Dan’s
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(group member since Mar 02, 2009)
Dan’s
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from the fiction files redux group.
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Great link Patty, the Paris Review Interviews are always a great read. The Interviewer's description of Marquez is great:García Márquez was sitting at his desk at the far end of the studio. He came to greet me, walking briskly with a light step. He is a solidly built man, only about five feet eight or nine in height, who looks like a good middleweight fighter—broad-chested, but perhaps a bit thin in the legs. He was dressed casually in corduroy slacks with a light turtleneck sweater and black leather boots. His hair is dark and curly brown and he wears a full mustache.
Also, I'm enjoying this discussion over memory but haven't read enough of to have anything to say.
That's the spirit Patty!And Neil, I think I already read your posts in a viking like shout.
damnit guys, we're too nice to each other now. I was drunkenly trying to get shouted down!
Checking in, drunk. It's 2:35am here and it's still 98 degrees (down from 115!) and drunkenly listening to the tune-yards live set from the newport folk festival. Tonight was an IPA night, a bunch from colorado and a couple from Delaware. I ate a barbacoa burrito and chips and guacamole as i began drinking. despite all of these good things I can't get behind Ask the Dust as forcefully as many of you. I do however see it as far better than anything Bukowski ever wrote (Go Fante lovers and BOO bukowski lovers!)
As an influence/starting point for that old bastard I see it as paramount. But ultimately: fuck bukowski.
I miss you guys!
I'm about to and I'm in a drinking mood. Which could lead to some interesting comments in a few hours.
Want to know who/what you are getting involved with/in? Here's some background reading on Gabriel Garcia Marquez:
Macondo Biography
Wikipedia entry
And on 100 Years of Solitude:
Wikipedia Entry
NYT Book Review (1970)
Oprah's Guide
Alright folks here's the plan:This is the first of 5 discussion topics, each topic will cover 4 chapters. We will be reading at an easy pace of 2 chapters a week. Hopefully breaking it up this way will help prevent spoilers, and keep discussions more relevant as we progress through the novel. Here are the dates of the read:
Week 1- 8/13: Chapters 1 & 2
Week 2- 8/20: Chapters 3 & 4
Week 3- 8/27: Chapters 5 & 6
etc.
Of course some of us will read faster than others so I will create each discussion topic as necessary in order to allow the faster readers to begin the discussions.
And away we go!
I was listening to a new-ish literary podcast today called Literary Disco and one of the podcasters talked about re-reading T.C. Boyle's Drop City only to be turned off once he saw Boyle's author photo. Exhibit A:
So it got me wondering, how do you feel about author photos? Has it ever helped you decide to buy or not buy a book? What's their point, does having an author photo actually lead to more sales?
Should all books be author photo free to avoid contaminating the work itself?
I've never really thought that much about author photos prior to tonight and
I do like seeing author photos being turned into Ron Paul parodies.
Exhibit B:
Hey where's our resident South American Lit expert Oro? I bet he'd be able to give us a lot of insight into 100 YOS. Maybe he can be summoned if someone says something bad about Borges?
You're welcome, I'm doing the easy part! Don't get too far ahead of us now Smarty (unless you are taking a lot of notes!) ! I don't think we are officially starting until perhaps monday (as it is closest the the previously discussed 15th).
@Neil: Even if lighting doesn't strike (and knowing you it'd probably strike you directly) feel free to join in at any time either or during or after the discussions. I've paged through my Perennial Classics edition of 100 Years and found that it quite nicely has 20 chapters all roughly equal in length at 20 pages.
How about we create 5 discussion threads each one covering 4 chapters and set a pace of two chapters a week?
This would allow for busy people and/or slow readers a light pace while allowing speed readers to move along at a decent clip without there being a large risk of spoilers and a discussion dominated by some future plot point or theme or whatever.
Sound good?
When I get home today I page through the novel and see how it breaks down. Hopefully it'll divide into nice reasonable chunks. I also think that we should also break up the discussion threads the same way we did for The Idiot discussion on myspace.
Thoughts? Suggestions?
Akashic Books has a Noir series going which includes a few volumes of NYC related Noir. Maybe close to ten actually.I've been meaning to pick one up but keep forgetting to. Here's a link to their titles: http://www.akashicbooks.com/noirserie...
hey! this thread! it'll take me at minimum of 36 hours to get coke zeros to any of you zero swillers.
I was out at one good bar and some lousy bars last night. couldn't drink though, had to drive. I think I've only managed three beers since returning from the Dork.
Are there any Marquez enthusiasts/experts out there? I think that will be a tough one to tackle without some previous experience. I'll take a shot at leading Wodehouse's Code of the Woosters.
So how about this?Aug 15th - Sept 14th - 100 Years of Solitude
Sept 15th - Oct 14th - The Big Sleep
Oct 15th - Nov 14th - Code of the Woosters
etc...
I definitely think we should ask for leaders for each of the books. Usually having a leader/organizer helps kick things off and gets the conversation going. It is surprising that 100Yrs got the most votes (though I've not yet read it myself). Based on Ben's Review we prob should skip asking him to lead.
@Kerry: Yeah it is weird that The Big Sleep ranked so high. Hopefully that means there are new folks who are wanting to read it. I'm certainly game to read it again.
Should we start 100Yrs at the beginning or middle of August or should we wait till Sept 1st?
So now how should we proceed? Read one each month as a group read? None of these seem like they should take more than a month.
Thoughts, ideas?
OK! So I just closed the poll. Here are the top 5 (but really 11):16 votes: 100 Years of Solitude
14 votes: The Big Sleep
12 votes: The Code of the Woosters; Erasure, Vile Bodies
10 votes: Sense of an Ending; Passage to India
9 votes: Drood; House of Spirits; Portrait of an Artist; Farewell, My Lovely
