THE JAMES MASON COMMUNITY BOOK CLUB discussion
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WHAT ARE YOU READING AND WHY!!
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Sheilah
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Sep 09, 2012 04:03PM
I just "discovered" Stephen Hunter. The Master Sniper is my first foray into his mind. It is so tautly written, a true thriller. Is anyone outthere familiar with his work? Which one of his books is your favorite? Let's talk.
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Seems I left this novel off my list here on goodreads. I finished it 9/8/12 and posted my comments this evening (Chicago time). Hope you can find it.
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LOVE Stephen Hunter!! I am jealous- you have so many great books to read! read all his books- super writer!!!
Just some of my favorites!! Love the Bobby Lee Swagger books! The Earl Lee are great too- but LOVE Bobby Lee and his non-challant manner!!! You gotta read Nights Of Thunder- amazing book!!!
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Werner- facinated to know how he passed? He was very young right? Did he have novels or stories published after his death?
Yes, Rick, he was only 30 when he died. He had been the primary caregiver for his dying, tubercular mother for some time, and he committed suicide after she went into an irreversible coma. I'm not sure about his posthumous publications (so far, I'm nowhere near that far into the book!), but I believe some stories were first published after his death.
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Tragic...curious as to whether he had a history of mental illness to react in such a horrific manner to his Mother's illness
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Just picked up this book by Neal Stephenson at used book sale for a buck- long book! curious if anyone read it? worthwhile?
Rick wrote: "curious as to whether he had a history of mental illness to react in such a horrific manner to his mother's illness"Rick, I have to preface a reply with the caveat that I haven't yet read the part of the book dealing with REH's suicide; so I have to reply mostly on the basis of my general knowledge of his life, plus a discussion in the Howard fan group as to whether or not he was "mentally ill." That said, even as a teen he was prone to nightmares and sleepwalking, which are often associated with stress; and as a young man he referred in a letter to an incident where he seriously considered killing himself in response to a sense of despair and futility (though there are things in his letters, including this one, that might have to be taken with a grain of salt.)
However, I don't personally think any of that adds up to actual mental illness, in any clinical sense of the term, and I don't believe that diagnosis is the best explanation for his suicide. He was close to his mother, who was now dying; his writing career, in which he also had a lot of emotional investment, seemed at a dead end and he was in real financial difficulties. All of this produced a sense of overwhelming despair which, coupled with a lack of a strong personal and family support system, led to one weak moment, in the first shock of the knowledge of his mother's irreversible condition, that resulted in tragedy. That could happen to many other normal persons with the same set of circumstances, IMO (and REH was as normal as most of us are).
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Rick, I have to preface a reply with the caveat that I haven't yet..."
Werner- you make VERY good points- it is easy to label a suicide- mentally ill- yet there are far more complex issues involved. A good friend of mine sadly took his own life- he had- what appeared- a very happy marriage- two great kids-and seemed in quite fine spirits when I last saw him..three days before he took his own life..so hopefully the REH bio is sensitive to this and does not try to be overly dramatic as some biographies can be.
Rick, I'm so sorry about your friend!
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Appreciate that- happened about three years ago- just tragic
I'm currently reading Laura Lamont's Life in Pictures by Emma Straub, a book that's sure to appeal to lovers of classic movies. It's the saga of a small-town girl who makes it big in Hollywood back in the 40s and 50s. Fans of "A Star is Born" and "The Bad and the Beautiful" should definitely add this to their to-be-read pile.
I have finished Bared to You - Sylvia Day and also read Selling My Soul: A Short Story - Rae Northlight. Now I am trying to get into The Bride Stripped Bare - Nikki Gemmell.
Gave up on The Bride Stripped Bare - Nikki Gemmell. But has found a delicious book and it's The Way You Look Tonight - Claire Matthews.
I'm just finishing For the Soul of France, about the Dreyfus Affair and its surrounding history. It's research for my next book and I'm reading several on Dreyfus. This one is very rich, with a broad perspective. It's very unnerving in its depicition of the right wing religious and political agenda at the time which is all too relevant.
I am reading January First: A Child's Descent into Madness and Her Father's Struggle to Save Her by Michael Schofield a harrowing account of childhood schizophrenia I've seen the documentary on TLC so was curious about this book.And I am listening to Gone Girl by, Gillian Flynn narrated by, Kirby Heyborne & Julie Whelan this one has been getting so much buzz so gave into reading this one.
This morning I finished The Way You Look Tonight - Claire Matthews, which was a good short story Chick Lit. Now I have finally decided to read Design on a Crime - Ginny Aiken.I have decided to do an A-Z of Authors over the next 12 months, plus add other books into the mix. Meaning reading at least 2 letters a month if possible.
I'm reading The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry and just don't want to put it down ---
I am starting from the beginning with Ruth Rendell's Inspector Wexford books, From Doon With Death and am enjoying it very much. Have read several of her stand-alone novels which I've also enjoyed. And in a few minutes I will begin listening to the audiobook The Graves Are Walking: The Great Famine and the Saga of the Irish People. Reserved it two weeks ago and it arrived at my library today. Very excited!
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Reading new Lincoln Child book- pretty good=- but not as involving as
which I just finished
What a treat, Kath. I loved that series. My favorite of the non-Wexfords are Lake of Darkness and House of Stairs (think that's right).
Hi all :) Just wanted to say I've been reading "Royal Flush" by Scott Bartlett. He's a friend and I've been selling my book next to him at Flea Markets and conventions. So I thought I'd give it a try. It's a comedy about a really crappy King and his search for love.Royal FlushScott Bartlett
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sounds like a great book Charles!
Cosmopolis – A postmodern novelIn an attempt to define the type of novel that contains the elements in Don DeLillo’s Cosmopolis, I came across the term postmodernism. According to its definition, postmodernist fiction is marked by one or more of the following characteristics:
• playfulness with language
• experimentation in the form of the novel
o less reliance on traditional narrative form
o less reliance on traditional character development
o experimentation with point of view
• experimentation with the way time is conveyed in the novel
• mixture of "high art" and popular culture
All of these elements exist in the slim but very compelling work about one day in the life of a very wealthy young investment banker who gets into his limo to go and get a haircut. Simple enough. But it’s not so easy. DeLillo’s prose style especially the dialogue goes in many different directions that sometimes you get lost in what the characters are talking about. There is always a meaning to the madness but it’s not always clarified. Therein lays the frustration I found in the work.
Example:
Eric Packer, the main character sits with a consultant named Chin inside his luxurious limousine equipped with all kinds of fancy computer screens from which he can monitor stock activity and the news. The conversation they have is about how to interpret the latest data from the world markets. What Eric is doing is borrowing large sums of money to purchase the right to buy yen at a future point in time. He hopes the yen's value will be at a lower rate relative to the US dollar, so as to score a big profit.
“Time for you to do what.”
“Yes. All right,” Chin said.
“You don’t know this? We both know this.”
“There’s work to do in the office. Yes. I need to retrace events over time and see what I can find that applies.”
“Nothing applies. But it’s there. It charts. You’ll see it.”
“I need to back test currencies. I don’t know, like into the misty dawn.”
“We can’t wait for the misty dawn.”
“Then I’ll do it here to save time. That should make you happy. I do time cycles in my sleep.”
“You see this in fruit flies and heart attacks. Common forces at work.”
I’m so obsolete I don’t have to chew my food.”
It’s satire without being overly funny but through the dialogue one can catch glimpses of humor. The book is filled with sharp dialogue and bits of skepticism and a measurable detachment; and the brief sentences do not necessarily convey much since people don’t speak this way so we have to reread certain passages to understand the interaction.
There is very little in the way of human feeling in the novel. The work is as cold as the capitalistic world the main character inhabits. It’s an expressive work on how one character is a slave to money and, computer screens. It’s a bold statement on the direction the world is headed.
Although there are some brief human touches to Eric, for instance he is a capitalist who reads poetry so he can become conscious of his own breathing and therefore take notice of things. By the second page we already know Eric’s fate. And a little farther along we come upon a man named Benno Levin who we learn is responsible for Eric’s ultimate end. This comes to us before the first half of the book is over.
In this regard, DeLillo is innovative with style and very keen to reorganize the elements in the story so we know these things early on. This is certainly a break from traditional narrative storytelling. Each new scene plays out in a manner that at first we do not know what is happening and to whom. We have to read on to get the entire picture and even then we are not entirely sure of what is taking place in relation to what happened before.
I particularly enjoyed DeLillo’s description of the technological innovations of today’s world and how it is used for making money. He brings in all the terrible occurrences that we see in the news every day, terrorism, greed, human cruelty, guns, criminals, chaos, sex and violence, and the rapid pace whereby we can access these things through technology. Eric’s existence is made less as a person in an ever shrinking world as his dependence on technology (the elaborate monitors he has set up in his car) has choked the life out of him in his pursuit to make even more money.
I found myself not necessarily caring too much for Eric Packer, although I’m sure that was precisely Mr. DeLillo’s intention. Eric is as meaningless as some of the fancy dialogue that comes out of his mouth and the other characters as well. We know he is immensely rich; a 48 room apartment and a chauffeured limousine from where we are treated to him having a rectal examination while he chats with a female associate. Outside the car there are demonstrations, a funeral procession for a rap artist and scenes of violence as a man sets himself on fire. On the computer Eric watches replays of a killing of a former businessman whom he hated with all passion and watched repeatedly on the monitor as he is stabbed to death by an assailant. A fascination with human suffering and death is another morbid curiosity that technology brings to us in full flower every day.
There are vivid descriptions of city life that Eric sees through the car window on his journey to get a haircut. “He felt the street around him, unremitting, people moving past each other in coded moments of gesture and dance. Eye contact was always a delicate matter. A quarter second of a shared glance was a violation of agreements that made the city operational. Who steps aside for whom, who looks or does not looks at whom. There were sirens in the distance, fire trucks caught up in traffic, the sound hanging in the air, undopplered and car horns blowing locally, another hardness upon the day.”
These sentiments remind us of just how detached we are to each other in the 21st century.
The film version if this novel is currently playing in theaters with Robert Pattinson as Eric Packer.
I saw the film version of "COSMOPOLIS" last week and it was an utter disappointment.
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In an attempt to define the type of novel that contains the elements in Don DeLillo’s Cosmopolis, I came across the term postmodernism. According to its definition,..."
an utterly facinating post Charles- very educational- thanks!!
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a VERY rare miss for Lincoln Child- decent enough read- yet there was a certain detachment I felt which did not allow me to connect with any of the characters- I loved
so quite surpised at what I assumed would be a sure thing
I am midway through John Adams by David McCullough. I am just thrilled by how timely reading this book right now is. I love how McCullough makes American History fascinating and exciting. This is the first of his writing that I have read. I would love to highlight in the book all the terrific quotes and insights but I borrowed it from my neighbor. I have a quote journal that I use, but prefer to highlight too.
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Also reading The Licoln Conspiracy
great looking book!
Morning All!I am just starting 2 classics from the 1001 list:
1. The Jungle
2. Far from the Madding Crowd
And my free read:
3. In the Company of the Courtesan
Happy Monday! I know, that's a complete oxymoron, LOL
Working on The History of Love by Nicole Krauss and Hostage by Elie Wiesel.
I am reading Shards of Honour byLois McMaster Bujold as I am curious about a book that is the first of an acclaimed series.
Reading Christine by Stephen King, one of his few early ones I haven't read it.
I'm hopeful about a book I've come across that I've begun reading this morning, concerning recovery from mental illness
, Agorafabulous! : Dispatches From My Bedroom by Sara Benincasa.
Working on Dracula by Bram Stoker and The Vampyre by John William Polidori. Why? Because October is near...! :-)
Winter of the World by Ken Follett!!! WOOHOO!
Last night I finished Design on a Crime - Ginny Aiken and now I thinking of reading Hostile Witness - Rebecca Forster.
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Is that another Historical fiction?
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interested in your take on both- which you enjoyed more!
Rick wrote: "Stacia wrote: "Working on Dracula by Bram Stoker and The Vampyre by John William Polidori. Why? Because October is near...! :-)"interested in your take on both- which you enjoyed more!"
Well, I just finished The Vampyre & I've read Dracula previously (rereading it right now for my book club). Dracula is the much better book. However, The Vampyre is neat to read from the historical aspect (how/why it was written) & also because it was the first instance of a vampire/dracula tale written in English. It's just that Polidori was not a writer by profession so the story is lacking some in that respect....
I'm also currently reading a book appropriate for the October Halloween season --Best Ghost Stories of J. S. Le Fanu, which I started this morning. I've read Carmilla, and a few of Le Fanu's short stories; but I've never read a full-length collection of the latter, so I've been looking forward to it!
Scott Nicholson wrote: "Reading Christine by Stephen King, one of his few early ones I haven't read it."One of my favorite King books. I had a car much like Christine long ago. I still occasionally see it prowling the streets at night.
I'm about to start Abdication by Juliet Nicolson. It's her first foray into fiction, I gather. I've read her non-fiction book on the period just after WWI in England, The Great Silence, and thoroughly enjoyed her style and insights. Looking forward to reading her first fictional work.
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I have Uncle Silas- been wanted to read it for quite a while!
That one's on my to-read list too, Rick! We have it here at the library where I work.
Werner wrote: "I'm also currently reading a book appropriate for the October Halloween season --Best Ghost Stories of J. S. Le Fanu, which I started this morning. I've read Carmilla, and a few of Le Fanu's short..."Please post your review when you're done reading it! :-)
Stacia, I'll try to remember to post a link to my review here, whenever it's written. :-)
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interested in your take on both- which you enjoyed mor..."
very interesting! always wondered about the later book! thanks for you very perceptive take Stacia!
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I purchased it about 7 years ago- just waiting on my bookshelf!
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THE JAMES MASON COMMUNITY BOOK CLUB
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