[Kindle] Free books from T. R. Pearson

[twowheels]

Having only heard of this author from this thread I'm happy to grab a few for free to see if I'll like them. Thanks!

[orange!]

Off For the Sweet Hereafter (book 2 of the Neely trilogy)

Call and Response

Gospel Hour

By the way, I'm getting my information from the author's blog at Goodreads.

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by orange!

Off For the Sweet Hereafter (book 2 of the Neely trilogy)

Call and Response

Gospel Hour

By the way, I'm getting my information from the author's blog at Goodreads.

Thank you!

Now we're getting into the heart and soul of Pearson's work.



Don

[bfisher]

Originally Posted by orange!

You're welcome.

Did you get Jerusalem Gap while it was free? After Short...Small, it's probably my favorite Pearson novel. In fact, I'm re-reading it now.

Thanks. I'm halfway through Jerusalem Gap. It does powerfully remind me of Old Yeller, and I am enjoying it, although dreading the inescapable sorrow at the end, as dog stories generally do not have a scoobey-do ending for the dog.

This is still only CDN$ 0.99 at amazon.ca (http://www.amazon.ca/Jerusalem-Gap-ebook/dp/B004RZGZ4O) and $0.95 at amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com/Jerusalem-Gap-ebook/dp/B004RZGZ4O) - a huge bargain for an excellent book.

Three of his books are still free at amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Off-For-Sweet-.../dp/B00BV797OG

http://www.amazon.com/Call-and-Respo.../dp/B005504ZYW

http://www.amazon.com/Gospel-Hour-ebook/dp/B005O0JUP2

many of his other books are still a great deal at around $3.00 when you consider the quality of his work

[Man Eating Duck]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

Thank you!

Now we're getting into the heart and soul of Pearson's work.

Don

Yes, thanks indeed!

Don, I wondered if you could recommend a reading order? I have gotten all books posted in this thread.

So, if I understand correctly, Cry Me A River, Blue Ridge, Polar and Warwolf are the four Ray Tatum-books in that order. For the other ones (Call and Response, Gospel Hour, Jerusalem Gap, Off For The Sweet Hereafter, Red Scare and True Cross), is there any preferred order of reading? I understand that A Short History of A Small Place should be on the list, and I will probably buy it after sampling one or two of his other books.

[Dr. Drib]

I would recommend his very first novel, "A Short History of A Small Place," with an understanding however, that his prose style is rich, dense, and sometimes difficult - and absolutely delightful (to me).

The setting is Neely, North Carolina, a fictitious Southern town that doesn't exist. The characters, however, exist in every one of us and this (I would argue) is what makes them so endearing.

The author clearly loves his characters; this is so readily apparent upon reading the few sentences. Anyone with a sense of humor (and who also enjoys sentences that turn in on themselves) will fall in love with these characters. I also fell in love with his writing which, as I mentioned, is a language that is rich and vibrant and beautiful.

I recognize that this can be a difficult read for people who are used to the action-packed bestsellers of today. I can read both types.

His later novels do not have (in my opinion) this rich love affair with the English language, but Pearson continues to be a serious writer.

I encountered his work in 1985, when this book first came out. I have 3 uncorrected proofs of his various novels. My hardback First Editions are protected in acid-free mylar covers. (I'm a book collector, as you surmise.)

Read the reviews on Amazon - both positive and negative. You'll get an idea of the almost cult following he has. You'll also find out why some people don't like him. In most instances, this dislike takes the form of readers who mainly read fast-action bestsellers. This is what (in so many cases) they are used to.

It's a crime that Pearson - this fine, fine American writer - is not widely known or widely read. His plight is similar, I would say, to Donald Harington. They share many things in common: One which looks at the human condition and finds not fault with our many failings, but one which recognizes and cherishes those enduring qualities that help to define who and what we are as human beings.

I admire T. R. Pearson's work tremendously.



Don

[Man Eating Duck]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

I would recommend his very first novel, "A Short History of A Small Place," with an understanding however, that his prose style is rich, dense, and sometimes difficult - and absolutely delightful (to me).

Huh. After helping a guy making some calculations based on the Gunning fog index I used the Count Pages plugin to calculate them for my entire library. I sorted by GF index, and guess what - the top three books were all Pearson books, with Gospel Hour coming in at a whopping 27, followed by Call and Response and Off For The Sweet Hereafter at 26. Miltons Paradise Lost came in fourth with a paltry 23, with some William Hope Hodgson and Proust in close pursuit. None of the latter are known for their simple language

The GF index is intended to be an approximation of grade level required for comprehension. To be fair, in my experience Gunning fog will often be a poor indicator of actual readability, especially for higher values. "Long words", for instance, is severely penalised, while they're not necessarily very detrimental to the readability of a well-written text. I haven't gotten around to starting any of the Pearson books yet, but now I'm intrigued

The two preceding paragraphs, by the way, apparently have a GF index of 15.08. Apologies to anyone without a bachelor's degree.

Edit: Without the initial "Huh." the GF index is 16.64. Who would've thunk that removing a single meaningless word would increase the target grade level by a year and a half?

[OddCosine]

Originally Posted by Man Eating Duck

Huh. After helping a guy making some calculations based on the Gunning fog index I used the Count Pages plugin to calculate them for my entire library. I sorted by GF index, and guess what - the top three books were all Pearson books, with Gospel Hour coming in at a whopping 27, followed by Call and Response and Off For The Sweet Hereafter at 26.

Interesting observation. In addition to the three you mention, I have 4 of Pearson's that score in the single digits, as low as 6. Quite a range. I have 7 José Saramago books ahead of Gospel Hour, the highest scoring 36!

[hwlester]

Originally Posted by Man Eating Duck

Huh. After helping a guy making some calculations based on the Gunning fog index I used the Count Pages plugin to calculate them for my entire library. I sorted by GF index, and guess what - the top three books were all Pearson books, with Gospel Hour coming in at a whopping 27, followed by Call and Response and Off For The Sweet Hereafter at 26. Miltons Paradise Lost came in fourth with a paltry 23, with some William Hope Hodgson and Proust in close pursuit. None of the latter are known for their simple language

The GF index is intended to be an approximation of grade level required for comprehension. To be fair, in my experience Gunning fog will often be a poor indicator of actual readability, especially for higher values. "Long words", for instance, is severely penalised, while they're not necessarily very detrimental to the readability of a well-written text. I haven't gotten around to starting any of the Pearson books yet, but now I'm intrigued

The two preceding paragraphs, by the way, apparently has a GF index of 15.08. Apologies to anyone without a bachelor's degree.

Edit: Without the initial "Huh." the GF index is 16.64. Who would've thunk that removing a single meaningless word would increase the target grade level by a year and a half?

Could you dumb this post down a bit? I didn't understand a word of it (other than the initial Huh...)

[Man Eating Duck]

Originally Posted by hwlester

Could you dumb this post down a bit? I didn't understand a word of it (other than the initial Huh...)

It was a very clumsy post.

The Gunning fog index is a method to estimate the readability of a text based on the length of words and sentences. Some of Pearson's books get a ridiculously high score which indicates that they are almost impossible to read, probably because the Gunning fog index can be misleading at times. I still found it funny since Dr. Drib did warn about somewhat difficult language

[hwlester]

Originally Posted by Man Eating Duck

It was a very clumsy post.

I was being facetious. I guess I forgot to use the sarcasm font...

Leonard: Do I have to hold up a sarcasm sign every time I open my mouth?
Sheldon: You have a sarcasm sign?!?

[Man Eating Duck]

Originally Posted by hwlester

I was being facetious. I guess I forgot to use the sarcasm font...

Leonard: Do I have to hold up a sarcasm sign every time I open my mouth?
Sheldon: You have a sarcasm sign?!?

Uh, sorry about that, apparently I left my joke detector at home today