The Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge discussion

January and the first book of 2021 is...Franny and Zooey. Stephanie is the discussion leader for this book so watch for her post!

I have to admit right off the bat Im not a huge Salinger fan. This is the third book Ive read of his and it is my favorite, but I felt there should have been more to it. I read it last month and Im excited to get to talk about it. Is this your first time reading it? Reading works of JD Salinger?

I agree with you, Stephanie. The only Salinger book I've read is The Catcher in the Rye, but I just wasn't impressed. My husband continues to rave about it and how it's one of his favorite books but for me, it was so... rambly. I'm crossing my fingers that I enjoy this one and look forward to discussing it with the group!

I actually am not a Salinger fan. I've tried....it just didn't work. So I will try this one, maybe I'm reading the wrong Salinger book.

I haven’t got a lot of time to read this month but if I can get it in time I will join reading this book. I loved the catcher in the rye and I loved the ramblings. Laughed out loud and also felt his loneliness and pain. But I totally see how it’s one of those either love or hate books (the catcher in the rye, I don’t know this one)

Helene wrote: "I haven’t got a lot of time to read this month but if I can get it in time I will join reading this book. I loved the catcher in the rye and I loved the ramblings. Laughed out loud and also felt hi..."

I definitely think it's me and not Salinger, haha. Perhaps I have a hard time with books narrated from a teen's perspective. I had the same issue with The Perks of Being a Wallflower.

Rosa, yes it is a special style of writing he has. I like that style a lot but I can see why it isn’t for everyone. I wonder how this book is like. I don’t even know what it’s about, just that it’s on the Rory Gilmore list 😂 should be interesting to see if it’s in the same style at all. I literally know nothing about it. My library said they hope to get it for me within a week so I hope to start it then. Have any of you got copies already?

I'm going to see if I can get a paper copy from my nearest library today because the wait for the e-book is 6 weeks! Looks like it might be a popular read! I don't know what it's about either, Helene :)

ooh i’ve been meaning to read this for a while! i’ll try to pick it up.

It’s fun that there is more people joining this now 😊

Rosa I am on the waiting list for this too so it seems either to be very popular or there isn’t many copies of it? I could probably get it quicker in Norwegian but I prefer the original if possible. Feel like so much get lost in translation.

I don’t know what to expect with this book but it just became available from my library so.....excited to start it and we’ll see.

I love Salinger and I've been meaning to read this book for years now, so I'm really excited about it :)

I just started reading and like that there's a Lane character and Yale. Is that why it was in GG?

Did not make that connection but love your theory!!!

I am not into Salinger as a person. He was a creepy old dude who liked young girls, but as a writer he was iconic. His Glass family stories are classic. He holed himself in a bunker behind his family home isolated from everyone and wrote about the Glass family with many similar themes of anti-phoniness and loss of innocence as Catcher. He came back from WW2 really disillusioned. I have read Franny and Zooey a few times and enjoyed it. Look forward to your discussion.

I also didn’t make the connect about Lane and Yale. I have just started this book and I find I really enjoy Salingers writing. The way the sentences are built and the rambling thoughts are fun to read. I wonder about the green book Franny carries around though. How much of an impact it’s made on her to keep it with her even past the date she was supposed to take it back to the library. Interested to see where this takes us.

I just finished it yesterday :) Really, really good :))

I'm reading now so I'll leave a quote I enjoyed here:

"I'm sick of not having the courage to be an absolute nobody."

I just finished it and found I enjoyed it. Not as much as the catcher but gave it 4 stars. I’d love to discuss more here when people have finished reading it to hear your thoughts to it. I am not religious but I have a sister who went through a religious crisis at about 18 years old, not as severe as Franny but tough enough on a 18 year old girl. I found Zooey and Frannys relationship very interesting. His method of helping her and also how Seymour still guided them even after his death they remembered his “wise words” about the fat lady. Anyway I’d love to hear what the rest of you think to this one.

Personally I thought there should have been more. Its like Salinger got tired of them and stopped. It was interesting to see how the story built and how they were connected.

I read Nine Stories by Salinger as I already read Franny and Zooey. He continues his path for enlightenment with the Glass Family...in some of the short stories. I believe the Glass Family to be his alter ego in a way. He was very disappointed with the society of post WWII. Too much self-absorption and materialism and over emphasis on the intellect led him to search out a more Zen path. The Glass family all embody this theme of self enlightenment some more successful than others. Zooey and Franny are striving to improve their inner spirits and their almost symbiotic relationship reflects this strive for knowledge that the intellect can blind one to spiritual truths. Salinger most definitely is a state of mind. He was a creepy recluse, but he never sold out. I really appreciate his writing.

Elba, I agree with you. His writing is very good. I found this one very different to the catcher in the rye though. I didn’t know much about the author other than that I liked his writing in the Catcher so I felt like I had different expectations to this book than what I read. But the glass family is certainly a special group of people. Might give nine stories a chance too if it’s good. It’s like Stephanie says above that it’s almost like there should be more or it should have continued

Once again I'm the odd one out, haha. I enjoyed the Franny portion of the book, but the Zooey portion was a bit much for me. I understand why he is the way that he is, but a kill joy is a kill joy regardless of the reason. A person that feels so intellectually superior to others that they can't resist putting down or ridiculing every word that escapes someone else's lips is just... mean. And he knows it, and Franny knows it (and that she is becoming like him), and his mom, too. The thing that sticks out to me most about the book is what a jerk he was.

But hey, maybe I'm just a little too sensitive, haha.

Just finished. I love Salinger so this book was a good read for me. Finished it in one sitting.