Kenneth’s Comments (group member since Sep 04, 2014)

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

Thanks everybody for sticking with me and making this a successful discussion group for more than five and a half years. Take a look at the group's bookshelf and tell me your favorite book you read with me, and what you'll take away from this group.

Don't forget to check out Zach's Genre Blending book club that is just starting up. (I'm sure somebody will come along and leave a link in the comments...)

Hello everybody! Welcome to our last discussion before we are formally swallowed up by and rightfully returned to the Schlafly fold with Zach's new Genre-Blending book club.

It felt good to return to our graphic novel roots. How are you finding Anya's Ghost? If you can find it... My library actually is supposed to have one, but I couldn't find it on the shelf, so I ended up buying an e-version.

It is a coming-of-age story, perhaps intended for the teen set going through high school and puberty, but like many such novels contains truth to which people of all ages can relate. I chose this one because I really wanted to get another graphic novel onto the list that was very different from others we had read, and I appreciated the art style.

You will most definitely see me on November 14, if someone can call me. It seems like we'll have a lot to talk about!

Welcome aboard, Zach! That looks like a fantastic list. I just read The Intuitionist for a book club here - it would definitely fit in among the books we have read for Discourse. Sorry I already stole all the good titles.

I would prefer to keep this group as it is and mark it inactive when the time comes. I like the record it creates of what this group did together, and the Genre-Blending is a great new idea that deserves its own group.

Zach, Travis should know where to find the complete list of book club contacts, if you don't have it already. I would bet David, Elaine, Sylvester, and others would come back if they are available.

It is Girl Waits With Gun by Amy Stewart.

For as long as the book is, there is also a lot that is unsaid. I remember a lot of shifts and changes that made me think "That's not how it was a few pages ago." I think the scientists who worked with the CVD were changing their lives around and manipulating things without meaning to. That accounts for Rebecca's feeling that everything is wrong.

Maybe that's how Alicia always came out on top.

Why does anybody stay trapped in bad life patterns? It's just so much easier to stay than it is to do anything about it. You don't need another glass of Prosecco, but you want one. You can quit any time. You may as well keep working at the current company - you're good at your job. And what point is there in changing yourself when the world is so wrong? Also, I got the feeling that most organizations in this potential future were scummy, so where else is there to go?

Ultimately, she did something to change these issues, though I suppose it's less than ideal that sacrificing herself is the outcome she went with.

I loved the Terence/Spivey stuff, as it enhanced the analysis of generational differences, though I concede it wasn't strictly necessary. The relationship between Carson and Spivey was one of the main ways the author introduced the discussion of race, brilliantly extended by Rebecca's virtual relationship with the woman whose name escapes me.

I enjoyed the unconventional sort of time travel. It made me look back at the decision points in my life and wonder what would be different, but it also kept me from dwelling on it.

I will add you once I get home, Cheryl! Thanks for the lifeline.

Hello all!

I have actually started to do things here in Florida. Specifically, I am doing a play (Peter and the Starcatcher, Naples Players, October 3-28, come see it if you happen to be around!)

I planned to be free tomorrow night to participate in the discussion, despite rehearsal. I won't be able to reschedule, except maybe to the weekend. I also won't be able to attend next month's scheduled meeting, as that is a performance night.

I do still plan to weigh in on the books online, and come to the meetings if it works. That won't be all the time, though.

I hope you all know I value your many perspectives, and hope the club can keep going strong even if I can't attend.

Kenneth

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

The link above is to my original review, the one where immediately shared it with many of you and said, "We are reading this book!" I was simply stunned by how eloquently and completely the author captured my generation and wove it into a compelling sci-fi premise.

I haven't yet picked it up again for a reread, which I admit is a bit of a daunting task. It boasts a lengthy and complex plot. The diatribes about physics are not exactly to my taste. There are so many details I must reacquaint myself with.

Thanks for sticking it out with us, Donna! Roxy's mother was her father's mistress. I believe he killed her to justify the attack on the enemy gang. (Moment of Realization: the enemy gang boss must have known the truth when Roxy killed him and that paints his comments in a very different light. I don't think he ever denied it.)

The descriptions of art were interspersed with pictures of what was taken as religious imagery, but may have been other things. For instance, we pointed out how the imagery of the Bitten Fruit was an Apple tablet.

My book review is up: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Overall, I liked it and can't wait to discuss it with everybody. See you tonight!

I bought a new webcam and microphone, so I'll have a new setup to try out. I'll be broadcasting from my library tonight!

Just finished! I look forward to seeing you guys tonight and sharing intel on this compelling book.

The group has returned to the library, and moved it up to 6:30 PM. The next session will take place on June 13. See you there!

I'm going to invest in a good webcam and microphone, and get better at asking singular, insightful questions. Thanks for putting up with my shoddy connection! I was scared to say too much because whenever I said something, there was a noise like several demons were angry with me.

While this perhaps wasn't the most nuanced book to discuss, I definitely enjoyed reading it. It sounded like the discussion didn't really dwindle. I'm very not good with reading about surgery, but those parts were fairly brief.

My review of this sad but inspiring book is here. May is National Cancer Research Month. If you want to learn more, or if you want to donate, go to https://www.cancer.gov/.

Here's a sweet look at what Lucy Kalanithi has been up to. If you really enjoyed reading this book, you may want to look for The Bright Hour by Nina Riggs.

(Rough, isn't it?)

That's... all I've got so far.

Film adaptations may figure into some of the works, but certainly not all of them. There are even a few books on the list I don't recognize.

Look at Ready Player One, though. While it was an entertaining book that may deserve to be on the list on its own merits, the poll was probably taken during a time when people were reading it in preparation for the film's release, thus skewing perception.

Either way, it would certainly be impossible to argue that movies and television do not shape the literary landscape.

For the Summer Reading program this year, my new library is focusing on this upcoming PBS program: The Great American Read. It's a list of 100 books deemed by surveys and such to be the favorite novels of the American people. There will be an 8-episode series starting on May 22, and there will be voting all summer long to crown America's favorite novel.

What do you think of the list? There are certainly some shockers on there, most prominently 50 Shades of Grey. How many of them have you read? My count was 31.

(And yes, it is all fiction, Cheryl. Sorry, it wasn't my call.)