With all the buzz that surrounded the Dragon Girl series, I became intrigued with the numerous references to the "best" Swedish mystery writer who had been overlooked. During a recent flight to LA, (my favorite reading time), I finally dipped in to Hennig Mankell and I am hooked.
Ever the conventionalist, I started with the first of the series of his signature character, Kurt Wallander, called Faceless Killers. All I can say is get your hands on anything this guy has written, it was fabulous! A quick but riveting read, great characters, great plot, great backstory, it was a ton of fun and kept me awake from Richmond all the way to LA, no small feat. OK, I might have had a short nap, but still...
The best part of this book, in my opinion, is that Mankell was able to paint a horrific picture of crime without actually recounting all the details. I for one, do not want to have terrifying criminal acts of violence explicitly described, it is just too upsetting. For that reason, I really enjoyed the Swedish version of The Girl With the Dragon Tatoo, and refused to watch the American one; just too much information.
In this novel, the intention and outcome was apparent without having to slog through the exact actions. Thank you, Hennig Mankell! So for those of you who love a great mystery, here is your guy.
Friday, January 25, 2013
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Performing Texts at University of Richmond
Hi! If anyone is interested in going to any of these, let me know. It'd be fun to go and have a glass of wine/snacks at my house (just a minute off campus) afterwards. After reading The Round House, it seems that Sherman Alexie's reading on March 5 might be interesting.
xo,
Fiona
"Performing Texts is a special series sponsored by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities that focuses not only on the way in which authors perform their texts, but also on the way in which texts themselves perform.
The readings and talks listed below are free and open to the general public. Most writers will make themselves available, following their appearance, to answer questions from the audience and sign copies of their books.
Amiri Baraka and Anne Waldman
Feb. 5, 7 p.m.
Keller Hall
Amiri Baraka was born Everett LeRoi Jones in 1934 in Newark, N.J. He published his first volume of poetry, Preface to a Twenty-Volume Suicide Note, in 1961. His Blues People: Negro Music in White America (1963) is still regarded as the seminal work on Afro-American music and culture. His reputation as a playwright was established with the production of Dutchman at Cherry Lane Theatre in New York in 1964; it subsequently won an Obie Award for Best Off-Broadway Play and was made into a film. Baraka’s numerous literary honors include fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts, the PEN/Faulkner Award, the Rockefeller Foundation for Drama, and Poet Laureate of New Jersey. His book Digging: The Afro-American Soul of American Classical Music was released in 2009 and was selected by the Before Columbus Foundation as the winner of the American Book Award for 2010.
Internationally recognized and acclaimed poet Anne Waldman has been an active member of the “Outrider” experimental poetry community, a culture she has helped create and nurture for over four decades, as a writer, editor, master teacher, performer, scholar, curator, and activist. She is the author of more than 40 books including the mini-classic Fast Speaking Woman, a collection of essays entitled Vow to Poetry, and the monumental anti-war feminist epic, The Iovis Trilogy: Colors in the Mechanism of Concealment, a 25-year project in three volumes. Waldman is the recipient of the prestigious Shelley Memorial Award, and The Iovis Trilogy has been awarded the 2012 PEN Center USA Award for Poetry. She was one of the founders and directors of The Poetry Project at St. Mark’s Church In-the-Bowery, and cofounded with Allen Ginsberg the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics at Naropa University, the first Buddhist-inspired university in the western hemisphere.
Anne Waldman
The Voice's Daughter: Poet as Performer
Feb. 6, 4:30 p.m.
Brown-Alley Room, Weinstein Hall
Junot Diaz
February 19, 7 p.m.
Jepson Alumni Center
Junot Díaz was born and raised in Santo Domingo, the Dominican Republic. His work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Paris Review, Time Out, Glimmer Train, Story, and African Voices. Díaz’s story collection Drown was published in 1996 and is in its 23rd printing and was sold in 15 countries. His first novel, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, won the Pulitzer Prize and remained on The New York Times and independent bookstore bestseller lists for two years. Díaz’s next story collection, This Is How You Lose Her, was published in September 2012 and was a finalist for the 2012 National Book Award. A recent MacArthur Fellow, he is a professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Holly Hughes
Feb. 26, 7 p.m.
Modlin Center, Cousins Studio Theater
Holly Hughes is a performance artist and writer. She is the author of more than a dozen plays and performance pieces, five of which were collected in Clit Notes: A Sapphic Sampler published by Grove Press. She is also the co-editor of three other books, O Solo Homo: The New Queer Performance (with David Roman), Animal Acts: Performing Species Today (with Una Chadhuri), and Memories of the Revolution: The First Ten Years of the WOW Café (with Alina Troyano). She is the winner of numerous awards including a 2010 Guggenheim Fellowship, a Lambda Book Award, a GLAAD Media Award, as well as funding from the NEA, NYSCA, and other sources. Currently she is professor of art and design, women’s studies, and theatre and drama at the University of Michigan, and director of the BFA Program in Interarts Performance.
Sherman Alexie
March 5, 7 p.m.
Jepson Alumni Center
Author, poet, and screenwriter Sherman Alexie was named one of The New Yorker’s top 20 writers for the 21st century. After growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation in Washington, Alexie tells tales of contemporary American Indian life laced with razor-sharp humor, unsettling candor, and biting wit. Alexie’s first novel, Reservation Blues, won Booklist’s Editor’s Choice Award for Fiction. His second book, Indian Killer, was a New York Times Notable Book. His 2009 book of short stories, War Dances, won the PEN/Faulkner Award. Alexie wrote and produced the film Smoke Signals based on his book, The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven, which won the Audience Award and Filmmakers Trophy at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival. He released Blasphemy, an anthology of new stories and beloved classics, in October 2012.
Philip Auslander
March 19, 4 p.m.
Keller Hall
Philip Auslander’s primary research interest is in performance, especially in relation to music, media, and technology. He has written on aesthetic and cultural performances as diverse as theatre, performance art, music, stand-up comedy, robotic performance, and courtroom procedures. He is the author of five books and editor or co-editor of two collections. His most recent books are Performing Glam Rock: Gender and Theatricality in Popular Music (2006) and the second edition of Liveness: Performance in a Mediatized Culture (2008). In addition to his work on performance, Auslander contributes art criticism regularly to ArtForum and other publications. He has written catalogue essays for museums and galleries in Austria, Norway, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. He is the founding editor of The Art Section: An Online Journal of Art and Cultural Commentary, published online ten times a year at theartsection.com.
Sharon Olds
April 9, 7 p.m.
Keller Hall
Sharon Olds is the author of eight volumes of poetry. With sensuality, humor, and remarkable imagery, she expresses truths about domestic and political violence, sexuality, family relationships, love, and the body. Her numerous honors include an NEA grant, a Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship, and being named New York State Poet Laureate from 1998–2000. She won the San Francisco Poetry Center award for her collection Satan Says, and received the Lamont Poetry Selection and the National Book Critics Circle Award for The Dead and the Living. Her poetry has appeared in The New Yorker, The Paris Review, Poetry, The Atlantic Monthly, and The New York Times. Olds teaches graduate poetry workshops at New York University and helped found a writing workshop at a 900-bed state hospital for the severely disabled. Her most recent collection, Stag’s Leap, was published in September 2012 and recently won Britain's TS Eliot Poetry Prize."
xo,
Fiona
"Performing Texts is a special series sponsored by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities that focuses not only on the way in which authors perform their texts, but also on the way in which texts themselves perform.
The readings and talks listed below are free and open to the general public. Most writers will make themselves available, following their appearance, to answer questions from the audience and sign copies of their books.
Amiri Baraka and Anne Waldman
Feb. 5, 7 p.m.
Keller Hall
Amiri Baraka was born Everett LeRoi Jones in 1934 in Newark, N.J. He published his first volume of poetry, Preface to a Twenty-Volume Suicide Note, in 1961. His Blues People: Negro Music in White America (1963) is still regarded as the seminal work on Afro-American music and culture. His reputation as a playwright was established with the production of Dutchman at Cherry Lane Theatre in New York in 1964; it subsequently won an Obie Award for Best Off-Broadway Play and was made into a film. Baraka’s numerous literary honors include fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts, the PEN/Faulkner Award, the Rockefeller Foundation for Drama, and Poet Laureate of New Jersey. His book Digging: The Afro-American Soul of American Classical Music was released in 2009 and was selected by the Before Columbus Foundation as the winner of the American Book Award for 2010.
Internationally recognized and acclaimed poet Anne Waldman has been an active member of the “Outrider” experimental poetry community, a culture she has helped create and nurture for over four decades, as a writer, editor, master teacher, performer, scholar, curator, and activist. She is the author of more than 40 books including the mini-classic Fast Speaking Woman, a collection of essays entitled Vow to Poetry, and the monumental anti-war feminist epic, The Iovis Trilogy: Colors in the Mechanism of Concealment, a 25-year project in three volumes. Waldman is the recipient of the prestigious Shelley Memorial Award, and The Iovis Trilogy has been awarded the 2012 PEN Center USA Award for Poetry. She was one of the founders and directors of The Poetry Project at St. Mark’s Church In-the-Bowery, and cofounded with Allen Ginsberg the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics at Naropa University, the first Buddhist-inspired university in the western hemisphere.
Anne Waldman
The Voice's Daughter: Poet as Performer
Feb. 6, 4:30 p.m.
Brown-Alley Room, Weinstein Hall
Junot Diaz
February 19, 7 p.m.
Jepson Alumni Center
Junot Díaz was born and raised in Santo Domingo, the Dominican Republic. His work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Paris Review, Time Out, Glimmer Train, Story, and African Voices. Díaz’s story collection Drown was published in 1996 and is in its 23rd printing and was sold in 15 countries. His first novel, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, won the Pulitzer Prize and remained on The New York Times and independent bookstore bestseller lists for two years. Díaz’s next story collection, This Is How You Lose Her, was published in September 2012 and was a finalist for the 2012 National Book Award. A recent MacArthur Fellow, he is a professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Holly Hughes
Feb. 26, 7 p.m.
Modlin Center, Cousins Studio Theater
Holly Hughes is a performance artist and writer. She is the author of more than a dozen plays and performance pieces, five of which were collected in Clit Notes: A Sapphic Sampler published by Grove Press. She is also the co-editor of three other books, O Solo Homo: The New Queer Performance (with David Roman), Animal Acts: Performing Species Today (with Una Chadhuri), and Memories of the Revolution: The First Ten Years of the WOW Café (with Alina Troyano). She is the winner of numerous awards including a 2010 Guggenheim Fellowship, a Lambda Book Award, a GLAAD Media Award, as well as funding from the NEA, NYSCA, and other sources. Currently she is professor of art and design, women’s studies, and theatre and drama at the University of Michigan, and director of the BFA Program in Interarts Performance.
Sherman Alexie
March 5, 7 p.m.
Jepson Alumni Center
Author, poet, and screenwriter Sherman Alexie was named one of The New Yorker’s top 20 writers for the 21st century. After growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation in Washington, Alexie tells tales of contemporary American Indian life laced with razor-sharp humor, unsettling candor, and biting wit. Alexie’s first novel, Reservation Blues, won Booklist’s Editor’s Choice Award for Fiction. His second book, Indian Killer, was a New York Times Notable Book. His 2009 book of short stories, War Dances, won the PEN/Faulkner Award. Alexie wrote and produced the film Smoke Signals based on his book, The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven, which won the Audience Award and Filmmakers Trophy at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival. He released Blasphemy, an anthology of new stories and beloved classics, in October 2012.
Philip Auslander
March 19, 4 p.m.
Keller Hall
Philip Auslander’s primary research interest is in performance, especially in relation to music, media, and technology. He has written on aesthetic and cultural performances as diverse as theatre, performance art, music, stand-up comedy, robotic performance, and courtroom procedures. He is the author of five books and editor or co-editor of two collections. His most recent books are Performing Glam Rock: Gender and Theatricality in Popular Music (2006) and the second edition of Liveness: Performance in a Mediatized Culture (2008). In addition to his work on performance, Auslander contributes art criticism regularly to ArtForum and other publications. He has written catalogue essays for museums and galleries in Austria, Norway, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. He is the founding editor of The Art Section: An Online Journal of Art and Cultural Commentary, published online ten times a year at theartsection.com.
Sharon Olds
April 9, 7 p.m.
Keller Hall
Sharon Olds is the author of eight volumes of poetry. With sensuality, humor, and remarkable imagery, she expresses truths about domestic and political violence, sexuality, family relationships, love, and the body. Her numerous honors include an NEA grant, a Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship, and being named New York State Poet Laureate from 1998–2000. She won the San Francisco Poetry Center award for her collection Satan Says, and received the Lamont Poetry Selection and the National Book Critics Circle Award for The Dead and the Living. Her poetry has appeared in The New Yorker, The Paris Review, Poetry, The Atlantic Monthly, and The New York Times. Olds teaches graduate poetry workshops at New York University and helped found a writing workshop at a 900-bed state hospital for the severely disabled. Her most recent collection, Stag’s Leap, was published in September 2012 and recently won Britain's TS Eliot Poetry Prize."
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
The Round House and other interesting things
Hello, once again we had a fun, fun night and the discussion on the book went on and on and on. It is always interesting when so many people engage in the story and have a lot to say about it! And even better, the majority of us really liked the book and admired the way Louise Erdrich crafted the story. While this was not her finest writing, it was plenty good enough!
Before we get there, terrific thanks to Maggie who not only hosted, but also made the most delicious chicken mole. This is truly food for the gods the way Maggie makes it and it bears no resemblance to the brown stuff out of a can that most Mexican restaurants offer up. Of course it also takes hours upon hours to prepare, so thank you so much! Much to our concern, Maggie tripped and had a bit of a hard fall resulting in a cracked collarbone and a trip to Patient First. The good news is that she is doing well and resting at home. Leave it to Maggie to make sure we all had dinner and our discussion before heading out to get checked out!
There was so much talk about the book that it is hard to do it all justice. Many commented on the precocious attitude of Joe, who was supposed to be 13 years old. On the other hand, he did seem so typical of a teenage boy. Of course the situation was heartbreaking and the tangle of legal jurisdictions infuriating. What was so wonderful, and many commented on it, was how the story was so much more than this complicated story of his mother's rape and search for the person responsible.
It was the human side of the story that was so compelling for most of us. That the author took this plot line and made it so personal; it was really impressive and also gripping. The difficult process of deciding on a course of action, the dread and determination to carry it out and the way his friend Cappy appeared at just the right time to help was a wonderful, if wrenching part of the book.
Someone brought up the good twin/bad twin relationship between Linda and Lark; that she was deformed yet a kind and helpful person but he was handsome and evil, another interesting layer of detail in the book. Like so many of Erdrich's books, the characters have a bit of their future lives unfold in this story, and usually also ancestors who appeared in other books when their own stories were told, like Nanapush. Erdrich herself said that she feels that she really is writing only one novel, one that covers years and generations of the same families, the same tribes and how they all connect together in some way.
Val had such an interesting perspective as she grew up in a tiny Minnesota town that was right by (or on?) a reservation. While she enjoyed the book, she also felt as it the general reservation experience is no where near as positive and intact as the characters in this book. Her experience was of disengaged or missing parents and isolated and directionless children, with low standards and lower expectations. Hopefully, life has improved on the reservations, but it is a reminder that perhaps these characters were the lucky ones in their environments, another element of interest.
For those who enjoyed this, Erdrich's first novel was Love Medicine which still rates as one of my most beloved books and it is a great place to start on this long and lovely saga of the Northern Plains Indians. I am lucky enough to have a first edition from a print run of 5,000 so I have been a fan for a long time! My current favorite of the more recent books is The Painted Drum but it is hard to go wrong with any of her books.
Thanks to all who came and special thanks to our hostess Maggie! Our next meeting is at Mary Millhiser's house on Feb. 11 at 6:30. The books are either Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollen or Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. They are both about the food chain If you want to get even more riled up about it, watch the movie King Corn as well.
The date for March is also the 11th, bring ideas for the March book as we didn't come to a consensus yet. Anyone interested in a fabulous Soviet murder mystery? Child 44 just might be my suggestion, it is awesome.
Thanks everyone for coming, see you in February!
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Correction! Update on insights!
Hi all, a quick update - Lynn reminded me that she noted the change in style as Lilly Bart declined and it was Fiona who noted it was a world Edith Wharton didn't know as well. Thanks Lynn for the clarification; you two are brilliant.
Credit where due!
Credit where due!
Meeting Dec. 10, what a fun time!
Well, that was about the most fun book club meeting we have ever had. It was a delight and joy to see everyone laughing and talking and catching up. We had a full house with thirteen showing up!
First, our book exchange - a riot! We decided on a Yankee Swap (or White Elephant) format, where everyone's wrapped book went under the tree and we pulled numbers to select one. The person selecting could pick any of the books already opened if they didn't like their own choice. Most were pretty happy with their choices, but it was clear that the Barbara Kingsolver book "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" was the big winner of the evening. It changed hands three times at least! Enough to make it our February selection, along with Michael Pollan's "Omnivore's Dilemma".
We were supposed to write a quick note (without our names) on why we had selected that particular book to gift and for those who remembered the directions (not me by the way) it made a big difference and gave some context to the book. This was fun and funny, let's do it again next year!
Sadly, by the time we sat down to dinner and "House of Mirth", it was a bit difficult to focus on an in-depth discussion. It sounded like everyone really liked it, several commented that they had never before read this book and one person said she had never read Edith Wharton!! OMG! Luckily, they got through it all, mostly enjoying it.
One excellent comment was that the writing lost its luster toward the end as Lily Bart sank further. Lynn thought perhaps that was because the author was no longer writing about the world she knew and so became less able to convince us.
Many of us agreed that the world Wharton created was very believable indeed, at least up to that point. The descriptions and characterizations were just wonderful, and while the people seemed so narrow and shallow, they did seem very authentic. Lilly Bart herself was a wonderfully drawn character, stuck in her world but unable to bring herself to do what it took to stay a part of it. I found that relatively admirable, others were impatient with her unwillingness to act on what she knew was necessary.
Net, net a fabulous evening. Our next meeting is set for Jan. 14, tentatively at Maggie's. The book is "Round House" by Louise Erdrich (another of my favorites). The books for February are "Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan and "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" by Barbara Kingsolver. These are both food books, so should be fun to have two views.
Thanks to all who came, I am so happy to be part of such a wonderful group. See you in the New Year!
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Authors can be so much fun!
Hello all, can it really be last Saturday that we met with the author of Into the Wilderness, David Ebenbach at the Fountain Book Store, followed by a stop at the Urban Farmhouse. We had an absolute blast talking with the author, and being part of the hip scene in Shockoe Slip was a welcome change. I am usually cleaning horses and tack on Saturday afternoons, so feeling like an urban sophisticate was kinda nice for a change.
And who better to be a hipster with than David Ebenbach. We owe Fiona a great debt of gratitude for not only bringing us a lovely book with actual likeable characters, but also a wonderful, warm and open author. He was genuinely interested in our questions and opinions and very open with his inspiration for the characters and the stories. Including the fact that he actually once did lock his mother in the basement; don't tell.
So the Fountain Book Store - on a beautiful Saturday afternoon, right after the Richmond Marathon, with an author event, the place was deserted. We had David all to ourselves and it was a great luxury. What a beautiful spot, at a lovely table in the front looking out over the cobblestones. It was a wake-up call to me though to get out and support our local, independent book stores. The opportunity to wrap ourselves in the literary life in that environment is fast disappearing, so buy your books there!
David spent about an hour or so reading from the book and discussing the characters, the inspiration and the stories. Judith was a big topic as you might expect. As it turns out, she was once a novel and David spent years on it before redirecting to short stories and finding her voice. He talked about compassion for his characters and how much he really loved Judith, not as a creation, but as a living, breathing personality that drove her own story.
It was relatively easy for us to contrast his obvious care for the people of his stories with our last book, A Casual Vacancy, where J.K. Rowling may have liked her characters, but couldn't imagine a different life for them.
The group all loved the book and loved David. I for one, can't wait for his next effort. Thank you Fiona!
On to our next effort, one of my favorite books ever, House of Mirth, by Edith Wharton. We are meeting at my house on December 10 at 6:30 pm. Since it is Christmas time, I want to propose a gift exchange. Can each of us bring a book of our choice, wrapped, and have a random drawing? The book should be one that you love and want to share with others. Write your reasons why on the gift tag - but not your name! What do you think?
Can't wait to see you all!
And who better to be a hipster with than David Ebenbach. We owe Fiona a great debt of gratitude for not only bringing us a lovely book with actual likeable characters, but also a wonderful, warm and open author. He was genuinely interested in our questions and opinions and very open with his inspiration for the characters and the stories. Including the fact that he actually once did lock his mother in the basement; don't tell.
So the Fountain Book Store - on a beautiful Saturday afternoon, right after the Richmond Marathon, with an author event, the place was deserted. We had David all to ourselves and it was a great luxury. What a beautiful spot, at a lovely table in the front looking out over the cobblestones. It was a wake-up call to me though to get out and support our local, independent book stores. The opportunity to wrap ourselves in the literary life in that environment is fast disappearing, so buy your books there!
David spent about an hour or so reading from the book and discussing the characters, the inspiration and the stories. Judith was a big topic as you might expect. As it turns out, she was once a novel and David spent years on it before redirecting to short stories and finding her voice. He talked about compassion for his characters and how much he really loved Judith, not as a creation, but as a living, breathing personality that drove her own story.
It was relatively easy for us to contrast his obvious care for the people of his stories with our last book, A Casual Vacancy, where J.K. Rowling may have liked her characters, but couldn't imagine a different life for them.
The group all loved the book and loved David. I for one, can't wait for his next effort. Thank you Fiona!
On to our next effort, one of my favorite books ever, House of Mirth, by Edith Wharton. We are meeting at my house on December 10 at 6:30 pm. Since it is Christmas time, I want to propose a gift exchange. Can each of us bring a book of our choice, wrapped, and have a random drawing? The book should be one that you love and want to share with others. Write your reasons why on the gift tag - but not your name! What do you think?
Can't wait to see you all!
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Our group on 11/10/12...
 | ||
| Our 11/10/12 book group with guest author David Ebenbach, having a snack at Urban Farmhouse. Our newest member Susan Derco took the above picture, but you can see her (across from Ashley) in the photo below... |
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
A Casual Vacancy - was there a moral to the story?
Hello all, as usual we had a blast getting together although the general consensus is that Mosaic is not the right environment for us. It is too loud and our usual table is too big for comfortable conversation.
Despite that we had a spirited discussion about J.K. Rowling's first book for grown-ups. We were hampered a bit because many hadn't had time to finish since our meeting was not that long after the publication date. No matter where each of us was in the story, almost all of us liked it with Dawn as a fairly emphatic exception.
The characters drew most of us in and the story moved along with good pace and of course the author knows how to build a plot. Our major question was whether this was just a good story or if she was trying to tell us something.
Dawn thought there were no characters with any appeal and that the conclusion was that the people in this town at least were unable to grow or change in their lives. Others weren't sure of that but were sure that the town residents were certainly stuck in their ways, reluctant to accept change and for those on the right side of the tracks (or Fields) were pretty darn pretentious about it all.
So, a good read but not Anna Karenina. Or for that matter, House of Mirth by Edith Wharton which is our December book.
As a reminder, our November meeting will be Nov. 10, a Saturday. Our author, Fiona's friend David Harris Ebenbach will be at the Fountain Bookstore at 2pm, discussing his new book Into the Wilderness. Early reviews from our group are really good! We will convene with the author after the public event to the Urban Farmhouse, across from the Fountain for a private discussion. Thanks Fiona for organizing!
Despite that we had a spirited discussion about J.K. Rowling's first book for grown-ups. We were hampered a bit because many hadn't had time to finish since our meeting was not that long after the publication date. No matter where each of us was in the story, almost all of us liked it with Dawn as a fairly emphatic exception.
The characters drew most of us in and the story moved along with good pace and of course the author knows how to build a plot. Our major question was whether this was just a good story or if she was trying to tell us something.
Dawn thought there were no characters with any appeal and that the conclusion was that the people in this town at least were unable to grow or change in their lives. Others weren't sure of that but were sure that the town residents were certainly stuck in their ways, reluctant to accept change and for those on the right side of the tracks (or Fields) were pretty darn pretentious about it all.
So, a good read but not Anna Karenina. Or for that matter, House of Mirth by Edith Wharton which is our December book.
As a reminder, our November meeting will be Nov. 10, a Saturday. Our author, Fiona's friend David Harris Ebenbach will be at the Fountain Bookstore at 2pm, discussing his new book Into the Wilderness. Early reviews from our group are really good! We will convene with the author after the public event to the Urban Farmhouse, across from the Fountain for a private discussion. Thanks Fiona for organizing!
Our December meeting will be at my house, to discuss one of my favorite books ever, House of Mirth by Edith Wharton. Bring along your favorites of all time, or things you want to introduce to the group so we can plan out as much of 2013 as possible. Our favorite books over time are a great inspiration for future ideas.
The date is December 10, 6:30 pm and we will have a bit of a Christmas celebration together. As an aside, our group has been together now for over five years. Jean, Julie and I are the only remaining original members, but Mary was not far behind. Thanks to everyone for participating, this is a great group that is truly inspirational.
Last note, we discussed a number of other books as well. I was stuck in Tinkers by Paul Harding, a true work of art, and so was late to our regular book. We mentioned Lolita (Nabokov), Tinker, Tailer, Soldier, Spy (LeCarre), among others. Remind me of the others!
Thanks to all!
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Goodbye dear Don Quixote
Well at long last I finished our ambitious summer project of reading Don Quixote and I admit to being a little sad. After so much time together it is hard to say goodbye and I also have lots of questions now that I didn't have 300 pages ago.
For example, who were the Duke and Duchess and why were they tricking Don Quixote and having so much fun at his expense? That just didn't seem right to me and yet the book travels on with no comment on whether this is acceptable behavior, particularly toward someone they know to be delusional.
Also, why would the good knight suddenly come to his senses on this deathbed and renounce his former life? And isn't it sad that he would then, with no chance of changing the course of his life, see that he had been wrong all along? Perhaps at that point it is better not to know, but what do you all think?
Jean was absolutely right when she said the last 100 or so pages were the best in the book, I was really unable to put it down once I got to Sancho's brilliant governorship of his insula, his decision to leave it all behind and the end of the Don's knight errantcy at the hand of his neighbor the bachelor.
Now I know why this book has held the interest of so many for centuries. Goodbye, dear Don Quixote.
For example, who were the Duke and Duchess and why were they tricking Don Quixote and having so much fun at his expense? That just didn't seem right to me and yet the book travels on with no comment on whether this is acceptable behavior, particularly toward someone they know to be delusional.
Also, why would the good knight suddenly come to his senses on this deathbed and renounce his former life? And isn't it sad that he would then, with no chance of changing the course of his life, see that he had been wrong all along? Perhaps at that point it is better not to know, but what do you all think?
Jean was absolutely right when she said the last 100 or so pages were the best in the book, I was really unable to put it down once I got to Sancho's brilliant governorship of his insula, his decision to leave it all behind and the end of the Don's knight errantcy at the hand of his neighbor the bachelor.
Now I know why this book has held the interest of so many for centuries. Goodbye, dear Don Quixote.
Friday, September 14, 2012
September - the end of Don Quixote.
Hello to all from gorgeous Montana where Rick and I have come for a week of (hopefully) hiking, trail riding and river rafting in-between hanging out in great towns like Bozeman. Today we lucked into a big treat - the high school's Homecoming Parade down Main St.
We hit the jackpot though with a personal tour of the Museum of the Rockies from a resident paleontologist. This wonderful young man is working on his masters at MSU and is from Louisa, VA. He has discovered, get this, a NEW DINOSAUR!
Despite not being born when the bones were excavated (1985!!!!) Cary was the first to take a serious look at what he describes as a box of bones. Through some pretty exhaustive work, he was able to prove it is a unique species, not a juvenile version of something else. He makes me think I am wasting entirely too much time sleeping at night.
But I digress - we are actually here to talk about Don Quixote with whom I have spent most of my summer. Let me first welcome our newest member, Ashley Silverburg. She naively expected to finish a book in the two weeks she had before our meeting; then she found out is was Don Quixote and over 1,000 pages. Here's the worst part - she got further than I did, all the way to page 695. Way to go Ashley!
As it turns out, only Jean actually finished the book in time for our meeting. The consensus is that we all liked it, but weren't in love with it. One problem was that it wasn't a page turner so there was only so much reading time we could put in at any one time before wandering off to a steamy beach read.
At the same time, it was very entertaining and by now, I am very fond of the old knight and Sancho Panza. Despite so many of his adventures seeming repetitive, I still wanted to spend time with them both and look forward to our time together, which others also said.
The ongoing editorial issues with mis-titled chapters, the beloved donkey disappearing and reappearing without explanation, etc. were a reminder of just how early this novel was and how primitive publishing was at that time. The first part was published in 1605 and the second in 1615.
We were all struck with the way Cervantes included himself, some of his rivalries and the editorial issues as part of the novel. Jean and I both thought that perhaps Cervantes was a bit enthralled with his own voice, enough to seem a bit of a character in the novel itself.
Another thing that struck us was that so many of the very famous anecdotes from the book happen very early on, particularly the tilting at windmills. While perhaps that meant people didn't get very far into the book, it may also be that these episodes were so striking that they really stood out.
So, on to the next book. We are reading The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling. Our meeting is set for Oct. 16. We had hoped to be at Julie's house but that is not going to work now - should we move to the 22nd or 23rd or go ahead at a different location. Please weigh in! Please note this is a Tuesday. Our wandering types, Jean and Val are now in Richmond during the week, so we can branch out from our usual Mondays.
November's book is by Fiona's friend David Ebenbach. The book is called Into the Wilderness. Fiona and David met at an artist retreat. David will be in town at the Fountain Book Store for a signing at 2pm on Nov. 10. We will meet with him for an early dinner (tentatively) around 5pm at Fiona's. This is a Saturday, so take note of that as well. What a treat, thank you Fiona!
As a final aside, Beryl reported that the wedding was wonderful and she had a great time as did her daughter. Pictures to follow. By the way, Jean, can we see pics of your son's wedding as well?
Hope to see you all in October, let me know your preference.
We hit the jackpot though with a personal tour of the Museum of the Rockies from a resident paleontologist. This wonderful young man is working on his masters at MSU and is from Louisa, VA. He has discovered, get this, a NEW DINOSAUR!
Despite not being born when the bones were excavated (1985!!!!) Cary was the first to take a serious look at what he describes as a box of bones. Through some pretty exhaustive work, he was able to prove it is a unique species, not a juvenile version of something else. He makes me think I am wasting entirely too much time sleeping at night.
But I digress - we are actually here to talk about Don Quixote with whom I have spent most of my summer. Let me first welcome our newest member, Ashley Silverburg. She naively expected to finish a book in the two weeks she had before our meeting; then she found out is was Don Quixote and over 1,000 pages. Here's the worst part - she got further than I did, all the way to page 695. Way to go Ashley!
As it turns out, only Jean actually finished the book in time for our meeting. The consensus is that we all liked it, but weren't in love with it. One problem was that it wasn't a page turner so there was only so much reading time we could put in at any one time before wandering off to a steamy beach read.
At the same time, it was very entertaining and by now, I am very fond of the old knight and Sancho Panza. Despite so many of his adventures seeming repetitive, I still wanted to spend time with them both and look forward to our time together, which others also said.
The ongoing editorial issues with mis-titled chapters, the beloved donkey disappearing and reappearing without explanation, etc. were a reminder of just how early this novel was and how primitive publishing was at that time. The first part was published in 1605 and the second in 1615.
We were all struck with the way Cervantes included himself, some of his rivalries and the editorial issues as part of the novel. Jean and I both thought that perhaps Cervantes was a bit enthralled with his own voice, enough to seem a bit of a character in the novel itself.
Another thing that struck us was that so many of the very famous anecdotes from the book happen very early on, particularly the tilting at windmills. While perhaps that meant people didn't get very far into the book, it may also be that these episodes were so striking that they really stood out.
So, on to the next book. We are reading The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling. Our meeting is set for Oct. 16. We had hoped to be at Julie's house but that is not going to work now - should we move to the 22nd or 23rd or go ahead at a different location. Please weigh in! Please note this is a Tuesday. Our wandering types, Jean and Val are now in Richmond during the week, so we can branch out from our usual Mondays.
November's book is by Fiona's friend David Ebenbach. The book is called Into the Wilderness. Fiona and David met at an artist retreat. David will be in town at the Fountain Book Store for a signing at 2pm on Nov. 10. We will meet with him for an early dinner (tentatively) around 5pm at Fiona's. This is a Saturday, so take note of that as well. What a treat, thank you Fiona!
As a final aside, Beryl reported that the wedding was wonderful and she had a great time as did her daughter. Pictures to follow. By the way, Jean, can we see pics of your son's wedding as well?
Hope to see you all in October, let me know your preference.
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