Book Heaven for Chickens!

I found a magical place where there are hundreds of thousands of books to buy for any amount from $1.00 to $20.00. Or you can even sit on any of the super comfy chairs, couches and cushions spread throughout the rows and read for hours while drinking FREE COFFEE!!! Ok, in all seriousness, this place is amazing! It’s in a little town in the middle of nowhere (which is kind of a given since it’s Maine I suppose) called Ellsworth. As you’re driving down the barren, snow-covered road, all of a sudden there’s this massive chicken barn, seemingly abandoned if not for the giant red sign on the side that says “USED BOOKS!” The first floor is mostly composed of general antiques but one sectioned off area is full of glass cases containing books from the early 1800’s on Maine history. But then upstairs, there’s epic wonderfulness!!! From the top of the stairs you can look in either direction and cannot see the wall at the end of either hallway! Along the ceiling there are huge, arrow shaped signs directing you to the different genres, which include anything from Sci-Fi, Children’s, Drama, Mathematics, Aviation, Romance, Agriculture, and just about anything else you can possibly think of. Then, randomly off to the side, is this cozy little room with several couches and chairs, stacks of books along the walls and on tables, a roaring fireplace, and freshly brewed, FREE coffee. I bought 9 books for $18.00 and they are in GREAT condition! Most of them look like they might have been read once or not at all. Oh, and did I mention they’re all hardcover? Yes several of them were $4.50… for oversized, practically new, hardcover books, complete with dust cover intact. It is just amazing; I’m still kind of in shock… I’m going to go read now :)

Blog again!

I'm thinking we should try to do some book talk over break. And because it's going to bug the hell out of me, we need to change the title of the blog to just "Reading Blog" or something instead of "SUMMER Reading Blog"... cuz it's not summer. Arielle, you made the blog so you're the only one who can change settings like that.

I will facebook all this to you cuz I know none of you have checked this in FOREVER! (psst, neither have I)

Hmm

I think this blog may have to be put on hold for a while...

New Book

I think we should read a play! They're shorter and I'm starting to get CRAZY busy. The only problem being plays can be really hard to find... What do some of you have easy access to? I'm assuming everyone has Shakespeare stuff but I don't know how interested people are in translating ancient runes (ok so we couls always read Harry Potter hehe).

I'll post on AP when I get more than 5 minutes to be on the computer...and it's not 7am.

VERY IMPORTANT

ALSO, can we PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE have a movie screening of American Pyscho and, much much more importantly,  American Psycho 2: All American Girl starring Mila Kunis and William Shatner??  If you're not convinced, here's a dialogue sample courtesy of IMDB.com:

Rachael Newman: [after strangling Brian with a condom] Ribbed, for her pleasure. 

....Brilliant!

20th!

Tis the 20th! Is everyone finished?! I'm...not.  But I am so close and will be by tonight.  To tide you eager readers over, here are some things I've done in the last week:

1) Spent more time working and not enough time reading!

2) Become immune to intense rape and torture scenes!

So, the book! What'd you think? Things certainly do start a-moving in the last two hundred-some pages.  I'll reserve judgment until I've finished the back fifty, but I think we should start getting your comprehensive thoughts (and ideas for the next book choice?  Given what I just subjected you guys to, perhaps someone else should pick the next book).

Remembered C!

C: I think the finish date was set for the 20th

ABC, easy as 123!

Ok, so I don't have time for a long post but I wanted to address a few key points:

A: Grace, your post is funnier than the book.

B: I don't think the book is sexist and I agree that Ellis is satirizing the upper class business "yuppie," but there was something way back in the early chapters that made me think that Ellis isn't particularly fond on women... can't remember what at this point so i guess it doesn't really matter.

C: hmmm there was a C I swear...

D: Tom Cruise? I'm bad at the whole pop culture thing.

We're On a Road to Nowhere...

Loving your input so far ladies.  Admittedly, I did read only to the 105 mark, but here's my input thus far:

I agree with Em about the humor--it's one of the funniest books I've ever read, right up there with books like A Confederacy of Dunces.  Yesterday, for example, I was sitting on the quaint front porch of our cabin in Michigan with my mom when I started laughing uncontrollably.  My mom asked what was so funny, and I told her that Bateman had just told some girl at a club that he wanted to cut off her arms and dance in her blood because she can't here.  My mom's reactions was "that's so 80's."  What Ellis does best is take a character known for hyper excess and machismo and take it just that one step further than is even human, which seems to be what makes it so funny.  It's Gordon Gekko with a chainsaw.  The clothing/food descriptions are, yes, tiring to read, but I think they're kind of necessary because the book is set in the first person and that is the only way Bateman processes the world around him.  Also, part of what makes it difficult not to see the book as sexist/racist/homophobic/ageist/overall insulting is because it's in the first person, so it's impossible for us to see Bateman as anything but on top.  I take comfort in the fact that the Talking Heads would hate such a jackass.

I love what Emily said about how everyone always confuses another with one another.  There are several names that keep getting floated around of characters we never meet, we just know that they look a lot like other ancillary characters.  Even when another character confuses Bateman for someone else, he isn't remotely offended and defends the guy's mistake because they work at the same firm and wear the same clothes.  Bateman isn't trying to stand out as the top of his game, he just desperately wants to be part of the game.  

There was this really great moment in one of the many restaurants they visit in the first 100some pages that I thought was really illuminating.  They've just received the NONVINTAGE champaign from the incredibly rich acquaintance ("jackass") of theirs, and one of his friends (is it Price? I'm at work so I can't reference the book, hence the lack of names/specifics in this post- sorry!) and the friend lets drop the amount of money he makes.  It's $190k/year.  Sure that's more money than our wildest dreams, ladies, but for a world in which Manhattan apartments cost millions/year and dinner costs up to $1000 a night, well it's not nearly as much as I expected.  And yes, these men make plenty of dough and all have very fuckable secretaries and do lots of blow, but, except for the ones that have inherited multimillions  (which is a few of them, but definitely not all of them), they're closer to the upper middle class they despise than the true upper crust.  Maybe that's why Bateman tries so hard to be mistaken for other similarly dressed guys.  It's that Tom Cruise image they're going for, even though they can't quite live like him.  (Speaking of, I'd really like everyone's thoughts on the Tom Cruise scene)

I think the Les Miz motif is really funny.  When Price gets pissy about his "hick" clients wanting to see it, he expresses pride that he's seen the original in London, even though they all scoff at it for being populist.  I think I need to read more before I fully grasp at it's meaning, so everyone have at it.  

A note on sexism:  I certainly haven't decided yet whether I think that the book is sexist, but right now I'm leaning toward no.  I don' think Ellis is Bateman, I think Ellis is satirizing Bateman.  Although you have to dig through all the first person self-congratulation to get there, Bateman is ultimately a sucker.  He spends way too much money on products that are generally not worth it, and tries so hard to stay 80s young that he ices his face.  If we knew anyone who did that (or regularly got manicures/facials/fake tans), we'd die laughing at them. I think it's fair to accuse him of being an asshole and he may have inadvertently inspired a few other assholes (I think Tucker Max masturbates to the front cover of American Psycho), but I generally thinks it's wrong to blame an author for a person's reaction to a book.  If you read American Psycho and come out of it thinking it's okay to rape and murder women, then you've misinterpreted it.  

If you want a sexist, look no further than Norman Mailer.  He writes like a beast, but that bitch stabbed his sixth wife at a dinner party...

OK so that was long.  We should pick a date to finish the book by, and then we'll be able to discuss the end and the novel as a whole.  I can go through it pretty quickly.  What do y'all think?

About the lack of violence thing... yeah, After it got to the bloody sheets things I just assumed that several of the women he had been with previously had ended up dead. *shrug*

Gotta eat supper but what does everyone think about the whole Les Mis motif?

Psycho Killer, Qu'est-ce que c'est?

Admittedly, I saw the movie before I read the book. Also admittedly, I am almost done with the book. My apologies :/ But I will only discuss up to 105, which I believe was the page we all decided on.

Anywho, I will try not to ramble only because I have to get ready for work soon. In short, this book is hilarious. A perfect satire of the neo-yuppie-Wall Street-business-type (best adjective I could think of) world that young people, especially in the 80's when the book takes place, were being sucked into. The violence and sexism, although not very subtle at all, is in my opinion completely appropriate, as this world of complete excess that these men have been sucked into is completely vapid and materialistic. One of my favorite elements of the beginning chapters, and throughout the book, is how the men always confuse each other for different colleagues, and no one really knows who they're talking to at any moment. How each of them, despite wearing a different Valentino suit and Bill Blass tie, is completely and exactly the same.

I will agree that the beginning few chapters, up until his date with Courtney, are a little boring. They're just sort of Ellis' introduction into this shallow yuppie world that Patrick lives in. He is so passionate about such mundane things, like popular music and designer fashion, so as to blend in with and go unnoticed among his colleagues, since we can come to detect he has much to hide from them. The chapter where he goes through his daily grooming routine is one of the best things I've read (and also is one of the best scenes in the movie). Also loved the scene with the business cards - how something so seemingly mundane to us could drive him into a panic. As someone who has seen the movie, it was very surprising to see the total lack of violence in the first third or so of the book, since for those who have seen the movie, this is not the case.

Ahh I gotta get going but will hopefully write more later! Let's hear some more input!
-Em

Through 105

Well, to start out, I've never seen the movie, but Jane told me that there's something with a chain saw during sex or something like that, so I was expecting there to be more violence, although I'm sure it gets there.

I agree with Kailey that the beginning was kind of boring, because even Bateman's obsessiveness over what everyone is wearing just seemed monotonous, not psychotic. Because of that, it was kind of a nice--although disturbing change--when within him listing what people are wearing, he throws in his dark thoughts like wanting to brutally kill someone. I'm still not sure if he's actually killed people. I know he has the bloody sheets at the dry cleaners, but then what does he do with the bodies? Also, because of his extreme prejudices, it seems like he would only kill people who he has met and therefore who are known by others in Bateman's circle of acquaintances. I'm hoping that Ellis will go more into that.

In terms of the chauvinistic element, I find it interesting that it's not just Bateman, but all the men he seems to be acquainted with--especially Price. The only difference between them is that Bateman is actually psychotic, although I'm sure it could be argued that Price is psychotic in his own way. I find it interesting though that there are no female characters who challenge the men's chauvinistic beliefs, which like Kailey said, does put Ellis' own beliefs into question. At first, I was thinking that it's just because Bateman sees every woman as dumb or lesser than him, but I think it would be really interesting if there was actually someone who challenged his belief. For example, take the part where Bateman and his friends are talking about how there are only two types of women: hot and dumb or ugly and smart--I think it would be great if he were confronted by a woman who was hot and smart. I'm sure he would have some sort of psychotic reaction to that, but it would still be really interesting to see that unfold, especially because I find it annoying that all the women we've encountered so far are so pitiful.

I'm looking forward to Bateman really cracking, because I really would like less of his narration on clothing and brands and more actual plot instead. I'm trying to think if there's anything else that jumped out at me, but I can't think of it right now. Based on Kailey's last comment, I'm guessing there will be more to talk about coming up.

As far as what to read up to next, I'm really fine with anything. I would say we could finish it by the 20th? I don't know if that's too soon for anyone, but that way we could finish before I leave for RA training, only because I have no idea what my time is going to be like once I'm back.

Ok, let's chat...

I cannot count the number of times I have been reading this book and thought to myself (or out loud) “wow, this guy’s a psycho!” Most of the time I would realize how stupid this sounded, considering the title, and promptly looked around o make sure no one heard me.

For the first fifty pages or so I just marveled at how a character can be so self-obsessed and self critical at the same time. The majority of Bateman’s time is spent evaluating everyone’s clothing, looking to score and scoping out his next lay (by the way, the term “hardbodies” confused me for awhile. At first I thought it referred to hot waitresses, then shortly realized they’re just hot women in general). Knowing the general route the story takes from the movie, I found myself waiting for something violent and nasty to happen. This probably isn’t the best way to go since it made everything up to the first hint of action rather boring (though if I remember correctly, the first bit of action in sex not murder…and really bad sex at that, and that’s where we leave off).

So up until now nothing has really happened worth talking about. Ellis is just building up the character: his obsessive compulsiveness, and ultimate chauvinism. Bateman is the perfect example of a chauvinist based on this definition “Prejudiced belief in the superiority of one's own gender, group, or kind.” Not only does he see women only as objects of a man’s pleasure, but he sees himself and his colleagues, all upper-class businessmen and other investment bankers, as far superior to all other “normal” folk, and his hatred of the homeless is all too evident. I’m actually going to go research Ellis. With most novels, the separation of author and any fictional character is very clear, but for some reason while reading this I can’t help wondering if perhaps Ellis is a bit sexist? Or maybe a bit prejudice against the lower class? Anyway, I’ll look it up and get back to you.

Alrighty, what are reading to next? Personally, I think we should just set a date to finish it and then chat again. I’m having trouble holding back, I’m at 160. For those of you who haven’t gone beyond 105 yet, this shit is NUTS!

Oh Boy!

Wow, Kailey...what a dream! Very strange, but an interesting look into your subconscious. I finished reading till page 105, but Grace wrote on facebook that she should have it finished tomorrow, so we should probably wait to post anything that could give stuff away.

American Psycho

I'm on page 106 or something like that... Going to bed but I'll post probably tomorrow night after work. Looking forward to hearing what everyone thinks! I'm kinda meh at the moment...

Dream that should be a book on our list!

So Gabrielle from Zena Warrior Princess is, in fact, a faerie! Yes, it's true. And the Faerie Queen found out that she and Aladin were desperately in love so she granted her to him. But during an invasion of giant troll things she stepped in front of Aladin to protect him from troll leader who wanted his crayons. In an instant Gabrielle was horribly wounded and the stout little goblin figure that is Aladin's friend (and is sometimes how I see everything that's happening...apparently my subconscious views itself as a stout little goblin thing) realizes that the queen will not be pleased! At this moment the story blurs somewhat to return to my basement, which apparently is the limbo-type world between Aladin's world and the Faerie world. While I'm standing there in goblin mode Aladin climbs out of the dryer, apparently the entrance to Aladin's world, and begins morosely collecting various wood pieces which he says is for Gabrielle's coffin. Shocked, I quickly inquire as to her state of wellbeing...or death, and he informs me that she has yet to die but he can do nothing for her. As he carries what 2 seconds ago were wood pieces and are now crayons through the dryer passage I jump at the vicious screams of the faerie queen from the land up above (the faerie world being up the stairs)! She seems to have discovered the plight of her beloved Gabrielle (maybe it's Zena). The voice is terrifying and shakes the world to it's core! She screams something about revenge and killing and immediately horrible shrieks of pain are heard from above that tell me the Faerie Queen is wreaking havoc on the above world, killing all the nice little faeries! I immediately try to hide anywhere but there really aren't that many good hiding places in my basement! I hear her voice getting nearer and I am getting more and more frantic in my searches for cover but it's no use! I decide that even if I did find a place to hide she is the Faerie Queen and would know where I was anyway... I start to walk back to the little stool I stand on (I guess to make me seem taller when I face the Queen), realizing that I am a second from dying a most horrible death!!!
Then I wake up.... My heart was pounding and I was SO scared!!! Then I realized that I was a goblin frightened of a faerie and Aladin was going to be much worse off so I got up and started getting ready for work... *shrug*

100 Pages by Monday the 10th!!! Let's do it! Then everyone can post about it Monday!?

When to Start

I got the book over the weekend, so I can start reading whenever. I don't have it in front of me right now, but maybe we should read until a chapter ending around page 50 or 60 to start out with? Maybe by next Monday?

Also, the fact that Anne almost fell into a waterfall because the rock broke is great and if I weren't at work, I'd be laughing my ass off, so yes, I see Kailey did a good job with the sadism.

Out of curiosity, when's everyone coming back to Boston? I'll be back on the 23rd...

...I hate you.

And technically at the waterfall the rock I was holding on to broke. So you had nothing to do with it. But came damn close to making my prediction come true. And somehow my bruise looks worse now than it did the entire time I was in Maine. Wtf.

But back on topic, it seems from facebook that we are close to reaching a consensus on American Psycho, which makes me want to know what page I'm supposed to be reading to, and by what date I'm supposed to have read to said page number. Anyone got a proposal?

Another one!

What about the whole almost falling in the waterfall thing?! *evil snicker*

Back from the Moon...

...or Maine. But for all the time spent traveling, it might as well be the same distance away. Which means that I have returned to having regular internet access. Thus my finally getting around to responding to this blog.

I actually picked up American Psycho today, against my mother's rather strong wishes. Apparently she read it and was not impressed. I think that is the first time my mother has ever so much as suggested I not read a book, and it was more than a suggestion. However, that didn't stop me from getting her to buy it for me thanks to my dear brother's wonderful employee discount and Barnes & Noble. (Apparently I need to go away more - my mom likes me more when I come back.)

So, whenever there is a group consensus, I'm happy to start reading. In the interim, I'm still working on Dostoyevsky, which, while slow at first, picked up with 10 hours of travel time yesterday. I also took a break to read Harry Potter 7 again while in Maine, so I'm probably going to continue to re-read those books as well, albeit probably not quite at the same pace as when I was in Maine with you, Kailey.

And as for Arielle agreeing with me, I just checked, and I'm pretty sure that was the sound of hell freezing over. Though you really just can't be having as much sadistic fun without such an easy target. But I promise Kailey did her part for you while I was in Maine. (Still not over the whole jumping me at the end of the movie thing - not cool.)

Yay Sadism!!!

Okay, so American Psycho it is. I'll get it this week. And Anne's right-I know, I know, so rare that I agree. Coming by sadistic humor without you guys is very difficult. Although I doubt the book is very humorous, hopefully it will fill that void ;)

American Psycho

Hey I got this book! Soooo now you should all get it so I can start reading it! in the meantime I'm going to fill my brain with silly things hehe.

Internet is very hard to come by in Maine! The wireless network I usually steal has mysteriously disappeared so I’ve been forced to find another one! But while between thieving activities I have been internetless! Sooo sad!

Anyway, I think we should read American Psycho and we should all tell each other when we get it and before we start reading it so we all start at the same time. Should be a good time! I’m going to try to get it this week; might get it tomorrow actually. I ordered Everything is Illuminated about 3 weeks ago and I still don’t have it so that one’s been put on hold…perhaps permanently.

And Arielle, OF COURSE I read Harry Potter before I saw it! You crazy?! Aaaand Anne and I have now seen it 3 times as of last night hehe

So, My Bad Again...

Apologies once again. I'm on vacation sans computer, and so my internet access is limited at best. I'm open to either book, and since Arielle is jumping at the opportunity for some sadism since I'm not around to satisfy her fix, we can do American Psycho first. I have not read The Tipping Point, so that could very well be the next book if we do indeed do Psycho first.

I have not even so much as read a page from Harry Potter in preparation for this movie, but seeing as I'm seeing it with Kailey tomorrow, I'm sure she'll remind me of all the details because I know she at least was attempting to read it again.

so?

So, which one are we reading?

Also, is anyone re-reading Harry Potter before it comes out tomorrow? I kind of forgot it was coming out, so I don't have time to read it...

the book

Well, Grace is right...something sadistic sounds good to me, but if everyone else would prefer the second one, I'll read it and then we can do American Psycho after that.

Book!

Bibliophiles:

Ok, so in weighing this decision I tried to keep everyone's interests and tastes in mind. So! Given Emily and my affinity for the movie, Arielle's enjoyment of sadistic violence and dislike of anything too old, Kailey and Anne's ability to be game for most anything, I think we could all read American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis? I promise it'll be easier to read than the Satanic Verses, but it will make you squeamish (unless you're Arielle).

ALSO, I think (if Anne hasn't read this already), we could all get a lot of enjoyment out of The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell. It's very, very readible even though it's non-fiction (I read one of the more famous sections and it was pretty funny). Arielle's my hold-out on this one, she'll either think it's interesting or...not. It's a good conversation starter, so it might help us get through quickly so that we can actually get the ball rolling.

Let me know what you ladies think.

Book?

So Grace, what's our next book?

"I did not bow down to you, I bowed down to all the suffering of humanity."

The title is just so you know that I'm not posting here because Kailey said to. I'm doing it for the good of humanity. Or maybe that was Raskolnikov. Oops. Sorry, re-reading a bit of Crime and Punishment to go along with my Dostoevsky theme. Finally started reading The Idiot too, so I am actually on a break from our group reading list.

That being said, I'm not opposed to doing a common book. I'm happy to yield the choice to Grace, but I'm not sure why I'm not allowed to read ahead. Reading ahead is the only way I ever actually finish the book. Like I'd ever have gotten through Madame Bovary if I wasn't competing with someone to finish it first. (That and being stuck in a hospital waiting room, but not the point.)

All told though, I'm not sure I'm going to have a heck of a lot of time to read much of anything for a little while. I've got a full time gig landscaping for my family, and it really has made it so that I can't get through more than a few pages before I crash and fall asleep. Though maybe I'll get some more reading done once I get to vacationing on the coast of Massachusetts in the coming weeks. Maybe grab a book, and read on the beach? We shall see.

Grace - I totally should have known your top two without asking. The number of books by each of them that we had in the common room in the last month or so of the semester was a bit of a hint. I've nailed down 3 so far, in Dostoevsky, Hemingway, and Saul Bellow (in order), but I really don't have strong enough feelings for other authors to include them in my top ten. Suppose that just means I need to read more books. Alas.

Common Book

I agree. I know Satanic Verses was supposed to be the common book, but it doesn't look like it's going to be. I like Kailey's idea of having to read X pages by X date and then discussing them. I'm also okay if Grace picks a book she thinks everyone will like. It seems like Emily has completely forgotten the blog, so we'll have to remind her.

Common Book!

YES! We should definitely pick a common book! And I think we should do little assignments like "we will read to page 30 by this day then discuss it on the blog." We should all agree to not to start reading until we all have the book and to not read ahead of anyone! Will be great! Will be like a mini class! Not feeling very articulate this morning so I'm just gonna stop now, but let's DO IT!!!

Second Try

Bibliophiles:

Kailey very correctly pointed out to me that we are sucking at book blogging, so I will try much harder.  

I am reading three books right now, because I am an idiot.  They are Infinite Jest (David Foster Wallace--which is my summer Moby Dick, damn 1104 pages), The Selected Plays of James Purdy (my publishing company published it), and The Portrait of a Lady by Henry "Michelle Graham Doesn't Like Me That Much" James.   I'm assuming none of you lovely ladies have read these yet?  I'll let you know how it works out.  I read all of the Chronicles of Narnia series straight through a few years back, and that was probably not the right way to do it, because now I can't distinguish between them.  I do remember, though, that Dawn Treader had a slightly different tone than the others.  What were the Biblical illusions?

So should we all maybe pick a book that we can all read and then discuss it?  I can come up with a recommendation that would appeal to everyone.  Or are we totally off that?  I promise I'll actually read it this time because I do have reading time in my life and also I don't have a television that works.

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Just finished book 6 of the Chronicles of Narnia. The end of this one is so heavily Jesus based that's it's hard to hide. For most of the series one can kind of keep the religious theme in the back of the mind and just read for the benefit of the story but not so much this time. Two more to go!

Satan Book

FINALLY!!!
Learned that cancer SUCKS and I really need to take the time to read the Bible

Grace, I miss you!

So I'm sick I know, surprise surprise and I'm incredibly bored. Still not allowed to do anything... and still feel kinda like butt! well, not exactly true... feel lots better but still SUPER snuffly and coughy.... and has coffee!!!! hahaha... sorry sounds funny if you say it out loud... anywho... Almost done with Satanic Verses.... Haven't got a CLUE what's going on!!!! I need to read this book like 5 million times in addition to the Bible and the Koran before it can even make a dent in my brain. I think Rushdie had many crucially important points that he wanted this book to make but I don't think they ever left his brain. I feel like 98% of what he says is as allusion but he's the only one who knows what it's alluding to! oy! Anyway... gonna have Ma go in search of Everything is Illuminated here soon... hopefully I'll finish Narnia before she finds it... maybe I'll spend today reading... could prolly finish Satan book and maybe two Narnia's... dunno... Might go sit in a camp chair in the backyard and read just to get out of the house. After Narnia and in addition to Illuminated, I think I'm going to read either The Thorn Birds of the Grapes of Wrath... Then again maybe something super random and silly like everything else I read hehe. I'm Dying to get back to Emerson! Only reading I get done there though is required so *shrug*

When are the apartment ladies moving in?

Tardy

Fellow bibliophiles!

I was so excited to write on this blog and then promptly forgot to check it.  My past month has been incredibly intense (my parents opened an art gallery).  Combined with an internship I'm doing, I work a whopping seven days a week - full days.  This is uncool only because it cuts into my reading time and decimates my beach time.  I JUST finished East of Eden, and ladies, I must admit, the ending is a knock-out.  I finished it gape-mouthed on the train from Chicago to Michigan.  What Steinbeck lacks in syntactical brilliance he far, FAR makes up for in character development.  Lee is one of my favorite literary characters ever.  

The top 10 question is difficult, and one I need my complete book shelf in front of me to decide.  Here's one and two:

1) Vonnegut

2) Twain

I will throw it back out to you guys because I'm curious.  Also, what are you reading right now? I just started The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James.  Talk about syntactical brilliance.  And! I know this isn't a book, but I just saw Being John Malkovitch for the first time tonight, and I can't believe it.  It is the first role in which he hasn't played himself, and he only did  it for two scenes.  Amazing!  Seriously though, that movie is boss.

Series?

Arielle, what are you reading? Who's it by? What's it about?

Why do we even pick a book then?

I swear, I think this whole trying to get everyone to read the same book is much harder than I would have imagined. I think I'm just going to read the books on the list Grace provided on facebook in whatever order I decide, and then no matter what people decide to read eventually, I'll have read it and can discuss it. In the meantime, I'll stick with Everything is Illuminated and Life of Pi to start. Although I may break from our list to go read some more Dostoyevsky and Hemingway. I've been meaning to get back to my favorites for a while now, so that may be next.

As for my brief escape, I was in Milwaukee over the weekend to see my cousin graduate high school. It was a pretty good time, aside from the planes both being at ridiculous hours of morning and preventing sleep from happening. But I learned more about beer than I ever knew before, so that's something.

And I have another escape planned! I am returning to Boston for the second week of July, and then, barring any unforeseen events, making my way up to Maine to be killed in some ridiculous plan that Kailey has lined up. All told, that's going to be a like a full two week freedom from NJ. And after that I get to go to Bermuda in August. :)

Um...

Yeah, I think Anne and Kailey are the only ones reading Satanic Verses. I'm just enjoying my other series too much and I still have 10 books to read for that series...I will read it though...maybe after I finish the book I'm on. Anne, where did you get to go to flee from Jersey?

First Take

So I've reached the all-important 100-page mark in Everything is Illuminated (ok so I made up that important part, but it means I'm well into the book), and I gotta say I'm more into it than Satanic Verses by a long shot. Once I got past the early chapters and learned the slightly confusing path the book was taking, I read a whole lot in a short period of time. Granted that short period of time was on a plane when they weren't letting me use my iPod, but still, the point stands. I like this book much better. Even the length. Satanic Verses was just too long. And as of this point, I'm assuming I'm still the only one reading this book. I figure I'm going to finish it in the next few days, and then probably start Life of Pi to continue crossing books off my list. Though, I will take a break to watch the movie of Everything is Illuminated, seeing as that was what prompted me to choose this book in the first place. In the meantime I'm off to play videogames...

Oy!

Sooo I only have two books left in Narnia, though the entire series probably would have taken two sittings if I actually had time to read, and have finally made a bit more progress in Satanic Verses than a chapter. I think I will finish both by the end of the week and just move on to Everything is Illuminated. Is Anne the only one who has started that one?

Oops.

My bad. Totally forgot about the blog for a little bit. Heh.

Hey! I read a book. Finished Catch-22 last week. That book went from entertaining to disturbing very fast. Also, not since reading Johnny Got His Gun have I been so blatantly hit over the head with the whole "War is bad" bit. All that being said though, that book is damned easy to get through. Didn't feel at all like a 450-page book. And certainly was a quicker read than Satanic Verses.

As for the whole Caspian reverse-order thing, I would have to re-read the book to seriously talk about it. In the movie the order seemed to make sense, so I don't think it took away from the movie by reversing the order. But if I ever get around to re-reading Narnia I will see if I can't figure it out.

And finally - I had a lot to catch up with here, geez - I have gotten through two whole chapters in Everything Is Illuminated. I had to go find the book first (good thing my brother works for Barnes & Noble - employee discounts are excellent), and I haven't done a lot of reading since then. I'll bring it on the plane with me this weekend and see if I can't get through a good part of it. (I'm beginning to feel like I'm going to finish the list before anyone else even gets through Satanic Verses.)

Yay!

Keeeeeeeith!!!!

Comment on Caspian

I saw the movie, but I haven't read the books. That is interesting that they reversed the order. I always wonder why when making a book into a movie, they make some of the decisions that they do, especially becuase a lot of the time, I don't agree with them. At some point (hopefully second semester) I'm going to take a screenwriting class on adapting books into movies, so that might give me some insight.

Bad with titles!

Hey I read a chapter in Satanic Verses!

HEY!
Someone read something!

I'll talk about mine...
It's always interesting to me the way elements of books are changed to make their movies. I guess I had forgotten the order of events when I saw Prince Caspian for the first time (I think Anne's the only one who's seen it so she may be the only one who cares hehe). But the entire beginning of the movie that's all to do with the Talmorenes and Caspian and such is not how it is in the book. The book begins with the four kids being dragged back to Narnia. The strange thing is both parts, the Caspian and the kids sections, are in the book they're just reversed. makes no sense! Well it kinda does... It really does seem like a more thematic course of events, and seems to make sense that it would be reversed... I just can't explain why... tres bizarre.

Top ten... That's interesting...
I think I have a bunch that would be floating around somewhere in there but I certainly can't pick out a number 1. Also, I think all of mine are playwrights, go figure. I love Stoppard, O'neil, Chekhov, T. Willaims, Giraudoux (even though he's French), Shakespeare of course. And I'm sure there are many more if I really thought it through. I actually think Hemingway would be up there somewhere on my list too... love him...

Now I'm going to be spending endless hours trying to figure out a top ten list! oy!

OH! I love William Carlos Williams! He is a poet but whatev.

Welcome to the Club

So now we finally have everyone here. Hooray. Grace - just out of curiosity, who IS in your top 10? You got me thinking about mine, and I was having a hard time picking out who I would put up there. Dostoyevsky is my number one, but after that its a toss-up for number two. (If I had to pick, I'd probably go with Hemingway). However, I'm now totally working on listing my top ten. When I've got it all figured out, I'll post it here. 

Anyone else who wants to name their top ten (or five), I'd be curious to know. And if nothing else, it's a topic we can all contribute to seeing as we are all working on reading different books at the moment.

Also - anyone with a proposal to rescue me from NJ, please post here. I'm starting to notice a decline in my will to live with each day that passes in which I remain in this state. 

East of Eden

Hello fellow bibliophiles!

Took me a bit to get this working, but luckily we're all here now.  Let me tell you all about my summer reading.  I have been slowly making my way through East of Eden since I've gotten home.  Although its a very readable book, dense but not overwrought, it's been a surprisingly slow process (my fault, not Mr. Steinbeck's).  I'm about half way through.  I think my opinion about Steinbeck will remain the same.  I dig him a lot, but he's not on my top 10.  

Luckily, my parents are opening an art gallery that I'm going to manage(!).  Hopefully that will give me significantly more reading time.  Also, I've decided that I'm going to make my profile photo correspond with the book I'm reading at the moment, hence the James Dean. 

-Grace

So last night, when I decided that reading was a much better use of my time then SVU, I got pj's, brushed the old pearlies, scrapped off my contacts (tormenting image, I know), and climbed into bed, expecting to finish the little 224 pg, illustrated Horse and His Boy... I read 4 pages!!! Fell asleep. To some this may seem normal; often when one reads the repetitive movement of the eyes across the page makes them want to close and rest... It was 8 o'clock!!! BLARG! *falls over*

Hi all. I did invite Grace...no matter what Kailey seems to think. So at the moment, I'm of course reading something all of you would not be interested in...another vampire series, but I have one book left and then I will get to Satanic Verses. I hope at this point I don't have to start over though. I really haven't read it since what...we got back from spring break? Oh well, guess I'll find out.

Next Book

Since no one is jumping at the chance to pick the next one, and since I'm the only one whose finished the first one on our list at this point, I'll go ahead and recommend the next one from the list Grace compiled for us on facebook. I just got the movie Everything is Illuminated, and I'd like to read the book first, so I'm probably going to read that one next. Anyone opposed to this? I also am probably going to get and read Life of Pi pretty soon too, so if anyone prefers, we can do that one next instead. Opinions?

Books... I like them

I also want someone to tell me what to read so I don't have to choose... I don't like choosing. Well, I will eventually but it will probably be a play or something cuz I like them. I'm thinking I'll be nice to Arielle and not jump right into Shakespeare. Might start with David Mamet or Tom Stoppard (cuz he's The Man). Dunno though... what do we want to read?

After Satanic Verses that is... *sigh*

Epic Emily Fail

Hello lovelies! How I miss you all. Hope everyone's summer has been going well, and that lots of literary action has been occurring!

Cuz guess what? I bought the Satanic Verses and haven't read a page bahahaha. I'm so sorry. I swear I will start it soon except I'm a bastard and I have been saying that for weeks. But once I start it I promise I will post my initial thoughts and such!

How is everyone else's progress? Read any other books? I read a wee bit of "On the Road" by Jack Kerouac on the airplane to Florida, but unfortunately not enough to comment on it. Seems promising though. Have any of you read it before?

I must be off to bed now, but I like this bloggy thingy and hope to hear from all of you. OFTEN. DO IT.

-Emmy

Satanic Verses

I do believe that is the first time you've called me by anything other than "Momo" in quite a long time. Really, I can't even remember the last time you called me by Anne. Weird.

Speaking of weird, Satanic Verses is batshit insane. I mean, we all know I'm a little bit too far along on the crazy side myself, but some of those sections I had to read at least three times. Though to be fair, I actually enjoyed the book. Arielle - I agree - Mahound is a little slow, but when it comes back later on in the book, it is crazy hilarious. And I think I probably should have paid more attention in my Sunday school classes (...which weren't really on Sunday. They were after-school. Off-topic.), rather than working on getting myself kicked out. There were way too many moments in that book where I knew that he was probably alluding to something from the Bible that I didn't know. So that was a bit of a struggle. May end up re-reading this book post a greater understanding of the Bible.

All in all, not a bad choice. I'm better for having read it. It's a little lengthy at times, but its never so boring/hard to read that it is unbearable. Now I must remember to continue reading Catch-22. Also, someone pick the next book already so that I can beat you guys to finishing that too...

Soooo Satanic Verses is still in one of the boxes along with all my other college stuff in the garage... oops. Yeah totally haven't unpacked yet...

I did start the Chronicles of Narnia though! I've read it before but not for a while. I'm reading them in the order of the story set by Lewis (the author... though I think you all know that hehe) rather than the order that they were written. The last time I read them I did it in the order they were written and was a wee bit confused. Anyway, I am now on the third book, The Horse and His Boy, but I forgot how biblical these books are! Mostly the first one, The Magician's Nephew! It's like "Yay, lets create the world!" Of course, due to my lack of character building Sunday school as a kid I can't really make specific comparisons but the lion is obviously Jesus! He's the king who answers to no one except the great power from across the lands! haha So yeah, you should all read it! And I am going to finish these and then go search for Satanic Verses... or I'm just gonna go find it and read it at the same time... hehe. Anne did you even like it? Or was it more like "oh crap, I have to read this," or something?

Grace and Emily! I miss you! What have you gals been up to? or I guess more appropriately for this blog, what have you been reading?! haha.

Also, what are we reading next?

Grace: we talked about studying the bible this summer so we're not out of the loop when it's referenced in literature. You still want to do that?

I win!!!

1. How can a summer go well when it is taking place in NJ?

2. I win! I finished Satanic Verses the first week home. Have since moved on to Catch-22. Though that has stalled out recently because...

3. ...I should never be allowed to purchase another baseball videogame ever. Someone please stop me if I ever try. I have spent more hours playing videogames in the past week than I think I spent on homework over the last semester.

At any rate, hope y'all are doing alright. 

Intro.

Hey everyone!!! Hope your summer's going well. I guess the first book on the list is still Satanic Verses...which means I have to actually finish it. So everyone read and then discuss. Or Kailey also suggested we could just talk about whatever books we're reading.