OUTSIDE READING COMMENTS

1. January 15, 2009 – Hanna S. (Hour 6)
2. January 15, 2009 – Stacey J. (Hour 4)
3. January 15, 2009 – Olivia L. (Hour 4)
4. January 15, 2009 – Emily B. (Hour 4)
5. January 12, 2009 – Nathalie R. (Hour 4)
6. January 11, 2009 – Daria B. (Hour 4)
7. January 5, 2009 – Irine L.G. (Hour 4)
8. January 5, 2009 – Sahar K. (Hour 4)
9. January 4, 2009 – Nels T. (Hour 4)
10. December 1, 2008 – Emma W. (Hour 4)

OUTSIDE READING #10

In The Last Girls the four main characters, Harriet, Courtney, Anna, and Catherine, all are very strong and successful women. The story of the book is based on a trip down the Mississippi River, but I think the women’s life stories and strengths they have acquired add so much more depth to the story. Whenever I am reading the book my mind begins to wonder and I think of the many successful women that surround me in my life. Maybe that is why I am enjoying this book so much, I can truly relate to the characters and their relationships with one another. What I really like about The Last Girls, is how the author uses the present and the past to develop the characters and their personalities. It helps me understand why the characters do certain things and what lead them in that direction.
Since last week, two important characters and their stories have been introduced. The first is Courtney, who, unlike Harriet, is married and has many children. Courtney, at first, seems shy, innocent and easily tricked but she actually is a very strong, witty woman. Her husband, an older man, never has been very loyal and Courtney has had to deal with that by sometimes indulging in her own secret affairs. Even though Courtney and her husband have not been very loyal to one another their love for each other is very strong. The second character that has been introduced is Anna. Anna’s personal life has not been described in great detail, but it is still easy to tell what kind of person she is; a career motivated individual. She is a romance writer with a long list of bestsellers. I think the author purposely decided not to describe Anna’s personal life because it is not important to the description of her character. Harriet and Courtney’s personal lives are important to the development of their characters. The marriages they have or the relationships they have with other people contribute a great deal to the understanding of their life stories. But Anna, on the other hand, is developed as a character on the accomplishments she has achieved. She has almost no time to have a personal life because she is too busy working.

OUTSIDE READING #9

In last week’s post, I introduced to you, my new book, The Last Girls by Lee Smith. I have gotten a good chunk of it read and have discovered I really like it! Like I said last week it is a totally different genre than I am used to reading and I wasn’t completely sure if I would like it, but the plot is interesting and the characters are witty and a little comedy to the sometimes sad plot. One of my favorite characters is Harriet. Even though she is well into her 50s her personality reminds me of a nervous and shy child. She is unmarried, which surprises me at first because she seems so fragile and weak, the kind of person that is dependent on another’s care. But then I realized I had misinterpreted her whole character and misunderstood her many strengths. She grew up without a father and her mother, while loyal, never could fully support Harriet and her younger sister, Jill. Harriet was often left to look after Jill while her mother worked the business. She flew through school with all As and eventually earned a full scholarship to all women’s Mary Scott College. Her life was never easy but she always stayed kind and always worked her hardest. Harriet is the only character that has been properly introduced so far. I have also learned that Harriet has traveled to Memphis, Tennessee to meet her college friends, Courtney, Anna, and Catherine, to once again travel down the Mississippi River. The girls had made a journey down the Mississippi River in college for their Great Authors class. They had gotten inspiration for their journey from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Their reunion in Memphis, Tennessee is to say goodbye to their good friend Baby, who had just recently died.

OUTSIDE READING #8

Since my last post I have begun a new book titled The Last Girls by Lee Smith. In The Last Girls four old friends reunite in Memphis, Tennessee to venture down the Mississippi River, just like they had done in college many years ago. These Mary Scott College students had decided, while reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in their Great Authors class, to travel down the Mississippi to New Orleans on a raft, Huck-Finn style, with a big group of their classmates. Now these four women, with nothing in common but the college they went to and the adventure down the Mississippi, meet again to journey down the river one last time to try and come to terms with their shared past.

This new book is a drastic change from The Lovely Bones! The Last Girls seems to be an upbeat and sometimes comical story about these four women’s past and present. Also unlike The Lovely Bones, The Last Girls seems true and I feel like I could relate to the characters. In The Lovely Bones the concept was hard to grasp at some points and I definitely didn’t relate at all to the main character, Susie. I am a little anxious to see if I will like this book. It is a lot different from anything I have ever read before—usually I like to read mystery—but I am ready to try something new and see if I like it.