Great Novel - BTT

Blogging Through Thurdays

What with yesterday being the Fourth of July and all, I’m feeling a little patriotic, and so have a simple question:

What, in your opinion, is the (mythical) Great American Novel? At least to date. A “classic,” or a current one–either would be fine. Mark Twain? J.D. Salinger? F. Scott Fitzgerald? Stephen King? Laura Ingalls Wilder?

It doesn’t have to be your favorite book, mind you. “Citizen Kane” may be the “best” film, and I concede its merits, but it’s not my favorite. You don’t have to love something to know that it’s good.

Now, I know that not all of you are American–but you can play, too! What I want from you is to know what you consider to the best novel of YOUR country. It might be someone the rest of us haven’t heard of and, frankly, I think we’d all like to get some new authors to read.

In fact, while we’re at it–I’m curious about the geographical make-up of this meme. So, while you’re leaving your link to your post, tell us where in the world you are! (For the record, I’m in New Jersey, USA.)

Don’t forget to leave a link to your actual response (so people don’t have to go searching for it) in the comments—or if you prefer, leave your answers in the comments themselves!

Now that I'm back - for some reason I forgot about last Thursday until Monday and decided it was too embarrasing - forgetting a whole day, I mean!

I'd consider To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee a classic. And also John Steinbeck's works.

Otherwise, I'm in Frankfurt, Germany ;)

Booking through Thursday

Booking through Thursday

Since school is out for the summer (in most places, at least), here’s a school-themed question for the week:

1. Do you have any old school books? Did you keep yours from college? Old textbooks from garage sales? Old workbooks from classes gone by?
2. How about your old notes, exams, papers? Do you save them? Or have they long since gone to the great Locker-in-the-sky?


Don’t forget to leave a link to your actual response (so people don’t have to go searching for it) in the comments—or if you prefer, leave your answers in the comments themselves!

Well, I didn't have to buy all my school books, but I still have my French books and most of the books I had to read for school. I like to keep them because I did add some notes and I like to read those while re-reading a book.

My books for school, btw, are the only book I ever wrote in.

Also, I have quite some of the notes I took during classes. I still have everything from 12th & 13th grade (the last two years at school) along with all my papers and exams from back then. I have a few from the years before as well - and I have what I wrote down during the last few semesters as well...

Booking Through Thursday

Booking Through Thursday

1. Do you cheat and peek ahead at the end of your books? Or do you resolutely read in sequence, as the author intended?
2. And, if you don’t peek, do you ever feel tempted?

I'd like to say I don't cheat, but occasionally, it happens. Especially when the book isn't that good and I'd like to know how it ends anyway. This has at times made me actually finish a book I had wanted to dump.

Though, cheating is not really something I do often. This year it hasn't happened up to now, and I don't even remember when I last cheated. Must have been way early last year, or the year before maybe?

But I have to admit that at times, when I'm reading a very exciting mystery or something other that is not that predictable (as opposed to romance, for example), I'm very tempted.

It's like that: You're sitting there with your book, reading it, and it is really very suspenseful. And then you have to stop reading yet again because of something. This is frustrating, because you want to know how it will end, but you're still so far from the end.

And btw, I keep scolding my Mom for reading the end after lousy 5 chapters LOL She does it way too often!

Btw, I'm handling this different for dinner - I don't mind having dessert before everything else *bg* After all, it means I have more room left for dessert ;-)

Booking through Thursday

Okay, this is my first Booking through Thursday ever, but I've enjoyed reading other bloggers' answers. I will try to get to it each week now. Wish me luck!

Booking Through Thursday

Almost everyone can name at least one author that you would love just ONE more book from. Either because they’re dead, not being published any more, not writing more, not producing new work for whatever reason . . . or they’ve aged and aren’t writing to their old standards any more . . . For whatever reason, there just hasn’t been anything new (or worth reading) of theirs and isn’t likely to be.

If you could have just ONE more book from an author you love . . . a book that would be as good any of their best (while we’re dreaming) . . . something that would round out a series, or finish their last work, or just be something NEW . . . Who would the author be, and why? Jane Austen? Shakespeare? Laurie Colwin? Kurt Vonnegut?

Don’t forget to leave a link to your actual response (so people don’t have to go searching for it) in the comments—or if you prefer, leave your answers in the comments themselves!

Well, if I could really pick an author, I think I would pick J.K. Rowling. I can't imagine there won't be another Harry Potter book after the 7th (HP And The Deadly Hollows) is out in July :'-( Just one more Harry Potter to give me a bit more time to say good bye, more time to realize that it will be over... I'm really sad it will be over so soon and I find this hard to deal with ;-) At least I'll have the chance to read it twice - first in English, then in German!