Posted
by Leslie vonHolten
July 20, 2004 at 5:09 p.m.
Reading Variant 0001
I was not surprised last week when the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) released a report that only 47% of American adults read a work of literature (narrative fiction, poems, or plays) in 2002.In defining myself, "reader" is near the beginning of the entry, right up there with mother and partner and queen of the social faux pas. I read a lot. In college, I majored in literature. I now read for a living. Both of my kids are named after literary characters. I need literature -- I'd be a lonely, crabby, neurotic mess without the escape books give me.Because reading is so vital to me, I have noticed a dearth of people I can discuss books with. I am lucky to always be surrounded by intelligent, bright, creative people, but most of them don't read. Either they don't have the time or they slipped out of the habit over the years.Obviously, our medium before us now, the hallowed Internet, is taking a lot of heat for the decline in reading, as are television and movies. Amid this, NEA chairman Dana Gioia seemed panicked but a tad optimistic. He said that the electronic media that are contributing to the problem could also offer possible remedies, and he praised Oprah's Book Club as an example, stating that the country needs a "thousand variants" of the idea.Sounds like a challenge to me. I'm game, and I suspect there are other folks out there like me: You want to read more, and improve the quality of your reading, but you need a fire under your tush to get you motivated. Hence the new Eastside Bridgeburners' Society Book Club -- but you don't have to be from the east side or a pyro to join it.Here's how it will work: I'll announce the book we'll read. Six weeks (or so) later, I'll open up the Comments for discussion of the book and I'll serve as a moderator to keep the conversation up and moving.For well-rounded literacy, fiction books will be chosen in the following order: contemporary fiction, "modern classic," and classic. For example, we'll read something published since 2000 that is gaining attention in the literary world, followed by a 20th-century work considered a classic, followed by an older classic. Books must be in print and available in paperback. I'll try to choose things that are at most libraries, but this may be tough for the contemporary slot.Although she chooses decent books, we'll avoid Oprah's list. In the beginning, we will not read genre works (Westerns, mysteries, romances). I know this will set us up for debate. That's fun, too.The goal of the EBS Book Club is to get all of us to read more. This will be a light but spirited forum -- we won't be delving deep into theory or craft. The discussions will be intellectual but accessible, and the point is simply to read and think about it.I'll announce the first book in two weeks. In the meantime, why not post your list of favorite books, or tell us what you love or miss about reading.
and 16 others
Comments
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Shelby (anonymous) says…
That reminds me of Bill Hicks' story about a rough-ish truck driver who saw him reading a book and said, "Looks like we got a reader."
liz (Liz Weslander) says…
O.k., I guess I'll go first.
Currently reading: Life of Pi by Yann Martel
Read recently and liked: The Girl w/ a Pearl Earring (can't remember author)
also, The Three Martini Playdate: A practical Guide to Happy Parenting by Christie Mellor
Reading Soon: What's the Matter with Kansas? by Thomas Frank
The Fortress of Solitude by Jonathan Lethem
Consuming KIDS: The Hostile Takeover of Childhood by Susan Linn
When I think of some of my past favorites I realize how they totally reflect that phase of my life. It's funny, and a little embarassing. For instance, during my Taproom phase, when I thought it was cute to emulate Faye Dunaway in "Barfly" I read a lot of Bukowski and Raymond Carver. Or when I was traveling around Latin America, I thought it was very cool to be reading Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
It's a good idea Leslie. I'll try my best to keep up. You're competing with my real-life book club, which you are welcome at anytime. Unfortunately we are one of those groups that only spend about 10 percent of the time actually discussing the book.
mitzibel (Misty Nuckolls) says…
Oh, Leslie, bless your little heart!!!
And just for those saying the Internet has killed reading:
http://www.gutenberg.net/
Hooray, free public domain books online!!!!!
lori (anonymous) says…
In reviewing my bookshelf, I find that, while I read *alot*, most of it isn't adult literature. And what I do get to read is usually a how to book--how to can, how to raise kids that won't look back on you and think that their life sucked, how to make nifty bracelets. I am discovering a whole lot of great young adult fiction as my oldest daughter moves into that area; so for that one I will recommend "Walk Two Moons" by Sharon Creech. It's supposed to be for girls between 8-12; but it was one of those that I read until I was finished with it, in the wee hours of the morning.
I did, however, just read a fantastic adult fiction book entitled "The Fencing Master" by Arturo Perez-Reverte. I had to mull over the ending of this book for quite a while, and my husband and I had talk about it for an extended car ride, we both liked it so much.
I'm interested to see what others are reading; keep the recommendations coming!
Lori
Shelby (anonymous) says…
I'm currently reading the Hitchhiker's Guide series because I never did in junior high and high school and, now that I'm out of college, it seems appropriate for some reason. It's pretty damn funny, by the way.
Some favorite books:
Bluebeard and Slaughterhouse Five by Vonnegut
The Plague by Camus
The Andromeda Strain by Crichton (and I'm not ashamed!)
The Historical Baseball Abstract by Bill James
Dandelion WIne by Ray Bradbury
some George Brett biography
Ulysses by Joyce (only read about 2/3 of it but I loved what I understood, and what I didn't)
monkeywrench (Tim vonHolten) says…
after majoring in english at a minor american university, i lost all desire to read. having to read "david copperfield" at all, let alone in two class periods, was more than my stoned little mind was able to process before shutting reading out of my life forever. flash forward a few years. i walked into a new bookstore in my neighborhood (i assume i was looking for magazines or thought it was a falafel shop), and on the "new in paperback" table was "geek love" by katherine dunne. damn, i got lucky. and the followup to that book? "a confederacy of dunces" by john kennedy toole. that sealed it. i was once again a voracious reader. a few other favorites:
to kill a mockingbird by harper lee
one hundred years of solitude by gabriel garcia marquez
devil in the white city by erik larson
bunny modern by david bowman
i freaking love the harry potter books, especially the goblet of fire.
everything written by dashiell hammett, raymond chandler, elmore leonard, charles willeford, or richard stark.
child of god by cormac mccarthy
bastard out of carolina by dorothy allison
the name of the rose by umberto eco
the last temptation of christ by nikos kazantzakis
i should admit that i've fallen off the wagon recently in favor of graphic novels and fishing magazines. what can i tell you. read "kingdom come" by alex ross and try not to become a comic dork.
Joel (Joel Mathis) says…
Leslie:
Hurrah for the book club. Anything that gets people to open a book instead of staring at a television for four hours a night is something that makes me happy.
Some favorite books of mine:
* "A Prayer for Owen Meany" by John Irving.
* "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee.
* The LBJ biographies by Robert Caro.
* "Empire Falls" by Richard Russo.
* "White Teeth" by Zadie Smith.
* "We Wish to Inform You Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families" by Phillip Gourevitch.
* "The Boys on the Bus" by Timothy Crouse.
Currently reading "The Twenty-Seventh City" by Jonathan Franzen. Next up: "Scotty" a biography of legendary New York Times reporter James Reston.
clevergirrrl (Susan Addaline) says…
This is such an awesome idea...I like the idea of community and working together...bring on the book and the group discussions!
Since everyone else is doing it why shouldn't I...here's the books I read last week (seriously, I read very quicky, that's not a brag, trust me, have you ever read the book you brought on the plane and find that you know have about 4 hours left in your flight to Miami and the idiot next to you is yammering on and on and on about his ulcerated tooth and you consider finding alternative uses for the book, like cramming it down his throat or tearing out pages and using them for ear plugs...so reading quickly is not always the gift you would think it would be)...
The Death and Life of Malcolm X - written by a white, Jewish guy, Peter Goldman
Prey - Michael Crichton
The Worst Case Scenario Guide: Surviving College - Various
Dead Men Do tell Tales - Dr. William Maples (excellent for fans of CSI)
Killing Time - Caleb Carr
So let's get our reads on...this is gonna be fab!
parker444 (anonymous) says…
Greetings from Chicago!
Great work Leslie! I often need a little literary kick in the pants. Currently reading The Coma by Alex Garland, basically a screenplay streatched into a novel-not worthy.
My current recommendations are:
-The Bear Comes Home by Rafi Zabor (Talking Jazz Playing Bear in the Big City)
-Cruisers A Novel by Craig Nova (Latest by a great novelist)
-The Last Good Kiss by James Crumley (The Last Great Mystery)
-Killing Suki Flood by Robert Leininger (Great Road Novel)
-I'm Not Scared by Niccolo Ammanti
and for anyone watching Deadwood on HBO
-Deadwood by Pete Dexter.
Sara (anonymous) says…
My turn. In the last week or two I read "Eleven Minutes," "symptomatic," "Sideways," and "Zermatt," all from the new fiction shelf at our very own Lawrence Public Library. They were pretty good. I especially liked "Zermatt" and "symptomatic."
As for favorites, "Ender's Game," "Pride and Prejudice," "Quest for a Maid," anything by Robin McKinley, Louis Sachar, Sarah Dessen or Bruce Brooks (I end up reading a lot young adult fiction, too).
I'm excited for the book club. Great idea, Leslie.
UKept (anonymous) says…
I'll pipe in with a few favorites--
Catch-22, Joseph Heller
Filth, Irvin Walsh
Where the Wild Things Are, Maurice Sendak
Stephen King's Gunslinger Series
Cryptonomicon, Neil Stephenson
As for Graphic Novels, Neil Gaiman's ''Sandman'' series are well worth reading, and ''Hellblazer''s John Constantine is the best chain-smoking, Guiness-swilling, former punk rock start turned magician anti-hero ever.
thetom (anonymous) says…
Recent:
No Matter How Much You Promise To Cook or Pay the Rent You Blew it Cauze Bill Bailey Ain't Never Coming Home Again, Vega Yunqu, Edgardo
The Lord of the Rings, Tolkein
One Hundred Years of Solitude, Marquez
The Great Monkey Trial, L Sprague de Camp
Really the Blues, Mezz Mezzrow and Bernard Wolfe
Reds : McCarthyism in Twentieth-Century America, Ted Morgan
Leslie, been trying to spend more time at the library less time at the dillons paperback section. I'll say it again - great idea. Looking forward to it.
tifanis (anonymous) says…
Sweeeet! I've been a TV slug for the past few years and now that I'm mostly unemployed I'm thrilled to have the time to read again and can't wait for your first selection.
Some of my favorite books through the years "Their Eyes Were Watching God" Nora Zeale Hurston, "To Kill a Mockingbird" Harper Lee, "Grapes of Wrath, " Steinbeck. I always get a lot of flack for this one, but I thought "American Psycho" was some brilliant writing(not really a story for the kids or queasy). The best book I've read of late and one I highly recommend is "Peace Like a River" by Leif Enger.
Can't wait......
cmd (Chris Deman) says…
Grrrreat idea, Miss Leslie! I can't remember the last novel I finished since graduating with my BA in English Lit. in 2000. However, some of the books that stick with me from that time are:
The Italian, by Anne Radcliffe
Frankenstein, by Shelley (this book ROCKS!)
And, um....heh, I can't remember any others. Um...did I mention I was an English Lit. major? Uugh. Crap. I did, didn't I. (Drats.)
Good luck with your book club. I'll check in from time to time to see what you're working on and see if I can be inspired to start AND finish a book. This is a great idea!
- Chris
bunboy (anonymous) says…
Great idea, Les.
I must be backwards. It took this to get me to chuck my book and monkey around in your patch of internet. that chucked book was Flann O'Brien's "At Swim-Two-Birds," incidentally, which I recomend to anyone who didn't like Ulysses but still digs show-offy Irish modernism. Make that funny & readable show-offy Irish modernism. So funny, in fact, that this morning it made me spit out my coffee, which probably sounds like a total exaggeration because I don't drink coffee. But I mean it-- I ran to the chocolatier up the street, laid out the cash for a double-tall whatsit, and spewed my first sip in appreciation.
But with the utter hell of summer teaching, I've been genreally less ambitious than the O'Brien, and have picked my way through a couple story collections: Ben Greenman's oddball (and sometime too cutesy, but endearingly so, especially since the pieces are on-the-pot short) "Superworse," Ken Kalfus' genius "Thirst," and Aimee Bender's sweet "the Girl in the Flamable Skirt."
And that bear-with-sax book someone mentioned I've lugged unread from apartment to apartment for about six years now.
murderama (Rob Gillaspie) says…
Shit, everyone else is, so here's mine...
Recent:
Portrait of a Young Man Drowning by Charles Perry
Oral History by Lee Smith (my girlfriend recommended this one and it was awesome)
i've also been snooping through the collection of old pulp novels at the Dusty Bookshelf... been burning through books with titles like "Drag Doll" and "The Loved and the Lost."
Faves:
The Bride Wore Black by Cornell Woolrich
Electric Jesus Corpse by Carlton Mellick III
Ham on Rye by Charles Bukowski
Wild Wives by Charles Willeford
Radio Free Albemuth by Philip K. Dick
The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon
Cruddy by Lynda Barry
And the Ass Saw the Angel by Nick Cave
If I couldn't read I couldn't write. If I wcouldn't write I would probably die. Did you know that Jim Thompson starved himself to death because he couldn't write anymore? A stroke robbed him of the ability to use his hands, so he stopped accepting food. Now that's conviction.
Joel (Joel Mathis) says…
Maybe that's a stupid conviction.
I mean really, he couldn't find somebody to take dictation?
murderama (Rob Gillaspie) says…
Giving dictation isn't writing. Writing involves a lot of note taking, you've got to work things out on paper on your own. Besides that, would you want to go on if you couldn't use your arms anymore? Not me, I've got too much pride...
monkeywrench (Tim vonHolten) says…
you just couldn't masturbate anymore, and consequently wouldn't have anything to write about.
beck (Beck Wilson) says…
One of the main problems of the NEA's look at our reading habits, in my opinion, was its focus on fiction.
Looking over favorite books mentioned here, I see political works and biographies that I don't think would count under the NEA's criteria; I also see "Dead Men Do tell Tales" and "We Wish to Inform You Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families," two of my favorites, so yay there, but non-fiction.
Which isn't to say that fiction is less worthy of attention. I just thought it curious.
Anyway. As for my current reading list, I just finished "Safe Area Gorazde" by Joe Sacco and "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" by Mark Haddon and am currently working on a collection of Roald Dahl's short stories. (Vicious. Yay!)
liza (anonymous) says…
Will there be live meetings of this book club, or will it all be through lawrence.com? The internet's great and all, but since 90% of the readers here live within two miles of each other it seems queer to participate in such an inherently social activity online. Like watching a live web video stream of a show at the Replay when you live on Indiana Street.
liz (Liz Weslander) says…
Liza, I see what you mean, but it is hell trying to find a time when people can meet. This allows people to participate during small snippets of free time and gets people reading without forcing them to commit much of their time.
Joel (Joel Mathis) says…
murderama: All I'm saying is if it's ONLY the loss of arm use that is keeping somebody from writing " a process that is largely generated by, but not limited to, one's own brain " well, that person isn't thinking very creatively. I've heard of people who've written books and created art with pencils and brushes clamped between their teeth. I don't know anything about the guy you're talking about -- so I guess I hope other factors were involved. But letting yourself die because you can't use your arms in the writing process while, yes, stirring in its conviction, is also extremely pointless. In that situation, you're just a quitter.
(He's really gonna spank me for that one, isn't he?)
Leslie: It's your book club. But if Liza is suggesting book club meetings at the Replay ... well, I'm all for it.
leslie (Leslie vonHolten) says…
liza: I love the idea of meeting face-to-face, and if this book club/discussion evolves in that direction, I will be more than eager to arrange that. I originally thought of an on-line forum (1) because of the NEA chairman's call for electronic media to increase literacy, and (2) because of liz's point that it is incredibly difficult to find a time for a diverse set of folks to meet (I stay home during the day with my kids and work most nights, for instance).
I've had a few acquaintances mention to me that they feel more comfortable with the anonymity of the discussion, and the way they will be able to mull over points posted before responding. We also have some folks logging on from faraway places. But if an EBS club should come about, I'll be very, very happy.
beck: I revisited the NEA report, and they did cite a statistic that 57% of Americans read literature and nonfiction combined. So perhaps because the nonfiction readers haven't dipped below that dreaded halfway mark, they didn't feel the situation so dire. Thanks for logging on and making a great point.
Shelby (anonymous) says…
I'm currently reading a book called "A Crackup at the Race Riots" by Harmony Korine.
Anybody ever read it?
cwt (anonymous) says…
My life is reading! This could be great " being able to discuss books with readers outside my immediate circle. I'm happy to be included. Thanks, Leslie.
I read almost any genre, but I do seem to gravitate towards nonfiction. Recently " In the Company of Soldiers by Rick Atkinson (excellent author), God's Soldiers by Jonathan Wright (not well done), one of my "all-time top 10" is Lonesome Dove by McMurtry, another of my top 10 is the Lymond series by Dorothy Dunnett, another top 10 is Once and Future King, The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell will break the iciest heart, and I enjoyed Victoria Clark's Wayfarers and Why Angels Fall. Mary Pope Osborne has an excellent telling of the Odyssey for young people.
I promise to do the best to uphold my part of the discussion. Should I be taking any other oath?
mycat (anonymous) says…
The Replay via the Red Lion has wireless internet (also Prima Tazza). We could bring a couple of laptops for those who cannot make a face to face discussion. This way you can have face to face and internet, although that does designate a specific time, which was a problem for some....Just a thought.
Aimee
leslie (Leslie vonHolten) says…
Do we have a transcriptionist in the house?