Ragtime: A Novel | 
bailedI quit this one because it got way too explicit for me. It is a clever novel though. Will start something else soon. Enjoyed my visit, first time, to San Francisco. Took Amtrak train back to SLC from Emeryville near Oakland. Long ride back but great views of Sierras and Donner Lake, etc.
Altho‘ slow reading the other books, I am starting this one. Need something small for a trip I am taking.
I love the book , love the movie. Another wild Saturday night!
pick(1974) This was the bestselling novel in the US in 1975. It's a historical novel following events connected to a New York fireworks family in the early (prewar) twentieth century. Its loose plot covers the E. Nesbit sex-and-murder scandal and an invented scandal about the racist humiliation of a ragtime pianist and his revenge.
This kind of loose plot usually annoys me, but Doctorow's direct prose and layered narrative won me over. I loved it
This is on the Modern Library‘s 100 Best Novels list. I have it on my Kindle but haven‘t read it yet. 🇺🇸
#flag #boundtogetherjune
so-soI would say 3 🌟. The merging of three different stories was very interesting and I feel that I preferred the fictional characters to the real life ones. The real life characters were sprinkled in somewhat randomly but to give a historical context. I just don‘t think it worked well. They could have been left out and the other characters could have been developed more. So this was just ok for me.
This was the first fictionalized #history I ever read.
#history
#redroseseptember
@Cinfhen @arlenefinnigan
pickThis book really grew on me with each page. Honestly, at first, I wasn‘t into the intertwined stories thing, but I swung by 180 before the end. Viva Coalhouse! 😊
#Orange #ColorMePretty Some orange books from the stash . And a double hibiscus from my yard that I brought in before it wilts in the heat.🌞🧡
It took an explosion for Houdini to lose hos audience‘s attention. #ragtime #1001books #tbr1001
pickNew York in the years before the first world war is a period of dramatic change and through the story of an affluent middle class family the author explores the life of city by introducing famous characters ( Emma goldman -what a life, houdini, jp Morgan, ford) and looks a race, anarchism, immigration, and individual lives at the turn of the century. Loved it and a read that finished 'winter' in #booked2019
Sorry i just had to post this as i nearly splurted my coffee over the page.
Apologies to my friends across the pond.
My final winter book in #booked2019 challenge relates to reminds me of a happy place.
Ive been to new York twice once for my wifes 40th and then all 5 of us on a trip along the east coast so it has lots of great memories.
Anyway this Saturday morning im sat in my car waiting for my daughter - the music is of course totally random but there is no one like The proclaimers to lift a dull day.
@Cinfhen @BarbaraTheBibliophage @4thhouseontheleft
Day 26 of the #RiotGrams Challenge: Backlist/Old Books that Rock
Here are some awesome older books on our shelves.
@bookriot #riotgramsday26 #oldbooksthatrock
pickThis book has been on my radar for a very long time, and I finally got to read it. It was really interesting. I admit that I had a difficult time getting into it at first. The beginning was a little vague for me. Once the family took in the baby and the servant girl and Coalhouse Walker entered the picture, I became much more interested. From there on I devoured the book. The characters became more real and interesting to me then.
Library sale haul! All 7 for $3.50. If you aren‘t shopping your library, why not?
It‘s E.L.Doctorows‘ Birthday (1931-2015)I have not read all his books , I respect his huge talent. To write fictional characters interwoven into real historical events is a tricky thing and he was good at it.To see Ragtime come to life in movie form was pretty awesome too.
pickWhat an amazing book, a blend of fiction and real history!
I've never whatched the movie, and I didn't know what It was about, and I am really pleasantly surprised.
#rocktober #timeslikethese
Ragtime takes place in turn of the century America. The blurb on Litsy calls it a mosaic, and that‘s what I remember from reading it twenty years ago - jumping between points of view in three different families, seeing personal revelations with a backdrop of the political and social events of the time. I thought it was a masterpiece and I need to reread it soon!
That's the beautiful Ragtime edition I got in the blind book box I sign here in in Brazil! It comes with a box and a magazine and Also a little gift that is not pictured.
I need to get back into these photo challenges so I'll hop on the end of #jubilantjuly and hopefully manage August! For #publishedinthe1970s my pick is 1975's Ragtime which is a gorgeous sprawling novel set in early 20th century America, this is also a pride of my book collection as it's one of the few first editions I have that dates back to before I was born 🙂
I thought this book was only OK but it inspired one of my favorite musicals of all time, so I owe it a debt of gratitude. #PublishedInThe1970s #JubilantJuly #theatrekid
pickLOVE LOVE LOVE this one. I love the time period of 1900-1920, and the mix of historical figures and fictional characters was amazing. The descriptions of settings, objects, etc. were very vivid. Read it! E.L. Doctorow is legit.👌🏻
"Other than that, the play was excellent."
-- Mary Todd Lincoln
Writing is like driving a car at night. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.
Recently discovered this was the most bestselling book od my birth year. So a friend gave it to me for my Christmas/birthday present. #bookgifts #asgoodatimeasany
#17boollove #redbooks
I did not think I had this many books with at least a red spine and these are from just the downstairs bookshelves.
pickPerfect. Seamlessly interwoven. Keep Google at the ready. (What would I have done had I read this before Google?) and every bit as relevant now as in 1975.
Here are the #oneworstitles I found on the living room bookcase
Saw this as a musical tonight- excellent production, loved the storytelling but haven't read the book- adding to TBR list right now!
This week's homework for my Am Lit Sem! So far so good! #americanliterature #ragtime #graduateschool #homework #historicalfiction
Came across this article today...Ragtime was the most popular book the year I was born, so naturally I added it to my TBR list 😃 you can go to the link to see what book was popular the year you were born! http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/entertainment/g3656/most-popular-book-year-...
pickThis book is for me a reminder of how much depends on my frame of mind. The first time I started it, I couldn't get into it. A year later, couldn't put it down. It's such a rich, full novel.
pickThis is my 2nd reading of this book...the first was 1975 when it was first published. I loved it then and loved it even more now as I have either lived in or spent significant time in the major cities in the book. Doctorow expertly blends history with fiction and I found myself constantly Googling to learn more about the people and events portrayed. A fascinating and enjoyable book that tells a great story. Highly recommended!!
Every year over the first four days of July, I reread Ragtime... I love this book.
pickAnd thinking of Teddy Roosevelt as a character in The Alienist made me think about real people who appear in fiction that is not "Historical Fiction." Ragtime is by far my favorite, and the Broadway Show is one of my favorites, too. What's your favorite real person in fiction?
so-soI know this is considered a classic but I confess it left me cold. Worse, I read it just over a year ago and it left no impression on me whatsoever, so that I had to flip through it quickly again in order to remember anything about it. Doubtless my fault.
