Suggested: A General Theory of Love

A GENERAL THEORY OF LOVE

(Non-Fiction, Paperback)
Lewis, Amini and Lannon

From a review (NYT?):

New research in brain function has proven that love is a human necessity; its absence damages not only individuals, but our whole society. In this stimulating work, psychiatrists Lewis, Amini and Lannon explain how and why our brains have evolved to require consistent bonding and nurturing. They contend that close emotional connections actually change neural patterns in those who engage in them, affecting our sense of self and making empathy and socialization possible. Indeed, the authors insist, "in some important ways, people cannot be stable on their own." Yet American society is structured to frustrate emotional health, they contend: self-sufficiency and materialistic goals are seen as great virtues, while emotional dependence is considered a weakness. Because our culture does not sufficiently value interpersonal relationships, we are plagued by anxiety and depression, narcissism and superficiality, which can lead to violence and self-destructive behaviors. It is futile to try to think our way out of such behaviors, the authors believe, because emotions are not within the intellect's domain. What is needed is healthy bonding from infancy; when this does not occur, the therapist must model it. The authors' utopian vision of emotional health may strike some as vague or conservative to a fault, and the clarity of their thesis is marred by indirect and precious writing. Yet their claim that "what we do inside relationships matters more than any other aspect of human life" is a powerful one.


*A fun, quick read. I think it will give us lots to talk about. -rich*

Suggested: The 158 Pound Marriage

THE 158 POUND MARRIAGE
Written by John Irving
Category: Fiction - Literary; Fiction - Psychological;
Paperback

Publishers thingie:

The darker vision and sexual ambiguities of this erotic, ironic tale about a ménage a quatre in a New England university town foreshadow those of The World According to Garp; but this very trim and precise novel is a marked departure from the author's generally robust, boisterous style. Though Irving's cool eye spares none of his foursome, he writes with genuine compassion for the sexual tests and illusions they perpetrate on each other; but the sexual intrigue between them demonstrates how even the kind can be ungenerous, and even the well-intentioned, destructive.


* Its a tiny book that starts out slow but becomes a page turner. A good story with great character development that will give us lots to talk about. Irving has written a bunch of good novels that were turned into mediocre movies (World According to Garp, Simon Birch Owen Meany, Ciderhouse Rules, The Door in the Floor). If you saw any of those movies, please don't hold that against the the author. * - Rich

Suggested: Two More Graphic Novels

If any of you enjoyed Watchmen or The Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes, or didn't, and simply want to explore some other graphic novels, I have two recommendations:

1) Y The Last Man: a story about the sole surviving male human after the spontaneous, simultaneous death of every male mammal on Earth. Published by vertigo, which does a lot of good titles.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y_the_last_man

2) The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: this one's by Alan Moore! The story takes place in 1898 in a fictional world where all of the characters and events from Victorian literature (and possibly the entirety of fiction) coexist. The world the characters inhabit is one more technologically advanced than our own was in the same era. Lots of adventures.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_League_Of_Extraordinary_Gentlemen

Voting on the Shootlist

We can now add polls to our blog. So, keep submitting your book suggestions and before the end of the current month, we'll vote on what to read next. That way, you get a chance to review the options and select which one you truly want to read most. If you don't submit a book, you can't vote on it.

suggestions: the book of salt

by monique truong. fictionalized account of alice b toklas' & gertrude stein's manservant.

m

Suggested: The Lucifer Effect

Hi y'all,

I would like to put up The Lucifer Effect by Philip Zimbardo, as an interesting book to follow Beah. He is the Stanford professor who did the famed Prison Guard psych experiments in the 70's. It's about understanding how good people do evil. How genocides, Abu Ghraib, and the like happen. I really wish I could be there discussing this book with you guys tonight, but if I was I would want to ask how humans are capable of arming children, or killing their neighbor with a machete... This book supposedly sheds some light on this issue. I would also volunteer my services to do a book report on this one and report back to the monkey shooters ;)

_ray

Suggested: The Road

The Road by Cormac McCarthy is a bleak (yet at times beautiful) story of a father and son, travelling across the burned out husk of a nightmarish, post-acpocalyptic America. Much like A Long Way Gone, this is a "road" book in which the main characters journey thru a hostile environment where death is always just behind them—or waiting just ahead—while at the same time, lurking within their own hearts, waiting for them to stumble or miss a step along their equally mortal inner journies. That may make no sense, but what I'm trying to say is that the two books make quite a powerful pairing and share many similar themes. They both illustrate the depths to which man may sink and the atrocities which he may visit upon his brothers and himself. And yet, they both illustrate the strength of man's humanity and his ability to overcome violence, despair, fear, loss, and death. They illustrate the ability to overcome one's own shortcomings as well as those shortcomings which have seemingly plagued man as a whole, since the beginning of recorded history. The Road may herald the end of human history as we know it. But, in that end, it creates something worth recording and remembering.

As you may be able to tell, I've already read the book, as well as one more by the same author, Blood Meridian. If you don't read if for the book club, I highly recommend reading it for yourself and would love to hear your comments on it. Follow it up by watching Children of Men for a contemporary cross-over of intense, visceral storytelling involving more of the same themes.

BTW, The Road was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction this year. You can read an article about the author from the New Yorker here.

Suggested: Watchmen

While inhabiting the same territory as Orwell's 1984, Gilliam's Brazil, and a number of lesser bleak views of a (then future) society, Watchmen takes full advantage of the graphic novel format to flesh out its characters and plots in ways rarely seen in any medium. Even after 20 years, still probably the best graphic novel out there.

Suggested: Uncommon Carriers

You might know John McPhee from his articles in the New Yorker, Atlantic Monthly, and other publications. This is his latest, about various forms of commercial transportation, both ubiquitous and unique. I find his writing to be fascinating - creating interest in, and exposing hidden facets of, seemingly pedestrian objects and processes.

Suggested: The Wild Trees

Did a double-take when I saw the author of this was already linked in the sidebar.

Read a review of this recently, and it seems fascinating and of both local and global interest.

Joe

the shootlist

please submit your suggestions to the shootlist for upcoming books.

add a post to the blog with your suggestion(s), with a brief description of the book and why you suggest it (if you like). make sure to add "shootlist" to the label of your post for sorting. i'll add the submitted titles to the shootlist in the sidebar for voting.