Thursday, March 27, 2008

The Thirteenth Tale (not to be confused with the 13th Element, which is also good)


Who's ready for a new Book? I know I am. The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield comes highly recommended and this heartwarming romp will be a departure from the white supremacy of Forrest Carter. Okay, so I don't know if it's exactly a heartwarming romp, but if I were to be commissioned to write summaries on the jacket of this or any other book, you can rest assured that is what I would write.

I did, however, find this summary from Setterfield's own site dedicated to the book:

Margaret Lea works in her father’s antiquarian bookshop where her fascination for the
biographies of the long-dead has led her to write them herself. She gets a letter from one
of the most famous authors of the day, the mysterious Vida Winter, whose popularity as a
writer has been in no way diminished by her reclusiveness. Until now, Vida has toyed
with journalists who interview her, creating outlandish life histories for herself—all of
them invention. Now she is old and ailing, and at last she wants to tell the truth about her
extraordinary life. Her letter to Margaret is a summons.

Somewhat anxiously, the equally reclusive Margaret travels to Yorkshire to meet her
subject. Vida’s strange, gothic tale features the Angelfield family; dark-hearted Charlie
and his unbrotherly obsession with his sister, the fascinating, devious, and willful
Isabelle, and Isabelle’s daughters, the feral twins Adeline and Emmeline. Margaret is
captivated by the power of Vida’s storytelling, but she doesn’t entirely trust Vida’s
account. She goes to check up on the family, visiting their old home and piecing together
their story in her own way. What she discovers on her journey to the truth is for Margaret
a chilling and transforming experience.

The site also lists the favorite books of our character Margaret as including works by Emily Bronte, Jane Austen, and that guy who wrote Sherlock Holmes. (Maren's gonna love this). But don't fret if you are one of those that get scared off by the mere mention of Miss Austen, or if you are male. I have it on good authority that this book is a not only a crowd pleaser but of great literary quality. At least I hope so. And if the appearance of the website sends anyone into a panic stricken anxiety, don't get your panties in a twist. You can always read the dialogue in robotey voices. Damian is working on a series of sci-fi Austen films so you can always go to him for instructions on the matter. (How's that going for you Damian?).

Happy Reading!

disclaimer: my sister expressed some concern that there is some incest mentioned in the writing and perhaps shouldn't be recommended for a book club audience. I assured her that we are, in fact, The Super Amazing NEW Book Club and are all for incest. She said, in that case, we would love it.

And to all of you that missed last night, you missed out. We hope to see you next time.

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

This came in my Daily Dose Steep and Cheap email.

If you don't like a book someone recommended, keep it to yourself. They won't take it well when you tell them it was bad, and they'll be especially upset if you launch into a well-reasoned explanation supported with literary precedent. I learned this not when I compared the Poisonwood Bible to a doorstop, but when the friend who had recommended the Poisonwood Bible responded with a dismissive shrug when I asked what he thought of a book I'd loaned him. Books take so much of an investment in time that I think they form a bit of a cognitive dissonance for their readers. Unless you quit reading halfway through, it's like you've invested so much time in the book that it had better be good. Taking a particular liking to a book is similar to finding a song you enjoy deeply--there's something about it that resonates with you. So when someone comes back with a negative review of a book you like, it's more like it informs your differences with the person than your taste in books. And that person can never be trusted again.

Thursday, March 6, 2008

"So your in a New bookclub?" No mother, it's the same old one we call "new".


While I think that we can all admit that our book club is...
  • Super


  • Amazing


  • New

What is the expiration period of new?


When do we change the name to:



Pretty Good, Reletively Entertaining, Old Book Club?




Just wondering, and waiting for my turn on Scrabulous.



This is Juliet's book club. She and "the others" were reading Carrie. You may know Juliet, she's from a little TV show called Lost.




Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Retarded

The trouble with this word is that is has so much baggage. It is a very offensive word now mostly because it has been used derogatorily towards people whose brains function differently, a thing which few find appealing. The word means "slow", if you retard your progress, you slow it down. However, if you are freaking retarded, you freak in a very slow manner. I am afraid I have digressed too much already. Our hero in this book, however is not retarded, his mind works incredibly fast, however it works very differently.

Well since I missed book club I thought I would comment on the book in written form (If I could upload a snack tray of veggies to feel fully a participant, I would). I found the book to be an entirely delightful and engaging read. It was a more-accessible "Sound and the Fury". I read the book quickly and enjoyed it, yet something itched the back of my head. I think the greatest thing that comes from a book like this is an increased empathy for the autistic, however, in the end I didn't find that there was an overarching theme of any depth. Once the author described how he can use similie but not metaphor, I found him too willing to engage in similie while my experience with the autistic made me feel that there was a general aversion towards anything beyond the straight forward and understandable. I also had a little difficulty in making the leap for the narrator to also be an atheist which requires some ideological thinking beyond pure logic (which betrays the authors ideology and I thought weakens the story). When dealing with death most autistic-type persons have difficulty in dealing with it in the abstract.

In the end I think I would recommend this book as a pretty good airport read, beyond the pablum of the pop novels but not quite the literature that begs for in-depth critique.

So now I will stop with my academic posturing and get back to work.