So, Watcha Readin’ These Days?
Saturday Afternoon Book Group in Front; Naps in Back.
Saturday Afternoon Café Hosted by Maryb.
Coffee & Tea Available.
Coffee & Tea Available.
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Newspapers are in their regular spot next to the door
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Please recommend (and unrecommend the Cafe/Lounge from earlier)
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A Book Review 4 is Appreciated by All.
Nap mats are in the back; if you’re not tired, but just want to relax — tell us what you’re reading these days. Preferably the NON-POLITICAL stuff, but if you must we’ll listen.
I’m just starting Lolita which, for some reason, I’ve never read. I’m also working my way through The Best American Essays of 2005. So far my favorite is “Sister Bernadette’s Barking Dog” about the joys of diagraming sentences. (Yes, I’m really a geek.)
What are YOU reading?
I am reading Paul Krassner’s autobiography- Confessions of a Raving Unconfined Nut- Misadventures in the Counter Colture. The book was published in 1993 and I bought it 5 years ago at a used book store and am finally reading it.
Who’s Paul Krassner?
He was the publisher for the Realist a left magazine.
It’s really funny reading about the start of the magazine and all the people he knew and worked with.
Paul Krassner Buzzflash Interview.
Peace
He took acid before testifying at the Chicago Seven trial.
I’m not sure I would want to read about him. Ex-hippies reminscing about their wild days just doesn’t do it for me.
The book is about much more than that. He describes an entire culture that happened when I of course was to young to be involved. Yes, there is lots of talk about acid but this was the beginning of the counter culture. He talks about Timothy Leary, G. Marx, the Kennedy’s, you name it. I have to agree adults going on about the good old days on dope is not that interesting but some of the stories are quite fascinating.
He is certainly an acquired taste, with a style that is, in many ways, similar to Keysey,, Keroac, Wm. S Burroughs, Hunter S. Thompson and others.
I think his writings, not necessarily his autobiography, are worthy of investigation.
Guess you had to be there to get some of his references.
Peace
Being born in 1960 I was there but I wasn’t there.
I’ve never read any Hunter Thompson etc. — It’s almost a point of principle with me not to at this point. A (possibly knee jerk) reaction to what I perceive as a tendency by the people “who came before me” to try to shove it down my throat.
Probably juvenile of me.
Only if you take offense based on a pre-conceived perception of something not familiar to you, and not intended as an offense.
As a student of history, I’m sure you have found that the ‘official’ version is not always reliable. That to understand what, in ‘reality’, was happening, it is advantageous to pursue alternate versions and viewpoints of that ‘reality’.
Peace
I think the biggest problem is that I don’t think of it as history since I was alive. In the same way that I don’t want to read about the Vietnam War. The war was the one constant bit of background noise to my childhood. SHOULD I learn about it? Yes. Do I have any interest in it? No. And with so much available to read in the world today, we all have to pick and choose.
I get a lot of the references even though I was born in 1958. I love the insight he gives on the era. I will also say that when he talks about LSD and the times he tripped, it is vital to the story line at the time. I think some of my aversion to the glorifying of drug days stems from my anger at gay men for glorifying their sex crazed days before HIV & AIDS.
Here’s the wiki entry.
Krassner
Yea leave me and George over at the old cafe to clean up all the mess.
You know what book I’m still reading, but I haven’t picked it up for a few days.
I think I’m going to leave George to clean up and take my kindergarten pallet that’s eight times to small for me and go and take a nap.
Be back in a while.
OK — But wake up in time for cocktail hour.
About to pick up a previously read Jean Stafford book. If the women here have not read her, I think she is one of the best storytellers I have come across.
I haven’t heard of her. Novels or short stories (or both?)
The one I own is the Collected Stories of…..let me go find one….wow…I looked on abebooks.com, amazon.com, and alibris.com and could not find one! Maybe through your library.
This one I have not read:http://www.alibris.com/search/search.cfm
…I also love Alice Walker (Temple of my Familar) and Octavia Paz (SF).
….hum, maybe it’s time to put the book on ebay….
I spent an afternoon recently with a neighbor who’s been selling on eBay for a few years now; it’s her primary employment. I was interested in hearing her thoughts on it, as I’ve got an enormous number of books (many rare & out of print) & a large collection of unusual vinyl LPs that I thought I might offer online if it proved worthwhile.
In the course of our long discussion she offered the following, unprompted: ‘There are two things that are really, really hard to sell on eBay: books and records.’
LOL
You have to be the cheapest or almost the cheapest. Some books sell right away. I had 25,000 books on line at one time, and did pretty well. But I have sold all my stock due to illness. :0(
I’ve read Lolita a number of times over the years; Nabokov’s terrific. Needless to say, the story as written is a bit more conceptually nuanced than the common film-based narrative.
I’ve been an absolutely voracious reader since I first could read, but for some reason lately I’ve got the attention span of a toddler on Froot Loops.
Ergo, these days I’m thumbing through a book on light frame house construction for ‘ apprentice & journeyman carpenters’ published by the feds in 1956. I’m also reading Eric Sloane’s ‘A Reverence for Wood’, concerning colonial-era carpentry & native wood usage.
Eric Sloane…his first printings are very collectible. I never did get to read him…so many books, so little time.
His work is quite wonderful, in that he offers a terrific amount of useful information in a very friendly format. His illustrations are very well done, too.
What I seem to be looking at is one of these collectible items — but I’m sure I’ll hold onto it for as long as I can. In any case, the it’s been so well-loved that it’s falling apart.
Gee WW, that sounds fascinating.
But I understand. I go through phases where I simply devour fiction and then, suddenly, all I want to read is non-fiction works about English emigration to the west indies. (That was a few months ago).
For an entire year after I took the bar exam the only thing I could read was travel magazines. (interpret THAT!)
I’ve always avoided Lolita for some reason, but a friend really wanted to read it and so we’re going to read it and discuss it at the end of March.
Good! That should make your experience of the book very enjoyable. Humbert’s POV offers the reader some very interesting moral conundrums that should be well worth discussing.
Speaking of enjoyment (& reverence for wood), it seems I’ve got chores to do. Hope to see y’all soon — enjoy the afternoon!
What a great sign. When I opened my bookstore, I pulled alarge raggity sign out of someone’s trash and had it repainted. I loved that sign, some in the community “got” it but alas, my landlord did not. We never did see eye to eye.
I miss my bookstore, it was a great experience.
So what are you reading?
See above..<G>.
I am also reading some non-fiction Consilience The Unity Of Knowledge by Edward O. Wilson…this one I am slowly reading. It’s from the library but I think I want to own a nice used copy. I think more people on this list would love it.
[http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/029271145X/qid=1140900524/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/102-7048753-20689
47?s=books&v=glance&n=283155]
Book Description
“The appearance of these stories in one volume is an event in our literature. To have built up so distinguished a collection, each story excellent in its own way and each an original departure in relation to the others, is a triumph. ” –Guy Davenport, New York Times Book Review “Miss Stafford’s craftsmanship and her mastery of the short story form are by now so well known that it seems superfluous to praise these stories. That they are impeccably done is obvious. ” –Joyce Carol Oates, Book World “She writes about people whom loneliness has driven slightly mad, but also about people who are secure and comforted; she explores childhood and old age, poverty and wealth, tragedy and comedy. The comedy is usually wry… but often moves one to laughter. Above all, Miss Stafford will not be hurried… To me, this book is most solidly achieved.” –John Wain, New York Review Of Books Winner of the 1970 Pulitzer Prize for fiction, this collection of thirty stories includes some of Jean Stafford’s best short fiction from the period 1944-1968. Including such favorites as “In the Zoo,” “Children Are Bored on Sunday,” and “Beatrice Trueblood’s Story,” the collection offers the work of this popular writer of the 1940s and 1950s to a new generation of readers and critics.
I’m going to look her up. Does she only write short stories.
I am embarrassed to say I only read her short stories, but I just ordered the one with Boston in the title….
I don’t like short stories either….but these are different.
I just finished reading a couple of books of poetry by Ted Kooser, the poet laureate. Here are a couple of his poems:
I just finished Maile Meloy’s A Family Daughter. She’s a fine writer. If you haven’t read her, I recommend starting out with her collection of short stories, ‘Half In Love’. If you like those, then go on to her first novel ‘Liars and Saints’ and then Family Daughter.
Could I just start with the novel? I’ve never really been a short story fan.
Well of course. But the stories are really outstanding and they will give a good sense of her style. The collection is less than a couple hundred pages and you can always skip any story you don’t like. Not to be push about it or anything.
Last week we said we’d share some favorites. Here’s some of mine:
Nancy Kress (sf)
Candace Jane Dorsey (sf)
Charles Stross (sf&f)
Vernor Vinge (sf)
Jack McDevitt (sf)
Ursua LeGuin (sf&f)
Joan Slonczewski (sf)
Julie Czerneda (sf)
Gwyneth Jones (sf&f)
Rosemary Kirstein (sf)
Sarah Zettel (sf&f)
Sara Douglass (f)
Nicola Griffith (sf & mystery)
somebody was supposed to bring a list of sf besides you — who was that?
Umm, did you read my subject line or should I be asking you who is buried in Grant’s Tomb?
She is still dreaming od the butt shot pictures. LOL
sorry
I didn’t read it
The way the last cafe ended kind of threw me.
I hadn’t looked at the last cafe because I just got back from my errands. I just went and looked. Crap.
Crap, indeed.
ROTFLMAO!!!!!
Robert Jordan- Fantasy
Issac Asimov-SF
Terry Brooks – fantasy
Tad Williams-sf
R.A. Salvatore-fantasy
Terry Goodkind-fantasy
David & Leigh Eddings- fantasy
J.K. Rowlings of Harry Potter Fame- fantasy
Stephen Donaldson-fantasy
and my list would not be complete without the Author who introduced me to my love of fanatsy
J.R.R. Tolkien
Well, I’d say we have pretty different tastes. I do like Asimov and Salvatore. Haven’t read Brooks and Williams’ books are just so damn big. 🙂
book I made it through was Tailchaser’s Song — good book.
Finally got spouse off the damn computer (yeah, I could’ve used the laptop but was too lazy); he’s now showering and then cleaning the shower/tub. We’ll be heading out in a bit to grocery shop — got my lists together but want to make them legible, so will do them properly on the computer.
A bit on the sore side; have a mild infection in one area of my…errr, posterior (to be polite). Yeah, not only am I a pain in the ass, I have a pain in my ass! 🙂 Went to the clinic last night, they gave me a shot of antibiotics and a prescription for a 10-day course, and a small supply of Vicodin to help with the pain (mainly at night so I can sleep). So I’m taking it relatively easy, as well as getting heat treatments on the sore area which seems to be helping (so far).
Back in a bit…
feel better soon!!!! I loved Tailchaser’s song and think it would make a great cartoon movie.
Have you read Octavia Paz? She’s fairly new.
Octavio Paz the poet? Or are you perhaps thinking Octavia Butler?
If it isn’t either one of those, then no.
LOL….my memory is fading!!!!
Yes….Octavia Butler. I tried Octavio Paz….but could not get into him!
Butler has a new book out, I am on a list at the library.
Favorite sf titles: The Mote in God’s Eye, Ender’s Game, Farmer in the Sky (all Heinlein’s childrens) , The Gods Themselves, The Soul Rider Series, Lucifer’s Hammer…many more that I can’t remember.
I read Fledging (assuming that is the new Butler book you mean) and it was very good. As with all her books, it combines very good writing, very good character development with very interesting ideas.
I’m glad it’s good. So far I’ve not been disappointed in her books.
Is everyone napping?
I hope not.
I’m here. I think we’ve hit the Saturday afternoon dead spot. So who are some of your favorite authors (any genre)?
I had to runto the grocery store. LOL
My favorite genre is historical fiction and my favorite author in it is Dorothy Dunnett.
I also love mysteries and one of my favorites is Iain Pears who writes both mysteries and historical fiction.
I read a lot of British and Canadian fiction — Margaret Atwood, Robertson Davies; Martin Amis; A.S. Byatt.
American fiction seems to be full of men obsessed with telling me that they are obsessed with sex. Duh. I love the way John Updike writes; I don’t generally like what he writes about. But when he leaves the topic of men and their sex obsession, he’s great. I love John Irving.
I love Margaret Atwood. Cat’s Eye was a jewel of a book.
I agree. I love her writing.
Have you read the Blind Assassin. That and the Robber Bride are my favorites.
I bought The Blind Assassin at Goodwill last week but haven’t started it yet. Sounds like I’ll have to.
I love both of those. Did you read Oryx and Crake? That one gave me some nightmares.
I read it but I didn’t love it. I don’t know why but I just couldn’t get into it enough to buy into the premise.
Yeah, I didn’t love it either. But I think about it more than the other two.
It might have been because I had just finished Bill Bryson’s History of Everything. He talked about all the natural things that could destroy us without any help from man; then she wrote about how man could destroy man.
I like Dunnett as well. I liked Pear’s Instance of the Fingerpost much better than his mysteries series. I read a lot of mysteries. Actually I just read a lot.
Some off the top of my head women writers for your consideration —
My favorite Canadian author is probably Helen Humphreys. I like Candace Jane Dorsey (see above) a lot. And of course, Carol Shields and Alice Munro. Barbara Gowdy.
Brits — Janice Galloway, Kate Atkinson, Sarah Dunant, Barbara Trapido, A.L. Kennedy.
Here’s some American woman novelists (besides Meloy): Laurie Colwin (died much too young), Eleanor Lipman, Michelle Hunevan, Valerie Martin, Kathryn Davis.
Did you read Pears’ Dream of Scipio?
Yes. I liked parts of it but not all of it and thought he tried to hard to do too much. It didn’t hold together like an Instance of the Fingerpost.
I thought the opposite. I had a hard time with Fingerpost. I reread Scipio as soon as I finished it. Then I forced my bookgroup to read it.
I don’t think it was the perfect novel — but I thought that it was really a thought provoking work about civilization, what it means to be civilized, what it means to be uncivilized. Those who destroyed community in the name of civilization versus Olivier who saved a community despite the fact that civilization was disintegrating all around him.
I thought it was interesting read with a lot of good ideas and characters. Pears is a good writer.
I didn’t really much like his latest –the portrait painter.
I don’t really like stories in the first person (unreliable narrator issues).
Although Dunnett was the ultimate unreliable narrator even with a third person voice.
Marion Zimmer Bradley- Fantasy
Jean M. Auel- historical fantasy
Mary Renault- historical novels
if I haven’t got a favorite author book going at the time. I have been known to buy books because of their cover art before and have found some real gems that way.
Switching to television, don knotts died.
Here is a wonderfull video utilizing clips of Don Knotts as GeeDuhBya
Dial-up Version
]DSL Version http://www.dubyamovie.com/large.html]
Very well done.
RIP
Peace
I grew up watching him and laughing.
I hated the Andy Griffith show from the first day it was on through all its endless re-runs.
I’m sorry but I just needed to say that.
I just read about Don Knotts. I have to admit back in the day I did watch it, but we only had one channel so you watch whatever came on. I can remember on Saturday nights the whole family would sit and watch Lawrence Welk, or when the first Bonanza came on that was like going to a big movie premier for out family.
It is so ingrained in the culture down here that he’s a local hero. Whenever one of the local TV affiliates decides to censor a controversial show or needs to fill up a half hour they trot out the Andy Griffith show like it’s a national treasure. One of the local food stores has that damn whistling theme song on every one of their bazillion commercials. I can’t stand it.
If I ever get to your area I’ll be sure never to mention my hate for the show.
OK my nap is over and George is still grumbling about the mess at the last cafe. Being this is a genteel clientele discussing books here, he should be happy.
Remind george we know how he greets the other dogs. LOL
George says we do the samething, we just hid ours with perfume or colonge. He said with a dog they go straight to the point, or end, depending on you view.
Maryb is playing peacemaker. Remind me to give her a call when it’s time to mediate my next divorce. 🙂
Yeah, I noticed that. She does seem rather adept at that.
I made a comment here too, but since hardly anyone is rating there’s no way to know if my post made any sense to anyone or not.
It made alot of sense to me. I think there are a lot of people who are reading but not commenting or rating because they don’t want to appear to be taking sides. I just try to support someone when they attempt to say something that is difficult for them, or show uncommon patience and grace.
So, does anybody feel the need to have a drink?
Yes?
The Froggy Bottom Lounge is now open