Welcome to the Book Nook! This is the weekly thread for Avocados to discuss books we’re currently reading, recommendations, genre, and serious literary criticism.
This week’s recommended discussion: We’re all familiar with required reading from our school days. It’s great for establishing common cultural references, but some books have been common pain points. Which books would you replace – either with a pick from the same author, or a book with the same topic or theme. My choice is Ethan Frome. It’s a great book, but kids should not read it by force. I think a far superior Wharton for young minds is The Custom of the Country, which has a lot of historical and social complexity. And America might be a different place if kids were encouraged to examine some ugly truths about our attitudes toward money and other cultures.
Because we’re here to use our words, this is a NO GIF/YouTube/social media embed zone. The OTs are full of clutter, and I want to keep that out of this thread. Images related to a post are fine, though.
upcoming topics:
10/21: trick or treat (h/t MisterSplendiferous)
10/28: masters of horror (h/t MisterSplendiferous)
11/4: no topic due to U.S. elections (please VOTE by 11/3 if you can)
Book Nook posts every Wednesday at 8:15 AM Eastern.