The 100 essential New England books
Cat:Arts and EntertainmentForum:9495
Cat:Arts and EntertainmentForum:9495Discussion:07f75dfd-91e2-4a57-b056-febb67b2cea7
Books
The 100 essential New England books
Bestsellers and must-reads
We've rounded up our list of the top books about New England or written by local authors . Who'd we miss? What's your favorite locally grown book?
0
|
The 100 essential New England books
posted at 6/12/2009 12:51 PM EDT
|
Posts: 361
First: 5/30/2008 Last: 12/23/2009 |
We've rounded up our list of the top books about New England or written by local authors. Who'd we miss? What's your favorite locally grown book? |
|
|
Re: The 100 essential New England books
posted at 6/13/2009 2:56 PM EDT
|
|
Posts: 1
First: 6/13/2009 Last: 6/13/2009 |
Well, the funniest book I've read in a long time by a local author was Don't Mind Me, a Tennessean Lost in Connecticut, by Terry Hargrove. He wrote a column for the shoreline papers here in Connecticut. What a funny guy! He now posts on Scholars and Rogues. (Now, how can I post this anonymously? Hmmm) |
|
|
Re: The 100 essential New England books
posted at 6/13/2009 7:17 PM EDT
|
|
Posts: 1
First: 6/13/2009 Last: 6/13/2009 |
As an elementary school teacher I was happy to see Eric Carle, Mike Mulligan and of course Make Way for Ducklings, but you certainly missed And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry St. Also, no Stephen King??? Really?
|
|
|
Re: The 100 essential New England books
posted at 6/14/2009 3:17 PM EDT
|
|
Posts: 1
First: 6/14/2009 Last: 6/14/2009 |
What you missed: New England books are sold at New England bookstores which pay New England taxes and keep New England people employed. Sending shoppers to amazon.com alone is shortsighted (unless of course Amazon is buying the NYT share in your paper). How about indiebound.org. Would be pretty simple for you to set them up as an affliate (http://www.indiebound.org/affiliate) and you'd be supporting the businesses who already support you. |
|
|
Re: The 100 essential New England books
posted at 6/14/2009 4:24 PM EDT
|
|
Posts: 4
First: 6/14/2009 Last: 12/5/2009 |
A must read is "A Tiger's Heart" which is written by a local (Boston) author, Aisling Shen. A brutally honest description of her life growing up dirt poor and overcoming the odds against her. She lays bare her most intimate thoughts in a way few authors are able to do. An amazing story, wonderfully written. http://www.amazon.com/Tigers-Heart-Story-Modern-Chinese/dp/1569475865/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1243523962&sr=1-1 |
|
|
Re: The 100 essential New England books
posted at 6/14/2009 5:03 PM EDT
|
|
Posts: 1
First: 6/14/2009 Last: 6/14/2009 |
How about "Broken Justice. A True Story of Race, Sex and Revenge in a Boston Courtroom" It captures a national cautionary tale in a local setting written by a local author. Reproductive rights, civil rights and privacy rights. |
|
|
Re: The 100 essential New England books
posted at 6/14/2009 5:21 PM EDT
|
Posts: 3
First: 6/14/2009 Last: 7/5/2009 |
Why is "The Scarlet Letter," one of the perhaps five canonical New England novels, at #19? Is "All Souls" really a better book than Hawthorne's? "The Scarlet Letter" is a top-three book, and perhaps the most authentically New English on the list. The grading criteria is baffling. By New Englanders or about New England: ok. "The top," I assume, means "most meritorious" and "most influential." So "Self-Reliance" is only a slightly better and more important book than "The Secret Life of Lobsters"? I agree with the presence of most of the books, but not the placement, which seems slapdash. And what, no "Johnny Tremain"? Come aaaaahn. |
|
|
Re: The 100 essential New England books
posted at 6/14/2009 7:11 PM EDT
|
|
Posts: 2
First: 6/14/2009 Last: 6/15/2009 |
Sigh. These top-whatever lists are designed to irritate, aren't they? Basically a round-up of whoever the Globe writers happen to be familiar with: always a limited group. Many issues, but here's just one: how about some books by writers of color who actually live (or lived) in New England, instead of Famous Black Writers I've Heard Of Who Went To School Here For A Year? So, for instance, the great Frederick Douglass, David Walker, Harriet Jacobs or, coming to the present, Henry Louis Gates, Stephen Carter (Emperor of Ocean Park), Kim McLarin (Jump At The Sun) ...... |
|
|
Re: The 100 essential New England books
posted at 6/14/2009 7:47 PM EDT
|
|
Posts: 10
First: 1/5/2006 Last: 8/25/2009 |
I'd add "The Story of a Bad Boy," by Thomas Bailey Aldrich. Also, note with this type of reader rating scheme, the results tend to be mush, i.e., everything gets 3 stars to just more than 3 stars, even though the 100 books very greatly in quality and how they stand the test of time. I've seen the same thing on movie rating sites, where everything levels out to a mush rating. |
|
|
Re: The 100 essential New England books
posted at 6/14/2009 7:57 PM EDT
|
|
Posts: 1
First: 6/14/2009 Last: 6/14/2009 |
Missing Linda Greenlaw's "The Hungry Ocean." Picked it up because of her association with Gloucester fishing and the crew from "A Perfect Storm." Quite the interesting look at a fisherman's life. Her later books are good too. |
|
|
Re: The 100 essential New England books
posted at 6/14/2009 8:05 PM EDT
|
Posts: 2
First: 6/14/2009 Last: 6/14/2009 |
As an elementary school teacher I was happy to see Eric Carle, Mike Mulligan and of course Make Way for Ducklings, but you certainly missed And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry St. Also, no Stephen King??? Really? Posted by tartiepants tartiepants, I'm afraid you missed Stephen King at # 20 (Carrie). It's easy to do (missed a few myself the first time through)  ...
little dirt
|
|
|
Re: The 100 essential New England books
posted at 6/14/2009 8:14 PM EDT
|
|
Posts: 1
First: 6/14/2009 Last: 6/14/2009 |
As an elementary school teacher I was happy to see Eric Carle, Mike Mulligan and of course Make Way for Ducklings, but you certainly missed And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry St. Also, no Stephen King??? Really? Posted by tartiepants Also working with children, I was surprised Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney was not on there either. Great list though, I enjoyed it. |
|
|
Re: The 100 essential New England books
posted at 6/14/2009 8:43 PM EDT
|
|
Posts: 3
First: 6/14/2009 Last: 7/5/2009 |
"What? No John Updike?" #60. Can people please check to make sure their authors aren't on the list before they ask, "whuffo you no..." But yeah, hah, "Uncle Tom's Cabin." Pretty important book. Written in Maine. |
|
|
Re: The 100 essential New England books
posted at 6/14/2009 8:43 PM EDT
|
|
Posts: 34
First: 6/5/2008 Last: 6/15/2009 |
I think because New England has always produced notable writers, it's impossible to form a list of "top anything" because there are so many of them. Because there are a gazillion out there, you could have the top 100 Red Sox books, or the top 100 mysteries, or the top 100 novels. My personal favorite: The Boston Driver's Handbook. |