What Google Thinks of the Great Books
Google autocomplete is where word association meets global group-think. Renee DiResta of the no upside blog recently asked Google “Why is [State] so” and let the search engine fill in the rest. Jim Romenesko did the same thing with major media figures. The results are both amusing and unsurprising. The New York Times and NPR are liberal; Fox News is biased; … Continue reading
“I’m not queer.”
This is the follow-up to yesterday’s post on The Talented Mr. Ripley‘s complicated central relationship between Tom Ripley and Dickie Greenleaf. The scene is millionaire heir Dickie Greenleaf’s Italian villa where he has just walked in on his housemate Tom Ripley dressed in his clothes, imitating his voice. Dickie’s reaction? “What’re you doing?” They have … Continue reading
Ripley asks “Will you be my friend?”
What do some of these books have in common: Charlotte’s Web, The Witch of Blackbird Pond, Bridge to Terabithia, Beverly Cleary’s Ramona books, Holes, Maniac Magee, and just about every one of the American Girl books. Two things right off the bat come to mind. First, they are all children’s or young adult fiction. Second, they … Continue reading
What Novels Make You Feel Uneasy on the First Page?
On page 126 of If on a winter’s night a traveler a character obsessed with reading everything she can get her hands on makes this statement: The novels I prefer are those that make you feel uneasy from the very first page. What kind of novels are those? I have to say that the experience … Continue reading
Excuse Me… What Does “Making Love” Mean?
The phrase of the post’s title pops up in If on a winter’s night a traveler on page 191. How did we get to the point that a woman named Ludmilla is blithely saying she’d make love to a Mr. Flannery? To try giving a plot roundup is not worth the time; it is clear by now … Continue reading
Letters Republic 