Jonathan’s Comments (group member since Mar 05, 2009)

Jonathan’s comments from the fiction files redux group.

peter dexter's deadwood . . . and also my pal patrick dewitt's the sisters brothers . . . i would never have thought to put call of the wild in the western category, but it's one of my very favorite books!

. . . i'm allergic to non-alcoholic beer . . .

. . .oh c'mon, brian, just buy a last minute ticket!

. . . ooooh i can;t wait!

no, we gotta' do it every year . . . i just think the economy and life caught up with us this year . . . the location looks kick ass! . . . i'm for bringing it back to washington next year, though . . .maybe back to fort worden, the site of #2, although i loved roslyn, too . . .

. . . so, i'm trying to avoid car rental 'cuz my money is runnin' low, is anybody arriving the evening of the 1st?

. . . i FINALLY got my ticket!!!! . . . i almost couldn;t come because the tax man and animal surgery gutted our finances, but i picked up a bunch of freelance work the past couple of weeks! . . . i'll be coming alone, alas . . . i'll be there the 1st through the 4th! . . . can't wait to see whoever makes it!!!

Shel wrote: "Patty wrote: "oh and also, even though i think empathy is a fabulous thing, it's those parts of the character that shock us, take us off guard, show us some other way of seeing the world, the thing..."

. . . i'm with you, shel . . . for me connecting with characters is the whole point of reading . . . i want to empathize, and as patty put it, gleen that other way of seeing the world . . .there is a point, though, where i just stop caring for characters who are anti-sympathetic . . . i don;t care how flawed and ugly they may be, i just need to know that they are at least trying to be better people . . .

. . . love your reading R.A.--makes me wish i'd read it through your eyes . . .

. . . as far as protagonists go, i always fall for the loveable loser . . . ray midge is a favorite, arturo bandini, another . . . i suppose quixote is pretty near the prototype . . . and also, i concur with ry on huck and ahab, with regard to the struggles . . . then there is the ancillary characters whom i would liken to character actors . . . nobody was better than dickens at this . . . vonnegut was damn good, too . ..

. . . heck yeah, new blood always serves us well!

Les wrote: "Yeah J.E.!

Powell's Daily Dose reader review of the day:

Roger's Comments:
"This is possibly the best novel to come out of the Northwest since "Sometimes a Great Notion." Evison obviously did a g..."

. . . yeehaw! thanmks for this, les!!!

. . . obviously, i feel you, dan and keith . . . though, strangely, at the same time, many readers are saying the same stuff about my book (where's the narrative engine, etc?) . . . maybe harding feels like me, like he gave the readers enough narrative, and they just didn't connect . . .

. . . i've been lucky enough to have a say in both of my covers! . . . while the lulu cover didn't really speak to the part of the story i would have initially hoped, i immediately saw that it was a shelf-talker!

. . .hooray! so stoked you're connecting, martha . . .and so glad i got to see you in austin!

Elizabeth wrote: "I just finished Portnoy's Complaint. I am glad I know the Philip Roth outside of A. Portnoy. I could see some of the technique that I love, but without any real brilliance. Plenty of..."

. . .hilarious, elizabeth!

. . . i will also rent a car . . . possibly even a van . . .

. . .yes, kerry, you gotta come, girl!

. . .also, brock, my old college pal is an excellent tour guy in the minn/st. paul area, in case we wanna do a few nights on the town . . .

. . . and ben, might i suggest you have your publicist book you an event in minneapolis that week--- you're a guaranteed a supportive crowd . . . and they'll probably pay your plane fare!