https://padlet.com/elainep1329/i88fxlvvbl5t Made with a little mischief en-us 2017-03-20 20:59:38 UTC 2017-03-21 04:39:54 UTC hello@padlet.com elainep1329 https://padlet.com/elainep1329/i88fxlvvbl5t/wish/161332539 by Ernest Hemingway

Set in the 1920s, the novel deals with a group of aimless expatriates in France and Spain. They are members of the cynical and disillusioned post-World War I Lost Generation, many of whom suffer psychological and physical wounds as a result of the war. Two of the novel’s main characters, Lady Brett Ashley and Jake Barnes, typify this generation. Lady Brett drifts through a series of affairs despite her love for Jake; she and Jake are unable to consummate their love, because of a war wound that rendered him impotent. Friendship, stoicism, and natural grace under pressure are offered as the values that matter in an otherwise amoral and often senseless world.

Source: https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Sun-Also-Rises

My Opinion on the Novel:
I would be interested in reading this novel because of its focus on the Lost Generation and disillusionment people had after the war. I would be interested on how this affects the young people who grew up in the war and are trying to find their identity.]]> 2017-03-20 21:01:46 UTC https://padlet.com/elainep1329/i88fxlvvbl5t/wish/161332539 elainep1329 https://padlet.com/elainep1329/i88fxlvvbl5t/wish/161333039 by Zora Neale Hurston
In lyrical prose influenced by folk tales that the author heard while assembling her anthology of African American folklore Mules and Men (1935), Janie Crawford tells of her three marriages, her growing self-reliance, and her identity as a black woman. Much of the dialogueconveys psychological insight through plain speech written in dialect. Whereas her first two husbands are domineering, Janie’s third husband, Tea Cake, is easygoing and reluctantly willing to accept Janie as an equal. Hurston manages to characterize these three very different men without resorting to caricature in the first two instances or idealization in the third. Janie is one of few fictional heroines of the period who is not punished for her sensual nature.

Source: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Their-Eyes-Were-Watching-God

My Opinion on the Novel: 
I would not enjoy reading this book because I usually am not a big fan of love stories and people trying to find love. But I am interested in books about independent women who learn self-reliance, so it is possible that I might find it interesting as Janie tries to find love.]]> 2017-03-20 21:04:34 UTC https://padlet.com/elainep1329/i88fxlvvbl5t/wish/161333039 elainep1329 https://padlet.com/elainep1329/i88fxlvvbl5t/wish/161333581 by Sylvia Plath

This thinly veiled autobiography details the life of Esther Greenwood, a college woman who struggles through a mental breakdown in the 1950s. Plath examines coming of age in a hypocritical world in this painfully introspective novel, which is noted for its symbolic use of bottles and jars and black-and-white colours and its symbols of imprisonment and death.

Source: https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Bell-Jar

My Opinion on the Novel: 
I think I would enjoy this novel because I am interested about coming of age novels. In addition, the main character undergoes an emotional breakdown that leads to insanity, and I think it would be interesting to see the first person perspective of how insanity occurs in real life. ]]> 2017-03-20 21:07:57 UTC https://padlet.com/elainep1329/i88fxlvvbl5t/wish/161333581 elainep1329 https://padlet.com/elainep1329/i88fxlvvbl5t/wish/161333742 by Maya Angelou
In her distinctive lyrical prose, Angelou recounts the first seventeen years of her life, discussing her unsettled childhood in America in the 1930s and her changing relationships. When her parents separate, Maya and her brother Bailey, three and four years old respectively, are sent from their parental home in California back to the segregated South, to live with their grandmother, Momma, in rural Arkansas. Momma provides a strict moralcenter to their lives. At the age of eight, Maya goes to stay with her mother in St. Louis, where she is molested and raped by her mother’s partner. With her brother she later returns to stay with Momma before returning again to live with her mother and her mother’s husband in California. The book ends with the birth of Maya’s first child, Guy.
Source: https://www.britannica.com/topic/I-Know-Why-the-Caged-Bird-Sings

My Opinion on the Novel:
I do not think I would read this book because of its strong themes on rape and molestation that the main character must go through. I do not think I would be able to handle these themes, but might consider it reading later in life.]]> 2017-03-20 21:09:00 UTC https://padlet.com/elainep1329/i88fxlvvbl5t/wish/161333742 elainep1329 https://padlet.com/elainep1329/i88fxlvvbl5t/wish/161334058 by F. Scott Fitzgerald

This Side of Paradise, first novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, published in 1920. Immature though it seems today, the work when it was published was considered a revelation of the new morality of the young in the early Jazz Age, and it made Fitzgerald famous. The novel’s hero, Amory Blaine, is a handsome, spoiled young man who attends Princeton, becomes involved in literary activities, and has several ill-fated romances. A portrait of the Lost Generation, the novel addresses Fitzgerald’s later theme of love distorted by social climbing and greed.

Source: https://www.britannica.com/topic/This-Side-of-Paradise

My Opinion on the Novel:
I would enjoy reading This Side of Paradise because of its similarities to The Great Gatsby. A enjoyed The Great Gatsby a great deal, and I believe with the same type of writing, i would then enjoy This Side of Paradise. I am also interested in the theme of disillusionment and portrayal of the Lost  Generation.]]> 2017-03-20 21:10:38 UTC https://padlet.com/elainep1329/i88fxlvvbl5t/wish/161334058 elainep1329 https://padlet.com/elainep1329/i88fxlvvbl5t/wish/161334372 by Truman Capote
Capote’s most famous work is a pioneering example of both the "nonfiction novel" and the modern "true crime" story. It retells the story of the 1959 murders of the Clutter family in Kansas by a pair of drifting misfits, Dick Hickock and Perry Smith, and of the subsequent trial and execution of the killers. Capote also uses the polarities of this particular case as the starting point for a larger examination of the values of late 1950s and early 1960s America; the respectable Clutters are so wholesomely all-American that they could almost have been invented, while Smith and Hickock come over as brutal real life versions of the James Dean "rebel" culture. The world of the victims is painstakingly and sympathetically reconstructed, but Capote’s real interest is in the emotional lives of Perry and Dick, and what might have led them into such murderous excess. Indeed, some argue that Capote was so fascinated by Perry Smith because he saw in him a possible alternative version of himself.

Source: https://www.britannica.com/topic/In-Cold-Blood-novel-by-Capote

My Opinion on the Novel: 
I think I might be able to enjoy reading this because of how it takes a look at the reasons behind why people would commit things like murder or other violent acts. Recently, I read an article about the Nuremburg trials and the defense of the Nazis in the trials, and I found it really interesting so I think this book will also be interesting as well.]]> 2017-03-20 21:12:24 UTC https://padlet.com/elainep1329/i88fxlvvbl5t/wish/161334372 elainep1329 https://padlet.com/elainep1329/i88fxlvvbl5t/wish/161334689 by TC Boyle

Topanga Canyon is home to two couples on a collision course. Los Angeles liberals Delaney and Kyra Mossbacher lead an ordered sushi-and-recycling existence in a newly gated hilltop community: he a sensitive nature writer, she an obsessive realtor. Mexican illegals Candido and America Rincon desperately cling to their vision of the American Dream as they fight off starvation in a makeshift camp deep in the ravine. From the moment a freak accident brings Candido and Delaney into intimate contact, these four and their opposing worlds gradually intersect in what becomes a tragicomedy of error and misunderstanding.
Source: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24731.The_Tortilla_Curtain

My Opinion on the Novel:
I do not think I would read this book because the plot does not sound interesting to me. I have many books that have dealt with people overcoming hardships in California, and frankly, I am a little tired of that.]]> 2017-03-20 21:14:09 UTC https://padlet.com/elainep1329/i88fxlvvbl5t/wish/161334689 elainep1329 https://padlet.com/elainep1329/i88fxlvvbl5t/wish/161369370 by Jeffrey Eugenides
Middlesex tells the breathtaking story of Calliope Stephanides, and three generations of the Greek-American Stephanides family, who travel from a tiny village overlooking Mount Olympus in Asia Minor to Prohibition-era Detroit, witnessing its glory days as the Motor City and the race riots of 1967 before moving out to the tree-lined streets of suburban Grosse Pointe, Michigan. To understand why Calliope is not like other girls, she has to uncover a guilty family secret, and the astonishing genetic history that turns Callie into Cal, one of the most audacious and wondrous narrators in contemporary fiction. Lyrical and thrilling, Middlesex is an exhilarating reinvention of the American epic.
Source: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2187.Middlesex
My Opinion on the Novel:
I think I would enjoy this novel as I've never really read a book on this type of topic that Middlesex goes over, and it would an interesting read to be able to understand more about this.]]> 2017-03-21 02:32:06 UTC https://padlet.com/elainep1329/i88fxlvvbl5t/wish/161369370 elainep1329 https://padlet.com/elainep1329/i88fxlvvbl5t/wish/161369383 by Richard Russo
Richard Russo—from his first novel, Mohawk, to his most recent, Straight Man—has demonstrated a peerless affinity for the human tragicomedy, and with this stunning new novel he extends even further his claims on the small-town, blue-collar heart of the country.

Dexter County, Maine, and specifically the town of Empire Falls, has seen better days, and for decades, in fact, only a succession from bad to worse. One by one, its logging and textile enterprises have gone belly-up, and the once vast holdings of the Whiting clan (presided over by the last scion’s widow) now mostly amount to decrepit real estate. The working classes, meanwhile, continue to eke out whatever meager promise isn’t already boarded up.

Miles Roby gazes over this ruined kingdom from the Empire Grill, an opportunity of his youth that has become the albatross of his daily and future life. Called back from college and set to work by family obligations—his mother ailing, his father a loose cannon—Miles never left home again. Even so, his own obligations are manifold: a pending divorce; a troubled younger brother; and, not least, a peculiar partnership in the failing grill with none other than Mrs. Whiting. All of these, though, are offset by his daughter, Tick, whom he guides gently and proudly through the tribulations of adolescence.

A decent man encircled by history and dreams, by echoing churches and abandoned mills, by the comforts and feuds provided by lifelong friends and neighbors, Miles is also a patient, knowing guide to the rich, hardscrabble nature of Empire Falls: fathers and sons and daughters, living and dead, rich and poor alike. Shot through with the mysteries of generations and the shattering visitations of the nation at large, it is a social novel of panoramic ambition, yet at the same time achingly personal. In the end, Empire Falls reveals our worst and best instincts, both our most appalling nightmares and our simplest hopes, with all the vision, grace and humanity of truly epic storytelling.

Source: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/187020.Empire_Falls?from_search=true

My Opinion on the Novel:
I do not think I would read this novel as to me, it sounds a bit boring with its focus on one man in a declining town that does not have much to offer. Although it might depict average American life perfectly, I do not think I would be interested by the plot.]]> 2017-03-21 02:32:17 UTC https://padlet.com/elainep1329/i88fxlvvbl5t/wish/161369383 elainep1329 https://padlet.com/elainep1329/i88fxlvvbl5t/wish/161369396 by Margaret Atwood

Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. She may leave the home of the Commander and his wife once a day to walk to food markets whose signs are now pictures instead of words because women are no longer allowed to read. She must lie on her back once a month and pray that the Commander makes her pregnant, because in an age of declining births, Offred and the other Handmaids are valued only if their ovaries are viable. Offred can remember the years before, when she lived and made love with her husband, Luke; when she played with and protected her daughter; when she had a job, money of her own, and access to knowledge. But all of that is gone now..

Source: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38447.The_Handmaid_s_Tale

My Opinion on the Novel: 
I do not think I will be reading this novel as the plot does not particularly intrigue me. I am not a big fan of dystopian type of novels as I get easily scared.]]> 2017-03-21 02:32:24 UTC https://padlet.com/elainep1329/i88fxlvvbl5t/wish/161369396 elainep1329 https://padlet.com/elainep1329/i88fxlvvbl5t/wish/161369419 by Amy Tan

Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club is about four Chinese mothers, who came to America when they were young, and their grown daughters who were born in the United States. The mothers formed a club, where they play a Chinese tile game, eat a lot of food, and talk about life. Their stories about their youth in China are both sad and magical. The moms are filled with old-fashioned wisdom, while their daughters' lives are more modern and involve complications their mothers never dreamed of. Because they have different ways of looking at the world, the mothers and daughters often don't see eye-to-eye, but there is a strong bond between them. Told from different points of view, the wisdom in this novel plays out in stories of love, hope, desire, and loss.

Source: http://www.schoolbytes.com/english/summary.php?id=390#.WNCe5jsrLIV

My Opinion on the Novel:
I actually already read this book for my sophomore year ORB in second semester, and I really enjoyed the novel as I could connect with the characters on many levels. But it was also very confusing with so many different characters you had to keep track of.]]> 2017-03-21 02:32:48 UTC https://padlet.com/elainep1329/i88fxlvvbl5t/wish/161369419 elainep1329 https://padlet.com/elainep1329/i88fxlvvbl5t/wish/161369473 by Richard Wright
Right from the start, Bigger Thomas had been headed for jail. It could have been for assault or petty larceny; by chance, it was for murder and rape. Native Son tells the story of this young black man caught in a downward spiral after he kills a young white woman in a brief moment of panic.

Set in Chicago in the 1930s, Wright's powerful novel is an unsparing reflection on the poverty and feelings of hopelessness experienced by people in inner cities across the country and of what it means to be black in America.

Source: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15622.Native_Son

My Opinion on the Novel: I think I would consider reading this book as it touches an interesting topic on the lives of blacks and the discrimination of them in the cities. I am intrigued by that topic and human behavior.]]> 2017-03-21 02:33:42 UTC https://padlet.com/elainep1329/i88fxlvvbl5t/wish/161369473 elainep1329 https://padlet.com/elainep1329/i88fxlvvbl5t/wish/161374806 2017-03-21 03:33:21 UTC https://padlet.com/elainep1329/i88fxlvvbl5t/wish/161374806 elainep1329 https://padlet.com/elainep1329/i88fxlvvbl5t/wish/161374898 2017-03-21 03:34:32 UTC https://padlet.com/elainep1329/i88fxlvvbl5t/wish/161374898 elainep1329 https://padlet.com/elainep1329/i88fxlvvbl5t/wish/161374911 2017-03-21 03:34:43 UTC https://padlet.com/elainep1329/i88fxlvvbl5t/wish/161374911 elainep1329 https://padlet.com/elainep1329/i88fxlvvbl5t/wish/161374926 2017-03-21 03:34:51 UTC https://padlet.com/elainep1329/i88fxlvvbl5t/wish/161374926 elainep1329 https://padlet.com/elainep1329/i88fxlvvbl5t/wish/161374957 2017-03-21 03:35:03 UTC https://padlet.com/elainep1329/i88fxlvvbl5t/wish/161374957 elainep1329 https://padlet.com/elainep1329/i88fxlvvbl5t/wish/161374984 2017-03-21 03:35:18 UTC https://padlet.com/elainep1329/i88fxlvvbl5t/wish/161374984 elainep1329 https://padlet.com/elainep1329/i88fxlvvbl5t/wish/161375010 2017-03-21 03:35:31 UTC https://padlet.com/elainep1329/i88fxlvvbl5t/wish/161375010 elainep1329 https://padlet.com/elainep1329/i88fxlvvbl5t/wish/161375023 2017-03-21 03:35:41 UTC https://padlet.com/elainep1329/i88fxlvvbl5t/wish/161375023 elainep1329 https://padlet.com/elainep1329/i88fxlvvbl5t/wish/161376766 2017-03-21 03:54:59 UTC https://padlet.com/elainep1329/i88fxlvvbl5t/wish/161376766 elainep1329 https://padlet.com/elainep1329/i88fxlvvbl5t/wish/161377576 2017-03-21 04:03:30 UTC https://padlet.com/elainep1329/i88fxlvvbl5t/wish/161377576 elainep1329 https://padlet.com/elainep1329/i88fxlvvbl5t/wish/161377682 2017-03-21 04:04:29 UTC https://padlet.com/elainep1329/i88fxlvvbl5t/wish/161377682 elainep1329 https://padlet.com/elainep1329/i88fxlvvbl5t/wish/161380040 2017-03-21 04:34:34 UTC https://padlet.com/elainep1329/i88fxlvvbl5t/wish/161380040