary discussion."

The prompt:  Please highlight one of your favorite books and why you would consider it "literary."

To begin, my over-simplified definition of literary means a novel that offers more than plot. A literary novel features great writing, character development, themes or ideas that cause you to think, or any number of other elements we all learned about in high school English classes.

Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner is one of my all-time favorite books.  This was his last novel, written in 1987, and comes to mind every time I hear the words "character development".

The novels follows two couples, who meet in the 1930's at a university faculty party in Wisconsin, through decades of friendship and marriage.  Larry and Sally Morgan, just starting their lives together, are thankful for the new teaching position. Larry dreams of becoming a writer and Sally is pregnant. Charity and Sid Lang seem to have it all - money, social status, and two children, with a third on the way.

The premise of the novel may not sound exciting, but the characters, and the settings, are remarkable and true.  The story of  their friendship and marriages is powerful and beautifully written.

From amazon:
"Crossing to Safety is about loyalty and survival in its most everyday form--the need to create bonds and the urge to tear them apart. Thirty-four years after their first meeting, when Larry and Sally are called back to the Langs' summer home in Vermont, it's as if for a final showdown. How has this friendship defined them? What is its legacy? Stegner offer answers in those small, perfectly rendered moments that make up lives "as quiet as these"--and as familiar as our own."

Visit The Blue Bookcase for links to all participating blogs.