In Response to Chapter 3 by AllanFallow

Allan, funny that you chose that particular passage--I'd highlighted it myself because I loved the cattiness of it--we've all encountered Ava-types in our lives, and I get a kick out of occasionally (internally) poking fun. 

Here's another I liked, although with this one, Tess literally chides herself for being catty.  It was on p. 34 of the version I read, andis Tess's description of Ava:

"A lawyer, Tess thought, who felt cooly confident because she had used the right deoderant that morning. Catty, she chided herself."

In Response to RE: Welcome to Pageturners! Our first selection will be *Baltimore Blues* by Laura Lippman by jokoh55

For the last 30 years or so, I’ve recorded every book I’ve read on index cards, alphabetized by author.  In the beginning I’d write a summary and a review of each book. Wish I’d kept up the reporting for it’s so helpful to go back and recall the details of a work. Apparently my conclusion about  “Ragtime” has some similarity to my thoughts on “Baltimore Blues.” Here’s a bit of what I wrote so very long ago about Doctorow’s story.

In “Ragtime,“ people who really lived are involved with fictional characters, but, as in the Dos Passos novel “Manhattan Transfer,” I found that there were too many characters. I, also, understand why Simone de Beauvoir thought it contrived.” 

I can only guess that de Beauvoir’s passed along that review in her “Memoirs of a Dutiful Daughter.” Below is my more detailed reasoning about too many characters, with regard to “Manhattan Transfer.”

“Though he does give life to his characters, Dos Passos accumulates so many of them that they become props to the over-all period. By the end of the book, I did not have any particular character to remember, as I didn’t get to know any of the all that well.”

Reading my reviews, i realize that in-depth individual portrayals are vital to much of my reading enjoyment.

Unfortunately, for the last decade, at least, I’ve just listed the title under the author’s name, with, perhaps, a one word description--good, bad, boring.

Lately I have considered putting my listings on my computer, so that I could easily link to author pages and titles, but it would take a considerable amount of time to do so.

In Response to RE: Welcome to Pageturners! Our first selection will be *Baltimore Blues* by Laura Lippman by ksales

I really enjoyed Tess's/LL's sarcasm throughout the book, especially as it related to Ava (and Tess's feelings of inadequacy when comparing herself to her).  Here are a few quotes that gave me a good chuckle, but were perfect descriptions as well:

"Tess could have trailed her on a tricycle, ringing a metal bell, and Ava would not have noticed."

"A lawyer, Tess thought, who felt cooly confident because she had used the right deoderant that morning."