Next book: Kafka on the Shore

Next book is Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami.
Tuesday, April 15 at 7PM at the lounge.
See you then!
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UPDATE: postponed til April 22
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next book: Power to Save the World by Gwyneth Cravens

Yes, yes, I know that I've been slow in updating this blog...

Anyway, for those who don't know, our next book is about nuclear power:
Power to Save the World by Gwyneth Cravens. Here's her web site to get more info.

I'd originally announced Mon. Jan 21, but I think that given the holiday, we all need a bit more time to read the book. So I think we'll meet again sometime in early February. Time to be announced soon...

our discussion and polls!!

Well, we had a nice meeting last night to discuss Pig Tales. It didn't seem that many people had much good to say about it, though people didn't seem to be particularly annoyed at having to read this book. It is nice and short!

On another topic, we also talked a bit about the voting process. For now we decided to continue with our email approach. Basically, if you come to the meeting, or send me or Astrid an email, we'll put you on the email list. With this list, people can send out suggested books, and then after a day or two, I list the options which you can vote on.

I'm still a beginner at some of this web technology, and I've been getting some good suggestions (thanks Yolanda and Nathalie!) about ways to make this blog more useful. For example, maybe the voting should happen here? Or at least the list of books.

Just to play around with different options, I tried adding some polls on the sidebar. One via blogger and one from polldaddy. Not sure how useful or interested people are in this, but if you have a suggestion post a comment.

So our next book will be non-fiction. I'll announce the result when we get it...

next book: Pig Tales

Our next book is Pig Tales by Marie Darrieussecq. Amazon. Another review (that I won't read til I'm done with it).

Update: we will meet next Tue. Mon. Dec. 11 10 at 6 PM. See you then!!

The Third Chimpanzee

We meet next on Tue. Oct 30 at 6 PM to discuss Jared Diamond's The Third Chimpanzee.
(*** This time we meet in the Brookhaven Center, since the lounge is being remodeled. ***)

Favorite quote so far (and continuing some themes from previous books):

Western male writers and anthropologists aren't the only men with an exaggerated view of hunting. In New Guinea I've lived with real hunters, men who recently emerged from the Stone Age. Conversations at campfires go on for hours over each species of game animal, its habits, and how best to hunt it. To listen to my New Guinea friends, you would think that they eat fresh kangaroo for dinner every night and do little each day except hunt. In fact, when pressed for details, most New Guinea hunters admit that they have bagged only a few kangaroos in their whole lives.

(p. 40)

This Earth of Mankind thread

So we discussed this book a few weeks back. I think we all found something interesting about it. We discussed whether it was a feminist book, a bit about our understanding (or lack) of Indonesian history/geography/culture. One of the issues that came up was about the language and the translation. For some aspects of the writing, it was hard to determine whether it came from the translation, or was intrinsic to the original. Anyway, if people are still reading this and want to comment, feel free. Also, consider whether we should read the rest of the quartet for upcoming book clubs.

Five People You Meet in Heaven

I've gotten a bit behind on my posts here... but before moving on to our current books, it was brought to my attention that I never posted for The Five People You Meet in Heaven. I won't say too much, just let anyone who wants to, add your thoughts. For myself, I enjoyed the book but at some places it bordered on overly sweet for my taste.
One observation I had was that the writing was very cinematic: with colored backgrounds and dramatic descriptions of set, it was easy to picture as a film. And, in fact: here it is.
Anyone seen the film want to comment?