Book for January 2009

(Is anyone still reading this blog?)

The meeting: January 20, 2009

The book: Skin Tight by Carl Hiaasen

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Hiaasen's latest thriller is his funniest and sharpest novel to date. Set in a south Florida swarming with ripoff artists, crooked cops, nude sunbathers and corrupt politicians, it features a Mafia-connected plastic surgeon with butterfingers, a bitchy Hollywood starlet, a remarkably inept hit man and a pompous TV journalist "nationally famous for getting beaten up on camera." Retired state investigator Mick Stranahan, the hero, kills an intruder in his seaside house on stilts by impaling him with a trophy spearfish. Then one of his five ex-wives is found drowned. Due to an unresolved missing-person case, someone wants Stranahan eliminated, and his efforts to flush out the mixed bag of bad guys let Hiaasen ( Tourist Season ; Double Wham my ) display his manic sense of humor at every turn. The cynical sleuth has just the right mix of sour and smarts to get a fix on a mad world. This wickedly amusing story is the work of a keen satirist who off-handedly exposes the moral rot at every level of society. 50,000 first printing; $50,000 ad/promo; Literary Guild, Mystery Guild and Doubleday Book Club alternates.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description
Somebody wants Mick Stranahan dead. Mick is sure of this, because he just had to dispatch a pistol-packing intruder with the help of a stuffed marlin head. But who would want to hurt a former Florida state investigator? The answer is plenty of peopleas Stranahan soon finds himself acquainted with a litter of nefarious players, including a hit man whose skin problems could fill a comprehensive (if bizarre) medical textbook, a lawyer of questionable repute who advertises on billboards, and a TV show host whose taste for sensationalism is exceeded only by his vanity. The whole thing gets downright harrowing for the ex-cop in one of Hiaasen's most breathtaking, madcap romps everwhere even a plastic surgeon with extremely shaky hands waits to wring Stranahan's neck...

Book for October/November 2008

You Remind Me of Me

From Publishers Weekly:

Three lives viewed through a kaleidoscope of memories and secret pain assume a kind of mythical dimension in Chaon's piercingly poignant tale of fate, chance and search for redemption. As he demonstrated in his short story collection Among the Missing, Chaon has a sensitive radar for the daily routines of people striving to escape the margins of poverty and establish meaningful lives. Here, a woman's unsuccessful effort to rise above the pain of giving away an illegitimate baby, and to fight against mental illness and offer love to a second child, blights all their lives. Living with his harsh and bitter mother, Norma, and his kindly grandfather in Little Bow, S.Dak., young Jonah Doyle is permanently scarred after the family's Doberman attacks and maims him. The resulting livid ridges on his face are the outward manifestations of a deeper wound that will always haunt him. After his mother's suicide, Jonah sets out to find the older brother he has never met, and in the process, brings them both to the verge of tragedy. Jonah's older sibling is Troy Timmens, a well-meaning bartender and sometime drug dealer in St. Bonaventure, Nebr., who is devoted to his six-year-old son, Loomis. The boy will play a pivotal part in Jonah's quixotic attempts to win Troy's love. Chaon structures his plot in alternating flashbacks, and the fragmentary time structure forces the reader to puzzle out the relationships and contributes to rising dramatic tension. Chaon's clarity of observation, expressed in restrained, nuanced prose, coupled with his compassion for his flawed characters, creates a heart-wrenching story of people searching for connection.Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Three Cups of Tea (reviews)

Reviews for August's book: Three Cups of Tea: One Mans' Mission to Promote Peace... One School at a Time (via Amazon.com)

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Some failures lead to phenomenal successes, and this American nurse's unsuccessful attempt to climb K2, the world's second tallest mountain, is one of them. Dangerously ill when he finished his climb in 1993, Mortenson was sheltered for seven weeks by the small Pakistani village of Korphe; in return, he promised to build the impoverished town's first school, a project that grew into the Central Asia Institute, which has since constructed more than 50 schools across rural Pakistan and Afghanistan. Coauthor Relin recounts Mortenson's efforts in fascinating detail, presenting compelling portraits of the village elders, con artists, philanthropists, mujahideen, Taliban officials, ambitious school girls and upright Muslims Mortenson met along the way. As the book moves into the post-9/11 world, Mortenson and Relin argue that the United States must fight Islamic extremism in the region through collaborative efforts to alleviate poverty and improve access to education, especially for girls. Captivating and suspenseful, with engrossing accounts of both hostilities and unlikely friendships, this book will win many readers' hearts. (Mar.)

From Bookmarks Magazine
While critics agree that Three Cups of Tea should be read for its inspirational value rather than for its literary merit, the book's central theme, derived from a Baltistan proverb, rings loud and clear. "The first time you share tea with a Balti, you are a stranger," a villager tells Greg Mortenson. "The second time, you are an honored guest. The third time you become family." An inspirational story of one man's efforts to address poverty, educate girls, and overcome cultural divides, Three Cups, which won the 2007 Kiriyama Prize for nonfiction, reveals the enormous obstacles inherent in becoming such "family." Despite the important message, critics quibbled over the awkward prose and some melodrama. After all, a story as dramatic and satisfying as this should tell itself.

Garfield Minus Garfield

Garfield Minus Garfield is much funnier than the Schulzians and the Pumpkinites:

First Timer....

This is my first attempt at adding anything to a blog!Thanks Wileen for putting this together. Hey, Li said there were pictures posted from our meeting.
Donde esta?
I was looking at info. on Umberto Eco (Of Queen Loana infamy, I mean fame) he is one deep dude. Very philisophical. Maybe that is why I could not get into the book. Me be a simpleton. On a side note, I am digging our new book, Beware of G-d. I hope we have an awesome turn out in April.
~Grumpus

April's book!

(posted for Grumpus)

It’s Pop Up Book Club info!

Hello Everyone,

We had a five star showing at Brother K’s Coffee Shop this evening to discuss The Effects of Living Backwards. The avg. rating for this book was 2 ½ stars (out of five) due to it being intriguing yet confusing at times.

Our next book club meeting will be at the House on Moody Avenue on April 29^th. Our next book is a collection of short stories by Shalom Auslander titled, “Beware of G-d.” (yes, there should be an “o” in between the G and d, if you are intrigued by how I wrote it you should attend book club….)

We will begin at 7:30 pm. Please feel free to invite others to join as well. We are really hoping to keep book club alive and going well with fabulously dedicated members. We need you!

Below is from Publisher’s weekly about the book:

From Publishers Weekly
The faithful look sharp or fall victim to a "surly, bossy, paranoid, violent" G-d in Auslander's satirical debut collection. The author, raised an Orthodox Jew, mercilessly spoofs the Old Testament deity: G-d suffers from migraines, stalks a modern-day prophet and appears as a large chicken, among other incarnations. Though harsh rabbinic voices echo throughout, and characters who engage in Talmudic-style debate usually arrive at absurd conclusions, Auslander's target isn't religious hypocrisy. Instead, he guns for sacred cows: literal interpretations of the Torah, strict adherence to Jewish law, and belief in an all-powerful deity who metes out punishment and reward according to man's fulfillment of G-d's commandments. At the heart of this satire, though, is the pain of true believers at the mercy of a capricious G-d. These are high-concept stories: a chimpanzee suddenly achieves "total conscious self-awareness.... G-d. Death. Shame. Guilt"—a burden he cannot bear. A yeshiva student wakes one morning with a brawny, goyishe body and is reviled by his community. A man enrages all major world religions with his discovery of original Old Testament tablets preceded by the disclaimer, "The following is a work of fiction." Occasionally, the Catskills-inflected comedy is corny, but for the most part, Auslander skillfully handles heavy subject matter with a droll tone. "Beautiful day," an adman says, making small talk at a pitch meeting with G-d. " 'I made it myself,' G-d answered loudly." (Apr.)

Heidi Julavits in The Village Voice

(posted for L)

FYI, a review of the book from Village Voice. It sounds fantastic!

http://www.villagevoice.com/books/0326,winter,45038,10.html

We're Sooooo Pot-Lucky!

February 12 we'll be holding our annual post-holiday potluck. Bring your fruitcakes! (My dog will eat anything.) Please remember that I'm a raving vegetarian and I turn into a beastie at the smell of meat in the house. Also, we have a cat, so pack your Benedril if necessary.

Yes, actually, I have been told that I suck the fun out of everything.

In addition to feasting & imbibing, we'll discuss The Effect of Living Backwards by Heidi Julavits. Find details here. But support your independent bookstore when possible (you can do that here).

Location details to be emailed closer to the event.

Reading at Women & Children First: November 8 @ 7:30pm

Paula Kamen and Iris Chang were friends and journalism majors at U of I, and both went on to write a few books. Iris committed suicide in 2004 after suffering from depression, and Paula wrote a eulogy for her in Salon.com, which turned into a recently published book called Finding Iris Chang. In a weird twist of fate, Paula happens to be my brother's high school classmate, while Iris is my sister-in-law's childhood friend and high school classmate (I was friends with Paula's brother, in case you were interested!).

Paula's doing a reading from the book at Women and Children First on November 8 at 7:30pm. She is a self-described author, lecturer, playwright, feminist, humorist, and journalist. The book is a memoir of their friendship, but it also looks at bipolar disorder and the Asian attitude toward mental illness.

This is Paula's description of the book:

The book is about my real-life search to connect the dots about the mysterious 2004 suicide of my friend, bestselling Chinese-American writer Iris Chang, the author of the Rape of Nanking. Meanwhile, it profiles her glorious life -- and the tremendous burdens -- she had in becoming a superhuman symbol of activism and social justice to the Asian community. The book seeks to clear up rampant misunderstandings about the bipolar disorder, combined with hormonal events, that claimed her life. It also explores how journalists can survive in the long-term covering dark topics, without being harmed by the toxic effects of their subjects. The book is based on a eulogy I wrote about her for Salon.com.

If you're going, let me know! I'll be there with my sister-in-law.

How often can you drink & hear a reading at the same time?

Here's some info about a Nextbook author event for Shalom Auslander. I'll be there, will you?


Shalom Auslander
October 23 2007, 07:30 PM
The Abbey Pub
3420 W. Grace Street, Chicago

In his debut collection of stories, Beware of God, Shalom Auslander imagined God through the eyes of a yeshiva student, a chimpanzee, two hamsters, and an advertising salesman. Now he turns the light on himself. His new memoir, Foreskin's Lament, traces his difficult and complicated relationship with his family, the Orthodox community in which he was raised, and the Jewish God. We learn how he was sent to reform school in Israel after shoplifting a cassette tape of West Side Story, and how he hiked 25 miles to a Rangers game so as not to violate the Sabbath. While he negotiates his relationship with God—raging one moment, supplicating the next—he also tries to create a new life with his wife and son. Shalom Auslander’s work has appeared in The New Yorker, Esquire, and The New York Times Magazine; he has also performed stories on This American Life. He is a regular columnist for Nextbook’s web magazine Nextbook.org.

http://www.nextbook.org/localprograms/eventdetail.html?id=223&market=Chicago

Fish Store Friendship (from the Tribune)

Just like Jacob! Kind of.

By Colleen Mastony
Tribune staff reporter
October 10, 2007

For more than 20 years, the two men have worked shoulder to shoulder behind the chopping boards at Robert's Kosher Fish Market on Devon Avenue. One elderly and Jewish. The other young and Mexican. An odd couple in matching white aprons, they weave around each other to wait on a customer, weigh a slab of whitefish or answer the phone, in what has become a finely choreographed, behind-the-counter ballet.

Robert Schuffler, 90, is the man who gave the shop its name. A great-grandfather with a lopsided grin, bushy eyebrows, a shock of white curly hair under his blue flat cap, he moves slowly these days -- back hunched, feet plodding. Around him bounds Arturo Venegas, 38, a dark-haired man with kind eyes who radiates energy as he polishes the steel counters, hoists boxes heaped with ice and fillets a piece of salmon with a deft flick of his silver knife. Schuffler once gave Venegas a job and eventually taught him everything about the fish business. And now, roles have reversed in the tiny shop that smells like the sea. Venegas -- once a young immigrant who came to this country with nothing -- has become the owner. And Schuffler -- who opened this shop in 1976 -- plays the assistant.

Life in the fish market rolls along. The daily rhythm of customers like an ocean tide, as people cycle in and out the door. The relationship between the two men a reminder of the age-old reciprocity between the generations. The old teaching the young and, in turn, the young caring for the old.

Schuffler is now retired. His children live out of state, and his wife died in 2002. So today, he wants nothing more than a bit of companionship. And Venegas, it turns out, has much to give. He keeps an apron ready for Schuffler, who continues to work behind the counter every day.

The men have become like an old married couple, their lives intertwined with shared experience. When Schuffler was in the hospital recently, Venegas came to visit. And when Venegas had a run-in with the Kosher authorities four years ago in a dispute over some smoked salmon, Schuffler intervened.

Neither man will gush about their feelings.

Schuffler shrugs and says, "It's a close relationship, and how else can I tell you?" But a few minutes later, he drops his voice to a near-whisper as if he is telling a secret and says: "When my wife died, he closed the store and came to the funeral. Yep, he closed the store. That should tell you something. "They met in 1983. Venegas still remembers the day. "It was right after Passover," he recalls, in a singsong lilt in slightly accented English. "A warm day in April." Venegas was about to turn 14, an illegal immigrant who spoke no English when he came looking for work. The ninth of 11 children born to a migrant worker and a housewife in Michoacan, Mexico, Venegas had arrived in the U.S. three months before, walking across the border with less than $20 in his pocket.

Back then, Schuffler was already in his late 60s. He had built his life around his family; both his children had become gastroenterologists. He had made his little market a success, but the old man had no one to teach. No one, that is, until Venegas walked through the door.

That first day, Schuffler -- who had emigrated from Latvia when he was 6 -- saw something of himself in the eager young man. There had been other employees, but "no one had the get-up-and-go" like Venegas, Schuffler recalled.

Schuffler showed his apprentice how to sweep the floors and wipe counters. He didn't speak Spanish and so pantomimed instructions. For months, the two men communicated in hand signals.

Gradually, Schuffler handed over more responsibility, showing Venegas how to see that fish is fresh (look for clear eyes), how to carry the whitefish (hold it by the head), and how to slice a perfect fillet (use a single sweeping movement).

Over the years, Venegas mastered English and became a legal citizen. He learned to keep the books and handle billing. He mastered the rules that govern Kosher fish markets (no shellfish, no scaleless fish, and no bread in the shop during Passover).

In 2000, when Schuffler was 83 and becoming tentative with the fillet knife, he helped young Venegas buy the business, a move that likely made Venegas the only Mexican running a Kosher fish market in Chicago. After the deal closed, their relationship might have ended with a handshake. But Schuffler wanted to keep working. And Venegas wanted him to stay.

"To me, it's amazing. Who was going to think that I was going to know this person?" said Venegas. The reversal of roles is proof that "you never know what's going to happen in the world."

These days Schuffler walks through the door every day around 10 a.m. He ties on an apron, sits on a white plastic chair beside a hulking ice chest and, in his deep gravelly voice, greets each customer by name. For him, the little shop is a second home. Every customer is part of a familiar parade of faces he has watched for half a century.

By early afternoon, Schuffler is at the counter, cutting trout. At his side, Venegas works a piece of salmon.

When Venegas fillets the fish, removing the skin in a fluid movement, Schuffler smiles, points to his protege and declares proudly: "See that? No fish is wasted. Look how perfect!"

Venegas, gently needling the old man, replies with a wink, "Sometimes the student surpasses the teacher."

Schuffler smiles like a bemused Zen master. He nods and replies: "That is an honor to the teacher."