Category: Meme

Meme, The Classics Club

The Classics Club – June 2013 Meme

Geoff W

Classics ClubFor June the hosts of The Classics Club have another member submitted question asking “What is your favourite opening sentence from a classic novel (and why)?”

For once, I don’t have any real issues with this question; the only problem though is how do I narrow down the great opening lines? I am going to add a self-imposed limit as I have done in the past to keep the focus on The Classics Club and only choose from the 24 books I’ve read so far for the group. This allowed me to revisit my posts and relive some great novels, plus it kept me from choosing some obvious fun and more contemporary classics like The Hobbit or Harry Potter or pretty much anything by Margaret Atwood. The quote I chose I don’t know if it’s my favorite, but it has by far had the most impact on my reading over the past few years:

“You better not tell nobody but God. It’d kill your mammy.”

If you didn’t recognize it, it is from Alice Walker’s The Color Purple. And the first time I read that line I got chills. Even now I get an eerie feeling because I know what’s happening and what happens next, but even without knowing you know it’s not something good.

Meme, The Classics Club

The Classics Club – May 2013 Meme

Geoff W

For May the hosts of The Classics Club have asked members to “Tell us about the classic book(s) you’re reading this month. You can post about what you’re looking forward to reading in May, or post thoughts-in-progress on your current read(s).”

And as usual I have to pick a point of contention, mostly just because I’m a pain in the ass, but think about the wording of the question. It really only works if you answer the meme early in the month or if you predominately read classics. By time this posts I will have finished, and hopefully posted about one classic +and have finished reading two (Truman Capote’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Gertrude Stein’s The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas, which isn’t even part of my Classics Club list) and will hopefully be part of the way through a third, The Canterbury Tales among other books I’ve read this month.

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Meme, The Classics Club

The Classics Club – April 2013 Meme

Geoff W

For April the hosts of The Classics Club have asked “Who is hands-down the best literary hero, in your opinion? Likewise, who is the best heroine?” And although I have major issues with the separation of hero and heroine, there is no need to separate the two into gender based categories or if you’re going to separate them make a point and call it a ‘shero’, my answer is below.

I really wanted to write about Bone Cartwright from Bastard Out of Carolina, and I guess I could write about her, but I tend to restrict the monthly memes to this specific reading list. If not there’s no telling who I’d write about, so I’ll go for another character with a story similar to Bone’s. Although hero isn’t the first word to come to mind she is one. Wikipedia has a great line which sums up her existence:

In modern movies, the hero is often simply an ordinary person in extraordinary circumstances, who, despite the odds being stacked against him or her, typically prevails in the end.

I’m choosing to equate the word hero/heroine with the word survivor. From the moment of Celie’s introduction in Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel The Color Purple, as she is being viciously raped, the reader is aware her story and her life will be a struggle for survival and existence.

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Meme, The Classics Club

The Classics Club – March 2013 Meme

Geoff W

For March the hosts of The Classics Club have asked Do you love Jane Austen or want to “dig her up and beat her over the skull with her own shinbone”? (Phrase borrowed from Mark Twain.)

  1. Why (for either answer)?
  2. Favorite and/or least favorite Austen novel?

I don’t think I need to explain my views on Jane Austen. If you’ve read my blog you know I’m in love with Jane Austen. I’m so much in love with her that I even love the horrible fan-fiction/spinoff stuff that’s out there! So that’s some real dedication. And if you really want to know how much I love Austen, go read my fan-boy I love you post which was supposed to be my response to my re-read of Pride and Prejudice.

If I had to say what my favorite novel is I would probably say Mansfield Park, because of Fanny Price, and my least favorite is probably Emma, mostly because of the movie adaptation, but I also think it drags along, but we’ll see if my feelings remain the same after a reread for The Classics Club.

Meme, The Classics Club

The Classics Club – February 2013 Meme

Geoff W

For February the hosts of The Classics Club have asked What Classic has most surprised you so far and why?

And I’m not sure if it’s just the books I’ve read or the questions themselves, but I constantly seem to be going back to the same book to answer these questions. I’m glad I checked to see what the next few questions were or I would probably have given up on the monthly memes after this month.

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