lit*chick

back to the stacks

Whew! 

I finished The House at Riverton last night.  And sighed contentedly. After a slowish start (on my part) it finished with a bang.  Mysterious, but not as dark as The Thirteenth Tale, with a dash of Gosford Park equals a must add for your summer reading list.

Off to get my much needed haircut and stop by the bookstore. I'm going to try to pick up The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, maybe a Margot Livesay and a Madeleine L'Engle. We'll see how far I stray...

The End.

The God of Animals by Aryn Kyle

Qs are on the

MESSAGE BOARD

Would love to hear your thoughts on this one.

The End.

the double double bind

No that's not a typo, that was our analysis of The Double Bind last night. A very lively discussion where no topic reached consensus other than the author is clever indeed.

I don't want to post spoilers here, for it truly must be read completely to be discussed properly. But I will say after some late night reflection that I fear the issues the author highlighted were overshadowed by the many questions regarding plot device. I'll leave it at that. As the leader, I didn't do a good job of bringing the topics of homelessness and mental illness into the discussion. And I wish now we had delved a little further down the bumpy road instead of taking the easy one. Sorry girls.

Book club is always a good reminder that everyone views books differently and even if a story isn't liked, it can still make you think. It is so nice to engage in adult conversation, if only for a few hours.

And if you wouldn't mind, please indulge me in the great Message Board experiment of 2008 and sign up. Otherwise, I'll be forced to discuss books with myself and no one wants to see that. Um, Table for one.

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2008 Pulitzer Prize announced

In fiction:

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz

fiction finalists: Tree of Smoke by Denis Johnson and Shakespeare's Kitchen by Lore Segal

In biography:

Eden's Outcasts: The Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Father by John Matteson (has been on my to-read list, i guess i should move it up?)

Time and Materials by Robert Hass (the cover makes me wanna scrapbook)

ANDFailure by Philip Schultz

dwindling

My library pile is finally a bit more manageable. Unfortunately, I had to return the last 2 books without writing down my favorite passages. And there was a lot of good writing.

I'm currently only reading one book - The Kept Man by Jami Attenberg.

Supposed to get snow here so I'm off to get provisions. This time, no more books!

Comments for Someone Knows My Name are on the feed.

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what do you do?

Our good blogging friend Miss Joni just finished The Zookeeper's Wife. And she was so inspired by it she created this:

Please visit her blog to see more pictures of this piece and more about the book. Definitely adding this book to my list.

What do you do when you are inspired by a book?

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Found

On the library shelf:

The Time It Takes to Fall by Margaret Lazarus Dean

I thought this was a new title, but it's been out about a year and the paperback version will be available in February. A girl's coming-of-age story set in Cape Canaveral, Florida right before the Challenger explosion. I am immediately taken back to 4th period freshman year (Orchestra) when we heard the news and watched the footage. Sometimes the inside flap alone is enough to trigger a vivid memory and cause me to snatch up the book and read it before all others.

So that's what I'm doing. It moved to the front of the line. And just like that all my booklist making organization falls apart. What can I say? I'm weak.

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January 2008: Water for Elephants

Questions posted under the title at LitChick Book Club. (top right column)

Get your book out (if you have it).

Get your coffee, or beverage of choice.

Get ready, get set, answer.

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lobsters, oysters & thanks

Other than the titles, there was little seafood to be found in either book. Here's a brief recap.

Last Night at the Lobster, the latest offering by Stewart O'Nan, was a perfectly rendered portrait of the inner workings of a restaurant. The characters, their attitudes, their lives are all examined with care and subtlety. I recommend this one - it reads almost like nonfiction. Check your library.

Oystercatchers by Susan Fletcher - after adding it to THE END sidebar, I had to revise my 3.5 stars to 4. The reason? Another of my goals for the year, which I neglected to mention earlier, was to begin writing down quotes or passages from books I'm reading. I know, another thing to do. It makes it easier to recollect why you liked/or not a certain book, it helps in discussions, and it's just plain good to have some examples of excellent writing. Some people underline in books - go for it. When I did that here, I realized how many bits of brilliance were contained within these pages and revised my rating accordingly.

For example :

After the main character gets a small taste of joy, she reads a letter from her much beloved aunt, who is unlucky in love. "She thought, There is not one wide happiness that reaches us all, at the same time." (p.210)

Sometimes when things are going great for you, the people close to you are suffering or struggling. Because this has been happening recently, when I came to this passage it really resonated with me.

Finally,a BIG THANKS to everyone for your support yesterday regarding the online book club. I have struggled for some time with what color my parachute is, and except for becoming a professional reader my options were somewhat limited. While this isn't a job, it is my passion. And it feels good to PURSUE it. So, thank you.

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Book Club: Online Style

Here's the deal, I talk to people all the time who want to be in a bookclub. There are several reasons why the idea of a bookclub vs the actual joining proves to be a problem. Finding a babysitter, assigned reading, lack of comfort in a group, lack of interest in the selections, and possibly the fact that you are unable to shower that day... whatever the reason, I hope you will consider joining me in my 2008 "experiment".

I've picked a book for each of the next 3 months. These are the questions/discussions that will be posted on the 10th of each month. You can join the discussion at any time, but this way you know what's coming up and when I post you won't have to catch up.  The idea being, if you would prefer to join the discussion over your morning coffee, or with a glass of wine at midnight, or 2 week later... totally fine.  And we will only go in 3 month increments to make room for new finds.

I am also taking into account the availability and accessibility of titles. I know that everyone will not want to buy books, but if you do it'd be good if they were cheap. And if you don't, it would be nice to be able to find them at the library.

BUT, if there are any other books that you want to talk about, I can post questions for those too.

Feb: Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffengger

March: The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak

April: The God of Animals by Aryn Kyle  (available at b&n online for $3.95)

In the meantime, Water for Elephants questions are going up later today.

Let's give this a try - we can always change it up as we go. Flexibility is key. Word.

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