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.

Group Discussion #3

This month, we're switching things up a bit and reading two graphic novels: Watchmen and The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes and Nocturnes. Both are quick reads and come highly recommended. Since we have two short books this month, please talk amongst yourselves and share copies.

Date & Location:
Tuesday, 8/21. 8pm. Lo's House.

BTW, for anybody who's still interested in discussing You Don't Love Me Yet: A Novel, you may get your chance at this meeting. Or, just post your comments on the blog.

Book #1:
Watchmen

Written by Alan Moore; Art by Dave Gibbons

It all begins with the paranoid delusions of a half-insane hero called Rorschach. But is Rorschach really insane or has he in fact uncovered a plot to murder super-heroes and, even worse, millions of innocent civilians? On the run from the law, Rorschach reunites with his former teammates in a desperate attempt to save the world and their lives, but what they uncover will shock them to their very core and change the face of the planet! Following two generations of masked superheroes from the close of World War II to the icy shadow of the Cold War comes this groundbreaking comic story — the story of The Watchmen.


Book #2:
The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes and Nocturnes

Written by Neil Gaiman; Art by Sam Kieth, Mike Dringenberg, and Malcolm Jones, III Gibbons

The Sandman Vol. 1: A wizard attempting to capture Death to bargain for eternal life traps her younger brother Dream instead. Fearful for his safety, the wizard kept him imprisoned in a glass bottle for decades. After his escape, Dream, also known as Morpheus, goes on a quest for his lost objects of power. On the way, Morpheus encounters Lucifer and demons from Hell, the Justice League, and John Constantine, the Hellblazer. This book also includes the story "The Sound of Her Wings" which introduces us to the pragmatic and perky goth girl, Death.


Additional Info:
Watchmen at Wikipedia
The Sandman at Wikipedia

Meeting July 9th

Hey Monkeys!

Next meeting is set for July 9th.

Not super BARTable, but we can do a BART run if we coordinate accordingly. Carpooling is suggested. We do have a short hair cat (allergy alert) and a hot tub (naked alert) for any linger discussion or if anyone wants to hear Lethem sing "Monster Eyes". I suggest for field research we all try and have phone sex with a stranger before the meeting.

In all seriousness, I'd like to throw a little something out there for possible consideration. A recent New Yorker article focused on Paulo Coelho (link below), an author read and adorded by many who's topics are usually spiritual and full of self discovery. I was interested in reading "The Alchemist" and thought maybe it might be good for the book club. It could be too spiritual (Clinton was photographed with a copy after the whole Monica thing), but spiritual isn't always bad, and this guys sounds like a full fledged freak (he studied the black arts, did a lot of drugs, etc).

Here's an abstract of the article, I couldn't find the whole thing on line.

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/05/07/070507fa_fact_goodyear

Just something to consider.

hm?

fellow shooters,

is anyone else reading "you don't love me yet"? t and i started the audio book on the drive to OR. a fine listen, but -slow- for me. i swear, i could have finished it by now. and now, i feel compelled to finish it in this format.

are we meeting this month?

m

Suggestion: A Game As Old As Empire

I was intrigued when I heard an interview with John Perkins upon the release of the first book, Confessions of an Economic Hitman. This second book is a compilation from others. A different angled follow-up to the Beah book -- cuz, how are they getting all those guns and drugs in the African jungle?

"John Perkins exposed this shocking secret world in Confessions, his first-person account of his own life as an Economic Hit Man, but that was just the tip of the iceberg. Here, other economic hit men, journalists, and investigators join Perkins to reveal many more deeply disturbing stories of greed and international corruption. In gripping detail, they describe the schemes and subterfuges that multinational corporations, governments, powerful individuals, financial institutions, and quasi-governmental agencies use to line their pockets behind the façade of “foreign aid” and “international development.” "

http://www.economichitman.com/

Group Discussion #2

Book:
You Don't Love Me Yet: A Novel, by Jonathan Lethem.

Date & Location:
TBD (first to second week of June).

Author's web site

Book Description:

From the incomparable Jonathan Lethem, a raucous romantic farce that explores the paradoxes of love and art.

Lucinda Hoekke spends eight hours a day at the Complaint Line, listening to anonymous callers air their random grievances. Most of the time, the work is excruciatingly tedious. But one frequent caller, who insists on speaking only to Lucinda, captivates her with his off-color ruminations and opaque self-reflections. In blatant defiance of the rules, Lucinda and the Complainer arrange a face-to-face meeting—and fall desperately in love.

Consumed by passion, Lucinda manages only to tear herself away from the Complainer to practice with the alternative band in which she plays bass. The lead singer of the band is Matthew, a confused young man who works at the zoo and has kidnapped a kangaroo to save it from ennui. Denise, the drummer, works at No Shame, a masturbation boutique. The band’s talented lyricist, Bedwin, conflicted about the group’s as-yet-nonexistent fame, is suffering from writer’s block. Hoping to recharge the band’s creative energy, Lucinda “suggests” some of the Complainer’s philosophical musings to Bedwin. When Bedwin transforms them into brilliant songs, the band gets its big break, including an invitation to appear on L.A.’s premiere alternative radio show. The only problem is the Complainer. He insists on joining the band, with disastrous consequences for all.

Brimming with satire and sex, You Don’t Love Me Yet is a funny and affectionate send-up of the alternative band scene, the city of Los Angeles, and the entire genre of romantic comedy, but remains unmistakably the work of the inimitable Jonathan Lethem.

About the Author:

JONATHAN LETHEM is the author of six novels, including the bestsellers The Fortress of Solitude and Motherless Brooklyn, which won the National Book Critics Circle Award. He is also the author of two short story collections, Men and Cartoons and The Wall of the Sky, the Wall of the Eye, and a collection of essays, The Disappointment Artist. He lives in Brooklyn, New York, and Maine.

suggestions: the book of salt

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

m