What is a Classic?

Originally published on the 28th August 2012, this post about classic books has been revised and updated for the latest Classics Club discussion on this topic.

I've been mulling over 'What is a classic?' ever since I spotted The Classics Club blog for the first time a couple of months ago.

I've put off compiling my classics club list because I kept getting befuddled over what books to include and what not to include. 

There are as many ways to define 'Classic' as there are to classify it - Ancient, Classical, English, French, Russian, German, Chinese, American, African-American, Australian, Japanese, Renaissance, Western, Eastern, fairytale, children's, modern, award winning, Victorian, biography, poetry and non-fiction just to name a few! 

Originally, 'classic' probably referred to works of literature from Ancient Greece and Rome. To read a 'classic' you had to know Latin & Linear B! 'Classic' seemed to be a term devised by scholars and other learned folk to talk about something old and venerable and difficult for the average person to access. 

However, once upon a time these classic texts from Ancient Greece, Egypt, Persia, Crete and Rome were modern stories. Once upon a time these 'classics' were examples of contemporary literature.

These, once contemporary, now 'classic' books spoke to the people of that time about the issues that affected them and informed their daily lives.

Their daily lives, according to the stories, may have been full of interfering gods, despotic leaders and war, yet personal relationships, the environment and how to live a good life were just as important then as they are now. 

The 'classic' world was also a world of men. It was their intellect, humour and physical prowess that was celebrated and prized. It was the male experience that was valued and worthy of being written down & preserved. 

 

I find that Ancient Classic texts often feel haunted by the untold number of stories that have been lost ignored or unrecorded. The stories told by the women and children, the slaves and the uneducated from this time are all but lost to us forever. 

Moving further forward to a time when women did write and publish stories, they were often considered unworthy of attention by the men who ruled the publishing and literary world. These authors are now being rediscovered as our way of viewing the world and our history has widened and diversified.

All the books we now consider to be 'classics' were once modern and contemporary. Were these books considered classic at the time? Probably not. They may have been highly regarded, respected and lauded, but would they speak to future generations? Would they pass the test of time? 

Historical fiction is a special case. They are not only stories that seek to bring to light a time gone by, but they do so through the lens of the time the author was writing it. Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall trilogy is a perfect example of historical fiction revised and reinterpreted through modern eyes. She not only tells us about the world of Henry VIII and Thomas Cromwell, as it was, as it might have been, but we also feel the modernness of the writing style and the ideas about history, documentation and the great unsaid/unknown. Dare I say that these books will be considered classics by future generations?

 

Classics are great stories, grand stories, epic stories that have lasted through the generations. They have stood the test of time. They have staying power and longevity because they not only speak to the audience of the time, but they also have the ability to speak to people from all times. Their themes are universal AND personal. These stories are reborn as 'classics' with each each new generation they speak to.  

How do some of our more famous authors describe a classic? 

Mark Twain:  "Classic. A book which people praise and don't read." 

Stephen Leacock: "The classics are only primitive literature. They belong to the same class as primitive machinery and primitive music and primitive medicine." 

Jane Austen: "The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid." 

Cliff Fadiman: "When you reread a classic, you do not see more than you did before; you see more in you than there was before."   

Edith Wharton: "A classic is classic not because it conforms to structural rules, or fits certain definitions (of which its author had quite probably never heard). It is classic because of a certain eternal and impressionable freshness."

Italo Calvino: "A classic is a book that has never finished saying what it has to say." 

Amy Lowell: "In literature, read the oldest. The classics are always modern." 

Lawrence Clark Powell: "What makes a book great, a so-called classic, is its quality of always being modern, of its author, though he be long dead, continuing to speak to each generation."

 

There you go! 

I knew if I looked long enough, I would find someone who had already said what I was trying to say, only better!   

There are any number of 'classics' that were unknown, ignored or not respected during their time, but which grew to be important later on. Moby-Dick by Herman Melville is one of the most obvious choices for this award. 

I also wonder which of the books that we're reading and blogging about today will be the classics of the future? 

In my classics club lists, I have defined 'modern classic' as a book written more than 25 years ago but after WW2.

I wonder which contemporary books (written since 1987 - or now, 1995 as the case may be eight years later) will turn up on Classics Club book lists in 50 years time? 

My thoughts: 

A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth 

Wolf Hall and Bring Up The Bodies by Hilary Mantel 

Lincoln in The Bardo by George Saunders 

What do you think?

2017 plans and projects...

The past year or so I have avoided joining in any year long reading challenges. Although I love their sense of community and fellowship, by the end of the year, I find that keeping up with where I'm at and what I need to do next just becomes burdensome.

My plan for 2016 was to only join in one-off events (like First Book of the Year, Dewey's 24hr readthon or the Classics Club Spin), flexible join-in-when-you-can memes (like Top Ten Tuesday or 6 Degrees of Separation) and spontaneous readalongs.

I even created my own flexible once a month-ish meme - Brona's Salon - with it's aim of gathering like-minded bookish people together to discuss their latest read and to have a good old bookish gossip.

Challenges were out; chats were in!

And I loved it.

I enjoyed reading and blogging and chatting about books all year.
My ability to join in waxed and waned (as I knew it would) but it never worried me. I knew my reading or blogging mojo would return before too long.

My plan for 2017, therefore, will be more of the same.

I'm on the lookout for one-off or irregular, flexible memes and readalongs.
(Anyone looking for a challenge or twenty to join in can visit Novel Challenge or Toady for lots of great ideas. They're both constantly adding new challenges and readalongs, so check back regularly for updates.)

I was delighted to discover that Becky @Becky's Book Reviews is planning on hosting a Share-A-Tea challenge in 2017. A 'challenge' all about enjoying a lovely cup of tea whilst reading your book and sharing it.

Which books count towards the challenge? Any book that you primarily read while drinking tea. Not every single page needs to have been read while drinking tea. (I'm not that strict!!!) But this challenge is all about celebrating SLOWING DOWN and SAVOURING the moments. 

How many books? Is there a set minimum? This challenge is about QUALITY and not quantity. It's not about reading fifty books or even twelve books. This is an anti-rush reading challenge. Enjoy where you are in a book, and, engage fully in it. Live in the book. 

This challenge has a focus on SHARING.

I have been a hoping-to-get-into-the-game-sideline-supporter of the Slow Movement for quite some time now. The idea of a challenge that savours the process with no minimums required sounds perfect!

My most likely approach to this challenge will be pictorial via instagram, twitter and litsy (Brona) #ShareATea2017.

First Book of the Year hosted by Sheila @BookJourney is a lovely world-wide meme that features book bloggers with the book they're reading on New Year's Day. Sign up and fill out the form to join in. It's not too late to jump on board.

2016 Book of the Year collage featuring me on the beach with my NY book!

The only other plan/wish/hope for 2017 is to tackle my TBR pile.

Thanks to Adam @Roofbeam Reader I will hopefully read (or reread) a few of the classics on my TBR pile (my post for his Classics Book A Month Club is here) and Bev @My Reader's Block has kindly let me join her Mount TBR Reading Challenge with a smaller, more do-able peak - Australia's own Mt Kosciosko with just 6 books.

Another one that has caught my eye thanks to it's long term, freewheeling nature is The World From My Armchair challenge devised by Paul @Halfman Halfbook.

I have no intention of reading a travel book from every single country in the world, but I know I will inevitably read some and this might help me keep track.

The Deal Me In 7.0 Short Story Challenge is also tempting. 

I read a lot of short story collections throughout each year - fiction and non-fiction and never know whether to review them as one collection or review each one individually. Given that I sometimes fail to read the whole collection, this challenge might help to keep me focused on the individual stories I do actually read. 

Jay has several variations on this challenge if a short story a week seems like too big an ask. 

In my younger days I was a rather keen euchre player, so the 32 card euchre pack appeals to me (FYI: most Australians play euchre using the cards 7 up and score to 11, using one 5 and one 6 playing card to keep track). 

Naturally (as I'm the editor for the History, Memoir, Biography page) I will also be reading plenty of Australian Women Writers in 2017.
The 2017 sign up post is here.

Given that I smashed my AWW reading challenge during 2016 with 44 books completed and reviewed (and a 45th on my current reading pile), I think I will need my very own customised reading level for 2017!

To clarify this figure - one of the books was mostly read in 2015, but finished in January in 2016 and 16 of the books were picture books or junior fiction and 4 books were YA/teen.

For 2017 I plan to read 40+ AWW books to achieve MY BRILLIANT CAREER!

For someone who is not joining in any challenges in 2017, I think that should be enough, don't you?

TBR Thursday

As part of my reassessment about how I spend my time online, I'm looking at the memes I participate in.

I love how memes lead me to new bloggers, new books & new ideas. I enjoy the social aspect of memes.

But can I be frank?
I also spend a lot of time looking at blogs and books that I have no interest in whatsoever.

I'm happy that in this big wide world of blogging, there are blogs, books and ideas to suit every type of blogger. The hard part can be finding ones that appeal to your own taste.

I love to read classics, which led to me The Classics Club several years ago. A match made in heaven.

But I don't read classics all the time.

I like to read the new stuff, the award winning stuff and the occasional gentle crime comfort read. I love reading Australian authors. I appreciate diversity. I enjoy quirky and experimental. I love history - fiction, biographies, memoirs and non-fiction.

Like most of you, I also have an out of control TBR pile.
My recent move helped me to recreate a semblance of order. It also helped me rediscover lots of forgotten gems.

So, I've decided to join She is Too Fond of Books with her TBR Thursday meme to highlight one classic and one new release from my TBR pile each week.


Flesh Wounds by Richard Glover

A mother who invented her past, a father who was often absent, a son who wondered if this could really be his family.

Richard Glover's favourite dinner party game is called 'Who's Got the Weirdest Parents?'. It's a game he always thinks he'll win. There was his mother, a deluded snob, who made up large swathes of her past and who ran away with Richard's English teacher, a Tolkien devotee, nudist and stuffed-toy collector. There was his father, a distant alcoholic, who ran through a gamut of wives, yachts and failed dreams. And there was Richard himself, a confused teenager, vulnerable to strange men, trying to find a family he could belong to. As he eventually accepted, the only way to make sense of the present was to go back to the past - but beware of what you might find there. Truth can leave wounds - even if they are only flesh wounds.


Part poignant family memoir, part rollicking venture into a 1970s Australia, this is a book for anyone who's wondered if their family is the oddest one on the planet. The answer: 'No'. There is always something stranger out there.

'Sad, funny, revealing, optimistic and hopeful.' Jeanette Winterson

Ruth by Elizabeth Gaskell

I think I must be an improper woman without knowing it, I do so manage to shock people.'

Elizabeth Gaskell's second novel challenged contemporary social attitudes by taking as its heroine a fallen woman. Ruth Hilton is an orphan and an overworked seamstress, an innocent preyed upon by a weak, wealthy seducer. When he heartlessly abandons her she finds shelter and kindness in the home of a dissenting minister and his sister, who do not reject her when she gives birth to an illegitimate child. But Ruth's self-sacrificing love and devotion are tested to the limit by a twist of fate
that brings her past back to haunt her.

Gaskell's depiction of Ruth lays bare Victorian hypocrisy and sexual double-standards, and her novel is a remarkable story of love, of the sanctuary and tyranny of the family, and of the consequences of lies and deception.

Have you read either of these books yet?
What did you think?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

I had no intention of blogging tonight.

We had a huge weekend away with Mr Books' 30 yr school reunion. 

Monday is also my late night shift at work. 

The most I usually do on Monday nights is check my social media, sometimes publish a previously written post, chat with Mr Books, read a few chapters of my book and fall asleep as soon as possible!

But tonight social media sucked me in. 

I had a facebook notification from Michael @Literary Explorations, on the Aussie Book Bloggers page, about the It's Monday! What Are You Reading meme, hosted by Book Journey.

In the past I have avoided most of these BIG meme's - so many participants & so little time to visit other blogs & leave thoughtful comments. It's a pressure I don't usually put myself under.

However Michael has now created a spot for Aussie participants to leave their links, so that we can all support each other. Bloody brilliant!

So, what am I reading this week?

I have just started AusReading Month, so all my books will be Australian for the next four weeks.

I finished Golden Boys by Sonya Hartnett yesterday (rave review TBW). 

It's her first book for adults, although the protagonists are still children.

This is what Linda Funnell from the SMH had to say recently about it: 

 "Spanning only a scant few weeks, Golden Boys flows as easily as a bike ride on a summer afternoon. But within its effortless unfolding are sombre themes: of the neighbourhood's acceptance of domestic violence, and its effects on children; of the way class and money can enable and protect a predator; and how resilient, vulnerable, opportunistic and courageous children can be."

I am half way through The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka by Clare Wright and about a third of the way into The Biggest Estate on Earth by Bill Gammage.

Clare Wright won this year's Stella Prize with her non-fiction work about women on the gold fields of Victoria. It's a wonderful read so far - full of fascinating details and interesting stories.

Kerryn Goldsworthy, chair of the judging panel had this to say about it:

"A rare combination of true scholarship with a warmly engaging narrative voice, along with a wealth of detail about individual characters and daily life on the goldfields, makes this book compulsively readable. It has a highly visual, almost cinematic quality, with vivid snapshots and pen-portraits of goldfields life. It also moves briskly from one scene or character to the next, with variations in pace and mood, in a way that heightens anticipation and suspense even though we know about the violence that will eventually explode as the tensions between the miners and the forces of officialdom increase to a point beyond containment."

The Biggest Estate on Earth is proving to be a much slower read, though equally as compelling and fascinating. The coloured plates used to highlight Gammage's points are also a wonderful excursion into early Australian art.

Adrian Hyland in the SMH said that this book is: 

"...history of the most readable kind: a fascinating amalgam of scientific enigma, bush lore and anecdote.

 This is a beautiful and profound piece of writing, one that has importance for us all. We live in the most fire-prone environment on Earth. It was built to burn. Aboriginal people thrived in this environment for thousands of years, their chief defences being mobility, continual burning and an intricate understanding of the bush."

 

Last night I started the 1910 coming of age classic The Getting of Wisdom by Henry Handel Richardson.

Henry Handel was the pseudonym of Ethel Florence Lindesay Richardson.

She was born in 1870 in Victoria. Her family was fairly well-off in the early days, but fell on hard times, after her father died. She attended the Presbyterian Ladies' College in Melbourne from age 13 - 17.

It was this experience that she based her boarding school story about Laura Rambotham on. 

Classics Club Spin #7

It's time for another Classics Club Spin - my favourite way to tick another classic off my list.

Post your 20 choices by Monday 11th August, then wait and see what spins your way.

Read your spin by October 6th and link your review back to the final post on the Classics Club.

For those of you who have spun before, you will know I like to link my books to another spinner.

Here's what spin #7 looks like:

1. Tenant of Wildfell Hall with LindyLit

2. Return of the Native with Helen @She Reads Novels
3. Watership Down with Eclectic Alli

4. A Tale of Two Cities with   The Mollyweather

5. The Brother's Karamazov with Louloureads

6. Dubliners with Mary @Bibliographic Manifestations 

7. My Antonia with Jean @Howling Frog

8. Possession with Cat @Tell Me a Story

9. Zola shared author with O @Behold the Stars

10. Old Man Gariot with Fleur in Her World

11. Complete Adventures of Sherlock Holmes with The Mollyweather

12. The Bell Jar with Sam @Tiny Library

13. The Way We Live Now with Cedar Station & shared author with Cleo @Classical Carousel

14. North and South with Dead Writers Society

15. Picture of Dorian Gray with Emily @Classics and Beyond

16. Beloved with Meghan Rose Allen

17. Silent Spring with Booker Talk

18. Diary of Anne Frank with The Classics Club

19. Age of Innocence with Margaret @Books Please

20. Don Quixote with Another Book Blog 

If you share a title or an author with & I dont already have you listed, please let me know & I will be happy to add you. The more the merrier :-)

Until Monday, happy spinning!

Monday update: the lucky spin number is 17.

I've been wanting to read the Silent Spring for a long time, so I'm delighted to finally have a good excuse. I'm also looking forward to seeing what Booker Talk has to say about it. And thankfully, the Silent Spring is not a chunkster!

Six Degrees of Separation

I love a good meme I can sink my teeth into and I've just discovered this new one being hosted by two Australian authors - Emma Chapman and Annabel Smith on their blogs.

The idea began with this post on the 29th March:

It is claimed that every person on this planet is linked to any other in six or fewer steps.
But what about books? Can we link them together too?

In 1929, Hungarian writer and poet Frigyes Karinthy wrote a short story called ‘Chains’ in which he coined the phrase ‘six degrees of separation’.

Annabel Smith and I are excited to announce a new meme, based on the idea in Karinthy’s story. On the first Saturday of every month, we will be choosing a book, and then linking it to five other books to form a chain. We will also be inviting our readers and other bloggersto join us by creating their own ‘chain’ leading from the selected book.

The books can be linked in obvious ways – for example, books by the same authors, from the same era or genre, or books with similar themes or settings. Or, you may choose to link them in more personal or esoteric ways: books you read on the same holiday, given to you by a particular friend, that remind you of a particular time in your life, or that you read for a challenge.

The great thing about this meme is that each participant can make their own rules. A book doesn’t need to be connected to all the other books on the list, only to the ones next to them in the chain.

The rules are simple:

This month's starting book is The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt.

For those of you who haven't read my review - I loved the beginning but by half way through I got 

tired of the coincidences and I gave up. As I was trying to work out which way to go with my first 

'degree of separation' - art and birds were on my mind, but as soon as I went 'art gallery', I knew what I had to do.

I've recently put Mr Books onto Amin Maalouf as he has expressed an interest in the Middle/Dark Ages and the Middle East. When I pulled out my old copy of Leo the African I saw that I had purchased it at the Art Gallery of NSW back in 1998 (I always inscribed my books with name, date and place of purchase).

Book 2 was an easy leap from Maalouf to Malouf. Reading The Great World was an epic undertaking. It was a dense, intricate huge saga about a man called Digger.

Digger allowed me to jump to 'what were the women doing during the great war?' and Thomas Keneally's wonderful story about two Australian nurses in Gallipoli, Daughters of Mars.

My 4th degree of separation took me to another WW1 literary nurse, Maisie Dobbs. She has become my comfort read. I love her working class nursing back story and her post-war private investigator life.

Whenever I think of England between the wars, I automatically think of Brideshead Revisited. An easy 5th degree. But, of course, one of Waugh's themes was the plight of England and the aristocracy and whether they would survive the post-war deprivations & realities.

Which leads me to my 6th degree of separation - post WW2 France as viewed through the eyes of a young American couple in The Chateau by Maxwell Williams.

Which is perfect as I was hoping to link this meme to my Paris in July month :-)

The Ultimate High Tea

  Joy @Joy's Book Blog is hosting a new meme that celebrates all things British.

Her first British themed post involved a Downton Abbey tea in Missouri...which brought to mind my time in the UK in 1991.

I was a young 23 year old exploring the world for the first time on my own. It was scary & exhilarating. It also left me with a lifetimes worth of wonderful memories.

One of the amazing adventures I experienced was a Garden Party at Buckingham Palace.

There are no photos from this visit though as camera's were not allowed. Everything that happened at Buck Palace is pure memory.
In hindsight, I wish I had asked a friend to wait for me out the front so she could have snapped a pic of me leaving via the front gate!!
Instead, I will quote a few pieces from my travel journal at the time...

"What a magnificent day! 

It turned out to be a lot more special than I thought. But then I barely thought 

about today at all until I was on the train to Bank and realised that I was really 

going to a Garden Tea Party with the Queen! 

"I wore a deep purple calotte suit, with black trim around the square top. 

Also a black hat; both borrowed from Kerrie. Diana lent me a black bag, 

gloves and a black and white necklace. I actually wore my own underwear and shoes!!

I put my hair up and I must say I felt good."

My friend, Jo nannied nearby. Her family were very excited about my trip to the Palace and they asked me to drop in on the way.     They snapped lots of photos of me all dressed up, they poured over my invitation and the sheet detailing arrival procedures, use of gloves and other proper protocols for the day. By the time they were finished with me, I was in a lovely state of anticipation and excitement too!                                                                                                                                                                                 I met up with Paula and her friends at Bank station and we proceeded to one of the side entrances. We had been forewarned that everyone tried to arrive by the front gate and it took a long time to get through the security process. Whereas the side gates were much faster. The side entrance also brought us through some of the gardens and lawns that wound up to the back steps of the Palace. It was a lovely way to arrive.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      The area in front of the steps was a huge expanse of green lawn dotted with striped marquees and garden chairs. The marquees were full of tables with afternoon tea and discreetly dressed wait staff. Three lines began to form out from the back steps.                                                                           Officials randomly selected about 5 people to stand in the centre of the three aisles. These people were asked to don their gloves, instructed on how to address the royal family and to wait patiently. The rest of us milled around balancing delicate tea cups and cucumber sandwiches.

"The gardens of Buckingham Palace were glorious. There were several ponds overhung 

with trees and shrubs. One pond had a dozen or so gorgeous pink flamingoes. 

Ducks were also abundant.

The flowerbeds were very colourful - gardenias, daisies, lilies, geraniums, lavender, 

hollyhocks, sweet peas and lots more I couldn't name. It was a profusion of colour.

The Queen, Duke and Queen Mum came down the stairs right on 4pm.

They each proceeded in a leisurely fashion to the royal tea tent, talking to people

who had been pre-selected. The rest of us just watched on.

The afternoon tea was delicious. Tea, coffee, iced coffee or juice for drinks.

For nibblies we had dainty sandwiches, sponge rolls, fruit slices, chocolate gateaux,

lemon cake, fruit tarts, savoury buns & ice-cream - mouth watering!

We entranced by the Grovsner Place gate, but exited through the front gate!

I actually got to go into Buckingham Palace! Obviously only the

foyer and main entrance areas, but one had glimpses of red carpeted staircases, gilt framed mirrors, chandeliers & huge portraits of royals past and present.

To say I was thrilled is an understatement.

On our way out, we saw the Changing of the Guard...from the inside!

It was quite thrilling to see all the tourists peering through the gates - at us!!

What an experience. What a day. What a memory."

This post is also a part of Jenny's Alphabe-Thursday 'U' meme.

Most Influential Books in My LIfe

Jillian at Random Ramblings has challenged us to list the ten most influential books in our lives...without any supporting commentary!

She says "I love a lot of books. However, I've learned that the favorites list and the most influential list are two completely different things."

Without any further ado, here is my personal list of influential books.


1. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
2.To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
3. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
4. Albert Speer: His Battle With Truth by Gitta Sereny
5. The Colour Purple by Alice Walker
6. A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth
7. Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie
8. Cloudstreet by Tim Winton
9. The Great World by David Malouf
10. It & The Stand by Stephen King

Some of these books have been reviewed elsewhere on my blog, so you can find out the how & why of their influence on me by clicking on the links.

The rest if for you to guess :-)

What books have had a profound influence on you over the years?

I found that my favourites, childhood favourites, the books that have stayed with me and the books above share many of the same titles.

Australia in Print: AusReading Month (November)

Welcome to Australia in Print.

Australia in Print celebrates Australian books, Australian authors and all books set in Australia.

Join us as we travel around Australia state by state, region by region, city by city.

Over the next year or so, I plan to visit (by map) each state and territory. I hope to highlight their authors, books set in their region or famous characters who hail from their towns.

To get the ball rolling I'm hosting an AusReading Month to coincide with TripleJ's Ausmusic Month in November.

Triple J have been hosting Ausmusic month for years and years. You can view clips, enter competitions & listen online to non-stop Aussie music as you read an Australian book or two.

This event will be being spread around the world via The Classics Club events page, therefore this year, AusReading Month will focus on Australian classics.

The Goal is to read as many Australian classics as you can during November.

They can be fiction, non-fiction, children's, bio's, poetry, modern classics whatever - they just have to be Australian. You can also team up your books with classic Australian music and movies.

It's time to break out the lamingtons, open a pack of tim-tams and crack a violet crumble.
Why not try a vegemite sandwich or get stuck into a pavlova!
It's time to join the true blue down under!

(I promise not to have a month long Aussie slang fest, but I suspect as you read some of our classics you may come across unusual words, phrases or cultural references that will need to be explained.)

You can join in by popping your name with a link to your blog into the comments below.

You can write a start-up post on your blog and link it back here or you can write in the comments below.
Let us know what you plan to read.
What are your impressions of Australia and Australian literature?
Have you ever visited or plan to visit Australia soon?

Over the next month I will add some lists of Australian classics. You can also check out my tabs above - especially the CBCA tab to find prize winning Australian books.

I hope you can join me on our literary journey around this big beautiful land.

Happy reading mate!

November - The master post for this event is now live and can be found here.

Wondrous Words Wednesday

Wondrous Words Wednesday is a lovely meme hosted by Bermuda Onion each week to highlight new (to us) words that we come across in our daily reading.

This week I've been rereading The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald for the Classics Club.

Although I've read this book several times, the last time was about 15 years ago which might explain why I cannot remember any of these words!

1. Echolalia "There was a boom of a bass drum, and the voice of the orchestra leader rang out suddenly above the echolalia of the garden."

Echolalia is the often involuntary & senseless repetition of heard words.
                         

 _____________________________________________ 

2. Nonolfactory "Over the great bridge, with the sunlight through the girders making a constant flicker upon the moving cars, with the city rising up across the river in white heaps and sugar lumps all built with a wish out of nonolfactory money."

I knew this had something to do with smell, or to be more precise, lack of smell but I pondered over it's use in this particular sentence. Naturally google had the answer - this exact question had been asked and answered on yahoo...with the best answer being...

"So you could functionally interpret "non-olfactory" here to mean without the stink of corruption and greed or other tainted realities.

Poetically, in a city "built with a wish," non-olfactory money would be a gleaming investment from a pure heart."

Now you know!

_____________________________________________   

3. Trimalchio "It was when curiosity about Gatsby was at its highest that the lights in his house failed to go on one Saturday night - and, as obscurely as it had begun, his career as Trimalchio was over."

Trimalchio is a character created by Petronius in the 1st century AD. Trimalchio was a freedman who attained great wealth and power through hard work and persistance. He was famous for throwing extravagant, exotic dinner parties.

'Trimalchio in West Egg' was Fitzgerald working title for the Great Gatsby.

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4. Pasquinade "When Michaelis's testimony at the inquest brought to light Wilson's suspicions of his wife I thought the whole tale would shortly be served up in racy pasquinade - but Catherine, who might have said anything, didn't say a word."

An anonymous lampoon or satire in verse or prose. Usually presented in a public place to ridicule a specific person.

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Book Beginnings on Friday and The Friday 56

Book Beginning:

"Me name be Hannah O'Brien and I be seventy-six years old. Me first thing is an apology - me language is bad cos I lost it and had to learn again. But here's me story and I be glad to tell it before I hop the twig."

Page 56:

"It was a greyish colour, with sharp bits of bone and shells sticking out of it. The tigers sniffed it. The smell made their tails go stiff with joy. They were nibbling at it. I knew I had to wait me turn but I culdn't wait. I grabbed it for meself."

This week for Book Beginnings on Fridays and The Friday 56 I've selected Louis Nowra's first book for the YA audience called 'Into That Forest'.

The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein

I'm not sure what I can say about this classic story of love and selfishness, generosity and greed, neediness and co-dependency that hasn't already been said a thousand times.

I guess all I can do is share my own responses to this book.

The Giving Tree was first published in 1964.

Right from the start it created controversy and a love/hate relationship amongst it's readers.

The first time I read this book I almost sobbed out loud. I was an adult; a preschool teacher wondering if this was a book I could read aloud with my classes.

The page that still gets me, even now after multiple rereadings, is when the boy takes away the tree's trunk
"And the tree was happy...but not really."

The end always surprises me after that.

I always expect some growth or change in the characters.

Instead the book ends as it starts...with a tree that loves a little boy (and who would do anything for him).......

and a boy who loves the tree very much (with the expectation that the tree will always be there for him no matter what).

I was curious to see the many reviews referring to the environmental message of the book. In 18 years of teaching, not one child ever talked about the environment. It was always about the relationships.

Curiously many of the five year olds I taught felt sympathy for the tree. (I say curiously because so many of the reviews talk about the fear they have that children see themselves as the boy).

My classes were usually horrified that the boy had taken everything from her. 
One insightful comment mentioned that the old man was still the boy - he looked like an old man but he was still just a boy. 
Many of my classes told me that the boy was mean. 

But invariably, the children who asked to be read the book over and over again were the children with mother issues.

Mothers who were distant, difficult, dead, deserted or drugged. It was like they were seeking comfort in the all-giving, all-nurturing, unconditional love of the tree even as they knew that that kind of relationship was impossible, unrealistic and unhealthy.

For me this book is a classic.

It's timeless; it speaks to people across all ages, gender and backgrounds; it creates strong feelings; it deals with big issues - personal issues that cause people to stop and reflect on their own lives, opinions and beliefs and it is beautifully written.

I've linked this post to ...off on my tangent's...Alphabe-Thursday meme.