Book a Week 2016 - BW28: ode to the artichoke

[Stacia]

I finished Trout Fishing in America by Richard Brautigan. It seems like surreal Americana with trout fishing, camping, & mayonnaise. Don't forget the mayonnaise. I liked it a lot & agree with an earlier description of it as poetic prose. I can see how his work has probably influenced Murakami, as well as other modern/experimental fiction; I'm specifically thinking of The Complete Works of Marvin K. Mooney by Christopher Higgs and The Way Through Doors by Jesse Ball. I have no idea if Higgs or Ball count Brautigan as an influence, but there are some stylistic similarities & oddities they all seem to share.

 

A couple of random quotes for you.

 

I saw Trout Fishing in America Shorty passed out in the front window of a Filipino laundromat. He was sitting in his wheelchair with closed eyes staring out the window.

There was a tranquil expression on his face. He almost looked human. He had probably fallen asleep while he was having his brains washed in one of the machines.

(from "The Shipping of Trout Fishing in America Shorty to Nelson Algren", page 47)

 

Everything smelled of sheep. The dandelions were suddenly more sheep than flower, each petal reflecting wool and the sound of a bell ringing off the yellow. But the thing that smelled the most like sheep, was the very sun itself. When the sun went behind a cloud, the smell of the sheep decreased, like standing on some old guy's hearing aid, and when the sun came back again, the smell of the sheep was loud, like a clap of thunder inside a coffee cup.

(from "On Paradise", page 50)

 

Once, while cleaning the trout before I went home in the almost night, I had a vision of going over to the poor graveyard and gathering up grass and fruit jars and tin cans and markers and wilted flowers and bugs and weeds and clods and going home and putting a hook in the vise and tying a fly with all that stuff and then going outside and casting it up into the sky, watching it float over clouds and then into the evening star.

(from Trout Fishing on the Bevel, page 21)

 

I'm now reading his poetry collection, The Pill versus the Springhill Mine Disaster. I'm not much of a poetry person, but so far I like his because a) they're short and b) some have a wry, odd humor to them.

 

The Way She Looks at It

Every time I see him, I think:

Gee, am I glad he's not
     my old man.

 

Edited July 15, 2016 by Stacia

[Kareni]

Last night I finished the contemporary romance The Friend Zone by Kristen Callihan; I enjoyed it and might re-read it at some point.  (Some adult content.)

 

"Gray doesn't make friends with women. He has sex with them. Until Ivy. 

The last thing star tight-end Gray Grayson wants to do is drive his agent's daughter's bubblegum pink car. But he needs the wheels and she's studying abroad. Something he explains when she sends him an irate text to let him know exactly how much pain she'll put him in if he crashes her beloved ride. Before he knows it, Ivy Mackenzie has become his best texting bud. But then Ivy comes home and everything goes haywire. Because the only thing Gray can think of is being with Ivy. 

Ivy doesn't have sex with friends. Especially not with a certain football player. No matter how hot he makes her... 

Gray drives Ivy crazy. He's irreverent, sex on a stick, and completely off limits. Because, Ivy has one golden rule: never get involved with one of her father's clients. A rule that's proving harder to keep now that Gray is doing his best to seduce her. Her best friend is fast becoming the most irresistible guy she's ever met. 

Which means Gray is going to have to use all his skills to win Ivy's heart. Game on."

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Onceuponatime]

Billy Budd is finished. The end was "spiritual" but not at all satisfying. This is another one of those books that makes me wonder what is the point? A sea tale to be told around the fire on a winter's night?

 

Next up: Blood of Victory by Alan Furst, sent to me by Jane. I'm going to "glide gracefully into an urbane pre-World War II Europe."

[Mom-ninja.]

Started book 3 of The Hitchhiker's Guide on audio. The narration is great. Remember that feeling of joy you had as a kid when on a swing swinging high*? That's how I feel listening to these books. Pure simple joy. 

 

 

*I no longer get that feeling on a swing. The joy has been replaced by nausea. Cause me = old. I miss swings. 

[Stacia]

Started book 3 of The Hitchhiker's Guide on audio. The narration is great. Remember that feeling of joy you had as a kid when on a swing swinging high*? That's how I feel listening to these books. Pure simple joy. 

 

 

*I no longer get that feeling on a swing. The joy has been replaced by nausea. Cause me = old. I miss swings. 

 

I totally kwym about swings. I used to love, love, love them. I can still go on them sometimes but not for too long.

 

One of my favorite parts was swinging as high as possible, then leaping off to see how far I could get. Lol. (I don't recommend trying it as an adult on a playground w/ wood chips, though. As me how I know. :001_rolleyes: ) And, one time, as a middle-schooler, my best friend & I were swinging on a porch swing under our deck. The deck was probably about 15-18' off the ground. We used to swing high enough in it that we could lay our forearms flat against the bottom of the decking on the upswing. We loved doing that. Until the time we heard a pop & I saw that the swing bolt on my side had sheared off as we were on the downswing. :scared:

 

I liked Hitchhiker's Guide ok (the first one). I never read the others. But, I loved Adams' Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency. You might want to give it a try since you're enjoying Hitchhiker's Guide so much.

[Mom-ninja.]

Stacia, you must read the other books in the series. It is unspeakable to not. So much more happens to Arthur and Ford. You learn more about earth. You meet the ruler of the universe. And I've only started book 3 so who knows what else will happen . 

 

My one teeny complaint is that I feel that the sole female character has been mostly ignored. Talk about a flat character. We get nothing from her about her reactions or thoughts about the circumstances she finds herself in. 

[mumto2]

I just finished listening to the third Amelia Peabody book by Elizabeth Peter's. The Mummy Case was the best one yet. I listened to 7 hours worth today and I generally do not care for books set in Egypt. ;)

[Lady Florida.]

I just finished listening to the third Amelia Peabody book by Elizabeth Peter's. The Mummy Case was the best one yet. I listened to 7 hours worth today and I generally do not care for books set in Egypt. ;)

 

I keep forgetting about this series when looking for a new audio book. I listened to the first two and enjoyed them. Not all are available at the library I subscribe to in audio book format, but they have quite a few. They do have all of them as far as I can tell, but just not as audio books. My own library system only has the first two, period.

[mumto2]

I keep forgetting about this series when looking for a new audio book. I listened to the first two and enjoyed them. Not all are available at the library I subscribe to in audio book format, but they have quite a few. They do have all of them as far as I can tell, but just not as audio books. My own library system only has the first two, period.

I hope you are able to find more as audiobooks because I really am enjoying them. I haven't checked but I think I can get most from my library as audiobooks. I think ebook might be harder. I have decided not to read but to listen to this series since I started it with an audiobook. I have tried a couple of audiobooks within a series where I have read several, not successful. I don't seem to enjoy them very much because the characters aren't right! :lol:

 

I have been reading the Inspector Singh series for the past few months and loving it but number 4, https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11053574-a-deadly-cambodian-crime-spree A Deadly Cambodian Crime Spree is not a book bordering on cozy by any description. Far too much info on the killing fields which I wasn't up for. The Inspector is sent to Cambodia to be part of a war tribunal trial. That part of the description should have provided a clue.

 

Because I have the rest of the series waiting in my stack, including the latest which I requested be purchased by the library, I skimmed it. I felt obliged. Sad, depressing.... It could have been worse but not what I wanted it to be. I wanted more of my sweet Inspector and events in the story kept overshadowing his charm.

[Kareni]

Yesterday I finished Lord Sidley's Last Season by Sherry Lynn Ferguson; it was a pleasant regency romance.  This would be a fine book for all readers.

 

"With its abundance of amusing characters, polished writing, subtle wit, and perfectly detailed setting, Ferguson's latest traditional Regency is her best work yet."  John Charles, Booklist

 

"Marian Ware's future seems settled. For two years she's been engaged to a naval lieutenant, now due home within weeks. But before she weds, Marian accepts her cousins' invitation to join them in town for the social season. Lady Formsby has generously arranged for Marian to study with the masters at the Royal Academy. As a dedicated painter, Marian can be relied upon to provide steady, sensible company to her impulsive younger cousin Katie, who has been relishing her debut. All of London is thrilled with Napoleon's abdication and the celebratory visits of foreign princes. Yet Lord Sidley's return from the war has created an equal sensation. The earl's looks, charm, and dashing reputation intrigue both cousins. Katie vows to marry Sidley, and indeed, as the last of his family, he must choose a bride. But there is another reason for the widespread fascination with Lord Sidley's Season. And Marian soon discovers how easily plans, and hearts, can be overturned."

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Nan in Mass]

Ummm... I just listened to lots of books but the library yanked them back so I don,t have titles. Summer reading... : )

 

Nan

[Kathleen.]

i read "A Kid for Two Farthings" by Wolf Mankowitz - my free book for participating in our library's summer reading program.   My 10yo read "Twelfth Night for Kids" by Lois Burdett.

:001_smile:

[Negin]

 

A Russian character in an episode of the Sopranos I just watched said, about the difference between Americans' outlook and that of the rest of the world, "Americans don't expect anything bad to happen, and they are surprised when it does, while the rest of the world expects the worst and are not disappointed."

 

I really tried to like the Neapolitan novels. I flew through My Brilliant Friend and loved it. But I got less than halfway through The Story of a New Name and realized I just didn't care about any of the characters. None of them. I can dislike a character and still want to know about his or her fate, so it wasn't just about disliking them (though I disliked almost everyone). I'm not really sure why the sudden disinterest, but I don't care to read any further. I know many people are loving these books, and I might try again some day (often I like a book better on the second try), but for now I have too many other books I want to read or reread. 

I very much agree with that character on the Sopranos and think that it's so accurate. 

 

I tend to agree about your thoughts on the Neapolitan novels. The more I read them, the less I care for anyone. Since I've completed three, I will definitely read the fourth, but, like you, I can't fully enjoy a book (or movie) if there's not a single character to like. 

[Jane in NC]

The Lebanese writer Elias Khoury is occasionally mentioned on this thread.  Khoury is a difficult writer to read in part because he writes of that which he knows well, the Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990).  When the war was officially over (agreement signed), Lebanon was reshapen politically.  The Maronite (Christian) elite that formerly ruled now are in a power sharing relationship distributed between the Shiites, the Sunnis, the Maronites and Druze. When we think of Lebanon today, some might be inclined to think of Hezbollah but I would argue that while Hezbollah may be a part of Lebanese politics, they do not define Lebanese politics.

 

Enter Elias Khoury.  He was born into a Greek Orthodox family and raised in a Christian part of the country.  As a young man, he joined a militant arm of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, the Fatah. And then the civil war broke out.  Khoury participated but resumed studies in Paris.  In the decades since, he has taught at a number of notable universities and written complicated novels that reflect the challenges of Lebanon. Khoury's name is often mentioned as a possible candidate for the Nobel Prize in Literature.

 

The first book by Khoury that I read was White Masks.  Yalo has been sitting in the dusties, but in these troubling times it has taken courage for me to read this book with its scenes of torture.  But sometimes we must face these difficult horrors.

 

Reading Khoury, whose characters are emblematic of Lebanon itself, I am glad that I have been reading Susan's histories.  My supposed world history class in high school was more of a Western Civ with blinders. 

 

As noted, the actions in Yalo are disturbing.  The novel is told in a sort of stream of consciousness fashion but one thing becomes clear:  reality may not be what the narrator suggests the first time he tells the story or in his second version, etc.  How must trust can we place in memory--single or shared? For that matter, how much trust can we place in the perspectives (or lack thereof) in history? 

 

I normally wait to post in the new book thread on Sunday but I'll be out and about most of the day so I'll post this now.  If anyone would like my copy of Yalo, let me know.  This book is translated from the Arabic.

 

[Robin M]

Link to week 29 - please continue conversation in new thread