tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096776708897685863.post1877946442049509922..comments2024-02-23T04:39:49.329-05:00Comments on Conversations in Klal: A Punny Thing Happened to Me On My Way to The BlogProfKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17954446826821665314noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096776708897685863.post-25820451315340833082008-03-28T13:26:00.000-04:002008-03-28T13:26:00.000-04:00Groan!!!Groan!!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096776708897685863.post-43135431612211114352008-03-28T09:53:00.000-04:002008-03-28T09:53:00.000-04:00MLevin,"But I think it also has to do with your pe...MLevin,<BR/>"But I think it also has to do with your personality, your mood and your stage in life." I definitely agree with you on these. It's also why a book you go back and reread many years later seems so different. It's not that the book is different; we are.ProfKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17954446826821665314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096776708897685863.post-15889080570651684572008-03-28T09:43:00.000-04:002008-03-28T09:43:00.000-04:00But I think it also has to do with your personalit...But I think it also has to do with your personality, your mood and your stage in life. <BR/><BR/>Both of my girls read Pride and Prejudice. The older one (14 at the time) saw it as a comparison between shidduch scenes of today's frum world and Regency England. <BR/><BR/>My younger one (16 at the time) saw it as a message of how one should not settle in life, but strife for more. <BR/><BR/>I read this book later in life (30 something) and thought the message was to give benefit of a doubt, avoid gossip, and that there is more to life than what meets an eye.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096776708897685863.post-27999521735979487832008-03-27T23:45:00.000-04:002008-03-27T23:45:00.000-04:00Hm. Interesting analogy. Don't know if I go for it...Hm. Interesting analogy. Don't know if I go for it. I don't think that the surface value of a book is any "less;" rather, I see it as different levels: I can take the same book and enjoy it as an entertaining read, as a work of art, as a philosophical muse, as a political commentary, and more at different times. Take whichever shoe fits.<BR/><BR/>It must be said, though, that certain books fit certain roles better than others. Books that are clearly meant to be political satire, for example, can't be appreciated nearly as well if you're reading for entertainment. But a true work of literature can be really appreciated from several angles.<BR/><BR/>And I can definitely relate to the teenager's sentiments, because many teachers have a tendency to completely ignore some levels and cut straight to the nitpicking. A good teacher will respect all the levels in the book. A nitpicky teacher will analyze Shakespeare's use of certain words in certain lines without first taking the time to appreciate the overall themes and flavor of the work. So annoying, those...Bas~Melechhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01511197551248863790noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096776708897685863.post-83579793442015961582008-03-27T15:52:00.000-04:002008-03-27T15:52:00.000-04:00Mlevin,I subscribe to the artichoke theory of lite...Mlevin,<BR/>I subscribe to the artichoke theory of literary analysis. It goes like this. Steam an artichoke. Take off one of the outer leaves and scrape the end where the soft material is. Take another leaf and do the same. Take even a dozen leaves and do so. If you walk away from the table at this point you have had artichoke. The taste of the artichoke is in your mouth. You aren't missing anything that you believe is requisite to artichoke enjoyment. In fact, you are pretty darn happy with what you have had. Chewing any more leaves would be overkill and why ruin what has been a good experience so far.<BR/><BR/>Now sit back down at the table. Continue removing those artichoke leaves and you start to uncover hidden layers. The leaves are smaller and more succulent. There is more artichoke to scrape off them. Eat some more and suddenly the "choke" is revealed. And what substance there is. No more little scrapes to get the artichoke flavor--you can take bites that fill your mouth. <BR/><BR/>Books are like that artichoke. The outer leaves can be very satisfying and can give you what you are looking for. But it is when you peel away the layers in a book, when you expose what was hidden, that you can get to the "choke."<BR/><BR/>Your daughter is not uncommon in wanting just the outer leaves. It takes time to become a book gourmand. Some people never make it to that point; others, having once tasted the "choke" refuse to settle for anything less.ProfKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17954446826821665314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096776708897685863.post-79592308586051624852008-03-27T14:49:00.000-04:002008-03-27T14:49:00.000-04:00My 16 year old has an aversion to English teachers...My 16 year old has an aversion to English teachers. She says their job is to destroy good books by overly analyzing them.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096776708897685863.post-87215577693917463822008-03-27T11:45:00.000-04:002008-03-27T11:45:00.000-04:00hehe...Those were good. Some really good.I wanted ...hehe...<BR/>Those were good. Some really good.<BR/>I wanted to comment in the form of a pun but I'm drawing a blank :-PBas~Melechhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01511197551248863790noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096776708897685863.post-31142184995502514012008-03-27T10:53:00.000-04:002008-03-27T10:53:00.000-04:00Very cute... except I don't think #9 works at all....Very cute... except I don't think #9 works at all. The squaw isn't equal to the sons of the squaws, her sons are, or else she's equal to the *sum* of the other two squaws, not their sons. (I get the pun, of course, I just think the logic doesn't quite work, so it all falls flat somehow.)<BR/><BR/>I know, I think too hard.miriamphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14339767447913960853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096776708897685863.post-41444443057383696892008-03-27T09:27:00.000-04:002008-03-27T09:27:00.000-04:00Anything that doesn't mention the dreaded "P" word...Anything that doesn't mention the dreaded "P" word would lighten my day. This worked too.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096776708897685863.post-31489116995737036352008-03-27T08:33:00.000-04:002008-03-27T08:33:00.000-04:00I'll see your oys and veys and raise you a gevald....I'll see your oys and veys and raise you a gevald.<BR/><BR/>I missed the warning about reading on an empty stomache and I don't think my breakfast has settled down yet--thanks a lot!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096776708897685863.post-72360780650381655692008-03-27T07:56:00.000-04:002008-03-27T07:56:00.000-04:00I'll see your Oy and raise you a Vey.I'll see your Oy and raise you a Vey.Ghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08512231582715592098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096776708897685863.post-32663749350625147642008-03-27T02:03:00.000-04:002008-03-27T02:03:00.000-04:00Oy.Oy.Jack Steinerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16625864271071630940noreply@blogger.com