Marjorie’s Comments (group member since May 27, 2024)

Marjorie’s comments from the Big Book Summer Reading Challenge 2024 group.

HollyLovesBooks wrote: "This is such a great challenge for the summer!

I have finished:
Lonesome Dove (858 pages) - see the main discussion for this fantastic book info
Matterhorn (663 pages) - telling of Vietnam War fro..."

Wow! Interesting choices. You're all over the bookstore! Brava.

Sabrina wrote: "i finished Trust by Hernan Diaz, and i really enjoyed it!! I think it'd be a great book for a buddy read if you still plan on doing that Suzan :) lots of things to discuss!
i am very impressed by t..."

Yes. it's a great companion read with "Age of Innocence" by Edith Wharton. Very intriguing book.

Sandy wrote: "I finally completed Jane Eyre today (527 pages). I gave it 4 stars. This will probably be my last big book for this year but it was fun participating and I got some books off my TBR shelf!"

Out of curiosity, why only four stars? Jane Eyre is one of my top two favorite books of all time. Les Miserables by Victor Hugo is the other.

One thing I especially love about Jane Eyre is that every time I re-read it (about every 4-5 years), I have a completely different experience. I re-read it last year and hadn't read it since about 2013 or 2014. It was as if I was reading the entire St-John Rivers section for the first time! I loved it and I've always had to force myself through it in the past. I picked up so many important things from that section during this most recent reading. And the beginning, where she is lonely and mistreated at Aunt Reed's house barely made an impressing this time and in the past, it was really impactful. I will say, I don't think film makers have really captured it quite right yet and there have been many adaptations.

Happy reading.

Starla wrote: "I finally finished Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens.

I loved it. I really enjoyed taking my time with this book and using the notes in the back of the book to help me understand and comprehend ev..."

I have read every book in the Dickens canon and they are all tremendous. I'm so glad you discovered Little Dorrit. Its a good one. My favs: Tale of Two Cities, Nicholas Nickelby and Great Expectations.

Finished Look Homeward, Angel, by Thomas Wolfe.

Extremely florid. Overuse of adverbs. At times, Wolfe experiments and will change POV or step out of character. At times, language is incredibly poetic. At times, the descriptions are magnificent. But nothing is consistent except that he needed a strong editor throughout. Essentially a dysfunctional family saga in a literary fiction style. A highly autobiographical story portraying the fictional "Gant" family in the fictional town Altamont. Eugene Gant is essentially Thomas Wolfe growing up in Asheville NC. The setting are the beautiful NC mountains in the teens and 1920s. Flu and TB are real threats, as is the drumbeat of war. There are small actions that are constantly unfolding but there is no crescendo of dramatic conflict. In that sense, it is very literary fiction. Blatant and hard-to-stomach racism and antisemitism. What Wolfe does well (other than fill pages with words)? He captures how dysfunctional people relate to one another. How narcissists interact with those around them. How love manifests among these types of characters. Its obvious he lived it.

Audrey wrote: "Marjorie wrote: "Are you from North Carolina? I'm a writer who recently moved to NC from NY. I felt like it was important I read Thomas Wolfe. I love the vivid characters and scene. I love detail a..."

I love that your library introduced you to Thomas Wolfe. His mother's home and boarding house is a museum one can tour in Asheville, NC. I haven't visited it yet but I will. Asheville is a big city now, not some mountain burg as you might imagine it. Its got highrises, and block after block after block of businesses. Unlike the piedmont, Asheville and most of the NC mountains have a historically creative vibe. If you have the chance to read about Black Mountain College (no longer in existence) you'll see one of the major influences. But there are many other funky art schools and retreats in the Blue Ridge and Smoky mountains of NC. Eastern TN State College in Johnson City TN has an Appalachian Music program where one can study bluegrass! I hope you can make a trip down one day and visit. There is a decent sized airport in Asheville.

Still Life is on my TBR, too. The main protagonist of the novel I have written and am now editing, is a British man in his early 60s in 1980s London who fought in Italy during WWII. I need comps for my story in order to attempt traditional publishing. Mine is not specifically a love story but I think Still Life might have enough similarities that I should read it. Thanks for the reminder--enjoy it.

PS What are you reading for Big Book Summer?

Are you from North Carolina? I'm a writer who recently moved to NC from NY. I felt like it was important I read Thomas Wolfe. I love the vivid characters and scene. I love detail and description but man, he's a bit heavy-handed with his adverbs! Still, the storytelling is excellent so far. About 1/3 in. I'll let you know how it goes.

Sandy wrote: "Going to start reading Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte today (527 pages)"

This is one of my two all time favorite books. The way Bronte writes is exquisite. I also love how the book has sections, some you'll love more than others. But as you re-read the book, the sections will become more or less interesting to you. I envy you your first reading. Such a beautiful book.

Hurray. I'm one chapter in to my first Big Book Summer Read, Look Homeward, Angel, by Thomas Wolfe. Its gorgeous writing, but get ready for the adverbs! Loads of them. Modern writers eschew adverbs in order to meet their word count requirements. I do wonder how all these 21st century authors got 400+ pages past their publishers. But thats a question for another day. Happy reading.

"JulieG_Quebec wrote: "I’m currently reading Les Misérables! 📖":

I LOVED Les Miserables, the novel. I've tried to watch the film, based off the musical. Its so overdone, I can't bear it. But the book is absolutely incredible. When Hugo gets on his soapbox, don't tune him out. You'll need to hear what he says about the politics to understand the plot. Also slog through the sewer and Waterloo. Hugo drags those sections out for effect. Such a magnificent book. I envy you. I can never read it for the first time again. Profitez-bien!

Kristin wrote: "I have a long list I want to read including several I have started and not finished yet.

Eve by Cat Bohannon (NF)
Washington by Ron Chernow (NF)
Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott
Capital Dames by Cokie ..."

Kristin-
Regarding Cokie Roberts memoir on your list, I read, "Susan, Linda, Nina & Cokie: The Extraordinary Story of the Founding Mothers of NPR" by Lisa Napoli. It is not a "Big Book" but it is a good profile of four true trail blazers, who I did not know nearly enough. I'm really glad I read it. So if you want to know more about Cokie before or after reading her memoir, here's another one for you.

Absolutely. I moved to NC in 2021. Look Homeward,Angel is required reading.

The two I feel pretty sure I'll get through are: Marjorie Morningstar (H Wouk) and Look Homeward, Angel (T Wolfe). If I read only these two, I will be delighted.

Also in the queue probably for future challenges or for YOUR benefit, in no particular order:
Portrait of a Lady (H James),
JD Salinger: A Life (K Slawenski),
The Warmth of Other Suns: America’s Great Migration (I Wilkerson),
Four Hundred & Forty Steps to the Sea (S Alexander),
All the President’s Men (C Bernstein),
Shirley (C Bronte),
Christodoro (T Murphy),
The Goldfinch, (D Tartt),
The Love Songs of WEB Debois (H F Jeffers),
Chasing Beauty (N Dykstra),
Esther Waters (G Moore),
The Moonstone (W Collins),
Cuddy (B Myers),
The Way We Live Now (A Trollope),
Daniel Deronda (G Eliot),
Catherine de Medici: Renaissance Queen of France (L Frieda), and
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (A Bronte).

Oh, I forgot that one. Adding it to my long list of possibilities. Thank you (I think.) Enjoy. I hear its amazing.

I'm in. Its a great idea. Topping my possibilities is: Look Homeward, Angel (Thomas Wolfe) and Marjorie Morningstar (Herman Wouk), but I have several others too.