Literature. It can be a snooty word.

Especially when it's pronounced LIT-tra-chuh (check out the first pronunciation here). 

But what is literature? And does our next book, Homeland by R.A. Salvatore, fit the bill?

That's what we'll be discussing (that, and the plot, characters, themes, and symbolism of Homeland—as well as its relationship to King Lear), at our next meeting on April 1st.

Yes, really. It's April Fool's Day, but this is not a prank. We will be meeting. For reals.

To make sure you're prepared for the discussion, you'll need to do two things. 

Okay, three, if you count reading the book, but that's a given.

ONE: COME TO GROUP WITH YOUR OWN DEFINITION OF "LITERATURE"

Feel free to research it and see what other people think on the subject before you pen your description, but ultimately, try to come up with your own solid explanation of what is, and what isn't, literature—including whether or not our current title qualifies.

Here are some points you might want to consider:

1. Are there particular genres of writing that cannot be considered literature? 
2. Can works of non-fiction be literature? What about poetry or biographies?
3. Can a title be classified as literature immediately upon publication, or does it have to be around for a while to earn the distinction?  

TWO: ENGAGE IN A BIT OF ANALYSIS

Come to group with two* of the following ready to go:

• a theme from Homeland, and what the author seems to be saying about that theme
• a symbol you noticed and how it is used
• a motif from the book and what purpose you think it serves
• a discussion question to ask the group
• a quote you found particularly interesting, meaningful, or puzzling

*You can use two different items (a theme and a symbol, a discussion question and a quote), or two of any one item (two themes, two symbols, two questions) to satisfy this requirement.

All right. Happy reading! See you on April 1st. Really.

A whole book about an ominous stare?

No! You must be thinking of King Leer. 

The book we're reading next is King Lear, which is considered by many to be Shakespeare's greatest -- and most complex -- play, but hey, you guys can handle it. Especially with a little help from your friends (your fellow Lit Groupers and the Internet).

The Five-Step Program

Here are five steps, all optional, which should help you read, understand, and hopefully even enjoy King Lear.

Check them out, and then take a look at your assignment, below.


STEP ONE: Get the low down. Read as much (or as little) of this summary from the good folks at Shmoop.com* as you need to get your feet under you before you start.

STEP TWO: Check back with Shmoop's scene by scene summaries whenever you find yourself wondering, "What was that all about?" The nice thing about these summaries is that they stick to the facts -- exactly what happens, as it happens -- with no spoilers or lengthy analyses.

STEP THREE: Enjoy the language. Sure, it's sometimes difficult to understand, but where else (other than in Shakespeare) are you going to find such amazing insults as this one, in which one character in King Lear describes another as "a lily-livered, action-taking, whoreson, glass-gazing, super-serviceable, finical rogue"? Answer: Nowhere.

Gandalf (Sir Ian McKellen) as Lear.

STEP FOUR: Watch the play! It's available free online from PBS with none other than Gandalf in the title role.

STEP FIVE: Assist yourself in the reading of the play by finding a No Fear Shakespeare version of Lear, which will have the original text side-by-side with a modern interpretation for easy reference.

• One caution: if you choose this route, don't forsake the original Shakespeare! If you read only the modern interpretation of the language, you'll lose a lot of what makes Shakesepeare, well, Shakespeare. Yes, the plots are interesting and the themes are universal, but it's the language that has set Shakespeare apart all these years, so don't ignore it. 

Okay. Following one or more of these steps should help you get the most out of the play. Now for your assignment.

Yes, there's an Assignment!

And here it is:

Choose a "speech" from King Lear (and I'm defining speech here as an uninterrupted quote from one character of at least 10 lines), memorize it, and recite it for us at our meeting on March 4th. Then explain what it means and why you chose it. 

I realize that for some of you the very thought of memorizing and reciting a passage like this might inspire fear, sweaty palms, and an urge to call-in sick, but you know what? That's all the more reason to give this a shot. Here are a few things to keep in mind:

1. We're a friendly group, and we'll be supportive no matter what. Seriously. Picture your fellow lit-groupers. It's a pretty mellow bunch, and no one's going to judge you. This is a really safe place to give recitation a try. Really. Safe. (Really.)
2. I'll be on hand to offer you cues if you forget a line or lose your place.
3. Practice makes perfect, or at least pretty close to it. So choose your lines, find a private space (or a supportive parent or sibling), and recite. Over and over and over. The more you do it, the more able you'll be to do it on auto-pilot. Or in your sleep. Or upside down and backwards. Or however you want. And the less scary it will be.

That's it. Happy reading, and I'll see you on the 4th!

* In the interests of full disclosure, I freelance for Shmoop. Just so you know. I didn't write any of the Lear stuff, but I've done other guides, mostly for teachers. 

My Favorite Book from High School English Class

Our next book is The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, and yes, it was my absolute favorite book during all four years of high school English. 

There are two things I think you should be aware of going in. First, this paragraph from SparkNotes: 

"The Bell Jar is an autobiographical novel that conforms closely to the events of the author’s life. Sylvia Plath was born to Otto and Aurelia Plath in 1932 and spent her early childhood in the seaport town of Winthrop, Massachusetts. Otto Plath died when Plath was eight years old, and she moved with her mother, younger brother, and maternal grandparents to Wellesley, an inland suburb of Boston. Plath excelled in school and developed a strong interest in writing and drawing. In 1950, she won a scholarship to attend Smith College, where she majored in English. The Bell Jar recounts, in slightly fictionalized form, the events of the summer and autumn after Plath’s junior year." 

And second, this "Brain Snack" from Shmoop.com: 

Sylvia Plath originally published The Bell Jar in London under a pseudonym, Victoria Lucas. She did not want the novel published in America in her mother's lifetime because of its potentially hurtful material. The novel wasn't published in America until 1971. (Source)

Interesting, eh? I always wonder just how honest people are when they write about themselves, their lives, or their families for publication. 

Wouldn't it be hard, after all, to tell the absolute truth about painful moments -- moments that might not cast you or your family in the best light? 

Or to say something unflattering about your siblings or parents, knowing that they might read it? 

The fact that Plath tried to keep the book from her mother because of "potentially hurtful material" seems to suggest she may not have pulled her punches. But even if she tried to be truthful in representing her young self, her colleagues, and her family ... is that even possible? Just how honest can one be when one is recalling and interpreting the events of one's own life? 

All right, I'm getting a little existential here, so let me bring things back with a few more concrete questions:

1. What similarities, if any, do you see between Esther Greenwood and Melinda Sordino? Between The Bell Jar and Speak?
2. What's up with the title? Why is this book called, The Bell Jar? 
3. Why does Esther struggle so? What events or conditions seem to contribute to her difficulty coping with life and her desire -- at times -- to end her life?
4. Does The Bell Jar touch upon any of the universal themes we've discussed (Individual v. Society, Individual v. Self, Individual v. Nature, Individual v. Individual), and if so, how? 
5. Aside from the bell jar, are there any other items that might be symbols in the book? Any repeated images or ideas? 

And finally, a question I stole from About.com:

• How essential is the setting to the story? Could the story have taken place anywhere else?

Okay. Lots to think about. 

Please come prepared to discuss at least ONE of these questions in depth, preferably more than one. And as always, bring your own thoughts and ideas along for the ride. 

Happy reading! See you on February 4th.

Do You Suffer from Glossophobia?

Sounds like it has something to do with being scared of glossaries or really shiny surfaces, doesn’t it? Not so. Glossophobia is actually the fear of public speaking—something from which apparently a good 75% of the population suffers.

If you enjoy speaking in public—actually look forward to standing in front of a packed auditorium and reciting one of Hamlet’s soliloquies or sharing your views on life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness—good for you, but you’re in the minority. Most people dread it, just like the narrator of our next book, Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson.

A Rose by Any Other Name

Melinda Sordino. She's the protagonist of Speak, and despite Juliet’s views on roses, Melinda's name matters. Sordino is a musical term instructing a performer to “mute” an instrument, therefore:

Sordino = Mute

So . . . what’s a girl with the last name “mute” doing in a book called Speak? Good question. The answer? Lot of things, one of which happens to be attempting to survive her Freshman year at Merryweather High School. 

Motifs and Symbols and Metaphors, Oh My!

But back to Melinda's last name: it's just one of the many clever literary shenanigans L.H. Anderson engages in during Speak. Some others to contemplate are what Anderson has done with:

• trees
• the weather
• The Scarlet Letter
• Melinda's mouth
• rabbits
• closets
• mirrors
• silence
• Maya Angelou
• Melinda's hornet allergy

This book is full of symbolism, including extended metaphors and motifs (we'll discuss the subtle differences between these terms), and it also tackles three universal themes:

• Individual v. Individual
• Individual v. Self
• Individual v. Society

So, yeah. We'll have a lot to discuss when we get together on Monday the 6th. 

Bring along your questions and comments ...

... as well as any thoughts you have on the symbolism you notice in the book or the way those three universal themes manifest themselves. 

Happy reading!

"We went to the moon to have fun, but the moon turned out to completely suck."

I love this first line! It sets the tone for the novel right away. Without reading any further we know:

1. this must be sci-fi;
2. our narrator is sort of disenchanted and surly, most likely young, and will be addressing us with a conversational tone; and
3. when we add the title of the chapter, "your face is not an organ," into the mix, we get the feeling things might get dark. Or sarcastic. Or both. 

So yeah, great first line. And actually, M.T. Anderson does a lot of great things in Feed. The narrator's voice is just one of them.

Published in 2001, Feed gives us a look at a world that's not all that far into the future, a world in which internet connections and IM apps stream directly through our consciousness. If you look around, it's easy to see that we've quickly become a society of people more or less attached to our devices, but what if those devices were internal?

Google Glass is definitely a step in that direction, and people are excited about it. But should they be?


How much technology is too much technology?

Is there even such a thing as too much technology?

When technology allows us to do so many cool things, how can we determine where to draw lines or create boundaries?


It's a brave new world, indeed, and Feed certainly pays homage to our last title. It is, however, a YA book, and you'll recall (or maybe you won't, but I'll remind you) that in one of our first meetings I said that one of the qualities of a YA novel is that it tends to be more hopeful than other adult or classic literature. So that's one thing I want you to think about for our next meeting:

• Is Feed a hopeful book? 

• Does it have a hopeful ending? Why or why not? 

• Between Feed and Brave New World, which book do you think has a more hopeful ending? 

Come ready to discuss - and possibly even debate - the statements, "Feed is ultimately a hopeful novel," and, "Feed ends on a more hopeful note than Brave New World."

See you on December 16th! Happy reading. 

Brave New Blog

 Our next meeting is on November 18th, and we'll be discussing Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. 

First Edition, Chatto & Windus, 1932

One thing you're going to notice right away about Brave New World is that there's a lot of sex. 

Okay, not a lot of sex, exactly, but a lot of sex talk. In fact, that's the way the book starts--with a sex talk to new students touring the Central London Hatchery and Conditioning Centre. And this sex talk? It's not your mother's version of the birds and the bees.

In the society of Brave New World, children are neither conceived nor born in the ways we're used to, and as for how they're raised, well, let's just say "family" is a foreign concept for the Londoners of A.F. 632. It's a foreign world, for sure, but it's inspired by ours, and you're sure to see some practices and attitudes that resemble aspects of our society taken to the extreme. Casual sex is one. Consumerism is another. And yes, there are more.

Harper Perennial Classics Edition, 1998

Brave New Understanding

In order to help you better understand the reading, check out the Definitions and Clarifications on the right. Then consider the topics and questions below so you'll be ready for our discussion.

As usual: write, take notes, store ideas in your mental file cabinet--whatever works best for you. Just come ready to talk about this stuff. And feel free to bring some questions of your own for discussion.

For Your Consideration

1. Castes - There's a rigidly structured caste system in A.F. 632. What are the castes, how are they defined, and how is this social separation accomplished? What purpose does it serve? Is it effective? Do we have a caste system in the United States? 
2. Sex - Why is there such a focus on sex in this novel? What role does sex play in the society of A.F. 632? How is that different from the roles sex and sexuality play in our society?
3. Simple Lifers - These folks are briefly mentioned in Chapter Three. Who were they, and what happened to them?
4. Soma - What is this magic drug? How is it used? Why is it used? Do you see any parallels to soma in our society?
5. Ford - What's all this business with Ford? What role does Ford play in this society, and why do you think Huxley chose Ford in particular? 

Vintage Canada Edition, 2007

All right. 

There are about a million more things to discuss in this book ... 

... but we'll keep this list short so as not to overwhelm. If anything jumps out at you while you're reading--anything you don't get or want to discuss--write it down and bring it with you! We'll get through as much as we can. 

Happy reading. 

See you on the 18th.

Pride and Prejudice ... and Zombies?

Absolutely Not
There are no zombies in this book. In fact, if your copy has this first line:

"It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains." 

... you've grabbed the wrong book.


The Right Book
Our P&P, the original  P&P, has no mention of the undead (or, for that matter, brains) in its first sentence. And that first sentence? It's one of the most well-known first lines in literature. For confirmation of that fact, check these:

• The 20 Best Opening Lines from Books
• Famous First Lines of Novels
• 30 Great Opening Lines in Literature

See? I'm not making it up. Nor did I make up that spoof of P&P's first line featuring zombies (and brains). It's the first line of a book titled--you guessed it--Pride and Prejudice and Zombies which came out in 2008 and was quickly followed by Sense and Sensibility and Seamonsters, Mansfield Park and Mummies, and Emma and the Vampires. 

Who knew there was this whole genre of literature--classic/horror/sci-fi mashups--waiting to be discovered? 

Probably not Jane Austen 200 years ago when Pride and Prejudice was first published (1813). But judging by the humor she exhibits in this novel and others, it seems like Austen would probably get a kick out of these adaptations of her classic novels. 

Wait A Minute--Did You Say Humor?  

Yep. If you haven't noticed it yet you've probably just been a little thrown off by the vocabulary and sentence structure, but Pride and Prejudice is actually a pretty funny book. For an example, let's check out that first line--the real first line--again:

"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife."

Uh, no it's not. Not now, and not then. See what Austen's doing there? She's mocking the societal expectations of her generation--particularly the expectations of busybodies like Mrs. Bennet who are wholly obsessed with marrying off their daughters. The conversation that follows between Mr. and Mrs. Bennet confirms the mockery as we see that Mrs. Bennet is so preoccupied with getting one of her daughters hitched to the new bachelor in town (without ever having met, or even seen, him) that she can't tell her husband is toying with her. 

The novel is full of this sort of satirical writing--as well as a healthy dose of romance, feminism, scandal, and melodrama--and that's part of what makes it a classic, a book that has withstood the test of time. At least, I think it has, but we'll see what you think about its relevance in today's world (and today's high school lit classes) when we meet on October 28th. 

And Now, The Questions

You knew they were coming, and here they are. Please take a moment to read them all, and then choose one (or more) to really focus in on prior to our discussion so you'll be ready to offer some deep thoughts when it comes up in the group. 

Just like last time, you can do this in writing (compose an essay, construct a paragraph, jot down some notes or bullet points), or you can do it in another format: create a collage, illustrate or sculpt your answer, keep a mental list in your steel trap of a mind--whatever works best for you. Got it? Okay, go!

1. What does "love" mean in this novel? Is it the same emotion we talk about today? Which characters think that love is a necessary part of adult life? Which don't? What does that say about them?
   
2. What does Austen’s take on marriage seem to be? Which marriages in the novel are “successful” marriages and why? Are there any “unsuccessful” marriages? What makes a marriage good or bad in the context of Pride and Prejudice? Which marriage, in your opinion, represents the best match?
   
3. Let’s talk money. Which plot elements in this novel involve some kind of monetary transaction? Which plotlines don’t involve money at all? Consider your answers to these two questions and explain why you think money is—or isn’t—an important part of the overall plot of Pride and Prejudice.
   
4. Look at the male and female characters in Pride and Prejudice. Which ones do you think Austen wants us to like and approve of, and which ones does she want us to dislike or find questionable? What does this say about Jane Austen’s ideas of gender roles? How are her views similar or different from the views expressed in Graceling? How are they similar or different to your views?
   
5. How are the lives of the poor gentry (the Bennet girls, Charlotte) different from the lives of the rich gentry (Miss Bingley, Miss Darcy, etc.)? How do their options in life compare? How might their approaches to courtship and marriage compare?
   
6. What are the various ways that women relate to each other in this novel? Does the novel give us examples of female friendship, or does it mostly set women up as competitors? What is the difference between sisterhood and friendship?
   
7. Who always says what he/she means? Who never says what he/she means? Which is more effective at getting others to do what the character wants? Explain your answer.
   
8. The novel is titled Pride and Prejudice, so which characters represent pride, and which ones represent prejudice? Explain.
   
9. What similarities and differences do you see between Elizabeth Bennet and Katsa (of Graceling)? What about between Mr. Darcy and Po? Are there any other characters that seem to have matches between books? Who do you think is the stronger female lead character--Elizabeth Bennet or Katsa? Why? And who’s the better man, Darcy or Po? Why?
   
10. Is Pride and Prejudice still relevant in today’s world? Should it be taught as part of high school English classes or are there other books, like Graceling, that tackle similar themes in a more socially relevant way?