Last year, when I read The Haunting of Hill House, a lot of readers said that We Have Always Lived in the Castle is their favorite Shirley Jackson novel. I can see why. This was Jackson’s final novel, published in 1962. It’s a story about two sisters, Mary Catherine (Merricat) and Constance, who live with…
It was really interesting to read The House of Mirth so soon after The Portrait of a Lady. A number of readers said they preferred The House of Mirth, and I agree. The House of Mirth, written in 1905, is Edith Wharton’s fourth novel but first critically acclaimed work (she would later win a Pulitzer…
I loved the way this book was written. Haruf writes about a small rural town, Holt, Colorado, in a beautiful way. It’s the story of Tom, a teacher whose wife is going through some kind of depression and leaves him and their two boys. And Victoria, a teenager whose mother kicks her out of the…
Henry James is one of those authors I’ve always felt I should read. I’ve studied the British classics far more than the Americans, and to be honest I’ve never been a fan of Hawthorne or Hemingway. The Portrait of a Lady was first published as a serial in 1880 and then as a novel in…
The Haunting of Hill House was written by Shirley Jackson in 1959. A finalist for the National Book Award, it’s considered by many to be one of the best horror stories out there, at least in the ghost story/haunted house category. It’s been remade into several movies, in 1963 and 1999, and spawned countless imitations.…
It’s been nagging at me that I never posted a final review of East of Eden for the East of Eden Readalong (I posted a review of the first half here). This book was too good to only write half a review. I know John Steinbeck can be intimidating to a lot of people, but…
First – I know most of you have read this book already, but for those who haven’t, there are spoilers in this review. Second – let me say up front that I know I’m not giving Mark Twain his due. Published in 1885, Huckleberry Finn is noteworthy for its innovative use of dialect, its portrait…
The good news is, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is everything I hoped (and expected) it would be. The bad news is, I’m not feeling terribly academic these days, so I haven’t been able to motivate myself to be really thoughtful about this book. But it’s my blog, and I get to set my own…
Okay, not surprisingly, I didn’t hear a ton of interest in reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. But even if I’m talking mostly to myself, here’s my schedule in case you’re thinking about it. November 9: discuss Chapters 1-16, post questions on chapters 17-30 November 16: Chapters 17-30, November 16 November 23: Chapters 31-43 and…
I’ve been reading light lately, but the last classic I’m tackling this year is The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain. This is a book most people read in high school or college, but it passed me by and I’ve always meant to read it. Huck may be a child, but already I can…
The Book Stop 