Category Archives: LITERATURE

LITERATURE: Library Additions

Posted on May 1, 2008 by Susan

The Long House by William GayProvinces of Night by William GayBlindness by Jose Saramago Jamestown by Matthew Sharpe Tristam Shandy by Laurence SterneThe Best American Non-Required Reading 2007 More to come. Continue reading →

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LITERATURE: If on a winter’s night… – Pattern

Posted on May 1, 2008 by susan

With the next section of the "corrected" novel our narrator is reading we have a break in pattern; precisely, by a connection with the previous story in the book.  The reason for feeling the novel was improperly printed was the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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LITERATURE: Touchpad Tricks

Posted on April 26, 2008 by Susan

Well, since learning the touchpad versus the mouse on the Mac, I’ve found that the same thing happens when I get the itch and visit amazon.com and look over my wish list.  I tap rather than click, but the result … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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LITERATURE: If on a winter’s night… – Purpose?

Posted on April 26, 2008 by susan

This is a book, most of all, about reading I believe; and for the writer, a book about how a book is read should be of utmost value.  Know thine enemy.  Know your audience. Back in reader mode of Chapter … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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LITERATURE: Well, neat!

Posted on April 26, 2008 by Susan

I don’t mind the heavy Google traffic here that leads to the literary reviews I’ve done; the short story The Swimmer had nearly single-handedly built Spinning up to what it is today. But it’s especially nice when a teacher links … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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LITERATURE: If on a winter’s night… – Layers

Posted on April 26, 2008 by susan

I’d noticed this before but there’s an instance here that illustrates how Calvino touches on so many areas within one fell swoop of his pen: Every moment you discover there is a new character, you don’t know how many people … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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LITERATURE: If on a winter’s night… – 2nd Person POV

Posted on April 26, 2008 by susan

Chapter 2 (!) brings us back into the reading mode of the book, that is, the narrator addressing us as ‘you’ and telling us how to go about returning Calvino’s book because it appears to be a printer’s error in … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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LITERATURE: If on a winter’s night… – The Fourth Wall?

Posted on April 25, 2008 by susan

I know what the term means in the reality/fiction barrier between narrative and reader, and when it is breached to bring the reader into the story.  This Calvino does to a degree, not by inviting the reader completely into the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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LITERATURE: If on a winter’s night… – Mind Games

Posted on April 25, 2008 by susan

Never has an author or a book–at least any that I have read–involved my full attention quite so much not out of difficulty but rather out of an intimacy Calvino forms with the reader who is willing to accept his … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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LITERATURE: Up Next: If on a winter’s night a traveler

Posted on April 22, 2008 by susan

I’d read Chapter 1 of this about a month ago when I thought I couldn’t make it through Miller’s Topic of Cancer.  I put it aside when my stubborn nature wouldn’t let me give up on Miller. Tonight I read … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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LITERATURE: Tropic of Cancer – Finale (No, really)

Posted on April 21, 2008 by susan

When I finished that last post I moved along into housework and such, wondering how I could be so flippant about a piece of work that’s considered a classic.  I do understand the notion of classics not necessarily being known … Continue reading →

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LITERATURE: Tropic of Cancer – Finale

Posted on April 21, 2008 by susan

Some points of interest… Some seemingly philosophical soliloquies on the state of mankind, the government, and God. The idea of combining fact with fiction on such a personal level that the narrator is once referred to as "Henry" and why … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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LITERATURE: Tropic of Cancer – Some Indication of Character

Posted on April 18, 2008 by susan

Miller’s character has been one filled with low regard for women–notwithstanding the obvious explanation that he is hanging out with whores.  But there is a subtle empathy here: When I listen to the reproaches that are leveled against a girl … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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LITERATURE: Tropic of Cancer – Joie de Vivre!

Posted on April 17, 2008 by susan

Our young man gets a job as a proofreader, and his outlook changes, his spirits are lifted. I had to travel precisely all around the world to find just such a comfortable, agreeable niche as this.  It seems incredible almost.  … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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LITERATURE: And Big Government

Posted on April 7, 2008 by Susan

It was only a matter of time until Connecticut realized that despite its 6% sales tax it was still losing some of it to the internet shopping style so many of us enjoy. But Connecticut is a genius with making … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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