tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4130421352415377273.post6282866627068734452..comments2024-03-29T07:54:19.736-07:00Comments on Books in Northport: Happy In My WorkP. J. Grathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12693462910472164289noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4130421352415377273.post-66744173883658885712017-03-29T09:22:19.519-07:002017-03-29T09:22:19.519-07:00Edmund, you are too kind!Edmund, you are too kind!P. J. Grathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12693462910472164289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4130421352415377273.post-87141882312176685042017-03-28T11:22:20.105-07:002017-03-28T11:22:20.105-07:00Beautiful flowers for a beautiful person!Beautiful flowers for a beautiful person!Edmundhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02111852227359024538noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4130421352415377273.post-72025191555845543122017-03-27T08:17:34.476-07:002017-03-27T08:17:34.476-07:00Lucia and Deborah, my first thought was that the s...Lucia and Deborah, my first thought was that the students were medicalizing problems that are simply part of human existence. Now, a couple of days later, I still see that but also see them like (amateur or pretend) doctors looking at characters as individual "patients" out of the very crucial context of human relationships. I can't say much more specifically about EAST OF EDEN, although it was one of the books chosen by our reading circle and I did read it, because not many details of the story have stayed with me. And that's odd, too, isn't it? How a certain book, read only once, sears itself into the mind for years and years, while so many others make only temporary impressions?<br /><br />Dawn and Barbara, it certainly was a lovely day, and spring is really, truly, though slowly and with a lot backsliding, getting here at last. Sarah, I'm so glad you were there, too! I love having an opportunity to introduce "my" authors to people who just happen to drop in at the right time! <br /><br />And oh, the flowers!!!P. J. Grathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12693462910472164289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4130421352415377273.post-6965360762769152432017-03-25T18:00:52.218-07:002017-03-25T18:00:52.218-07:00Uplifting and welcome!Uplifting and welcome!Barbara Stark-Nemonhttp://barbarastarknemon.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4130421352415377273.post-17848541744338302902017-03-25T13:54:08.635-07:002017-03-25T13:54:08.635-07:00I'm so glad I could be there that day, when th...I'm so glad I could be there that day, when the flowers arrived, when new folks to the store walked in, when all seemed exactly as it should be, even though it was raining outside! Dog Ears is one of the best places to be on a rainy day.<br />SarahSarah Shoemakernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4130421352415377273.post-4742997401710732812017-03-25T13:49:53.769-07:002017-03-25T13:49:53.769-07:00Spring...even if it turns out it was an illusion.....Spring...even if it turns out it was an illusion...makes all things better.Dawnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00824027366993286152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4130421352415377273.post-72088257285424970362017-03-25T08:04:40.569-07:002017-03-25T08:04:40.569-07:00Lucia - what fascinating comments from your studen...Lucia - what fascinating comments from your students. What ages are they? And of course I so agree that Alexie and Miller were definitely thinking/writing about much more than someone's ADD or dementia.<br /><br />I love your blog today Pamela! The flowers are beautiful, aren't they? The visual glory of Spring in your store is one I can easily imagine. Your thoughts resonate with me on so many accounts - the way time is used as well as fleeing and certainly that you and all of us make choices in life that affect us in various ways. <br />Deborahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02101133608076884449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4130421352415377273.post-85048211488069880052017-03-25T06:57:11.850-07:002017-03-25T06:57:11.850-07:00I can't wait to get up there! I just finished...I can't wait to get up there! I just finished reading _East of Eden_ for the first time. Oh la! The ways sons and daughters fight for attention and are affected by rejection feels so universal, and the way Steinbeck uses the Cain and Abel story and translations of Hebrew was brilliant. I love Lee's line: "Nobody has the right to remove any single experience from another. Life and death are promised. We have a right to pain." I got a kick out of Lee's dream of having a bookstore in San Francisco. :)<br /><br />I worry though that the young psychologize literature too much, simplifying it. This week students said that the Thomas character in _Smoke Signals_ is "either autistic or has ADD," and when we saw _Death of a Salesman_ they just said "Willie has dementia." I'm pretty sure that Sherman Alexie and Arthur Miller were doing something more complex than that!<br /><br />Talk soon! Lucia<br /><br />Luciahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14280344904008788985noreply@blogger.com