Why Bronte Matters... just one good reason

Remember our Appalachian fiction series and my telling you how intense and long was my struggle to select the five titles from a canon of great stories?

Lee Smith was one of the authors who did not make it on our reading/discussion list, although I did initially have one of her books listed for the program.

Fast forward to the present (I must still be in the Fford time machine, the way I am moving to and fro) and our reading of Jane Eyre and Villette. According to this paper by H.H. Campbell, Smith was signficantly influenced by the sisters Bronte.

I highly recommend Lee Smith's fiction. With which one should you start? This is a difficult question for me to answer because I enjoyed all her work. Forced to decide, I would encourage you to begin Oral History. This was one of the titles involved in my decision to use multiple narrators in Reclamation, a manuscript to which I must return for yet another edit.

Villette Discussion Thursday, August 23

Yes, it's a bit sombre, but do you agree Villette was worth reading, especially with relation to the development of Charlotte Bronte as a novelist? It will be interesting to discuss this story and to compare and contrast it with Jane Eyre.

For those of you who read from page the first to the final words, the ending was something else, eh? I will be interested in hearing your views about whether M. Paul made it back.

No doubt, we will have an interesting few hours of dialogue on August 23rd. I'll see you at the library.

More on the Merits of Harry

By far, this is one of the best articles in the blogosphere, or anywhere else for that matter, that I have read about the merits -- literary and otherwise -- of the Harry Potter series.

Conservative Writer dispels radical views on Potter

If I've said it once, I've said it at least 200,000 thousand times since the release of the first Harry Potter book: there is nothing - NADA- evil about Harry.

In more recent years, I have taken to accepting that fundamentalists will be fundamentalists: irrational and ignorant. Rather than attempt to talk to the far right about it, I've been working to teach the meaning of the series to individuals of open mind in the hope that these folks would understand and, perhaps, help others come to see the real magic of Harry.

Never, though, have I approached the argument from a purely religious point of view. I don't consider myself religious enough, Republican enough, or Democrat enough for that matter, to speak as a religious scholar. I leave this to the so-called experts. So, I was thrilled -- tickled enough to do a jig in public -- when I read this article.

Feel free to post your comments at that site or herein.

A Classic Example: Fall/Winter 07 Reading Series

Dear Page Turners and Friends:

As I compiled our comprehensive reading list, which includes titles we have read since 2003, I realized that we have done our share of diverse reading. One thing we have not done as a group is read and talk about19th Century English Fiction. So, with our discussion of Jane Eyre on July 26th, we’ll begin a five-month series of classic literature.

As we discussed in June, we are going to follow up Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre with reading and discussion of her last novel, Villette. In this book, said to be the author’s most autobiographical novel, we will struggle through the trials and triumphs of the character Lucy Snowe. One more thing about Villette, many readers have said they consider it a better novel than Jane Eyre. Authors George Elliot and Virginia Woolf hailed Villette for its exploration of women’s roles in society and for its modern psychological depth. We will discuss Villette on August 23rd. As always, our meetings begin at 6 p.m. in the Pottsville Free Public Library. You might want to take a virtual visit to the Bronte museum.

On September 20th, we will talk about Hard Times by Charles Dickens. This story, set during the Industrial Revolution in England, is a Dickensian defense of art in the age of mechanism. In this novel, we meet Thomas Gradgrind, a character who I loathe and pity simultaneously. I think you will see why I feel this way when you read Hard Times. I will be interested to know what you think about him and why you feel the way you do.

It’s no cozy, The Woman in White. This novel by Wilkie Collins, a writer whom Dickens befriended and mentored, will be the subject of our October 18th discussion. It was a bestseller mystery-thriller in the 1860s and it remains widely read in the 21st century. A frightening midnight encounter between artist Walter Hartright and a supernatural woman dressed all in white leads us into this story of international intrigue involving crime, kidnapping and poison, among other staples of a great thriller. You can check out what some readers have to say about the book at its author by visiting this BBC group.

We will wrap up discussion on November 15th, when we discuss Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell. This author was Charlotte Brontë's first biographer and Cranford is said to be her most popular work. It is a comical account of a group of refined though not extremely wealthy women who dominate a 19th-century English village.

I have ordered 15 copies of Villette and we will be sure to let you know when they arrive at the library. It will be helpful if each of you would let Fran know whether you want us to order you a copy of each of the books in the series. Ordering volume allows me to obtain a discount and get free shipping.

New members are always welcome to join us. In addition to learning through story, we also tend to have a great time during our discussions.

Sincerely,
Christine

Bronte, Dickens and a not-so-well known ...

The classics are on tap for our Fall-Winter 2007 reading series. Stop back soon for the announcement.

Pottsville Pageturners' getting ready to launch Spring 07 series

Dear Friend/Pottsville Pageturner:

We’re about to embark on adventures into possibilities, probabilities and the seemingly impossible for our Spring 2007 book discussion series sponsored by Friends of the Library at the Pottsville Free Public Library. In February, we’ll begin discussing Science Fiction/Fantasy books that members selected at December’s discussion. We’re calling the program “Castles in the Sky: Possibilities and Improbabilities.”

You may be asking, are sci-fi and fantasy the same? If not, what’s the difference? Isaac Asimov explained that science fiction, which is grounded in science, tells stories of the possible; meanwhile, fantasy is neither science-based nor grounded in reality.

Honoring the request of several members to read and talk about something “fun,” we’re going to begin with J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (the first Harry Potter book). Although I have no doubt there will be plenty of laughter, I see us taking on the issue of book banning when we talk about perceptions associated with Harry and Hogwart’s.

For any muggles in our group, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is a tale of magic and mystery that has captivated children and adults. Eleven-year-old Harry Potter is the personification of a nerdy kid who does not have a happy life. Ah, but, Harry, is a survivor and in this book, he learns about a great destiny he never knew he had. We will have the discussion on this book on February 15th at 6 p.m.

Our second book is Marge Piercy’s He, She and It. It is the middle of the 21st century and environmental disasters have devastated North America’s natural resources. The world is divided into corporate enclaves. A fight for custody of a boy and human interactions with a cyborg that thinks and feels are among the plotlines that might keep you reading long after it’s time to turn out the lights. The book, many people say, is not as futuristic as it was when initially published in the early 1990s. Oh, we’ll have a lot to talk about on this one when we gather on March 15th.

The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley is our third title. Published in 1983, this is a book some of us have read and/or re-read. Think of it as Arthurian Legend from a woman’s perspective. The story is set at the crossroads of the matriarchal, goddess-based culture of Avalon and patriarchal Christian society. I predict we’ll have a lot to talk about when we get together on April 26th.

This is a big novel, in more ways than page number; therefore, I’ve put an additional week into the schedule to allow for celebration of Easter and time to finish the book. Think of it as “Pageturners’ Spring Break.” Dualities (do you think Bradley moves us away from them?) and the role of women in the making and the telling of history are among the issues we might discuss in addition to talking about Arthurian legend in general. Asimov, by the way, said Mists is “the best retelling of the Arthurian Saga I have ever read.”

We will wrap up the sci-fi/fantasy series with The Eyre Affair: A Thursday Next Novel, which has been described as “Umberto Eco meets Harry Potter.” This is the first in a series of Thursday Next novels by the imaginative and comical Jasper Fforde. It is set in a surreal version of Great Britain in the 1980s. Time travel is routine, cloning is real and literature is taken extremely seriously. It will be fun to talk about what might happen if the barriers between fiction and reality disappeared and made it possible to change an important moment in classic literary history. Discussion is scheduled for May 24 at the usual time.

The library believes it will be able to secure sufficient copies of the Harry Potter title for readers. Because the last three titles are not available to us in large quantity, we will have to order books. The cost for the Piercy book will be $8. Because Mists of Avalon and The Eyre Affair will cost more than $10, even with mass purchasing, we will need to decide whether you want to maintain the present course or to find other titles to replace the last two books. If we maintain Mists and The Eyre Affair, the cost will be $13 and $12, respectively. I had thought of doing a substitution on the titles without consulting you; but, since we chose the books as a group, I thought it best that we make a group decision. As always, you are welcome to purchase or arrange to borrow your own copies of the books.

Readers who have been away for a while and new members are always welcome to join us for discussions. We begin at 6 p.m., but, you’re welcome to arrive as your schedule permits. To sign up to participate in the Spring 2007 reading series, please call the library at 622-8880.

We are scheduled to get together on January 18th to discuss Lorene Carey’s The Price of a Child. At this time, we will discuss how to proceed on the science fiction/fantasy list.

Please do take a moment to thank Fran, Library Director Nancy J. Smink and the staff for being so helpful to us. Their behind-the-scenes effort contributes a great deal to the success of Pottsville Pageturners. I look forward to hearing that you are on board for our otherworldly adventures in science fiction/fantasy discussions.

Finally, thank you for being such a marvelous group. Each of you contributes immensely to the success of Pageturners. Often, for days following a Pageturner evening, I reflect on the discussion. One thing that stands out with me is the demographic representation of our group. Think about it. When we gather in the library, we are three/four generations of individuals with various backgrounds and current lifestyles. I believe our diversity is our strength and I value your feelings and the knowledge you bring to discussion.

I wish you merry holidays and many hours of good reading.


Sincerely,

Christine Goldbeck
Pageturners Facilitator