What's on your bookshelf?

[Jody Barsch*]

I just read this new book called Winkie. it's about an old teddy bear that comes to life, and is wrongly arrested for being a terrorist. the book is great because it has a lot of sentimentality to it as he recounts his life as a childhood toy. but it also is a commentary on the US and it's judicial system. it has some pretty funny moments too, I mean, can you imagine a teddy bear on trial?!

That sounds good. Would that be good for a book club? My co-workers book club is just finishing Running w/ Scissors and we need a new one.
I'm reading Twilight with the student book club I sponsor; I've bought it but haven't gone further than that yet.

Nothingman -- I've never heard of those authors. are they fiction or nonfiction? What subject matter?

[Nothingman]

Nothingman -- I've never heard of those authors. are they fiction or nonfiction? What subject matter?

They are both nonfiction. Alan Watts is one of the most celibrated philosophers of the 20th century, and was one of the world's formost experts on eastern thought in the western world. Basically, he speaks of eastern philosophies such as The Tao, Zen Buddism, and Hinduism as they constrast and apply to the western world. He breaks down basic assumptions ingrained in western society, thought, and language; and explains how they influence our fundamental view of our world. His position is not to convert, but one that if you don't know the opposite of where you are, you'll never be able to understand where you are at. And as an author he's playful and inquisitive and that makes him easy to read.

Stuart Wilde is bit more of a freak show. He's also heavily influenced by the Tao Te Ching, but takes the position of the teacher; helping people to grow metaphysically. Some of his stuff is way out there and you have to be in an open mindset for it to really have value. However his short book Silent Power is more universal. It's about how do you cultivate and display that inner strength that some people have, and that we all recognize instantly. It was the first book I read that referenced The Tao, and started my understanding of it.

[emmie]

Jody, I'm not sure if Winkie is good for a book club or not, I've never actually been part of one! ha ha. While it brings up some interesting points, I don't know how deep or long of a discussion can be made. I did like how it's from the point of view of a teddy bear, so it's a nice mixture of innocence and old wisdom.

thanks for the recommendations, Nothingman. I may try something by Alan Watts, he sounds good for beginners. I'm always interested in reading about different religions and cultures. And eastern thought is definitely one of those that I don't know much about.

[emmie]

I'm determined to actually write my thesis to graduate instead of just researching and talking about it. but in order to do this, I've cut myself off from reading anything not related to my topic. but......blahhhhhh!!! this is driving me crazy! ha ha.

[Natasha (candygirl)]

I'll try not to tempt you with any book recommendations!

[Jody Barsch*]

Too lazy to go back and check if I already mentioned this, But I just finished Living Justice by Eric Jensen and Jessica Blank, the story of them researching, writing, workshopping, and producing their play The Exonerated (written from transcripts of public records and interviews with people exonerated from death row). I enjoyed it. I'm reading Beyond Choice for my second time (written by Margaret Sanger's grandson; he was the head of NY Planned Parenthood for a while). I've been going back and reading a lot of Tennessee Williams lately, and just reread One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. I think it's time for a Vonnegut book though -- I've only read Slaughter House Five and Cat's Cradle, any suggestions?

[Jody Barsch*]

It's not on my bookshelf yet, but it is on my Amazon shipping list: Miranda July's new book No One Belongs Here More Than You. Miranda is a performance artist, she has a couple of CD's out (I haven't heard them yet), and she wrote and starred in the movie You Me and Everyone We Know. I went to her book reading last Tuesday and the Armand Hammer Museum -- it was great! I really like her mannerisms, and just her quality of self. The stories she read (only 2.5) were great! Here's her website for the book release, it's pretty funny, and links to her other website which is also pretty amusing: http://noonebelongsheremorethanyou.com/

[Cady]

Hey!! Well I simply LOVE books. Without books I cannot live. If I would list all books I own, it would be too long. And few books, you all wouldn't know anyway, because I'm german. My favorite auther is Trudi Canavan. She's australian and wrote Fantasy books like the AGE OF THE FIVE or BLACK MAGICANS. Then I have of course the MSCL book, because this was my first english book I completely read. I still search for MSCL GOES ON, but at amazon.de it isn't available. Well, I hope I'll read the second book soon, even when I heard, that it isn't as good as the first.
What good fantasy books can you advice me? On english of course.

[TomSpeed]

I'm reading Robert Penn Warren's All the King's Men. Considering it's one of the highest esteemed books about American politics and I was a poli-sci major in college, I'm kind of late getting to it. Michael Emerson, who plays Ben Linus on Lost reads the Audible book. He's quite a good reader.

[Natasha (candygirl)]

So you're reading this book or are you listening to this book?

[TomSpeed]

I'm currently listening to Go Down Together by Jeff Guinn. The book is a new one about Bonnie and Clyde. Their real lives were much different that what's been portrayed in the movies. I had been listening to The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand. It was interesting, but I kind of lost the urge to finish listening. I will get back to it.

[Cami A.]

I'm currently listening to "The Bluest Eye" audiobook. I read the actual book, by Toni Morrison, back in middle school. The audiobook is actually read by Toni Morrison, too! It's a really good book. I suggest reading or listening to it! Great social commentary...

[Cami A.]

I highly recommend anything by Toni Morrison or Jacqueline Woodson. My favorites are "The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison and "Autobiography of a Family Photo" by Jacqueline Woodson. Also, the Harry Potter series is magnificent! Such imagination! And "Wicked: The Life and Times of The Wicked Witch Of The West" by Gregory Maguire really makes you think!

[Cami A.]

Another book I really liked is "Zami: A New Spelling of My Name" by Audre Lorde. It's supposedly a dramatized autobiography of this African American poet. She has a gift for sensory descriptions! Very interesting narrative about finding your place in life. I read it in a college English course in freshman year.

And try "Always Running: La Vida Loca: Gang Days In LA" by Luis J. Rodriguez. I read this in Chicano/a Literature in Freshman Year of college as well. It was well written, and a wonderful snapshot of Mexican-American gang life in Los Angeles in the 80s (?)...

And a classic, by Katherine Patterson is "Jacob Have I Loved"...It's about a 13 year old girl named Louise who's twin sister Caroline is fair and dainty, while she is masculine and dark and homely. She is jealous of her sister who is praised by her parents and the town, and is trying to find a place for herself in the small Island town where they live. It's a coming of age story - filled with lust, confusion, and jealousy. Rass, the island-town, is a place I've always wanted to visit after reading this book! Louise talks about her time on the water crabbing on the Chesapeake Bay during WWII.

[Cami A.]

Just thought of another: "Fight Club" by Chuck Palanuik (sp?). Better, even, than the movie adaptation (which is also awesome, with Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, and Helena Bonham (sp?) Carter). The book is much more detailed, fun, and has less of a typical Hollywood ending, ya know? The author is very skilled! It's a darkly comedic and severely twisted commentary on modern life and the modern male...