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The English Major
The English Major: A Novel | Jim Harrison
5 posts | 6 read | 1 reading | 1 to read
It used to be Cliff and Vivian and now it isnt. With these words, Jim Harrison begins a riotous, moving novel that sends a sixty-something man, divorced and robbed of his farm by a late-blooming real estate shark of an ex-wife, on a road trip across America. Cliff is armed with a childhood puzzle of the United States and a mission to rename all the states and state birds, the latter of which have been unjustly saddled with white mens banal monikers up until now. His adventures take him through a whirlwind affair with a former student from his high-school-teacher days twenty-some years before, to a snake farm in Arizona owned by an old classmate, and to the high-octane existence of his son, a big-time movie producer who has just bought an apartment over the Presidio in San Francisco. Now in paperback, Jim Harrisons riotous and moving cross-country novel, The English Major, is the map of a mans journey into, and out of, himself. It is vintage Harrisonreflective, big-picture American, and replete with wicked wit.
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monalyisha
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Do any other English major friends ever feel like our particular brand of education really fucked us up?

Being taught to parse words, and close-read the text, AND read between the lines/pay attention to what‘s *not* there really makes for neurotic actual living! Plus, I feel like I have totally unrealistic expectations for how effectively other people are able to communicate or express themselves. 😅🤦‍♀️ SEND HELP.

Judybskt A little bit. English Lit major 🙋‍♀️ 6y
Gezemice I have not had this branch of education, but read through some of the intros into classic books that made me question the enjoyment of reading - or, the very least, the enjoyment of literature by anyone analyizing it too much. 6y
monalyisha @Gezemice Oh, I *love* analyzing literature... but I feel like that training should maybe come with a warning: “APPLY TO WRITTEN ART ONLY! DO NOT - UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES - USE THIS IRL. DISAPPOINTMENT AND CERTAIN DEATH WILL SURELY FOLLOW.” Or, you know, something *slightly* less dramatic. 🙃 6y
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ephemeralwaltz 🙋🙋🙋🙋another English grad here. I found that I'm pretty good at restricting this to written text, other media, and politics for some reason. And then sometimes I feel like I can't coherently critique the most simple of novels for some reason. Am I getting rusty already?? 6y
mutlee Yes! It applies to everything in my life. No wonder I have so much anxiety. 6y
LA_Mead YES!!! I see everything as plot and story structure now. 6y
ravenlee After getting my English degree I had trouble reading anything without dissecting and analyzing it. Unfortunately, I went into the military and all our study materials were, uh, not written to a level I was accustomed to. I may have had some serious rants about grammar and overblown generalizations during my training... 6y
monalyisha @ravenlee I tried to read Harry Potter for the first time right after graduating from college & I had a very similar response. 😆 (I finally made it through the first 5 books. Azkaban was my favorite. But I pooped out & never went back. 🤷‍♀️🙈) 6y
monalyisha Thanks @mutlee & @LA_Mead! Good to know I‘m not alone! 💖😆 6y
monalyisha @Judybskt 🙌🏻🙌🏻 6y
monalyisha @ephemeralwaltz I‘m envious of that ability! 6y
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Lcsmcat
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Cliff has a crisis that causes him to #takeadrive across the country, reassigning state birds as he goes. #scenesfromabook @JoeStalksBeck

JoeStalksBeck 👏👏👏👏👏👏 7y
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Leniverse
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Well. That was eerily accurate. I was indeed once upon a time an English major, and I do love Classics and peeking at school reading lists. 😂 I am a little more omnivorous than that though. I have plenty of escapism books that will never end up on a classics list.

readinginthedark I am the same way! English major alum unite! 😆 7y
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BarbaraBB
English Major | Jim Harrison
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I feel honored, Mrs Darcy 😉 #quiz http://modernmrsdarcy.com/quiz

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TheWordJar
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Thanks for the link, @Lizpixie! This description really suits me. I was an English major, and I didn't really realize it before seeing it here, but I *do* love seeing what's on current school reading lists! 🤓📚