The only good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones

[Feli]

Hi there!
Vanessa, Lisa and me are going to read The only good Indians by SGJ in August. Please feel free to join us :)

[Lisa]

Thanks, Feli!

[Feli]

So I got an email saying that the release is on the 28th now instead of today. Is it only the European version or did you get a similar mail?

[Latasha]

I hope everyone enjoys it. I really liked this one.

[Lisa]

Hi Feli :) Are we starting this on Aug 1? I’ve got so many books on deck the next six weeks that I actually need to make notes to keep track ;)

[Feli]

Hi Lisa!
As you like it. The 1. is fine with me but we can also start later if that's better for you.
Haha, I know what do mean. So many BRs, I try to write down everything in my journal 😂 there's an actual 'time-table' for it now 😂

[Latasha]

I write my group reads & BR’s in my planner. I’d forget something if I didn’t.

[Lisa]

Seriously...on Goodreads, I have a Buddy Reads folder and a Group Reads folder, and sometimes I create a folder for a certain month so they show up there too. Also notes in the notes column ...LOL.

Aug 1 is fine for me for Indians...anyone else need to weigh in?

[Feli]

I just got another mail from Amazon that the Kindle version won't be available before August 4th...

[Lisa]

Feli wrote: "I just got another mail from Amazon that the Kindle version won't be available before August 4th..."

Really? I just bought it and it’s in my Kindle library now.

[Feli]

Maybe it's a problem with the European release, I don't know. It's the second time now that it's delayed :(

[Lisa]

Ohhh OK. Where are you located?

[Feli]

In Germany. That's the first time this happened. I preorder a lot of English ebooks and usually have them the day everyone else does. I am not sure what happened this time. The paperback is available but due to covid will take some time to arrive here.
I guess I just have to wait :(

[Lisa]

Well, I’m happy to wait with you. Just let me know when you want to start up.

Were you born in Germany? I took German in high school and have been trying to relearn it on Duolingo :)

[Feli]

Thanks Lisa! I will start as soon as my copy's available. It should (hopefully) be the 4th.

Yes, I was born in (West-)Germany. Oh, I didn't know that you could learn it in the US. I thought most high schools teach Spanish as a foreign language? I always hear that countries in Europe don't teach German any more. We seem to be not so popular anymore 😂

Duolingo is a great app. I used it a lot during my university days

[Lisa]

Feli wrote: "Thanks Lisa! I will start as soon as my copy's available. It should (hopefully) be the 4th.

Yes, I was born in (West-)Germany. Oh, I didn't know that you could learn it in the US. I thought most h..."

Many highschools in the US offer a variety of languages. Spanish is common, but German, French, Japanese, Chinese, Russian...you see them all. I'll try to message you in German if I'm feeling brave 😊

[Vanessa]

I'm fine with waiting until August 4.

[Feli]

Thank you both for waiting, Vanessa and Lisa! My copy (preordered paperback and/or kindle version) should be arrive tomorrow. I will start as soon as possible and let you know!

I hope everyone will be enjoying this book. Have you read anything else by SGJ yet?

[Feli]

Lisa wrote: "Feli wrote: "Thanks Lisa! I will start as soon as my copy's available. It should (hopefully) be the 4th.

Yes, I was born in (West-)Germany. Oh, I didn't know that you could learn it in the US. I t..."

That's interesting and I had no idea! Be brave and do write to me in German. I would love that! ☺️

[Frances]

Hi everyone! I’m Frances. I’m new to HA. May I join you for this read? I originally planned on joining the group read for White is for Witching, but I think I like this book better.

[Feli]

Frances wrote: "Hi everyone! I’m Frances. I’m new to HA. May I join you for this read? I originally planned on joining the group read for White is for Witching, but I think I like this book better."
Of course, Frances! The more, the better! Welcome to HA and to this buddy read. I hope we'll all have a good time reading The only good Indians :)

[Lisa]

Frances wrote: "Hi everyone! I’m Frances. I’m new to HA. May I join you for this read? I originally planned on joining the group read for White is for Witching, but I think I like this book better."

Welcome, Frances!

[Frances]

I’m juggling books too, and I have them mapped out on a calendar. Just let me know when you ladies want to start. I’m not in a rush. 😊

[Lisa]

Frances wrote: "I’m juggling books too, and I have them mapped out on a calendar. Just let me know when you ladies want to start. I’m not in a rush. 😊"

It always relieves me to know that I'm not the only crazy person who has such a pile of books needing to be read...I have to keep a folder for the current month or I'd forget which ones were on deck :)

[Frances]

Lisa wrote: "Frances wrote: "I’m juggling books too, and I have them mapped out on a calendar. Just let me know when you ladies want to start. I’m not in a rush. 😊"

It always relieves me to know that I'm not t..."

Lisa, since I'm new to GR, I've been so excited that I finally have people to read with that I've joined a few groups. So, yes, I printed out an August month calendar on A4 bond and pencilled in the books that I can reasonably read with minimal sleep. I usually am a 1-book gal. But juggling books now is adding spice to my previously boring life. ❤️

[Alan]

I surprisingly got this from the library so I will prob be joining in soon.

[Lisa]

Frances wrote: "Lisa wrote: "Frances wrote: "I’m juggling books too, and I have them mapped out on a calendar. Just let me know when you ladies want to start. I’m not in a rush. 😊"

It always relieves me to know t..."

I've had the same experience since joining GR. I used to read strictly one book at a time, and now it can be 4-5. I can't turn down group/buddy reads! And the HA group is the BEST! Really great people, lots of discussion and communication, and very well-organized.

[Kim]

I got this book but things keep popping up and so I sit the book down. Im joining the buddy read so I can enjoy with friends and not get distracted.

[Anne (w/ an E)]

Hi everyone! I won this book in a Goodreads Giveaway and I keep trying to read it but things keep getting in the way. I am up to page 25, but I am also currently reading a book that just came in on Overdrive. Hopefully, I will finish that one tonight, but I am not counting on it ;)

[Feli]

Lisa wrote: "Frances wrote: "Lisa wrote: "Frances wrote: "I’m juggling books too, and I have them mapped out on a calendar. Just let me know when you ladies want to start. I’m not in a rush. 😊"

It always relie..."

Same here. I've read one book at a time and if there wasn't any time or I wasn't that interested in the book anymore, I didn't read for weeks. I had a total of 12-13 books per year before I joined GR. Wow, what a blast. I am now reading several books all the time, depending on mood and location (kindle if I am not at home or if baby sleeps in the bed with me, instead of not reading at all). I joined so many BRs and made great friend here on GR, especially in this HA group and now I generally read 40-60 books a year. It's insane that I was proud of my 12 books before 😂 I am enjoying every bit of this community here, but I also need a reading schedule 😂

Kimberly wrote: "I got this book but things keep popping up and so I sit the book down. Im joining the buddy read so I can enjoy with friends and not get distracted."

Welcome Kimberly!
Great to have you here!

Anne (w/ an E) wrote: "Hi everyone! I won this book in a Goodreads Giveaway and I keep trying to read it but things keep getting in the way. I am up to page 25, but I am also currently reading a book that just came in on..."

Hi Anne!
Same here, I finally have my copy of this book but almost no time to read. But this weekend will be dedicated to The only good Indians, I make sure to get some reading done 😄

[Lisa]

Feli wrote: "Lisa wrote: "Frances wrote: "Lisa wrote: "Frances wrote: "I’m juggling books too, and I have them mapped out on a calendar. Just let me know when you ladies want to start. I’m not in a rush. 😊"

It..."

Yes yes yes to all of this. I am really grateful for having found Goodreads a couple of years ago. I have always loved books and reading, but it has literally changed my reading life. I have also gone from 12-15 books a year to 60ish. It's so much fun, and Goodreads has become my Facebook :) I'm on this site multiple times each day :)

[Alan]

Soooo, I'm just 37 pages in, but feeling like I now remember why I ended up not finishing Jones' "When the People Lights Have Gone Off". His writing style is just infuriatingly hard to grasp.

I could barely understand what was happening in the opening chapter, though it seemed to get back to more normal writing after. But now it's bouncing back and forth from normal cadence to somewhere in between stream-of-consciousness and dude-bro lingo. Why can't Jones write like a normal human being....

[Lisa]

Alan wrote: "Soooo, I'm just 37 pages in, but feeling like I now remember why I ended up not finishing Jones' "When the People Lights Have Gone Off". His writing style is just infuriatingly hard to grasp.

I c..."

I know what you mean. In a way I like it, I feel like I'm watching something unfold and that I'm privy to someone's thoughts and conversations, instead of having the story explained to me in typical fashion. But I find myself getting a bit lost sometimes and needing to reread.

[Vanessa]

Alan wrote: "Soooo, I'm just 37 pages in, but feeling like I now remember why I ended up not finishing Jones' "When the People Lights Have Gone Off". His writing style is just infuriatingly hard to grasp.

I c..."

I didn't have any problems with that one, but I was baffled by the ceiling fan in the next chapter. It took me going back and skimming the page twice before I figured out that the ceiling was high.

[Chandler]

I read this one a few months back and I found it lacking, too. There's a lot of potential but I also found the writing style frustrating. I haven't read any of other Jones' work, either. If this is his trademark writing style....

[Alan]

Done. My final thoughts on it:
Well, that was a weird read. Weird AF. Jones' writing style really threw the whole book off for me. The change back and forth from occasionally usual prose to swings that were almost stream-of-consciousness and plain old bro-dude lingo made for difficult to follow story throughout the book. And there were way too many chapters of nothing really happening. just thoughts of characters that often had little bearing on the story, and even important and action scenes dragged out longer than they needed to be. Had this been a 100-page novella it might have been more palatable. In the end, it was an often confusing with an off-kilter cadence.

I'm now done with Jones. He just doesn't write to my liking.

[Frances]

Oh, I wasn’t getting any notifications. We’ve started. Gonna get cracking so I can catch up with you guys. I’m juggling War and Peace for a Buddy Read, which I tellya makes me feel like I’m back in school again. I’m taking notes and looking up history references. The only difference is that it’s easier now that I have Google instead of having to go to the library to consult Encyclopedia Brittanica nor need Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary by my side.

[Feli]

Lisa wrote: "Alan wrote: "Soooo, I'm just 37 pages in, but feeling like I now remember why I ended up not finishing Jones' "When the People Lights Have Gone Off". His writing style is just infuriatingly hard to..."

It's the same with me. I like his writing style and to get to know the thoughts of the characters, but once in a while I have to reread, too.

I am 30+ pages in now and am looking it. Not so much the first chapter, but the second one I am enjoying very much so far

[Feli]

Frances wrote: "Oh, I wasn’t getting any notifications. We’ve started. Gonna get cracking so I can catch up with you guys. I’m juggling War and Peace for a Buddy Read, which I tellya makes me feel like ..."

Take your time, I also just started. No need to rush :)

I know what you mean with books like War and Peace. That's what I do all the time with books like this. Looking up everything and taking notes is a lot of fun (well, not for everyone, but I enjoy it a lot :D).

[Frances]

Aaaaaand I'm off! Its slow- going for me because it bugs me when I don't understand the little details (like the reference to the Head-Smashed-In. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Head-... ). So it takes me a while to look it up.

[Frances]

13% in. Oh man! I can take anything horrific you throw at me. But (view spoiler)[ the dog???? This book sucks. 😭. (Continuing to read while my ❤️ is bleeding). (hide spoiler)].

[Dawn]

Would love to read with you all as I have this on my tbr list but the beginning reviews from all of you make it sound quite laborious so not sure if I should start!? Is anyone liking it?

[Kim]

I am liking it. I do understand now though what Alan means by "bro-dude lingo" LOL. Mr. Jones descriptions are kinda weird. I had to read a paragraph twice before I finally realized that he was describing a motorcycle. Ha! The writing is definitely different.

[Vanessa]

I'm 42% and around page 131. I stopped at the start of the new section. I did not have the willpower to slow down in the 20 to 40% page range.

It seems like the best point for a pause. If the book actually ended right there, I'd probably give it four stars. (view spoiler)[I was not expecting things to escalate so quickly, but enough hints were there. I liked how there were still little flashes of rationality. (hide spoiler)]

The perspective is third person limited, but it is so limited that it reads almost like first person. How much I like it seems to depend on the situation. I can sometimes get confused when the author is writing scenes with action in them. The narration doesn't include enough information about the scenery for me to picture what is happening. It works best for me in the bits that have the main character telling a story to other characters. It shifts between time periods very seamlessly. (view spoiler)[ I thought when it got American Psycho-y also worked stylistically.(view spoiler)[ There is a news article in there that is just bad, though. (hide spoiler)] (hide spoiler)]

[Frances]

I am enjoying it. It’s just hard to understand what some phrases mean when he slips into (what we will now trademark as Alan’s) “bro-dude-lingo”.

I recently read There There, and I noticed there are some similarities in the writing style. Has anyone else read it?

[Frances]

Dawn wrote: "Would love to read with you all as I have this on my tbr list but the beginning reviews from all of you make it sound quite laborious so not sure if I should start!? Is anyone liking it?"

Dawn, it is a good read. Challenging, but fun and worth it for me.

[Feli]

Frances wrote: "13% in. Oh man! I can take anything horrific you throw at me. But [spoilers removed]."

Totally get that! 😟

[Feli]

Kimberly wrote: "I am liking it. I do understand now though what Alan means by "bro-dude lingo" LOL. Mr. Jones descriptions are kinda weird. I had to read a paragraph twice before I finally realized that he was des..."


Yes, I just read that paragraph. I was just so confused the first time reading this. Glad I am not alone 😂

I agree, I am linking the book but it's not always easy to get what the author is telling us.

[Alan]

Frances wrote: "I am enjoying it. It’s just hard to understand what some phrases mean when he slips into (what we will now trademark as Alan’s) “bro-dude-lingo”. ."

I'm trademarking that phrase so y'all will owe me every time you use it. :P

[Lisa]

Vanessa wrote: "I'm 42% and around page 131. I stopped at the start of the new section. I did not have the willpower to slow down in the 20 to 40% page range.

It seems like the best point for a pause. If the book..."

I'm stopped at the same point, Vanessa. Totally agree with what you said about action scenes being difficult to follow. I'm enjoying this though. Different and disturbing.