Jessica’s Comments (group member since Nov 03, 2013)

Jessica’s comments from the Hello Hemlock! group.

Just chiming in to send big love to errybody on this thread.

To those who haven't commented yet: BRING IT ON. Favourite quote or passage? Did you find our narrator an empowered voice, or a disenchanted subject of her time? Any other probing thoughts?

Carolina wrote:"It's a woman's way, I suppose, to keep on trying to subdue a man, to bind him to her, and it's a man's way to keep on just as determined to be free"

I appreciate what you said about disliking this description of a woman, Carolina. Do you think it's because Ross felt that way? Was our narrator at the mercy of her environment/era, when perhaps popular opinion felt women to be this way? Is that even a thing? ;)

Other's can comment too!

Okay everyone! Can we start getting some favourite passages/quotes/lines? Feel free to post from any part of the book, as we should all be nearing the finish line :) Also feel free to reference the page numbers as best you can. We've all got different versions but it could be fun to try and spot other people's favourites in our own text!

Ally wrote: Ross is so good and manipulating the atmosphere and weather without making it feel contrived.

You are SO RIGHT, Ally! I love that about his writing, as a total newbie to his work. Canadians are endlessly enamoured with the weather of this big, bad countryside. Despite living in the freaking TUNDRA right now, each time I turn the page I am engulfed in the spring showers of the prairies. How? HOW, SINCLAIR?

Hey guys! Wow. This book is DENSE. I had no former knowledge of the book (apart from Jason and Emily's LOVE for it) and I am not that far in, by page count. But I am WAIST DEEP in emotion, friends. In just over 20 pages my heart has stopped several times, having been so arrested by the words on the page. Here is one of my favourite passages thus far, when Mrs. Bentley meets Mrs. Bird, the doctor's wife who also feels separated from the community in which they are both outsiders. She calls herself an Expatriate, though she is not British, and references a poem about England in the spring. Perhaps it's because I am a newcomer to a small town, but my stomach was filled with butterflies and my mouth forgot to breathe when I read this:

She sat for a moment, looking melancholy through her glasses, then rallied: "That's why I dropped in on you, my dear. I heard your piano up on Main Street--young, sparkling, jubilant---and I said, 'There, Josephine'---there's an expatriate too. You'll find the spring you're looking for--someone akin to you----'"

What's your favourite passage(s) so far?

Happy new year everyone! This month we will be reading Sinclair Ross' AS FOR ME AND MY HOUSE, a true #CanLit classic to kick off 2015! It should be relatively easy for people to get their hands on.

Quick show of hands: When a book looks slim I'm actually more intimidated. Anyone else agree, or am I totally crazy?

Carolina wrote: "Hello to all,
My name is Carolina, I am originally from Colombia bu I moved to Montreal 5 years ago. I am still hoping I will get used to winter. I am very happy to have found this group as I reall..."

Hi Carolina! How do you like Montreal? (Besides cold!) We can't wait for 2015 and our new year of #CanLit to share and discuss and read together! Who is your favourite Canadian author so far?

Julie wrote: "Hello! So jazzed to be joining Hello Hemlock: the goodreads group!

I live in Fort Erie, Ontario. I'm a high school teacher (yup, English). I have always loved CanLit, especially Newfoundland writ..."

Hi Julie! So glad you're joining us, and I can't wait to hear all about your year spent in Newfoundland! Let us know if you've posted your story anywhere already where we can read/watch :)

Ron wrote: "Hi everybody,
My name is Ronnie, I live in Toronto, I just turned 23, and I'm finishing up my English MA this summer.
I'm so excited to read more CanLit - I took a course on it and just loved it!..."

Hai gurl.

Adira wrote: "So...I just figured out that Hello Hemlock was a Goodreads based reading group as well as a YouTube based reading group. I know I'm probably late to this fact, but I've followed Jason, Karate, and ..."

I am SO glad you have joined us!!! <3 You have a fantastic channel and I'm so excited you are on board the CanLit steamboat! Woo wooooo!

Saoirse wrote: "Hiya, I am Saoirse from Ireland. I am 22 and a very avid reader! I am a subscriber of Jason's on the yootoobes and he invited me to join this group. I was a bit sceptical at first, but as soon as I..."

I'm glad you decided to give us a go, Saoirse! Have you been able to follow along this year? We've had a slower pace so far in 2014 :)

Stéphanie wrote: "I've read The Handmaid's Tale and it's one of my favourite books but I think what happened is that I read too many mediocre YA dystopian stories that I'm sort of tired of them? But her use of voice..."

Your comment about her voice is Spot. On. So true! I hadn't consciously considered that, but you're absolutely right. I really loved her ability to capture young Jimmy's inner monologue.

Jason wrote: "I really can't wait to read the rest of the trilogy, though! The Year of the Flood is not from Jimmy's point of view, and Jimmy, Oryx, and Crake only appear in cameo roles. Sort of like the Davies trilogy we started!

Get outta town! What a dame, that Maggie A.

Jason wrote: I don't think, at that point, she intended to write The Year of the Flood of MaddAddam.

Seriously!? The ending felt like a total indication of a follow-up!

Jason wrote: I think what makes her so great is that there is so much to think about AFTER reading her work. Unlike a novel or a writer whose work is immediately and obviously moving, I feel like Atwood sneaks up on you a little more.

That's a great point and something I have noticed, now that I have had time away from the book. I have only read the Penelopiad, which is probably a bad example, but both that and O&C have haunted me! Not in harrowing ways, but in ways that other books haven't.

Stephanie, I'm definitely blaming the "lacking" on the fact that it is the first book in a trilogy. There is clearly an effort to pull readers from one story to the next. It is disappointing that it is not a story unto itself, though!

Hi guys! I totally dropped the ball and completely apologize. In January we read Margaret Atwood's Oryx and Crake (the first of a trilogy by the heavy hitter CanLit author!)

Watch Part 1: Jason sets the scene and discusses the lack of Canada represented in the book (and discusses why the author wrote it without Canada in mind!)
Watch Part 2: I build on Jason's initial overview, and focus on Crake and his Crakers.

What did you guys think of Atwood's dystopian megatale? "Orwellian" comes to mind ...

Hi everyone! A bit of housekeeping: for those of you who are wondering where this discussion went, sadly it got lost in the holiday shuffle! This month we are discussing Thomas King's Green Grass, Running Water, and won't be doing any new book reading until March.

In March, Jason and I will pick Lee Maracle's short stories back up, so be sure to try to obtain some or all of them by next month!

See you then <3

Hi kids! Candace, our ace recruit from the Maritimes, launches this month's discussion on Thomas King's Green Grass, Running Water! Check out Part 1 of the discussion, and see Candace's lovely face and super smart brain in action!

Expect two more videos from us on King's tale this month! For those of you not on YouTube or hoping to discuss your own topics, please remember the threads are here exactly for that reason! Feel free to add on to what Candace has already said, or provide your own insights! Can't wait to see what caught you eye!

P.S. Please note this month is a reading break! In March we circle back to Sojourners Truth and Other Stories, which got lost in the holiday shuffle back in December.

Hey guys! Just wondering if anyone else is participating in the 2014 book challenge on Goodreads. Will you be attempting 50 like me? I've got series on the brain for this year, and am hoping to start and finish A Song of Ice and Fire, as well as A Series of Unfortunate Events. I wrote a blog post about it here.

Any series, Canadian or otherwise, you are all hoping to read? (Is this the year we all make a dent in Anne of Green Gables!?)

Alysia wrote: "On the Amazon links Jessica provided you can find them from 0.84 to 2.11 + 6.99 shipping so it's not super expensive. Sadly with school I don't think I'll have time for this one :( maybe next month!"

Thanks Alysia! Sorry to hear you weren't able to read along. We are going to be doing more short stories in 2014. November is a universally hectic month! Hope you got everything done that you needed to :) Do you think you can read Oryx and Crake with us this month?