This is an ad from the 1950s. Is it still true of the general public today? What will the future look like? It makes me wonder.
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My Classic Fiction Book List -Partial List
- Austen, Jane: (Complete Works)
- Balzac: Cousin Bette/ Eugenie Grandet / Cousin Pons
- Best Russian Short Stories
- Boyle, TC: Short Works
- Brennan, Maeve : Short Works, 1 Novella
- Bronte, Emily, Ann, Jane (Complete Works)
- Brookner, Anita ( Complete Works)
- Cather, Willa (Complete Works)
- Chekov: Short Works
- David Copperfield (Dickens)
- Dickens:A Tale of Two Cities
- Dickens:Great Expectations
- Dickens:Nicholas Nickelby
- Dickens:Our Mutual Friend
- Dickens:The Old Curiosity Shop
- Doyle, Roddy (some novels, memoir)
- Drabble, Margaret (4 Novels)
- Drieser, Theodore (Complete Works)
- Fitzgerald, F.Scott (Most Novels & short works)
- Hardy, Thomas (Complete Works)
- Hemingway, Short stories
- Hemingway: The Old Man in the Sea
- Hemingway: The Sun Also Rises
- Hugo: Les Miserables/Hunchback Of ND
- James, Henry: Daisy Miller
- James, Henry: In The Cage
- James, Henry: Portrait of a Lady
- James, Henry: The Golden Bowl
- James, Henry: What Maisy Knew
- James, Henry: Wings of a Dove
- James, Henry:The Ambassadors
- James, Henry; The Bostonians
- Kerouac: Dharma Bums
- Kerouac: On The Road
- Kerouac: The Subterraneans
- Kerouac: Tristessa
- Lardner,Ring:Short Works
- Larsen: Quicksand
- Lewis, Sinclair: Arrowsmith
- Lewis, Sinclair: Free Air
- Lewis, Sinclair: Main Street
- Lewis, Sinclair: The Job
- MacGill, Patrick (Complete works)
- Mackin, Walter (novels)
- Maupassant: Short Works, novels
- McGahern, John (novels of)
- McNulty, John (Short Works)
- Norris, Frank: McTeague
- O'Brien, Edna (3 Novels)
- O'Donnell, Paeder : Novels of
- O. Henry
- Potok, Chaim (4 novels/1 non fiction)
- Salinger, JD : Nine Stories
- Salinger: Franny & Zooey
- Salinger: Raise High the Roofbeams
- Salinger: The Catcher in the Rye
- Sinclair, Lewis: Dodsworth
- Sinclair, Lewis: Elmer Gantry
- Sinclair, Upton: King Coal
- Sinclair, Upton: The Jungle
- Steinbeck, John: Sweet Thursday
- Steinbeck: Winter of our Discontent
- Steinbeck: Cannery Row
- Steinbeck: East of Eden
- Steinbeck: The Grapes of Wrath
- Theroux, Paul (3 Novels )
- Toibin, Colm: (Novels of)
- Tolstoy: Anna Karenina
- Tolstoy: Short Works
- Turgenev (2 novels)
- Twain: T Sawyer, Life on the Mississippi
- Vonnegut: Early Works (1950s-60s)
- Wharton, Edith: Novels of/Short Stories
- Women & Fiction (Edit. Cahill)
- Zola, Emile ( 10 novels)
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- From a Little Golden Book
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- News Tidbits
- Phrase Books
- The Educated Man
- How About "Out?"
- Classics + Comics
- Theme Thursday: A Library in a Small Town
- More Odds and Ends
- Mishmash
- Soul & Romance
- Blogger's Book Club (Part 1)
- Book Titles (Part 1)
- Like Candy & Update on 109
- Trout Fishing in America
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17 comments:
According to a study( who does these things, anyway? ), more and more kids lack the reading skills due to poor eye coordination. They spend more time watching telly and playing video games than actually reading a book( which requires a different set of eye muscles, all together ). Hence they are not able to read as well or as much.
Keeping this in mind, it's no wonder the illiteracy rate isn't higher than it is. To wit: to-morrow's generations will be ever so dependent on computers, that they won't have to learn( or read ) a darn thing. Just go look it up( assuming they can spell the URL ), on the 'net. I've seen this first hand...and I don't think it's a trend...
The world is changing. The youth of today communicate in different ways. Try talking to a neice or nephew on a social site like facebook and be prepared to be surprised that they do have opinions! They all have so much leisure time that education is squeezed into their busy social schedules. Trying to influence our children otherwise is like swimming against the tide. Mainstream education is failing our children with special needs in the UK. Both my sisters now home- educate their children and I have to say, I wish I had had the time, the vision, the confidence and the courage to do the same.
VBC book suggestion: 'Mr Pip' by Lloyd Jones (200 pages, quite good reviews in the UK, not read it myself but my sister has and she gave it to me for my birthday so she must have thought it a good read)
"Mr. Pip" is available in the states, is a coming of age novel, well-reviewed. compared to "To Kill a Mockingbird" A New Zealander prize winning author,
Sounds very good.
The setting is a war-torn island off Papua-New Guinea, where the locals are beseiged on all sides by foreign troops, rebels, and aimless do-gooders.
Who wants to add this title to our list for the month of May?
I'll stay out of the book selection for previously stated reasons. Just want to add this little bit to cinnamon's comment: I once owned a French manual of Stylistics, written at the beginning of the twentieth century, in which the author announced The Death of Culture (and of the French Language too, while he was at it) because French children, instead of doing their summer homework had taken up the fiendish new habit of bicycle riding.
So now we know what went wrong with the world - but is it too late to correct it? O tempora! O mores!
Avid, Mr. Pip sounds good for May. I should be able to find a copy. What was April's pick? Did I miss a post?
Sub--Your Martha Grimes Stargazey is April.
RL-- The fiendish habit of bicycling! Yeas! & I remember reading somewhere that young persons doing that new shocking dance --The Waltz-- meant the end of all elegance and virtue.
Squirrel, thanks! (and I know juuuust where to find a copy ) :)
I also received bad news, in that our library will now be closed on Monday's, starting March 2. OUCH!I've the "Out" book on the way and I'm sure to find a copy of Mr.Pip, as well( maybe I can get both while I'm there ).
Sub: your library is heading in the wrong direction. Martha Grimes book sounds good. Richard Jury is a great character. Pip; I'll look for a copy.
Avid: Is that your painting? I love it.
All: L is still an avid reader, but spends lots of time "checking" Facebook.
tut-tut, this is ones series you can read out of order and still be up on it. I finished "DUST" a couple weeks ago. Fantastic cliff-hanger! I hope for another. I think I'm addicted :)...to reading...as for the library, it's one of those cost cutting things. The schools are even worse! Some of our town libraries are only open two days a week :(
Hello,
I'm reading all these comments and I get the feeling I'm swimming with sharks.
Anyways, here's my 2 cents: Our wonderful American culture dismisses anything intellectual. As a matter of fact, it's okay to make fun of nerds, geeks, and anything/anyone remotely educated.
This saddens me because our kids cannot possible compete in a 21st century global economy.
And as far as literacy goes, there's an interesting bit of research called "Is google making us stupid?"...check it out. It's online.
Bye for now.
Auntie, you should see my reference library. I can't find everything on the 'net. For some reason, I can find it faster in a card catalogue. Will check out this google bit....
Hey 77,
For most grown-folks like us, we can find info faster in a good reference BOOK than on the Internet. That's because the free Web is mostly uncatalogued and pretty disorganized.
I get crazy when my students will waste hours looking for a bit of information on the Internet when they could have found it in the encyclopedia in 3 minutes.
Auntie: when I worked in a library 12 or so years ago, the most loved things to be taken out by boys (lots) were the TinTin comics. Maybe things have changed.
I fear that in many circles today he is neither envied nor emulated. However, it is still the way to go in my book (pun intended).
The offspring reads every day. But he was well trained! :)
Auntie, so true,so true.
Megan, that's a good thing. My Dad started me to reading almost ere I could write. I've never known how NOT to read.
Tut,
The boys in my school LOVE comic books. Some boys are more picky, and will read only manga. But some of my boys will read anything that is in graphic format.
If it weren't for the comics, I would never see any of these boys here in the library.
Some of the literacy teachers give me a hard time because they frown on comics. But to me, reading is reading.
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