Beautiful Children

Here is the first chapter if you want to get started:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/03/books/chapters/1st-chapter-beautiful-children.html?_r=1&ref=books

And I think Ami might be able to link you to pdf of the entire book if you want to read online.

The meeting will be at Paul's place at 247 Garfield (between 7th & 8th Aves in Park Slope) on June 22 at 1:00.

Beautiful Children

Those of you clamoring to know our June book club pick (say, maybe because you're preparing to get on a plane to LA) should check the sidebar--it's Beautiful Children by Charles Bock. I'm sure Helen will set it up more thoroughly in the future, but here are some things to get you started:

• Here is Charles Bock on TitlePage.tv, where he was roundly teased for wearing a concert t-shirt under a True Value button up
• Here is Bock's complicated-but-lauded website
  
• And for extra credit this month, read The Delivery Man by Joe McGinniss Jr. It covers much of the same territory as Beautiful Children, and I'd love to discuss the intersection of the two novels, as well as how interesting it is that Las Vegas is turning into a *real* city, with teenage unrest and rock bands and novels of its own.
  

Just a few more pictures...

Sunday Afternoon

I want to thank everyone for coming to Sunday's book club meeting. I had a really fun time and I'm glad the book was well received and managed to serve as a basis for a good discussion. As I think I mentioned today, the book has pretty much everything but zombies.

I took a few pictures and figured I should post them to the blog.

I know there was nothing Polynesian about the book but I do love a chance to break out the tiki mugs. I think learning a few good drink recipes is the next step.



Shek made fantastic guacamole. Apparently, it's the only thing people in California eat.



After we finished talking about the book a few games of Apples to Apples were played. I think Ami threw down a card for "body surfing." No one gave her points for that! Shame on that person for not letting the book's theme tie into our game.

I hope everyone had a good time and I'm looking forward to the next meeting.

Veering off topic for a minute

Ami has been riding a nonstop wave of excitement since learning this month's book served as inspiration for POINT BREAK. Today she pointed me toward this very exciting news about the film's sequel!

Please thank her for bringing this info to our attention as it keeps me from a rambling post about the excesses of the 1970's.

From Buying A Board to the Spicoli Effect

As Ike learns early in the novel, not all surfboards are created equal. The surfboard has undergone quite an evolution since its initial development in Polynesian culture. TAPPING THE SOURCE's young protagonist from the desert doesn't realize he should've purchased a noserider instead of a gun. Ehow.com didn't exist in the mid-to-late 1970s.

Ike and Michelle don't come from the most stable backgrounds. The same can be said for pro surfer and actress (John From Cincinnati) Keala Kennelly, who "[grew] up fully immersed in the culture on Kauai, she lived in a geodesic dome designed by her bohemian mother, who split from the family one day while Keala was at school and left a note on her pillow."

A few weeks ago Kem Nunn and others got together at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books for a discussion about "Surf Culture." The "tendency to portray surfers as unintelligent slackers," aka the "Spicoli Effect" was addressed.

In 1982 some high school kids made an 8mm movie about a day spent surfing. A lot of it was shot on the waves at Hunting Beach (note the oil drilling platform in the background of some of the shots).



If Monday's entry about the history of HB wasn't enough as for setting the scene, I found a few other great photos:

HB in 1957
The Sheraton Beach Inn, 1964
Both of those photos are from this collection of found photos, which chronicles the travels of a local HB family from 1953 to 1968.

HB in 1986
OP Pro Surf Contest Riot, 1986
(Things got a little out of control, apparently.)

For Sunday's gathering I don't plan to have surf videos playing in the background. You'll have to make do with the following:

A teaser for the film THE FANTASTIC PLASTIC MACHINE

The opening sequence to OFF THE WALL II (the music is great)

This may be stretching things a bit, but I like how the theme lightly ties in with the novel - Punk vs. Surfer Moped Chase (1981)

Hang loose!

About May's Author

"It's hard to get people in New York to take books with surfers and bikers in them seriously."

As Megan noted , TAPPING THE SOURCE garnered a National Book Award Best First Fiction nomination for Kem Nunn. Published in 1984, it's been suggested the book was an influence for 1991's POINT BREAK. When asked about that, someone commented Nunn was "taciturn on the subject."

James Frey calls TAPPING THE SOURCE one of the top 10 books to read about Los Angeles.

In addition to being a novelist, Nunn has worked as a screenwriter. From what I've been able to gather, he's done quite a bit of rewriting (including the 1998 Kevin Bacon / Matt Dillon thriller WILD THINGS).

In the mid-aughts, Nunn hooked up with David Milch and served as a writer for DEADWOOD. The connection between the two continued as they co-created the HBO series JOHN FROM CINCINNATI.



Slate.com did a story about what JFC gets right about surfing.

In 2004 Kem Nunn spoke with Bookbuffet about TIJUANA STRAITS, the third book in his "surf-trilogy" which appears to have influenced JOHN FROM CINCINNATI. In the interview (audio files available) he discusses what it was like growing up in Southern California and how he came to surfing.

(FYI: All the above links are spoiler-free, go ahead and click 'em.)

All this really has me stoked for Sunday’s book club meeting, brah!

From King City to Huntington Beach

During the novel, Ike travels from just outside King City, CA to Huntington Beach, CA. I thought it might be helpful to take a look at these two places on the map. Driving distance between the two cities is five hours.


View Larger Map

In addition to the heavy surfing backdrop, TAPPING THE SOURCE pays a good amount of attention to motorcycles, particularly Preston's Harley Davidson Knuckle. The Knucklehead was introduced in 1936 (the same year as the one owned by Ike back in San Arco). The Knucklehead is so named because part of it resemble knuckles on the back of a hand.

To learn more about the history and pleasures of the bike, skip to 1:28 in this video from Discovery's THE GREATEST EVER:



And if you can't get enough of that sound, check out this clip of a guy kick starting a 1942 knucklehead.

Another presence in Huntington Beach that doesn't go unnoticed is that of the oil fields and pier. Oil was discovered there in 1920. The pier has also been destroyed and rebuilt a number of times. (see the history of Huntington Beach and this awesome photograph from the 1960s)

And to get a sense of HB in 1985, take a look at this image of a few storefronts.

Interactive Book Club

I wish the title of this post referred to surfing lessons. Or maybe a mechanical surfboard in my living room? Heck, maybe it references some Wii surfing game that doesn't exist?

If you've finished the book, you know there will be healthy discussion about Part Four. Megan suggested everyone come to the meeting (THIS SUNDAY - 1PM) with a new ending for the book. She suggests "this could be anything from one sentence to a fully written 50-page project, depending on how much time anyone wants to put into it." I fully support this idea and can't wait to hear what everyone comes up with.

Beyond reading the book, that's the assignment for this one and perhaps the key point of discussion.

Pick up TAPPING THE SOURCE already. It's the story of a teenager's quest to find his sister. And it's about surfing and motorcycles and so much more. If you want to borrow my copy, send me an email.