July's Books

Yes, you read that right: books. You only have to read one or the other, but super-members will be awarded bonus points for reading both.

First, we're reading Ursula K. Le Guin's Lavinia. In the words of the publisher:

[Lavinia is a] retelling of Virgil's The Aeneid, told from a perspective that very often got lost in even the most compelling Greek myths: the female's.

Second, if you haven't read The Aeneid, what better time to hunker down with an epic poem than the summer?

Call out which one you'll be reading in the comments, so that we can ensure that we have enough people reading each.

Date to come, but we'll again be taking advantage of the weather and meeting up in Prospect Park.

Pnin: Follow-up

As a follow-up to yesterday's reading of Pnin, I wanted to share novelist David Lodge's analysis of the book, extracted from the Everyman's Library edition. Lot's of insight on Nabokov's intentions, why the book feels like a collection of vignettes (it was originally serialized in the New Yorker), as well as thought-provoking ideas re: the importance of language as a means of assimilation. Fun!

7x20x21 Is The Best Panel At BEA

UPDATE: Thanks to the generosity of The New Yorker, I am happy to add a new tagline to this panel--"7x20x21 is the only panel at BEA with an open bar."

If you'll be at BEA, I hope you can stop by the panel I'm curating with my co-worker Ryan Chapman. Here's the deal:

*7 speakers * Each with 7 minutes to talk about anything they like * Accompanied by 20 PowerPoint slides * That move forward automatically every 21 seconds *

Here's the (star-studded) lineup:

• Debbie Stier, Harper Studio
• Pablo Defendini, Tor.com
• Jeff Yamaguchi, Knopf Doubleday and 52 Projects
• Matt Supko, ABA/Indiebound and creator of the Indiebound iPhone app
• Chris Jackson, Spiegel and Grau
• Richard Nash, formerly of Soft Skull Press
• Lauren Cerand, independent public relations representative

Here's the details:
4:30-6PM
Friday, May 29
@BEA's Downtown Author Stage

Here's the video of our inspiration for this event, LBF's Canon Tales:

Further proof that we are way, way ahead of the game

Well, well, well. Guess what top tier radio show heard about our book club and decided to review Collodi's Pinnocchio?

Yep, Fresh Air. Check it out here.

Visions of Pinocchio

Pinocchio was written in 1880 in a serial format but in the style of a folk tale. I imagine that Carlo Coloddi would have been happy to see his creation adapted in the free way the myths and folk tales are.

As I read Pinocchio (which was always my favorite Disney movie growing up), I specifically tried to avoid imagining this:


Of course, those of you who are reading the book know that the tone is drastically different than that of the Disney movie. I avoided this film because of the reviews, but I would now be curious if any of you have seen it:



Another American retelling of Pinocchio (I think we all can agree that Spielberg and Kubrick are good flavors that don't mix, much like cotton candy and steak tartare):



Here is a more representative Italian drawing:



Mickey Rooney, anyone?



Five things to think about before book club:
1. Whether the best works of art inspire faithful or unfaithful adaptations
2. The fact that 'children's literature' was not a genre when Coloddi wrote this, and how he both tries to instruct and undercuts that instruction at the same time
3. The role of the Blue Fairy, and the feminine in general, in this boys' story
4. How the Gepetto/Pinocchio relationship is an allegory for artist/art
5. I hate to say it, but all that psychoanalytic stuff (born as wood, shaped into a puppet, only fully human by controlling impulses, and of course the nose.)

Grace Paley Book Club: the Duringmath

I would just like to share a picture of the food from last month's book club, or what was pretty much left after the attendees had had their fill (and had stopped yelling at me for leading the discussion poorly...just kidding! That pretty much didn't stop. My whoops.).



Here we have wine, cocktails, some of the borscht-that-ended-up-being-tasty-but-not-especially-borschty, the remains of the bagel platter (lox, whitefish salad, an assortment of cream cheeses, onion and tomato slices), and in the foreground: kugel.

Over the following week I ate ten pounds of kugel. That is all. See you in March!

'The Crooning and Combative Language of the Street'

You may not know this, but in a different life I was a poetry blogger. And one of the poets I wrote about was Grace Paley--her final collection, Fidelity, came out in 2007.

Here is a selection of audio of a Poets House tribute to Grace, including some very smart comments from A.M. Homes:

"I think of Grace and I think about how when I first read her stories I really couldn't understand them. They were lost on me and I didn't know why. And then I borrowed a record from the library--it was a recording of Grace reading 'Goodbye and Good Luck' and 'A Conversation with My Father' and suddenly listening to the sound of the reader's voice reading her own work, her intonation like an incantation made it all perfectly clear."

PS I can't take credit for the title of this post--it's a comment on Grace's work by the poet Jane Cooper.

Listen to Two Grace Paley Stories

NPR's Selected Shorts featured two Grace Paley stories last weekend. Neither are from January's book, The Little Disturbances of Man, but they're pretty emblematic of the sort of writing that Paley is know for--funny, slightly sad, and very wise.

The stories are "The Long-Distance Runner" and "A Conversation with My Father." You can find information about the show here, and listen to the stories by subscribing to the podcast.

January Book Club

I am blogging this live from Brooklyn, New York, the location of the next book club meeting, which will be held the 25th of this month. My neighborhood is called Gravesend, so I've selected a frighteningly appropriate book, The Little Disturbances of Man by Grace Paley. It's about ghouls and witches! Just kidding, it's about Jews.

If you haven't started reading, you only have two weeks to go, but since the book is less than 200 pages long, NO PROBLEM! You can read that much in only 13 days. Or you can read one story and fake it, you faking fake.

Anyway, prepare yourself for some stuff that I'll make, like tea. Tea is definitely on the menu.

BREAKING: Blogger Has Awful Taste in Books

As one of likely two book club members who read Gawker's sports blog, Deadspin, the responsibility of reporting book club-related info appearing on that site probably falls to me.

So! It turns out Deadspin editor A.J. Daulerio differs greatly with book club consensus regarding one of our selections. When asked by an emailer who his favorite author and book are, he writes:

Favorite author right now is Charles Bock. Go grab "Beautiful Children" and read it 50 times. It's excellent.

50...times...? He is an Eagles fan, so maybe self-punishment is part of his DNA.

Eh? Eagles fan joke? Anyone?

A Starship Ride Has Been Promised to You By the Galactic Wizard

Word to the wise: Kelly Link recommended fortune cookies for our book club on November 2nd, where we'll be reading Stranger Things Happen.

I am currently amassing fortunes for all of you (see blog title for example a).

Submissions from Team Book Club should be placed in the comments.

Meet Kelly Link!

Good news: Kelly Link, our October book club author, is reading in Brooklyn tomorrow night!

I'm pasting the details here. Megan and I will both be there, and we'd love to see you. I'm going to ask Kelly if she has any recommendations for what we should eat while reading Stranger Things Happen. I haven't read anything from it yet, but I'm secretly hoping for something weird and cool, like Hostess Snowballs.


10/7/08

Community Bookstore

7 PM

143 Seventh Ave (between Carroll St and Garfield Pl)
Park Slope, Brooklyn | Map

718-783-3075

Subway: B, Q to Seventh Ave; 2, 3 to Grand Army Plaza | Directions

http://www.cbjupiterbooks.com

Tickets: Free

Description
The celebrated author of the fabulistic story collections Stranger Things Happen and Magic for Beginners reads from her debut foray into YA lit, Pretty Monsters.

Some Exciting Kelly Link-Related News (Part 1)

Folks, there is exciting news! Kelly Link's press (by that I mean both the press that publishes her AND the press she runs) Small Beer is offering FREE downloads of October's book club selection and several other high-quality awesome books.

I really like the explanation the publisher gives for why these books are offered for free:

We love books. We want to keep on publishing good books. Weird books. Interesting books. We are curious about the future. If everyone downloads books straight to the Kindlenub in their head, we might be in trouble. But if there are still people who like to read books on paper, maybe some of them will read some of these downloads and then decide they would like the actual books. Therefore we're releasing some of our books.

That's great reasoning, and it seems like the onus is put on you, the reader. Small Beer offers these books for free because they believe in them SO MUCH that they're convinced you'll become a fan of the press, and ultimately buy more books.

Do with that what you will, Best Book Club in Brooklyn! If you fall in love with Kelly Link, as I have, I hope that you'll supplement the free downloads with a purchase or two from the press.

And even if you prefer your books in the more traditional way (ie, ink on paper), DEFINITELY check out the creative commons section of the Small Beer site, since they have audio downloads of stories from Stranger Things Happen that are very enjoyable.

October's Book Club...

...is actually happening in November--on November 2nd to be exact. But whatever, I hope you can still make it!

Because of Halloween, we'll be reading STRANGER THINGS HAPPEN by Kelly Link. It's a short story collection!

In the words of Jelly Ink press: " These eleven extraordinary stories are quirky, spooky, and smart. They all have happy endings. Every story contains a secret prize. Each story was written especially for you."

Next Book Club: November 2nd!

EDIT FROM MEGAN: We were too busy having fun to take many photos, but here are a few. Note the pineapple full of pomegranate seeds. Truly exotic!


Yesterday's book club was a blast--I think Megan will have photos here later!--and we managed to decide on the next book club's date before heading home.



Please save Sunday, November 2nd for book club festivities at chez Greko, in Crown Heights.

Trying to decide between reading Kelly Link's Stranger Things Happen or Flannery O'Connor's The Violent Bear It Away. Please feel free to make your voice heard in the comments below.

BookClub is coming!

Hi Dearies! So, I finally bought my book today. I think probably most of you don't have it yet, so I will share a little info I gleaned today: The Strand doesn't have any, so don't bother there, but as of tonight, the B&N Union Square had 2 copies, and they say that the B&N on 82nd has it, too. I'm not sure about any other indies... anyone else been able to find it around? Oh, and you can also buy it directly from the publisher's site. It's an extremely slim, so I don't think anyone will have a problem finishing it within a weekend or so. More updates and research to come!

Sorry if this post was disjointed; I'm being a little distracted by America's Next Top Model.

Best Quote Ever

"I have a gift for enraging people, but if I ever bore you it will be with a knife." – Louise Brooks, from her autobiography, 'Lulu in Hollywood.'

I am working to have it stitched on a pillow by the book club meeting on September 28th.

I love you, BookClub

Someone asked me a day or two ago if BookClub had disbanded. This HORRIFIED me. Of course BookClub is going strong. Just because we took a little break during the disgusting heat of the past month doesn't mean we don't still love each other. And our BookClub books. We love those too. Also, brunchy drinks. So let's DO meet a the end of September for BookClub (more on that later) but also maybe like next weekend for brunch? Who's free? Sat or Sun?

OK, as far as our official next meeting goes, it will be in late September, and the book we will discuss is called The Invention of Morel. I think it will be good. It is a MYSTERY BOOK. I found the name of this book written on a post-it on my desk a couple weeks ago, written in my handwriting, but I have no idea when or where I heard of the book. Spooky! Something to do with Borges, I guess, because his name was written down, too. And there also appears to be a Louise Brooks connection. I am a big fan of hers. Ami, share that quote you found from her with everyone.

So... more to come regarding the book and the meetup, but in the meantime, comment, weigh in, and let me know how you're all feeling. I'm still willing to be swayed toward Atmospheric Disturbances if everyone's gung-ho for it, and if you have a strong feeling about the date this next meeting should take place, feel free to cast your vote now!

Ah, here, my deeries, is a better link, i think: http://www.nybooks.com/shop/product?usca_p=t&product_id=1229
Still, I have to say that I think the less read about this book before actually picking it up, the better. Let the mystery unfold first! Background info later.

Follow up, mostly on Jeeves

Just to recap Sunday's lovely afternoon in the park: Midwesterners, all of your worst fears have been confirmed. People who live in Brooklyn really do flounce about in parks sipping refined alcoholic beverages and discussing British novelists. John Edwards is right--there really are two Americas. As a former Michigan resident, I'm just pleased that I wound up in the one with Jeeves.

In case anyone wants to do some additional reading, I've got links here to things discussed:

• Frankly, you should all just read this Wikipedia entry about Jeeves, because there are some fabulous facts (for instance, Jeeves once resigned a job because of his employer's eccentric choice of evening dress).
  
• Here are the two stories narrated by Jeeves: 'Ring for Jeeves' and 'Thank You Jeeves.'
  
• It is a real bummer that the Jeeves and Wooster television series never worked out because just look at this list of characters.
  

We should have August's book up soon. Megan is hosting this month, which means no end to the great streak that we've been on.