Phyllis

My Great Books book club discussed “The Country of the Pointed Firs” on August 24, 2024.

I first learned about this book when Shimer College (a Great Books school) was closing down their library and moving to North Central College in Naperville. A few years later, I lucked into a family trip to the south east coast of Maine in September and absolutely loved it.

So, imagine my elation that I was finally able to convince the rest of the group to read this book! It was the perfect summer trip when one is not able to make it out to the coast.

At first, the book might seem simple or not have much of a plot. However, we receive an entrée into a tight-knit community devastated by dangerous fishing expeditions and the US Civil War. We also see a lonely author making friends with the wonderful people of Dunnets Landing; there is no question that her life is changed for the better after her summer there.

Considering that this book is set in the late 1800s during a Victorian, strait-laced time, there is a refreshing freedom to all of the characters' movements and thoughts. No one bats an eye when the main character, whose name we never learn, goes off on a walk in the country with her friends' brother.

The book also has a lot to say about friendship and is really worth a read, although it is often overlooked today.

Here are discussion questions I put together from a combination of online sources and some of my own questions:

1. The novella is considered a shining example of local color. Did the regional dialect used in the book add to, distract from, or have a neutral effect on the story?
2. Did you feel like Orne-Jewett transported you to coastal Maine about 130 years ago? How does the at times idyllic and other times harsh coast of Maine, or “Country of the Pointed Firs,” relate to the townspeople's inner lives?
3. How has the town of Dunnet Landing changed over time based on the stories related to the narrator? Has the community become tighter-knit as the men of the town died at sea or in the Civil War, the shipping industry declined, and younger folks moved away?
4. Why do you think we never find out the narrator's name? Is it unusual that none of the townspeople ever address her by name as would have been the custom of the time? How much writing do you think she actually accomplished? Do you think the narrator ever returns?
5. Throughout the story, several townsfolk tell the narrator stories featuring supernatural events. How did these second-hand accounts interweave with the realistic tone of the rest of the novella?
6. Meals are often served before major storytelling sections. What is the interconnection between food and people's lives?
7. Throughout the novella, the theme of friendship comes up in different ways. What was the author trying to express about this type of relationship for the townspeople?
8. Consider the story of Mrs. Todd's and the minister's visit to Joanna Todd. Also consider the book is set during the Victorian era. What is the view of religion in Dunnet Landing? Did the allusions to Greek mythology and other classics seem more pervasive than Protestant or Christian allusions?
9. Do you consider the novel a feminist work?
10. Did you read the “Four Related Stories” about Dunnet Landing? Did they provide a different view of the town and its people?


Sources and Further Reading:
https://www.gradesaver.com/the-country-of-the-pointed-firs-and-other-stories/study-guide/essay-questions
https://www.enotes.com/topics/country-pointed/themes
https://litdevices.com/literature/country-pointed-first/

As inspiration for weekly art with the kids (or art by myself at the forest preserve's beer garden while everyone else is fishing, or in the playground, or at the volleyball pit, etc.), I picked up this book from the library.

As advertised, the book does offer 20 ways to draw a tree. The illustrations are relatively simple and good practice in drawing or painting a similar version. One day, I painted 15 of the 20 flowers, for example, with different watercolors.

This is a nice book to pick up if you want sketchbook ideas or are practicing drawing or painting skills.

This book is soooo much fun!

During the summer, the step kids and I liked to do art together at least once a week. Midway through this hot summer (and approaching non-Summer Camp days around July 4th), I found this book at the library. A treasure!

A we had a blast doing about 25% of different exercises (draw a specific thing with your non-dominant hand, then eyes closed with dominant hand, and so forth). We were truly cracking up while ding these exercises and there weee nearly daily requests for “the nonsense book.”

This book was recommended by a podcaster on YouTuber I happened across during a sleepless night (will try to find the link later).

What a pleasant find! This book is a coming-of-age story mixed with late-60s small town life with a dash of civil rights and a smidge of Southern Gothic plus a little supernatural/voodoo magic. And maybe a few other things I'm not including. It reminds me a bit of Stephen King's best books and stories, but set in Alabama instead of Maine.

Occasionally, during the intro and outro chapters, the author got a little too folksy and wistful about the good old days. Otherwise, the characters were really well-done and the story interesting. Some reviewers felt there was no plot, but I think there's a lot here about learning to face up to fears, relying on friends and family in tough situations, and figuring out right from wrong. That may sound nanny-pamby, but it had a lot more depth than some folks think.

The “Roadside History of Illinois” by Stan Banash is a nice travel companion to my home state. I picked it up from the library for a family trip to Springfield. The section regarding the Springfield area was helpful and well-written, much like the rest of the book. Stan Banash has a flair for providing interesting tidbits about various points in Illinois organized in manageable short driving trips.

The beginning of the book starts off with a brief chronological history of the state, followed by state facts and a compendium of important firsts. There's also a delightful introduction by the great Dee Brown, who the author must have met while working on a few compilations of Dee's.

From there, the book is broken up into a few regions and then key sites or towns wi the in that region. This book doesn't contain addresses or contact information for these points of interest, which would likely become more and more out of date as time goes on.

I watched the movie back in the 90s when a friend and I were having a Paul Newman marathon (as one does). And I remember loving it! At that point, our English class had read and analyzed Williams' “The Glass Menagerie, which I adored, and I'd watched a few other movie adaptations of Williams “Streetcar” and “Baby Doll.”

So, it may have been my insistence that we read a play for the May 2024 Great Books meeting that lead to selecting “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.” This time around, I found the movie and the play far less alluring. In fact, the characters seem overly histrionic, unbelievable, and spew ridiculously long speeches. Some of the short back and forth barbs were quite good, though.

If you have watched the 1958 movie version, you'll notice that some of Act II moves to the end of the movie. Some of the interchanges between Big Daddy and Brick were the most effective and believable conversations as both men faced turning points in their lives.

Lastly, the stage directions seemed overly specific and almost annoying (or at least I'd find them annoying if I was the director).

Sometimes I ought to leave well enough alone as t it s read tarnished my view of the play.

I've always meant to read this book (and meant to watch the 1998 movie adaptation starring Johnny Depp), yet I didn't get around to until my Great Books Book Club chose it for July 2024.

There were parts of this book (unfortunately, I turned in to the library and can't quote exact passages), which were absolutely outstanding. The moments where the Duke pulls back and observes how the people in Vegas represent what Americans have become, gambling and consuming, chasing the unattainable American Dream. Other parts were totally over the top, but that was the point, right?

It was really interesting to consider both “On the Road,” “The Great Gatsby,” Hemingway in general, and “The Armies of the Night;” our book club has read all of those since 2008 and they all come up in this book.

So, am I glad I read this book? Yes, most definitely. Do I want to read a few other books by Thompson, such as “Hells Angels” and “Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail ‘72?” Yes! Do I enjoy Gonzo Journalism? Jury is out.

Discussion Questions from 07/20/2024 Meeting
1. How do the Steadman illustrations affect the narrative?
2. Were the cultural and political references enjoyable/helpful or baffling (i.e Martin Borrman, Fatty Arbuckle)?
3. Is the narrator reliable? How valuable are his perceptions? How does external violence (assassinations, the Vietnam War) influence his internal state?
4. How does the narrator describe psychedelic drugs and what is their function in the story?
5. Thompson quotes William Faulkner: “the best fiction is far more true than any kind of journalism.” What is Gonzo journalism and how is it different from New Journalism? Is this book a novel or is it journalism or something else?
6. What is the author's view of police and authority and how did they play a part in the story? Can you compare the discussion in Part 2, Chapter 7 that the Duke and his attorney have with the DA from Georgia to the 1980's War on Drugs?
7. What is the author's view on the 1960's counterculture movement (looking back at it from 1971)? How about the Beats?
8. What do the Great Red Shark and the White Whale reflect about American values? What is the meaning of all the rides that Duke and his attorney go on and what are they looking for?
9. Why does Duke refer to the Las Vegas hotel Circus Circus as “the main nerve of the American Dream.”
10. The book's subtitle is “A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream.” The author stated in interviews that he used F. Scott Fitzgerald's “The Great Gatsby” as a template for this novel. What was the American Dream of the 1960's vs the 1920's? Why does Duke fixate on Horatio Alger?
11. How would you interpret the “Wave Speech” at the end of Chapter 8, Part I? How would you compare it to the last page of The Great Gatsby?

1998 Movie clip of the “Wave Speech:” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUgs2O7Okqc&t=103s


Sources and Further Reading:
“A Rare Recording of Hunter S. Thompson” on Hoopla: https://www.hoopladigital.com/my/hoopla

https://www.beatdom.com/fact-fiction-fear-loathing/

https://www.reddit.com/r/books/comments/vleb1b/breaking_down_fear_and_loathing_in_las_vegas_long/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunter_S._Thompson

During the pandemic, I came across Minnie Smalls' YouTube channel. About a year and a half beforehand, a friend got me into Let's Make Art, which used to have really fun free YouTube watercolor videos and optional physical art boxes providing materials for the tutorials.

Back to the point! I didn't have the luxury of extra time some folks did during the pandemic (had less!), but I did have a lot of time for art. And looking for tangentially related art YouTube channels (not just the Welsh Twins). That's how I found Minnie Smalls! She has lovely videos about sketchbooks and blogs and many other things-well worth checking out!

Lo and behold, I was browsing through our books at the library this summer and came across this great sketchbook inspiration book! I completed 5 or so of the prompts and really enjoyed Minnie's instructions and examples from her own sketchbooks. I also really enjoyed the variants and sub-exercises offered.

This is one of the best sketchbook inspiration books I've seen so far and am very likely to buy!

“The Lemon Man” was just okay. I think a hit man with over ten years of experience would be just a smidge more circumspect and spend more time analyzing his hits than biking around and casually pulling multiple jobs in less than a week. The dialogue doesn't sing like Tana French's books and left me feeling like I could have been in many other English-speaking big cities. A lot of the characters were flat and the e tire Olivia storyline should have been edited out. Should I read the newest book? Meh.

The first installment of the Ruth Galloway series was pretty enjoyable and I'll definitely check out the next one. The mystery was interesting, but what really struck me was the setting. Elly Griffith does a great job creating atmosphere and making the Saltmarsh its own character. Also, I could totally identify with Ruth and enjoyed several of the supporting characters.

After absolutely loving the author's earlier “Less,” I was really looking forward to this sequel. Yet, this book seemed too interested in its own belly button and didn't spark. I only made it about 25% of the way through before I could no longer renew it at the library, so back it went.

During a recent vacation to New Mexico, I saw Tony Hillerman's books at just about every single gift shop and anywhere selling books. After thoroughly enjoying all the wonderful sights of New Mexico, I thought I'd like to go there again from home.

Well, whoopsie doodles, I picked up the fourth book in Tony Hillman's detective series (“The People of Darkness”) because it was the oldest one available at the library. And I'd neglected my phone at home and couldn't look up the proper order. Or ask a librarian.

After thoroughly enjoying that book, in my typical completist/OCD fashion, went back to the beginning of the series to “The Blessing Way.” To be fair, I was distracted by both a close family member's health issue and a busy time at work. Which is why I perhaps had a harder time getting through this book and not necessarily the book own merits or demerits.

I really enjoyed the beginning, but then the story seemed a little convoluted, bogged down (or at least to my distracted mind), and seemed not to make a ton sense. I shall move along with this series to make it past #4 and see if the magic continues.

My 11-year old quasi-stepson's literature class read this book and I decided to read along with him.

While I thought the book would be good, I was blown away by the author's ability to combine the pathos of growing up a middle child and one with a few physical differences that made him the target of bullies.

There are some great family scenes with beautifully drawn characters that leap off the page at you. I also laughed out loud at so many points and found myself crying at others.

This is a great book for middle grade readers up to adults and I look forward to other reads from Christopher Paul Curtis.

During a recent vacation to New Mexico, I saw Tony Hillerman's books at just about every single gift shop and anywhere selling books. After thoroughly enjoying all the wonderful sights of New Mexico, I thought I'd like to go there again from home.

Well, whoopsie doodles, I picked up the fourth book in Tony Hillman's detective series because it was the oldest one available at the library. And I'd neglected my phone at home and couldn't look up the proper order. Or ask a librarian.

Anyway, I'm glad I started with this book instead of the first, which I had a harder time sticking with. The characters are well-drawn and the story was engaging. The author does a good job of keeping you interested in the politics and jurisdictional rules of Indigenous American reservations and municipal/county/state/Federal authorities. That might sound dullsville, but not in the author's hands.

Without being in my excellent Great Books book club, I don't think I would have necessity picked this rather large collection of novellas up. Luckily, outside of the three Earthsea titles I chose not to read (based on the authors suggestion of the order to read the Earthsea cycle), I really enjoyed the stories and artistry of Ursula K Le Guin.

More to come including discussion questions I wrote for our meeting.

The titular “The Goodbye Cat” and “Cat Island” are my favorite stories, although all the stories are heart-warming and centered around cats.

If you've read the author's “The Travelling Cat Chronicles,” you'll recognize some of the characters in “Finding Hachi” and “Life is Not Always Kind.” It's nice to get another point of view on those stories.

A few of the stories weren't fleshed out as well as I expected after the carefully-crafted “The Travelling Cat Chronicles.” This little book is still worth a read and will probably lift your spirits.

Nice reference for a recent trip to New Mexico including Carlsbad, Roswell, Santa Fe, and Albequerque.

I heard an interview with the author, C.L. Miller on NPR's Book a Day podcast. The set up sounded great including an Agatha-Christie-style murder mystery and reveal based in the world of antiques. The author's mother was an expert in antique valuation, so I thought I was in for a real treat.

Sadly, the writing was very stilted and the characters were flat. I kept hoping the book would improve because the authors enthusiasm and ideas were so good, but she just wasn't able to execute.

I read the hardcover version and followed up with the audiobook because I heard that Leslie Jones not only “reads” the book herself, but also riffs on what she wrote. So, listening and reading are totally different experiences, but both are very much Leslie Jones.

She is super honest and straightforward about her all facets of her life. There are times where you will cry at the hardships she and her family endured and times where you will laugh and cheer at Leslie's audacity and courage. It's always interesting to me to hear any creative person talk about their inspiration and artistic process, so this book fit that bill.

I read about 50 pages and kept asking myself, why am I reading this book? I specifically put it on hold and thought it had come from a good source of book suggestions. I finally figured out that this is the wrong “The Last Detective” and put myself out of my misery by returning the book.

To be honest, I skimmed after about 30 pages and nothing really seems to happen. It's a dreadfully dull book that I can't find any reason to recommend.

In which we are introduced to Jeeves and Bertie (when Bertie was a Mannering-Phipps!). This first installment of the twittishly hilarious Bertie and the great, all-knowing Jeeves and the adventure of extricating Gussie from foolish decisions. Quite a romp!

Poor Maisie Dobbs. A woman who once climbed many figurative mountains now flits around foreign countries really messing up intrigues. She's not able to retain a disguise or manage anything undercover (what undercover agent leaves her actual passport laying around her hotel room?). She doesn't seem to pay attention to what is going on around her and is constantly being “found” by various agents on both sides. There are also far too many coincidences for my taste!

And she will not stop going on about James and her lost baby; that may sound cruel and harsh, but this character didn't care for James until after he was killed in a flying accident. Since that rather sloppily-done bit of off-book drama, we have to listen to constant pining after someone Maisie really didn't love. Of course, Billy and Sandra are magically available and ready to work as soon as Maisie returns. Perhaps the publisher realized that Maisie clearly cannot manage any investigating on her own? I really ought to stop with the series at this point as it is outrageously silly.

In which I leave Maisie Dobbs behind. She really has become insufferable.

First of all, this book should have been the end of the Maisie Dobbs series instead of jettisoning our heroine off to various international locales (who also jettisoned her entire life's work, employees, boyfriend (as boring as he is), friends, family, and responsibilities). The end of this book spends a lot of time doing a “final accounting” of Maisie's life during the first 10 books and would have appeared to be a series end to the average reader. While I totally respect that Jacqueline Winspear probably didn't want to walk away from the publisher's promise of more money for continuing this series, I also wish this was the bow on the box.

I mean, is the current-as-of-book-10 Maisie Dobbs the same as the character we met in the first book? This one chastises her Dad to hurry up and get married so she can attend before shipping off to wherever! There is also about 5 minutes spent on her beloved Dad's wedding and far more time spent on getting onto the ship at the end of the book!

This particular mystery was kind of interesting, but I also felt it dragged on way too long. I knew who the killer was about 30% of the way in.

I've complained during the past few installments' reviews about the insufferable boring James Compton. And my complaints do not stop because he's become even more milquetoast and bland. Just chuck him already, Maisie!

Will I keep on with Maisie? Well, I have to because we have the same last name (no relation haha)! I also want to see if she gets any less flaky and remembers that she is a strong/smart person.