Home Feed
Home
Search
Search
Add Review, Blurb, Quote
Add
Activity
Activity
Profile
Profile
So Big
So Big | Edna Ferber
22 posts | 16 read | 25 to read
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and widely considered to be Edna Ferber's greatest achievement, So Big is a classic novel of turn-of-the-century Chicago. It is the unforgettable story of Selina Peake DeJong, a gambler's daughter, and her struggles to stay afloat and maintain her dignity and her sanity in the face of marriage, widowhood, and single parenthood. A brilliant literary masterwork from one of the twentieth century's most accomplished and admired writers, the remarkable So Big still resonates with its unflinching view of poverty, sexism, and the drive for success.
Amazon Indiebound Barnes and Noble WorldCat Goodreads LibraryThing
Pick icon
100%
blurb
lil1inblue
So Big | Edna Ferber
post image
Suet624 Have you read this? 3mo
lil1inblue @Suet624 Not yet, but it's on my list for one of my book challenges this year. Have you read it? 3mo
Suet624 No, but seeing that it won the Pulitzer intrigued me. 3mo
Eggs Great choice 👏🏻👏🏻 3mo
34 likes4 comments
review
TheKidUpstairs
So Big | Edna Ferber
post image
Pickpick

Selina Peake DeJong is such a singularly wonderful character. While the book is named after her son, Dirk 'So Big' DeJong, this is her story, beautifully told. She is a remarkable woman who longs for a life of beauty and adventure, yet finds herself a truck farmer's wife in Illinois. Instead of fading into the monotony of her world, she chooses to bring her ethos and spirit to everyday life and hopes for a remarkable future for her son. Cont'd

TheKidUpstairs This is a (mostly forgotten) classic, that feels almost* entirely modern, and invites you to ponder what it is that makes a life successful and worthy. I loved living in Selina's orbit for a time. (Cont'd) 9mo
TheKidUpstairs *I say almost entirely modern, because this book was written in the 1920s and there are some reflected ideals of the times that are jarringly dated. Particularly the racist attitudes and stereotypes, especially when it comes to Asian people. 9mo
TheKidUpstairs This was another wonderful read from the #AuldLangSpine list @Sapphire put together. Thank you for introducing me to this gem! @monalyisha thank you for another great year of bookish matchmaking. I always discover something new to me that would have otherwise escaped my notice, and my reading life is all the richer for it! 9mo
See All 9 Comments
TheKidUpstairs P.S: this Library of America edition was the one I read, and I have to say this cover design is absolute perfection. 9mo
Sapphire Oh my gosh, yes that cover is so perfect. Clearly chosen by someone who loved the book. 9mo
quietjenn 💚 cabbages is beautiful 9mo
monalyisha I‘m looking forward to reading this one, too! It sounds so right up my alley. It‘s also good to be forewarned about the bits that don‘t hold up. Thanks for the lovely review, @TheKidUpstairs! 9mo
Chelsea.Poole Great review! 8mo
73 likes2 stack adds9 comments
quote
TheKidUpstairs
So Big | Edna Ferber
post image

"You'd be surprised, Jan, to know of all the things you're going to hear of some day that you've never heard of before."

I absolutely love Selina Peake DeJong. What a wonderful character. Thank you for this #AuldLangSpine recommendation @Sapphire - it's a gem! @monalyisha

64 likes1 stack add
blurb
TheKidUpstairs
So Big | Edna Ferber
post image

@Sapphire What a wonderful list for #AuldLangSpine ❤️❤️❤️ It's got me very excited to kick off my 2024 reading!

I've read, and loved, a couple of them. I've now placed lots of library holds, I love the variety of genres and the mix of classics with newer titles. I think the two pictured are my currently most anticipated, but I'm truly excited about them all!

Thank you @monalyisha for another great match!

monalyisha @TheKidUpstairs I don‘t think I even need to tell you but…those were the two titles I was most excited about, too. 🤩 Enjoy! (edited) 11mo
TheKidUpstairs @monalyisha I have to know, were these your two, too? They feel like they'd be up your alley as well 😊 11mo
TheKidUpstairs @monalyisha lol, totally typing at the same time. I thought they were 🤣🤣🤣 11mo
See All 9 Comments
monalyisha @TheKidUpstairs Ha! 👯‍♀️ 11mo
monalyisha @TheKidUpstairs Also, a woman I used to work with at a small indie bookstore, whose taste I trusted implicitly, recommended the Marra to me. I still haven‘t picked it up yet (how many years later?) but I‘d be willing to bet it‘s fab. 11mo
Amiable @monalyisha Oh my gosh, the Marra book is indeed fabulous. There‘s a sentence in the middle of the book that goes on for most of the page that was so powerfully descriptive I had to stop and go back and read it again —not once or twice, but three times. And it hit me the same every time. He is a beautiful writer. 11mo
TheKidUpstairs @monalyisha @Amiable good to know! I already put that one on hold at my library 😊 11mo
Chelsea.Poole Oh great list @Sapphire — these two pictured are new to me. I love discovering different titles this way 😊📚 11mo
DGRachel @monalyisha @Amiable @TheKidUpstairs I have to throw in my recommendation for Constellation as well. It is beautiful and heartbreaking and just…ugh, so amazing. Marra‘s prose is gorgeous. 10mo
53 likes9 comments
blurb
quietjenn
So Big | Edna Ferber
post image

Very much loving this one!

Ruthiella Edna Ferber was HUGE in her day. Why is she not studied like Fitzgerald or Hemingway? 🤔 2y
quietjenn @Ruthiella good question! I'm so eager to read more. 2y
TracyReadsBooks Loved this book! 2y
61 likes2 stack adds3 comments
quote
Sapphire
So Big | Edna Ferber
post image

Life has no weapons against a woman like that. #192025 #dogsoflitsy

Librarybelle ❤️❤️❤️ 2y
30 likes1 stack add1 comment
blurb
Sapphire
So Big | Edna Ferber

I just started this tonight. It‘s so beautifully written. And it‘s fascinating to hear the 1890s discussed as the recent past of 1924, just like we do the 1990s with some startling similarities. I have a feeling this is going to be an excellent selection. #192025

Librarybelle I look forward to hearing what you have to say about it! 2y
11 likes1 comment
blurb
quietjenn
So Big | Edna Ferber
post image

Oh, Cyd! What a lovely and generous #fallingforfallswap package you sent me. For your first big swap, you really came out swinging and I just love everything! Can't wait to indulge in everything (going to read these books in the best smelling apartment). And tell your son thumbs up on the candy 👍. Thank you so very much! You really made my day.
@CBee @Avanders #fffs

Avanders 🍁🍂♥️🫶🏽 2y
CBee Oh! Well, it makes my day to know that you love everything ♥️ I‘ve been anxiously waiting 😂😂 Enjoy! That candle is one of my favorites and goodness those wax melts smelled heavenly. I‘m all about the yummy scents. 2y
Liz_M I spy a fabulous book! 2y
See All 10 Comments
LeahBergen Lovely! 😍 2y
squirrelbrain Lovely gifts! I too really liked Subdivision, as well as Passing *and* The Lamplighters! (edited) 2y
CBee Was the wrapping all intact? I packed and repacked it and added gobs of tissue paper 😂😂 @quietjenn 2y
quietjenn @LizM @squirrelbrain I am very much looking forward to it, as well as all the others! 2y
quietjenn @CBee Yes! Sorry, I always forget to take “intact“ pictures, but it was a lovely presentation 😁 2y
CBee @quietjenn hooray! Okay, first big swap = SUCCESS! 😅😂 2y
quietjenn @CBee most definitely 😁😀😀 2y
59 likes10 comments
quote
k8makesart
So Big | Edna Ferber
post image

Life goal: Beauty

quote
k8makesart
So Big | Edna Ferber
post image

"The bedroom was cruelly cold. As she threw the bed clothes heroically aside Selina decided that it took an appalling amount of courage-- this life that Simeon Peake had called a great adventure."

review
Christine
So Big | Edna Ferber
post image
Pickpick

I LOVED THIS. The language was charmingly of its time, but also unbelievably modern-feeling. Selina Peake is a great character, and her story conveys so much about vocation, identity, beauty, and the meaning of life. And I loved the Midwest setting. I‘m finally reading Ferber after learning that she has roots in the same area of Wisconsin where I grew up. Not sure how I wasn‘t more aware of her back then, but I look forward to making up for that.

42 likes3 stack adds
review
TracyReadsBooks
So Big | Edna Ferber
post image
Pickpick

Wow, what a wonderful, unexpected surprise—I love this book. The daughter of a gambler, Selina Peake is forced to make her way in the world after her father‘s death. She becomes a school teacher in a Dutch farming community on the outskirts of Chicago. She marries, has a child, husband dies, & she has to find a way to survive. Selina Peake DeJong is a fantastic character & this is a fabulous story of turn-of-the-century Chicago I highly recommend.

13 likes1 stack add
quote
TracyReadsBooks
So Big | Edna Ferber
post image

I‘m really enjoying this book and the descriptions of Chicago. The emergence of the Loop and the North Shore from the perspective of a family of farmers is really fascinating. Obviously, it‘s all much more complicated than that but this book is proving to be an absolutely delightful & surprising discovery. So glad I picked it up.

quote
TracyReadsBooks
So Big | Edna Ferber
post image

“In the midst then, of this fiery furnace of femininity Dirk walked unscorched.”

quote
TracyReadsBooks
So Big | Edna Ferber
post image

“About mistakes it‘s funny. You got to make your own; and not only that, if you try to keep people from making theirs they get mad.”

Everyone‘s asleep so I‘m enjoying an early, quiet morning of reading as snow blankets the city and it is wonderful.❄️☃️❄️

quote
TracyReadsBooks
So Big | Edna Ferber
post image

I know I‘m posting a lot of quotes but I love the writing and the descriptions are just fantastic.

quote
TracyReadsBooks
So Big | Edna Ferber
post image

“...a clothes-line hung with a dado of miscellaneous wash...”

quote
TracyReadsBooks
So Big | Edna Ferber
post image

Love this description of the prairie around Chicago. Certainly doesn‘t look like that today. Corn and soybeans, sure. Cabbages? Not so much.

blurb
TracyReadsBooks
So Big | Edna Ferber
post image

Yeah, it‘s cold and gray outside but let‘s be honest, that‘s really just another great reason to stay inside reading.
So, that‘s what I‘m going to do. This book won the Pulitzer in 1925 and is a story about turn-of-the-century Chicago. That‘s a fascinating period of time and I‘m looking forward to what should be an interesting read.

blurb
quirkyreader
So Big | Edna Ferber
post image

Oh my goodness. What a day. I planed on going out and buying new shoes today, my old ones are falling apart, but it turned into something more. As I was turning into the car park I got crashed into. The driver of the other car asked if I was ok and then sped off. Oh yea a hit and run. I called the insurance company and the police to make my report. But there was some serendipity. My friend Matt was near by and stayed with me until the

britt_brooke Happy you're okay!! 8y
quirkyreader Police showed up. Afterwards I got new shoes and went into Half Price Books. I only found three things because the big sale was last week. I then got some much needed Reese's and came home. I am too darn stirred up to nap. So I'll just take an Advil and rest. The three books are a major score though. I have been looking for them for a while. 8y
saresmoore Phew! Glad for books and Reese's! 8y
See All 18 Comments
quirkyreader And Forever Amber can be included in the #headlesscover 8y
LeahBergen I'm glad you're okay! (and I loved Forever Amber) 8y
James That sucks! Glad you're not hurt. Cool shoes. 8y
ValerieAndBooks What a day! Glad you're ok and hope not too much damage to your car. 8y
DivineDiana Glad you are home safe and sound with your new 📚 8y
LauraBrook That other drive sucks. Glad your okay, and that this day is over so you can relax and Reese's until bed. 💜 8y
DebinHawaii I'm glad you are OK & home with your new goodies. 👍📚 8y
Loreen What a day! I'm so glad you are okay. (And I love that cover of Forever Amber.) 8y
SharonGoforth Glad you are ok! A dose of Half Price Books always helps 😊 8y
Gezemice Glad you are ok! That is a rough day! Hugs 🤗🤗 8y
melbeautyandbooks Happy you're OK. Hope your weekend goes much better! 8y
ApoptyGina69 What a scare. Stupid humans. I like your shoes though! Take it easy. Once that happened to me and two days later I couldn't move my right arm. Injuries can sneak up on you. 8y
Kirstin Wow, scary! Hope you're okay and relaxing with the new books! Take care! 😊 8y
quirkyreader @melbeautyandbooks @ApoptyGina69 @Kristin I was a harrowing day, but I made it through. 8y
33 likes1 stack add18 comments
review
ManyWordsLater
So Big | Edna Ferber
Pickpick

I found a copy of so big at a used book store in Calgary. It won the Pulitzer? Well deserved. I can't believe I hadn't heard of this book or Edna Ferber before.

blurb
MyBookStrings
So Big | Edna Ferber
post image

I couldn't resist when I found this second hand today...

6 likes3 stack adds