pickauthor is a high school teacher of English-the bio endearingly records that he coaches soccer too-which means he's able to pitch this complex novel to the general reader. More guides to difficult novels should be written by high school teachers! Thoroughly useful and a welcome addition to the Joyce bookshelf for those of us who have struggled with Joyce's dense prose
It‘s humongous! I first read Ulysses in my late teens-early twenties 🥰. Not this edition. I‘m thrilled to add it to my collection. It‘s a coffee table book. It might just crack the coffee table.
It‘s time to discuss this month‘s #LiteraryCrew #BuddyRead ! I posted 8 questions as spoilers that can be found on my feed, the book‘s feed, or by searching the hashtags. Answer whenever you have a chance!
Next month‘s book is The Dress in the Window by Sofia Grant!
mcctrish, Julsmarshall, Cinfhen, melissajayne, Jerdencon, throwmeabook, kspenmoll, PurpleyPumpkin, BethM, megnews, mrp27, JamieArc, Sargar114, MoonWitch94, julieclair, AllDebooks8. Have you visited Shakespeare and Company? More information here: https://www.shakespeareandcompany.com/
What is your favorite bookstore?
7. Many of us dream of owning a bookstore. If you owned one, what three authors—past or present—would you invite to read at your store? ~from Reading Group Guide #LiteraryCrew #BuddyRead
6. The original epic poem The Odyssey, by Homer—on which Joyce based his novel Ulysses—is about Odysseus trying to get home to Ithaca after the Trojan War so that he could be reunited with his wife, Penelope. In what ways do the themes of home and reunion pop up throughout The Paris Bookseller? ~from Reading Group Guide #LiteraryCrew #BuddyRead
5. The Paris Bookseller takes place from 1917 to 1936, from the end of the First World War into the Depression, and it‘s being published one hundred years later. Did you detect any resonance with the twenty-first century as you read about the lives of these characters living a century ago? How are attitudes, laws, censorship, and art the same? How are they different? ~from Reading Group Guide #LiteraryCrew #BuddyRead
4. This novel is full of real-life strong women making history. Were any of their actions surprising to you, given the time period? Do you think there was something special about Paris at this particular time that made their actions possible? ~from Reading Group Guide #LiteraryCrew #BuddyRead
3. Adrienne and Sylvia disagree about how much time and energy Sylvia devotes to James Joyce. Why does Sylvia give so much of herself to the writer? Why does Adrienne disagree? How does this difference alter their relationship? ~from Reading Group Guide #LiteraryCrew #BuddyRead
2. At first Sylvia is stymied by all the famous writers in Adrienne‘s store, but she goes on to open her own store and befriend the most famous writers of her day without being self-conscious about it. What do you think enabled her to call Ernest Hemingway, James Joyce, Ezra Pound, and the others her friends? ~from Reading Group Guide #LiteraryCrew #BuddyRead
