The Earth by Émile Zola:Book Beginnings on Fridays, First Line Friday, and The Friday 56

                       

Today's Featured Book: 

The Earth (La Terre)

by Émile Zola

Genre: Fiction

Published: 1887

Page Count: 512 pages

Summary: 

Zola's novel of peasant life is generally regarded as one of his finest achievements, comparable to Germinal and L'Assommoir. Set in a village in northern France, it depicts the harshness of the peasants' world and their visceral attachment to the land. Jean Macquart, a war veteran and now an itinerant farm laborer, is drawn into the affairs of the Fouan family when he starts courting young Françoise. He becomes involved in a bitter dispute over the property of Papa Fouan when the old man divides his land between his three children. Resentment turns to greed and violence in a Darwinian battle for supremacy.

 

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAY is hosted by Rose City Reader. What book are you happy about reading this week? Please share the opening sentence (or so) on BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAY! Add the link to your blog or social media post and visit other blogs to see what others are reading.

Happy Friday and welcome to the FIRST LINE FRIDAY, hosted by Reading is My Superpower! It’s time to grab the book nearest to you and leave a comment with the first line.

That morning, Jean had slung a blue canvas seedbag round his middle and was holding it open with his left hand, whilst with his right he took out a handful of wheat and at every third step scattered it broadcast with a sweep of his arm.

THE FRIDAY 56 is hosted by Anne of Head Full of Books. To play, open a book and turn to page 56 (or 56% on your e-reader). Find a sentence or two and post them, along with the book title and author. Then link up on Head Full of Books and visit others in the linky. 

"You get back and see to the dinner or else you'd better look out. And shut up the house, you little brat, in case of burglars."

Émile Zola

It's Paris in July time, and for me that means it's time to read another Zola book. 

I have read five Zola books so far:

• L'Assommoir (2020)
• The Belly of Paris (2021)
• Nana (2022)
• Germinal (2024)
• Thérèse Raquin (2025)

I have loved all the books I've read. I declared myself a Zola fan after my first Zola read, L'Assommoir, the story of a poor washerwoman in Paris. My favorites are L'Assommoir and Germinal, the story of the workers in a mine in France.

The stories all deal with social injustice, with the huge gaps between the lives of the rich and the lives of the poor in France in the mid to late 1800s. 

The lives of the characters in the novels I've read range from bleak to wretched to despondent. 

As you might guess, there are no happy endings here. 

I decided to read The Earth after reading a recent rave review of Zola's The Earth. Here are some reviews from other members of the Classics Club: Fanda, Karen K., and Katrina.

If you have read any Zola novels, I'd like to hear your thoughts. I welcome any recommendations for future Zola reads.

Most Anticipated Books Releasing in the Second Half of 2026

Here are the books I can't wait to read...

Daughters of the Sun and Moon by Lisa See

Villa Coco by Andrew Sean Greer

Social Animals by Camille Perri

Alan Opts Out by Courtney Maum

Receipts from the Bookshop by Courtney Clapham

Earth 7 by Deb Olin Unferth

Trash! A Garbageman's Story by Simon Pere-Poupart

How to Lay an Egg with a Horse Inside by Brian Bilston

Man Overboard! by Kathleen Rooney

The Butterfly Season by Lea Korsgaard

Moss'd in Space by Rebecca Thorn

The Midnight Train by Matt Haig

My Year in Paris with Gertrude Stein by Deborah Levy

The Paris Match by Kate Clayborn

Romantic Hero by Kirsty Greenwood

Building 903 by Lois Lowry

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Each Tuesday That Artsy Reader Girl assigns a topic and then post her top ten list that fits that topic. You’re more than welcome to join her and create your own top ten (or 2, 5, 20, etc.) list as well. Feel free to put a unique spin on the topic to make it work for you! Please link back to That Artsy Reader Girl in your own post so that others know where to find more information.   

The Sunday Salon: Northern Cardinal Chicks, Butterflies and Bees, an Alligator, and Some Gulf Coast Toads

 

Welcome! We're glad you're here at the Sunday Salon. 

What is the Sunday Salon? 

The Sunday Salon is  a great opportunity to visit other blogs and join in the conversations going on there. It's also a place to link up and share what we've been doing during the week.

Swimming. Reptile shows at the libraries. (Yes, that's an alligator, with his mouth taped during the show for safety). A Pollinator BioBlitz. I couldn't wait for Paris in July and I went ahead and read The Razor's Edge and Four Seasons in France, both of which have chapters that take place in Paris. A busy, happy week.

What I Read Last Week:

My Four Seasons in France: A Year of the Good Life by Janine Marsh (Memoir)

The Razor's Edge by W. Somerset Maugham (Fiction)

In the Mountains by Elizabeth von Arnim (Fiction)

What I'm Reading Now:

Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel by Carl Safina (Book Club Nonfiction)

My Friends by Frederik Bachman (Book Club Fiction)

Paris in July begins next week, and, happily, Emma of Words and Peace is hosting again this year.

The aim of the month is to celebrate our French experiences through reading, watching, listening, observing, cooking, and eating all things French.

There are no rules or targets in terms of how much you need to do or complete in order to be a part of this experience – just blog about anything French and you can join in. Some ideas might include:

• reading a French-themed book – fiction or nonfiction;
  
• watching a French movie;
  
• listening to French music;
  
• cooking French food;
  
• experiencing French, art, architecture, and travel;
• tasting French wine, or testing French cocktails;
• celebrating le quatorze juillet or Bastille Day.

Whatever it is that you love about France---share it with us all. And pass the word...

I finished my fifth Classics Club list of fifty books, and I will be starting my sixth list today. I've now finished 250 classics since I first joined The Classics Club in January of 2018. There is nothing I have done, reading-wise, that felt more daunting, and there is nothing that has given me more satisfaction. 

I encourage you to join, too. Challenge yourself by making a list of fifty classics you would like to try to read in five years. What is a classic? There is no official definition. I've read classic novels, classic memoirs, classic nature books, classic poetry, classic plays, classic children's books, classic mysteries, classic travel books, classic science fiction. Most people tend to think of classics as books that have been around a while, but there is no set time frame. You decide on books you want to include on your list. And if you don't finish in five years, that's fine, too...extend the deadline...change out your list of books...whatever you need to do to keep going. 

Here's my list of books I've read over the last eight years. There are links to my reviews (such as they are---I'm not a professional reviewer) and I include my rating for each book in the list. You might get some ideas there, or there's The Big Book List at The Classics Club blog for other ideas. 

What I Posted Last Week Here at Readerbuzz:

The Book of Birds: A Field Guide to Wonder and Loss by Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris: Book Beginnings on Fridays, First Line Friday, The Friday 56, and Book Blogger Hop

Am I Just Imagining It? Or Do I Hear...French Music?

The Sunday Salon: 18 Years of Blogging

I began to list 3 Good Things every day during the pandemic. Now I've established a regular routine of writing down my 3 Good Things. Here are 3 Good Things from last week:

Good Thing #1:

We had a Northern Cardinal nest and 

a Carolina Wren nest in our yard this year. 

Here's the Northern Cardinal dad feeding his chicks.

Good Thing #2:

My favorite photo of butterflies 

from the Pollinator BioBlitz, 

a Long-tailed Skipper.

Good Thing #3:

We were also delighted to find several

Gulf Coast Toads living in our yard this week.

Weekend linkup spots are listed below. Click on the picture to visit the site.

        

I hope you will join the linkup for Sunday Salon below.