literature
Geek literature from the New York Times or the recesses of online. Our favorite stories showcase geeks.
What Makes 'Lost in Translation' a Great American Novel?
As Americans, we seem obsessed with discovering the next Great American Novel, which is simply a fancy way of asking for “any novel that is regarded as having successfully represented an important time in US history or one that tells a story that is typical of America.” (The Great American Novel) Eva Hoffman did not set out to write the Great American anything when she started her memoir Lost in Translation: A Life in a New Language. She is Polish Jewish, originally immigrated from Canada, and only spent her life in America during and after college. However, looking at the definitions of what constitutes a “Great American Novel,” Hoffman’s story parallels with every part. Technically, she wrote a memoir, which is not a novel, but her story is still “a story that is typical of America,” (The Great American Novel) which should give it standing room as a member of the literary canon of Great American works.
By Kristen Barenthaler7 years ago in Geeks
Which Book to Get for Each Person on Your Holiday Shopping List
The busy holiday shopping season kicked off with Black Friday a few days ago, and as we get into the holiday spirit, most of us are looking for the perfect gifts for our friends, family, boss, co-workers—and anyone else we wish to give to!
By Amanda Rose7 years ago in Geeks
What Constitutes American Literature?
If you Google search “American literature,” you get results from Mark Twain to Edgar Allan Poe to Ernest Hemingway, but where is the diversity that makes America? Where are the female authors? The African American authors? Anyone of a minority? Honestly, they are not what comes to mind when someone says to tell them about great American literature. We think of Hemingway or Twain as American literature because that is what we are taught, giving them the biggest audience and the chance to become well-known. The only definition given for what constitutes as American literature is, “literature in English produced in what is now the United States of America.” (“American Literature”) It is as simple as that. Which means, that novels such as Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God, should easily be placed in the American canon, finding its own audience to reach out to.
By Kristen Barenthaler7 years ago in Geeks
'A Simple Favor' Book Review
Well, I already warned you about spoilers, so let’s just jump right in. If you like neat and tidy endings where the bad guy gets punished and everyone lives happily ever after...this isn’t the story for you. She gets away with it!
By Kristen Barenthaler7 years ago in Geeks
The Witches of 'Macbeth'
William Shakespeare is one of the most well-known playwrights, but most people today have not read many, if any, of his plays because they are considered difficult or boring. Ask a room full of people which Shakespeare plays they have read and chances are that most will say Romeo & Juliet and Macbeth or maybe a few say, Hamlet. Almost everyone read them in high school, but the thing most specifically remembered about Macbeth itself is the witches because they are entertaining and different than the murderous tragedies surrounding them. Everyone has a fascination with the supernatural, especially during Shakespeare’s time, “when interest in witchcraft bordered on hysteria. Witches were blamed for causing illness, death, and disaster, and were thought to punish their enemies by giving them nightmares, making their crops fail and their animals sicken. Witches were thought to allow the Devil to suckle from them in the form of an animal” (Atherton). The fact that so many people remember the witches may seem strange since they only appear sporadically throughout the play for short periods of time, but the witches themselves are a driving force of the action in the play, especially when they play with Macbeth’s choices of free will vs. the destiny they prophesy for him.
By Kristen Barenthaler7 years ago in Geeks
'Forbidden Boy'—Book Review
Overall, I greatly enjoyed reading Forbidden Boy. The basic plot line runs along the theme of a modernized Romeo & Juliet. A young girl, living in her family beach house, meets a charming boy at a party and they fall in love after a few weeks of dating. Meanwhile, a rich family, next to her house, is trying to make her family sell their home so that the rich family can have a gym on the waterfront. Turns out, that the young boy is the son of the thieving, rich family. Neither of the families is happy about the young couple’s relationship, but they still continue seeing each other in secret. The difference between Romeo & Juliet and Forbidden Boy is that at the end of the novel that families accept the children’s love and they live happily ever after, whereas in the play the young lovers kill themselves to be together and only then do the families accept each other.
By Kristen Barenthaler7 years ago in Geeks
Reflection of 'Beauty and the Bully' by Andy Behrens
First, let’s just get the obvious part out of the way. The title is a reference to Beauty and the Beast. It is obvious from the title but still needs to be pointed out. The ugly duckling and the pretty princess have starring roles, but in the end, this story takes a bit of a different turn on who is Beauty, the Beast, and so on. Never judge a book by its cover, right? Same goes for titles; just because the title is a reference to the “tale as old as time” does not mean that the story itself plays parallel to the story we all know and love.
By Kristen Barenthaler7 years ago in Geeks
Happily Ever After?
I love fairytales. Reading, writing. Love. I'm such a fairytale nerd that I persuaded some fellow writers to go in on a book with me of fairytale retellings, The Queen of Clocks and Other Steampunk Tales. I've been reading fairytales and fairytale retellings for years. The great thing about fairytales is that they are so versatile! And they tell relatable, human stories.
By Crysta Coburn7 years ago in Geeks
'Harry Potter' by J.K.Rowling |Book Review
I think we all know the story that started with an orphaned boy who has been left to live with his cruel Dursley’s. After an unusual encounter with the giant Hagrid, we all watched him discover his wizarding past, and the future prophecy that he is meant to fulfill.
By Joe Harris7 years ago in Geeks
