Welcome Summer!!! And the Novella Book Group's 7th year!!!

It is hard to believe we just kicked off the 7th year of the Novella Book Group on Sunday at Resi's.  It all started with me wanting a book group during the summer when we take a break at Newberry.  Plus I wanted to read shorter books so my friends could finish them and I wanted to explore the meaning of Stepford Wife - so that is why we began with "The Stepford Wives".

I went to a book group discussion at Women & Children First a few months ago.  I explained to the attendees that I pick all the books for the Novella group.  My friends have been asking for funny and for current titles.  So the owner of Women & Children First asked if I had read "Treasure Island!!!" which also had the bonus of being by a local author. 

I'm glad that Resi's was not too crowded when we showed up on Sunday.  Holy cow - there were some weird phrases being uttered about parrots, lesbians, slackers, soft boyfriends, etc., etc.  I don't want to give too much away.  But let's just say we also had someone in our midst who once got a D on an AP English assignment about Robert Louis Stevenson. 

I like books with unlikeable main characters.  If you don't like "Confederacy of Dunces" it's a strike against you.  I think it takes a very talented writer to keep a reader interested when you find the main character despicable.  But did my friends dislike the main character since most of us are in our 40s and are maybe working with these people?  I'm honest enough to admit that at 25 I thought I knew it all and was often frustrated at work because I was not allowed to share my brilliance.  No, I never committed an overbold act or bought a parrot but who didn't do some crazy things when they were young?  Or found a book, or song, or idea that they pulled out the parts they liked best in order to guide their life?  (I love that she completely ignores the pirates!)

Book groups also reinforce what you know about your friends.  Some tried to find one scrap of decency in the main character.  Forget it.  Some just hated her.  It's because you don't like lazy people.  It was a great discussion and so much fun.  I am going to suggest this one for Newberry for the 2013-2014 season so I may end up reading it again.

I can't wait to read what Sara Levine releases next.  I really hope she writes another novel.  I found an interview online with her about "Treasure Island!!!" that blew my mind because it was conducted by Adam Curry of MTV fame from the time in my life when I would not babysit for someone unless they had cable. 

(Note that the YouTube link spells her name incorrectly and I said that, personally, there is always kind of a Sarah v. Sara tension and Kristen said there is also one for Kristen v. Kristin.  Who knew?).

This summer looks to be a strong one for the Novella Group.  We sure came out of the gate fast.  Even the bartender at Resi's was surprised we had been meeting for so many years.  Time flies when you are having fun!  

#2 by the Author and a New Space

"Buddha in the Attic" is the second book by Julie Otsuka.  We read this one for the May Newberry book group.  Her first book, "When the Emperor was Divine", was a selection for last year's Novella group.  If you have not read either I highly recommend them both.  They are slim books and would be good for a flight or a few nights in a hotel.  

"Buddha in the Attic" follows picture brides from Japan to their arrival in the United States and the lives they lead.  You are taken up to the Japanese internment and that is when you lose the Japanese narration.  It feels like a prequel to "When the Emperor was Divine".  The story is told in first person plural which was a little odd when I started reading.  At first I thought "oh, this is going to get tiring" but it's actually really smart and made for a good discussion point at the Newberry group.  Most of us felt the choice of first person plural allowed Otsuka to tell a larger story.  By not focusing on one person you realize how many people the immigration and internment affected.  However, one woman in our group, of Korean descent, said she felt this was not unusual and was more Asian/Eastern where the individual is less pronounced than in the American culture of I or ME.  Interesting.   (She shared an example of how letters are addressed in the U.S. - that we put the person's name first and then everything else but in Korea they put the person's name last).  

I really hope Julie Otsuka does not get pigeonholed.  Although I would love to read a book about the people who are awarded the reparation money in the 1980s so long after WWII.  But I think she is a very strong writer who could probably tackle a variety of subjects.  

Nice upgrade to our apartment.  We finally got rid of a futon (yay!) and bought reading chairs at a vintage fair this weekend.  Now we have a reading area.  So pleasant last night after dinner.  I can envision a lot more reading now that you aren't tempted by the television.  Although I'm not giving up Storage Wars!  And...as you can see... Pistache really likes the new chairs.  

It's best we were able to purchase two chairs.  That way we don't have to fight, or be sad, if one of them is in use.

And by "in use" I mean the cat is hogging the chair!  Although you can kind of squish in with her but it's not ideal.  

Good Use of Time

Finished a book and a knitting project this weekend.  Both were pretty close to the end.  "Shamus in the Green Room" was a purchase at Once Upon a Crime.  It's a series featuring Cece Caruso as a bibliographer of detective writers.  This book features Dashiell Hammett as Cece is hired to help a popular actor prepare for an upcoming role. 

This is the third installment in the Cece Caruso series and the first one I have read.  Finally a female lead that is not wacky or so dysfunctional.  I got a kick out of Cece and thought she was developed and I was interested in how she was going to solve the mystery.  I enjoyed the background information on Dashiell Hammet since I've read "The Maltese Falcon" and I have the "Thin Man" in my to-be-read pile.  I felt like I was reading a biography and a mystery at the same time. 

My only issue is that the other characters were not very strong.  I liked Cece's family and friends and it's not surprising since it's probably the third time they have been featured in a book.  But the characters that would appear just in this story did not hold my attention.  I figured one of them to be the bad guy and just wanted Cece to catch them so I could read more about Hammet and Los Angeles. 

The knitting project?  A mohair cowl, which I thought when I finished it on Friday night I would pack away until Winter.  But, no, the weather was cool enough in Chicago that I wore it all weekend and received many compliments. 

This is the 20th week of the year and I've read 11 books.  So not as on track as I would like but I think I'm going to have two more knocked out this week.  They are novellas so that will help.  I am trying to get back to the 50s for the year so wish me luck! 

What Reading Can Teach You

The rain was my nemesis last Thursday.  Instead of going to Newberry to discuss "Nemesis" by Philip Roth, I was in a cab trying to get home from the airport while Chicago was being flooded.  A wild ride.  I also had an extra night in Minneapolis thanks to United cancelling my Wednesday flight.

 

I don't know much about polio.  It was eradicated by the time I was born.  I have a scar on my upper arm either from a polio vaccine or TB - I would have to ask my mom.  I have a family-in-law member who had polio and he never talks about it.  At a family event this past weekend I heard some snippets about when he was afflicted and it sounds so scary.  Not knowing what caused it, how you caught it, how it might spread. 

I wish this book was under 200 pages so we could read it for the Novella group.  There are so many themes to discuss.  Guilt, abandonment, loss and God are featured throughout the book.  Also stubbornness and how people make decisions thinking they are sparing others but they are really being selfish. 

If you have not read Roth and are interested in his books I would suggest this one.  Especially to provide insight into a time and disease that people of my age, and younger, know very little about it.  Another reason why reading is so important - you can read fiction to find out about historical events.   

 

Of course my trip to Minneapolis had to include a visit to Once Upon a Crime.  I love that store!  I love Pat!  She is so great.  She refuses to have a computer in the store - if you ask her a question and the original computer (her brain!) doesn't know the answer, maybe another customer can help you out.  Or maybe you fall into another book all together.  She makes great suggestions.  I picked up four books.  Two mysteries set in Berlin, one Pat suggested from a Chicago author about Iran and a sillier one about an author who writes about mystery writers.   So much fun.  Plus Pat suggested a local liquor store where I picked up a four-pack of Surly.  Sorry TSA if you are reading this, but the Surly made it home fine over state lines. 

 

Since I was stuck in Minneapolis an extra night I decided to make the most of it.  I had eaten at Black Sheep Pizza already.  I pretend I'm looking at the menu but I've been there 3x and have had the same thing every time. (Small pizza with 1/2 Chicken and Peppers and 1/2 tomato & oregano plus a Surly). The host there suggested the Bachelor Farmer if I returned to Minneapolis.  Little did I know then that I would be back so soon!  So I went there on Wednesday night and sat at the bar and had one of the best meals I have ever eaten.  Technology was bad that night because I kept texting P. the courses I was eating and that was just plain mean. 

 

So keep reading!  Keep seeking out local bookstores and restaurants!  And if it's flooding stay on dry land with a good book. 

Book Pairings

I recently went to an event at Women & Children First that was a discussion group about book groups for people in book groups.  It was a very fun evening and if they do it again I highly recommend it.  Lynn, who leads the Women's Classics group, and Linda, one of the owners and leader of the Women's Book Group, ran the discussion.  They talked about new books coming out and also about books that had been good discussions for their groups.

Those of us at the event also went around the circle and shared a book that we had read with a book group that had been a success.  I talked about "Stepford Wives" which was the first selection for the Novella group back in 2007. 

Lynn had a great suggestion about pairing books with similar topics or different versions of the same theme.  We read "Passing" by Nella Larsen in 2008 for the Novella group but it must have been before I started putting up posts.  "The Girl who Fell from the Sky" has a lot of similarities to "Passing".  The author even includes a quote from Larsen at the beginning.  This book also reminded me of "Coffee Will Make You Black" by April Sinclair. 

In "The Girl who Fell from the Sky" the main character is not trying to "pass" as white on purpose.  She began life not thinking about race and then after a terrible event was moved into a home and community that was very concerned with her hair, her eyes and her skin.  Navigating these subtle differences is challenging and confusing.  I thought the author did a good job of presenting a modern tale of race and discrimination and misunderstandings.  This would be a good pairing with "Passing".  It's a fast read.  Another book that has some passages you read really fast to get through them.  I thought the different narrators were very well done. 

Happy Friday from a still chilly Chicago.  Oh, well, can get under some blankets and read and that's not so bad!

Shopping and Asheville, NC

If you find yourself in Asheville, NC you must visit the Battery Park Book Exchange and Wine Bar.  It has to be one of the coolest book stores I have visited.  Used books AND wine AND cheese?  It's heaven.  Asheville was also a pleasant surprise.  If you are a beer lover you must go.  And great food.  And fun people and shopping.  The people in Asheville have strong opinions and want to steer you toward the best choice.  It reminded me of Austin, TX. 

The book?  Silly but not bad.  A little raunchier than most chick lit.  More realistic but a happy ending.  A funny, touching, story of women coming together who share a common interest and become friends.  No harm, no foul. 

I need to start researching some modern German authors.  Maybe mysteries set in Berlin.  Looks like that is the vacation destination this year!  Air Berlin is now in Chicago and offering direct flights!  So let the vacation research begin.  

Memoir v. Story

I read "Miles from Nowhere" on a flight from Chicago to Oklahoma City.  Yes, it's a fast read.  Reading the back of the book about the author and then the story I wonder if it would have been a memoir pre-"Million Little Pieces".  I felt like I had to read the story fast because some parts of it were so disturbing.  I don't know if I would have survived the experiences of the main characters.  It's not great writing.  Some of it is too observational where the author just strings together words of an impression about a person or location.  And then some descriptions are so raw.  It was a jarring reading experience.  I finished it because it was not long and I was stuck on an airplane.  Now that's a damning review if I ever read one!