Lucy’s Comments (group member since Sep 08, 2014)

Lucy’s comments from the Discourse in a Digital Age group.

My hip surgery is Tu March 7, so I will have to miss (another!) book discussion. I am listening to "Particular Sadness..." though, and hope to post some comments before Wednesday.
Have a great discussion, and eat some sweets for me!

Here is the rest of Donna's comments re Modern Romance: Aziz Ansari reads  the audio book himself and does a really good job  too, throwing in his sense of humor from time to time. For example. Before beginning to read the book, Arizi plays soft cozy music as he chastises the listener for being too lazy to read the book! In the end, he thanks us. I agree with all the comments Lucy made. Thank God someone else listened to this book besides  me! I laughed out loud too. Boy did I laugh out loud! I wonder what Eric Klineberg thought of Aziz's presentation of the book. I think Aziz made a good point showing how much we now rely on technology these days. As much as I use my iPhone for just about everything, I was amazed by the things I Learned listening to this book. The only social media I participate in is Facebook. I also emailed quite a bit. I thought about Twitter. But after reading two books on the subject, Predator by Terri Blackstock, and a month ago,   So You've Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Robson, I turned chicken! Or maybe wiser! To sum it up, it was a great book and I liked it!

It was very, very funny on audio -- read by Ansari, who added many hilarious asides (insults to the "lazy turds" listening to instead of reading his book, comments on the accents he uses for various people he's quoting, etc) and whose voice & delivery were so perfect for this material.
I was impressed by the serious research he (or mostly his co-author?) did for the book, loved all his digressions into food and dining out here & abroad, and laughed out loud as I listened (even while cringing at the language, crudeness, or sexual frankness). For an oldie like me, the exploration into millennial digital obsession, new dating (or hooking up) culture & protocols, etc, was like listening to an account of someone returning from an alien (but fascinating) world.

Ok, group -- what's the latest? Are we going to try to meet somewhere?

I'm planning to go, health permitting (sciatica, but I should be able to walk a mi, and stand for at least part of the rally). I'll contact you re meeting up as it gets closer.

Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking was wonderful -- I recommended it to everyone I know. Seems very relevant now, in light of Putin's ambitions.

Oh, yes, yes -- From Travis' group, "

Yes, let's do a Douglas Adams, so 2017 can be the year I cast off the shame of being the only human being who's never read a single thing of his!
My favorite book(s) of '16 from the group, in order: the "Ancillary Justice" trilogy (still wish it hadn't ended), "Snowcrash", "Station Eleven", "The Martian" and "Word Exchange".
Outside reading absolute fav this year: "Seveneves" by Neal Stephenson. We must all pray that he is working on a sequel.
Just finished Annie Barrows' "The Truth According to Us" -- doesn't equal her "Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society" (which is in my all-time favorite books pantheon), but is an entertaining, serio-comic look at a Depression-era Southern family's tragedies & triumphs thru the eyes of a precocious 12yr old and the society girl working for the Federal Writers Project who boards with them one summer. (Wait, is that my longest run-on sentence ever??)

Yes, the Justine Sacco article was excellent, especially since I had no clue who she was, not being a Twitter user. Good to be reminded how much damage we all do, online or no, by thoughtlessly repeating stuff "they" said. I enjoy the humor of the Twitter, FB, and blog comments I occasionally see, but the public trashing of people who are after all not the Devil (except the Pres-elect, of course) is pernicious.

I will bring Hawaiian Roll mini-Ham & Cheese sliders -- they're yum. Shall I bring a bottle of wine?
Anne - can you come? I'm picking Donna up at 6:30, can swing by and get you, if so.

Donna, I will pick you up at 6:30 Mon, ok?

Google??! Has the man never heard of libraries, or the brilliance of reference lib'ns? But seriously, I'd like to ask if anyone from NASA or in aeronautics or cosmology vetted the book for scientific plausibility?

11/7 p.m. would work for me (and take our minds off the dying throes of the election!)

Absolutely, and sign me up for treats!! If possible not next wk (11/1-11/5) 'cause i'll be in Mich, or 11/11-11/13 when family are visiting, but I realize that's likely just when you want to do it. I could do a midweek date, but I know that is difficult for many. Also volunteer to pick up any needing a ride.

What indeed! It didn't do it for me, and I'm pretty sure RLS had something more ethereal than bread, butter and rainbow sprinkles in mind when he offered "fairy bread" to his love!

Just looked up "Miseducation..." -- seems a good choice.

I'm going to be churlish and vote against 1984 or Brave New World -- can't we consider every other year for old-hat everyone's- read-'em sci fic classics? Must be something else banned that we all aren't so over-familiar with.
Too bad we already read the Ancillary trilogy with its lovely no-gender theme. I'll be back if I have a brainstorm.

Someone with a paper bag over their head, natch!

Hope I will see at least a few of you Discoursers at Wednesday (9/28) night's Banned Books Week event at Schlafly. Ken invited us (and the whole Schlafly community) to come, read a bit from our favorite banned book, and socialize with other readers/fans of free speech and free minds.
Don't want to be standing up there reading in front of a bunch of strangers (or worse, an empty room!), so please come!

Well, I'm mourning the non-availability of Seven Brief Lessons...
I feel like I should buy several copies and donate them to Schlafly just so we can read it together! Kenny -- is it stupid B & T that can't supply it, and if so, SLPL should change vendors!
The list looks interesting, and I loved Shadow of the Wind when Anne and I read it a few yrs ago.