        
Ravenna Third Place Book Club
2006 Book Picks Our November book was The Areas of My Expertise by John Hodgeman Our October book was Alligator by Lisa Moore. This, Moore's first novel, introduces the reader to St. John's, Newfoundland, where everyone yearns for success, but deep down desires purity and redemption. This book won the Canadian Commonwealth Writers' Prize (putting her in the esteemed company of Alice Munro and many others you've certainly heard of). The main character, Colleen, is a would-be ecoterrorist fascinated with alligators, and this riveting novel echoes the speed and precision of an alligator in the narrative. Our September book was The Men Who Stare at Goats by Jon Ronson. Jon Ronson's intention with this book is to look into "the most whacked-out corners of George W. Bush's War on Terror." In this non-fiction book, a man claims to be a former military psychic spy for the U.S. government and says he was re-enacted into service after the 9/11 attacks. Ronson investigates and explores the U.S. governments forays into the supernatural-including telepathics who killed goats with only their thoughts. Ronson also looks into new torture techniques employed by this same group, including forcing prisoners to sit and listen to Barney's, "I Love You" song for 24 straight hours. Ronson's dry sense of humor and exploration of the absurd, and true, efforts of the U.S. government to be one step ahead of the game,will give you plenty to consider. Our August book was The Quiet American by Graham Greene. An American classic, The Quiet American examines the U.S. involvement in Vietnam through the point of view of a British citizen living in Vietnam with a Vietnamese women. The two become entangled with a shady American, and from there are thrust into a volatile political situation. Harper's famously noted that "There has been no novel of any political scope about Vietnam since Graham Greene wrote The Quiet American." So come join us and discover in what ways Greene envisioned war as being influenced by hypocrisy, politics, journalism, and misplaced ideals. While written in 1955, this book has a great deal of relevance to everyday life, particularly in reference to the global conflicts that are currently on the rise. Our July book was Socrates Cafe by Christopher Phillips. "Like a Johnny Appleseed with a master's degree, Phillips has gallivanted black and forth across America, to cafe's and coffee shops, senior centers, assisted-living complexes, prisons, libraries, day-care centers, elementary and high schools, and churches, forming lasting communities of inquiry" (Utne Reader) Our June book was Saturday by Ian McEwan. "Saturday explores ideas of fate and purpose, life's fragility, revelation, and terror at all levels of society... The result is an intricate, captivating novel defined by a "serene tension" that erupts into a dark reality despite its hero's optimism ." (New York Times Book Review) Our May book was A Plea for Eros by Siri Hustvedt. From the author of the international bestseller What I Loved, a provocative collection of autobiographical and critical essays about writing and writers. Whether her subject is growing up in Minnesota, cross-dressing, or the novel, Siri Hustvedt's nonfiction, like her fiction, defies easy categorization, elegantly combining intellect, emotion, wit, and passion. Our April book was The Plot Against America by Philip Roth. In 1940 Charles A. Lindbergh, heroic aviator and rabid isolationist, is elected President. Shortly thereafter, he negotiates a cordial "understanding" with Adolf Hitler, while the new government embarks on a program of folksy anti-Semitism. "A terrific political novel. . . . Sinister, vivid, dreamlike . . . Creepily plausible. . . . You turn the pages, astonished and frightened." - The New York Times Book Review Our March book was Too Loud a Solitude by Bohumil Hrabal. Hanta has been compacting trash for thirty-five years. Every evening he rescues books from the jaws of his hydraulic press, carries them home, and fills his house with them...In this baroque and winsome tale, Hrabal, whom Milan Kundera has called "our very best writer today," celebrates the power and the indestructibilty of the written word. "This is a sort of ode, a rhapsody of literature, to literature. Required reading for anyone who loves to read. The only problem with this book is that it is too big for most pockets, otherwise, I would keep it like a wallet or a set of keys." - Stephen Our February book was The Best American Essays 2005, edited by Susan Orlean. She's chosen an outstanding group of essays written by such talented (and often funny!) authors as David Sedaris, Jonathan Lethem, Oliver Sacks, Jonathan Franzen, Edward Hoagland, Ian Frazier, Andrea Barrett, and Ted Kooser among others. Each essay is short, diamond-sharp, and thought-provoking - just right for discussion. Our First pick of 2006 was Orhan Pamuk's Snow. "A major work . . . Conscience-ridden and carefully wrought, tonic in its scope, candor, and humor . . . With suspense at every dimpled vortex . . . Pamuk [is Turkey's] most likely candidate for the Nobel Prize." -John Updike, The New Yorker |
|
Web site created by Beans n' Rice.com
|