If you live in or near Asheville, North Carolina, drop by the amazing Malaprop's Bookstore on Saturday November 29th at 1 PM. (55 Haywood St., Asheville, NC, 28801.) I'll be doing a signing.
There's no formal event or reading or anything, but I will sign all the books you want! (Including those written by Maureen Johnson.)
Also: In comments to the post below, Lauren Myracle points out that Ethan Frome is not boring. Which it probably isn't (I haven't read it since 10th grade). I am going to reread it over Thanksgiving as penance.
ACK! Wish I could be there! But alas, that is one place in North Carolina I'm *NOT* going to be in or driving through this weekend.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I got a very nice view of everything between Chapel Hill and Charlotte today. Traffic rocks.
And have fun reading!!! I wish you reader epiphanies and such :)
I find that if there's a book i want to read that has the potential to send me to sleep (even if i have no evidence whatsoever for thinking it will be boring) i listen to an audio version of it. And if you're driving/flying/whatever somewhere over thanksgiving, you can still "read" it.
ReplyDeleteI read Ethan Frome a couple of months ago and it is one of those books that needs a second reading. In my class the professor mentioned this critical theory that the novel is actually an adult fairy tale. You have the prince (Ethan), the witch and the girl in distress. After ruminating on this for awhile I realized that the book is even better. Also, Lionel Trilling's theory that the book has no moral scruples was also brought up. The fact that even though you are a decent person means nothing because your end will not reflect your actions. The latter threw me off but I nevertheless enjoyed it greatly.
ReplyDelete"Ethan Frome" is boring. It's a massive sleigh wreck of boring. I assure you. Unhappy marriages, gruesomely awkward food metaphors, and an unforgivably long prologue and epilogue. Save yourself.
ReplyDeleteI was also going to state that Ethan Frome wasn't boring, but then I remembered that I couldn't really remember it.
ReplyDeleteYou'll like Ethan Fromme
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of Ethan Frome. I feel uneducated!
ReplyDeleteI kind of liked Ethan Frome too..
ReplyDelete*Frome
ReplyDeleteNever read the book, but I saw the movie 'cause of Patricia Arquette and Liam Neeson and yep... it was boring.
ReplyDeleteRoger Ebert said the book might have its merits, but the film is about "unrelieved dreariness" and "a very long slog through grim pastures."
http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19930312/REVIEWS/303120303/1023
I'm with you Karen! I'm not going quite that far west, although maybe I could work in some kind of detour....cause Malaprop's on its own rocks and then Mr. John Green? hmmmm
ReplyDeleteEthan Frome is not boring. But the words in it are.
ReplyDeleteI got really excited when you said North Carolina, because I thought it might be just over the border (I live in Virginia). But no, it's 5hours away from my house. Darn. Oh well, maybe next time.
ReplyDeleteDFTBA
I really liked Ethan Frome. But I despised both novels I've read by Toni Morrison (Bluest Eye and Song of Solomon), so I may be unqualified to comment.
ReplyDeleteWe usually spend T-day with the in-laws in Pisgah, but this year we're attempting our own version of Thanksgiving. So far, it's frightening.
ReplyDeleteEither way, if you get a chance, the goats at Carl Sandberg's home in Flat Rock are always looking for some T-day love. And they are the cutest animals, ever. Enjoy the Blue Ridge. I'll be there in a month. *Big sigh*
-T. Sotira,(who promises to avoid commenting for at least a few weeks)
I always remember Ethan Frome as boring, but it was one of the few assigned books that I actually finished. I may have to re-read it now, especially after reading the comment about it being an adult fairy tale.
ReplyDeleteWhen the fug are you going to do a signing in Nashville?!?! You've mentioned the city in two of your books (Havn't read Paper Towns yet, can't say if its in there, sue me)! So do a signing there already... or atleast a city within an hour's driving distance from Nashville.
ReplyDeleteP.S.
When can I expect a paperback version of Paper Towns? I have a strong dislike for hard cover.
Ack, I hate Ethan Frome!
ReplyDeleteAnne, what does Ethan Frome have to do with Toni Morrison?
ReplyDeletei'll be there; i'll be there; i'll be there!!!!!! :)
ReplyDeleteThis has absolutely nothing to do with your blog, I'm afraid, but I didn't know how else to contact you, Mr. Green.
ReplyDeleteI finished "Looking for Alaska" about five minutes ago. When I first began the novel, I thought, this author appears to be slightly insane. The way you think and channel those thoughts into words scares the living hell out of me, because I didn't know that such a style was possible. By the end of the book, I was overwhelmed, and I have to say, I believe you are one of the smartest out there. You have helped me understand so much about the world and myself that no one else could have even tried to explain. I look at this universe, this twisted, emotional mess, and it all somewhat makes sense now. I know, it seems ridiculous that just by writing a book, you could change somebody's life, but you did, and I thank you for that.
Sincerely,
Jamie, 14
Hey John,
ReplyDeleteI just finished reading Paper towns, and after reading LFA and Katherines, I have to say that your female characters are very interesting.. and many of them are .. tragic? Is that the word?
Well it would be very interesting to see a book in the perspective of a female main character.. but I can understand that may be difficult, as you are not a female..
anyway..I was reading the MPDG thread and I was thinking.. neither Alaska nor Margo were the two whom I thought fit that description.. I actually think that Lindsey in Katherines is the most MPDG of all your female characters..
We dont get to know much about her, and in the end she helps Colin get over the Katherines and everything.. hmm im not sure im exactly right but.. just thinking out loud :)
Tara
pampampizza-
ReplyDeleteHeh. Ethan Frome has nothing to do with Toni Morrison, but I know a lot of people here enjoy her work. I don't, so I'm just making fun of myself and my opinions as to whether or not books are boring.
Whee! I'll be there, Paper Towns (and Suite Scarlett) in tow.
ReplyDeleteSo happy you're coming to Asheville.
Anne, good, because I thought you thought that Ethan Frome was written by Toni Morrison.
ReplyDeleteOh, John. When will you travel to Sweden?
ReplyDeletehttp://theteenageangel.wordpress.com/2008/12/04/survey/