The Great American Read discussion

We will be reading White Teeth from June 1- July 30.

No Spoilers on this thread please! The Spoiler thread will be created shortly after June 1.

Who is planning to join in? Would anyone like to lead the discussion?

I'll be in for the discussion!

This is now open. Who else will join us? I'll be joining in a little later in the month.

Any first impressions?

I have it from the library as of two days ago. Trying to get "Rebecca" done, my goal for summer is to try and read only one or two books at a time! :D

I read it last year, but I just got Swing Time from the library!

I’m joining but plan to start maybe next week!!!

I plan to start it next week!

I started reading White Teeth this week - will jump in the discussion soon!

wow..........for once, I'm ahead of everyone on the group read! How's that for a switch!?

Congratulations Linda! Thanks for leading us! Are you ready for Crime and Punishment coming up?

Yep. I have a copy that's been sitting on my bookshelf for years....Have two very short flights on Tuesday, so don't know that I'll be able to get into it, but will take it to MN with me.

I just started White Teeth. I'm up to the marriage of an unlikely couple. So far I like the writing and the quirky or ironic tone of the book.

NancyJ wrote: "I just started White Teeth. I'm up to the marriage of an unlikely couple. So far I like the writing and the quirky or ironic tone of the book."

Yes, it made the train-wreck-to-come more bearable......

Hey everybody! I’m a few chapters in. This is my first Smith novel. The writing is interesting, but I’m not sold just yet. The Big Book of Books says that this is representative of hysterical realism. Is anyone laughing yet?

I tried reading this a few years ago and couldn’t get into it. There’s something about the modern British person that makes me disconnect ASAP 😒 maybe i should give it another try? Also please check out The conventions of realism are not being abolished but, on the contrary, over-worked. One’s objections are made not at the level of verisimilitude but at the level of morality: the style of writing is not to be faulted because it lacks reality-the usual charge-but because it seems evasive of reality, while borrowing from realism itself. It is not a cock-up but a cover-up.

From https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ma....

I thought it was just me. I started (or returned to) three books since I finished Heart's Invisible Furies, and I just can't seem to get into any of them.

I just picked up the audio CD to listen in my car, and I like the female narrator. She sounds odd at first, but she adds humor. The e-audio has a male narrator and I don't like him as much.

Maybe I need a little reading break. My husband is taking some vacation days, and he gets annoyed when I disappear with a book (what nerve, right?). We've been watching Poldark on TV every night (first season on the dvr).

Oh interesting, I wonder why they have two different narrators! I like the male narrator so far. I'm also invested in the book. I love British humor and this has bits that remind me greatly of Terry Pratchett and Douglas Adams, so maybe that's helping me? I can see how it won so many awards.

I restarted the book on a kindle and I'm catching a lot of humor that I didn't catch before. Sometimes the accents on the audio distracted me from some of the really sharp observations and sly humor.

NancyJ wrote: "I restarted the book on a kindle and I'm catching a lot of humor that I didn't catch before. Sometimes the accents on the audio distracted me from some of the really sharp observations and sly humor."

I was kind of expecting someone to say that, Nancy, but I also found (being who I am) that when I was reading it, I was trying to "hear it" in my head, and it slowed me down through the first 1/3 of the book

I'm really enjoying it now, and I'm laughing a lot more. I'm happy to read about someone other than Archie and Samad. They didn't always feel realistic to me, but the war scenes were interesting.

NancyJ wrote: "I'm really enjoying it now, and I'm laughing a lot more. I'm happy to read about someone other than Archie and Samad. They didn't always feel realistic to me, but the war scenes were interesting."

I felt the same way!