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BarkingMadRead
Mill on the Floss | George Eliot
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mcctrish Giving religion a bad name 5h
dabbe To be the only student ... YIKES! And (gasp) Tom behaves like a girl and actually has his hubris stomped on a little bit. I think it's a good lesson for him--even though his actual lessons are 😱! 5h
KAO Whew. That chapter was rather long and somewhat tedious (though I liked the bit of life reflection in the last lines). Maybe the feeling that this chapter would never end parallels Tom‘s feeling about this long and tedious academic term. 3h
TheAromaofBooks I actually found myself liking Tom for the first time in this chapter. 48m
16 likes5 comments
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anton791
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I remember reading this in school. I thought it was wonderful back then and I'm glad I've just read it again as an adult.

Dilara Wonderful! I read Silas Marner for the first time 4 years ago and found it extremely moving.
Welcome to Litsy, by the way...
10h
BookmarkTavern I loved this one too! Welcome to Litsy! 🎉🎉🎉 10h
anton791 @Dilara Thanks. I read a lot and am glad to be able to share in some way. 7h
5 likes1 stack add3 comments
review
Daisey
Last of the Mohicans | James Fenimore Cooper
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Mehso-so

I had a hard time with this book. It did not hold my attention well through long sections, then something rather bizarre or violent would happen and I‘d get caught up in the story again for a while. It also took a long time to get the characters straight.

When I finished, I did listen to a podcast episode that discussed a few aspects and gave me a bit more to think about. (Link in comments)

#audiobook #LMMAdjacent #1001books

BarbaraJean This was underwhelming to me, for the same reasons you mention. Thanks for sharing that podcast episode--I'll have to check it out. 19h
41 likes2 comments
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Graywacke
Postscripts | Daryl Hine
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Trying a second of my new poetry books. Hine was a late 20th century poet of form. He wrote a long poem of being gay in the 1970‘s, and didn‘t publish it for two decades. This is a 1991 collection, apparently an important later collection of his.

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BarkingMadRead
Mill on the Floss | George Eliot
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32 likes3 comments
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BekaReid
Gliff: A Novel | Ali Smith
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Love this section of the book and brings me back the wonder I had upon being introduced to the library as a kid.
“Books everywhere.
So many books, more books than I'd ever seen all in one place. The backs of books, in rows that reached up to the ceiling, books and books and books, at every level, high and low, piles of them, shelf after shelf of them.
Wherever my eye went, books.
Oh! I said.“

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BarbaraJean
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For our #LMMJournals readers (and those interested in the L.M. Montgomery connection!):

LMM mentions having read the book “in schooldays” and discussing it with Nate Lockhart. What did you notice in the book that might have attracted LMM as a schoolgirl? What characters and incidents do you imagine she might have discussed with Nate so enthusiastically?

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMAdjacent - Last of the Mohicans discussion (5/5)

BarbaraJean I have to admit that I'm puzzled that LMM was enthusiastic about this book! I thought maybe she would have resonated with the nature descriptions, but honestly, I didn't find them that compelling. I guess it was just the action and adventure she was so excited to discuss with Nate?! And perhaps Cora would have been a compelling figure to her? 1d
Daisey I‘m not sure what to think of this connection to LMM either. It does have some interesting scenes to discuss, but it doesn‘t resonate with me in any way that her writing does. 21h
21 likes3 comments
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BarbaraJean
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#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMAdjacent - Last of the Mohicans Discussion (4/5)

In general, did you like or dislike the book? What did you enjoy or not enjoy?
Do you feel this is a classic that‘s worth reading?

BarbaraJean Honestly, I didn't enjoy this. I didn't find it engaging, for all its action. The characters initially held promise, but weren't developed at all. Cooper sacrifices character development for horrific action sequences and scenic descriptions that fell flat for me. I'm torn about whether it's worth reading for how it's shaped other writing over the years. I think it has some value as a biased but illuminating portrayal of a specific time and place ⬇ 1d
BarbaraJean (Cont'd) ...in history, but I don't think I'd recommend it unless someone was specifically studying this time period and they were also seeking out supplementary sources to contextualize and balance the perspective here. 1d
Daisey I didn‘t particularly enjoy this. There were short sections at a time that were really interesting, but there were long sections between where I struggled to stay focused. 21h
20 likes3 comments
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BarbaraJean
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#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMAdjacent - Last of the Mohicans Discussion (3/5)

What do you think about the way the book portrays its Native characters (and the different tribes they belong to)?
What about the way it portrays the English and French characters?

BarbaraJean I mentioned this an earlier question, but I was bracing myself for far worse racial stereotypes. There was a bit too much “noble savage“ to the descriptions of Uncas and Chingachgook and the Delaware village. Then basically all Huron/Mingos were portrayed as bad/scheming/backward, but their French allies were largely let off the hook. But I also appreciated how there was SOME nuance in the way Magua was characterized, when he revealed ⬇ 1d
BarbaraJean (Cont'd) his treatment at the hands of the English. And Cora early on makes a remark about not judging someone based on the color of their skin (ironic that she makes that comment about the person who basically becomes the villain, though!). There were plenty of problematic racial stereotypes, but overall I was impressed by the complexity we did get. 1d
16 likes2 comments
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BarbaraJean
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#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMAdjacent - Last of the Mohicans Discussion (2/5)
How much knowledge of the French & Indian War/Fort William Henry conflict did you have prior to reading this book? Did you seek out more info?
What do you think of how Cooper dramatized these events?
What responsibility does an author of historical fiction have in representing historical events? What do you think are appropriate or inappropriate changes or exaggerations?

BarbaraJean I didn't have much knowledge about the historical context, and so I looked up the Fort William Henry conflict after reading the section on the betrayal/massacre. I was frustrated by what I found. Cooper has been criticized for his “lurid“ and inaccurate characterization of the massacre--it was bad, but it seems it was not nearly as horrific as described, and the inciting event with the mother & baby seems like it was completely invented. ⬇ 1d
BarbaraJean (Cont'd) I do think a writer of historical fiction has a responsibility to present the backdrop of history and historical events as accurately as possible--dramatizing within the “spirit“ of what happened, so to speak. ESPECIALLY when it comes to war--attributing particular types of cruel violence that DID NOT happen, to one side or the other, is irresponsible, to me. 1d
Daisey I have some basic knowledge of the French & Indian War, and I did not look anything up while reading. 21h
16 likes3 comments