Afterwords, the Reading Room

Ari Meermans

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Afterwords, the Reading Room is located beneath the now-closed widow's walk atop a 19th-century seafarer's cottage on the promontory overlooking our harbor. Recently refurbished, the reading room features a number of small reading areas surrounding a central conversation pit that faces a windowed wall framing the eastward view of the harbor. Refreshments are available at the bar along the western wall.

Afterwords is open 24 hours a day in all seasons. Please do come in and join us for discussions in progress or begin a new one about your favorite book—Classics to Contemporary, all book discussions are welcome.


Recommendations and Discussions:

A FIRE UPON THE DEEP, Vernor Vinge (Science Fiction)
ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD, E.L. Doctorow
BEL CANTO, Ann Patchett
CARMILLA, J. Sheridan Le Fanu
CITY ON FIRE, Garth Risk Hallberg
DELICIOUS FOODS, James Hannaham
LANGUAGE ARTS, Stephanie Kallos
LAST NIGHT IN TWISTED RIVER, John Irving
MINOR DISCORD, Helen Laycock
PERSEPOLIS, Marjane Satrapi
RETURNING AS SHADOWS, Paco Ignacio Taibo II
TENTH OF DECEMBER, George Saunders
THE DISTANT LAND OF MY FATHER, Bo Caldwell
THE GREAT SHARK HUNT, Hunter S. Thompson
THE SAVAGE DETECTIVES, Roberto Bolaño
THE SLEEPWALKER'S GUIDE TO DANCING, Mira Jacob
THE TURNER HOUSE, Angela Flournoy
WHILE MORTALS SLEEP, Kurt Vonnegut
 
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Maryn

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I don't read a lot of literary fiction, but my sister-in-law (who makes me crazy in many ways) is generous with her books and gave me a copy of Ann Patchett's Bel Canto. I wasn't terribly interested in its premise, but since it was used and I didn't want to beat up my Christmas gift books on a trip, I brought it along on a car trip.

It's really good. The premise, if you're not familiar, is that a nameless South American country hosts a lavish birthday party for a Japanese businessman, in the hope he will convince his company to build and invest there. The businessman is a huge opera fan, so for the evening's entertainment, they hire the world's premier operatic soprano. Other international movers and shakers are there with their wives, and several hundred people are having a lovely time with the help of the Japanese man's multilingual interpreter, right until the rebels arrive...

Anyone else read it?

Maryn, who sometimes surprises herself
 

Kylabelle

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No, damn you. It is now on my list, though.

:greenie

Sounds good, Maryn. And you write a good blurb!
 

Chris P

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I've heard of Bel Canto but not had the opportunity to read it.

I'm currently about 2/3 through City on Fire. It's quite addictive reading, even if the story doesn't move as well as I usually would like. He starts with a really good set up that didn't go where I thought it would. I'll put this in "spoiler color" although it happens pretty early on: I expected Mercer to be falsely accused of shooting Sam. The book didn't go there at all, at least not yet and doesn't seem to. Normally extended flashbacks would result in a book/wall moment, but it's working for me. Partly because he's putting in details and connections to other characters that are deepening the story instead of simply trying to tell us the characters weren't born on page 1. I look forward to seeing where it goes.
 

maxmordon

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Oh, that sounds right down my alley, Maryn!

I'm currently reading The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolaño and is quickly becoming one of my favorite books. Bolaño is from the generation of writers that came up on the spotlight directly later than those of the Latin American boom (García Márquez, Vargas Llosa, Carlos Fuentes, etc.) and is something of a backlash, showing young, cosmopolitan characters in very realistic settings.

The novel itself focus on a group of young poets in 1970's Mexico City. The two leaders of the writers' group wander around Europe, Central America and Middle-East looking for the muse or the next hot meal while the others, back in Mexico, deal with growing pains of finding a steady job, raising children and outgrowing their bohemian lifestyle. Most of the book is narrated through imaginary interviews to the characters and some are splendid while others get on my nerves by how pointless they come off.
 

lacygnette

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Oh my, Bel Canto is on my list of favorite books. Some of the scenes have stuck with me and she does aching love and singing of opera really well. Hmmm, I think those two things are connected in life - the celebrated operas are all sad. Except for Mozart, ever cheerful. I will be interested to know what you think as you get towards the end. She has so many characters spinning like plates, and I think it got a little out of hand. But as I said, one of my favorites.

The Bolano sounds interesting. I'm going to give it a try. I just finished a really good book and will be back later to chat about it. Right now I'm going to pause for a moment, get myself an expresso from the bar, and enjoy the view for a moment. Then I'm off to attend to my house guest.
 

ap123

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I recently read Delicious Foods, by James Hannaham, and can't recommend it enough. Three main characters, it shifts back and forth in time; the son (as a child, teen and adult) his crack-addicted mother, and crack. The story opens with the son as a teen, on the run and you aren't quite sure who he's running from. As it turns out he's running towards a better life, away from the mother he spent months searching for--as a child-- and then years held captive on a farm where the laborers are all addicted like his mom. Very little food, but all the rock needed to keep them trapped. (He never uses) A very powerful story about racism, the American dream, hope and loss.
 

Maryn

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That sounds good, ap123. I need to start a list, don't you think?
 

Maryn

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(I put it on my wish list. Anyone else got some recommendations?)
 

Lillith1991

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I'm currently rereading Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu, which, along with Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem Christabel is the originator of the lesbian vampire trope as we know it. The story is Gothic Fiction at its finest and for me is better than Dracula even though Dracula gets more acknowledgment by readers in general.

A story about a lonely teenage girl beset by a vampire and the destruction of the vampire. It feature things not often seen in modern vampire fiction like warm skin and a beating heart, and focuses heavily on the friendship and implied attraction between Laura, the protagonist of the story, and the vampire Carmilla for whom the novella is named. If you've read other vampire stories from the time period and early 20th century, the implications are quite visible and quite refreshing compared with the consistently male-female dynamic that's dominated vampire fiction before and since.
 

Maryn

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My wish list, it grows! You people aren't going to leave me enough time for erotica and thrillers, if you keep this up.
 

Ari Meermans

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Are there stories you particularly liked in each of the collections? (I may need to prioritize those I haven't read. :) )
 

lacygnette

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I will second Tenth of December. The title story is terrific, as is Puppy. I think Escape from Spiderhead is part of that collection too. Amazing that I remember all of those - sometimes stories disappear as soon as I've read them.
 

WriterBN

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I don't remember all the stories, but I picked those because they were uniformly good. If you had to pick one book from the list, I'd say Tenth of December.
 

lacygnette

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I just finished The Turner House. Not wonderful, but solid. It follows a family whose childhood home is underwater in Detroit during the time when Detroit died. The setting and the struggles with real estate were interesting. I never quite got into one of the main characters - she had a gambling addiction and it totally unnerved me to read about her throwing her money away. Another main character had seen a "haint" as a child, with very long term consequences. Thirteen kids in the family made it hard to keep track of everyone but once I understood we'd be following only three, it was easier.

It's a debut novel and the woman can write. I'll be interested to see where she goes from here.

Oh, and there was a storyline that disappeared about a third of the way in. That was odd.
 

Ari Meermans

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Saturday, the spouse and I took a little day trip as we often do. We spotted a Goodwill, and he wanting a pair of jeans for yard work, stopped in. While he shopped for jeans, I headed for the books as always . . . like a heat-seeking missile. I found two hardbounds in near pristine condition, one of which I'm recommending right here, right now. The second I'll tell you about later once I've finished it.

The Distant Land of My Father, by Bo Caldwell

Distant Land was Ms. Caldwell's first novel and a national best-seller. And, can she ever write. The book opens in the exotic and privileged world of 1930s Shanghai. Anna, the narrator, is the young daughter of young, rich parents. Her father, the son of missionaries and now a millionaire, leads a secretive and charmed life. When the Japanese occupy Shanghai, he sends Anna and her mother to Los Angeles leaving them every expectation he will join them. But he, believing his wealth and connections will protect him, secretly plans never to leave. He's wrong, of course. Who'd think otherwise? Though he survives, Anna will grow up in Los Angeles slowly coming to the realization that the father she adores will never make his home with them--he can't bring himself to leave Shanghai behind, the city he loves more than he loves her, the city he loves more than he loves her mother. Again, after the communists take over, he will choose Shanghai.

Once Anna is grown and has a family of her own, he will reappear and they both have to come to terms with his betrayal and his hopes for a reconciliation.

Pre-WWII Shanghai is so well researched, as are the turbulent years of Japanese and communist occupation, the novel is a fascinating read for the history alone. There is so much more to it than that, though. If you get the chance to read Distant Land and haven't already done so, do it. I don't think you'll be sorry.
 
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maxmordon

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Not long ago, as I made a list of all my favorite writers, I noticed a serious issue: less than 20% of the books I've read have been written by women. To mend this the last batch of books I've bought is mainly filled by female authors and I've started by a 20th Century Science Fiction classic: The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood.
 

Kylabelle

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A good choice, Max. It's a dark tale but well told.

You ever read any Doris Lessing? Her science fiction is truly amazing, though it wasn't the main genre of her work. (Isn't? Is she still alive? I'll have to check....)

ETA: Checked. She died in 2013. A genius and amazingly prolific author.
 
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maxmordon

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I haven't, but she looks interesting.

I bought To Kill A Mockingbird, Americanah and Are You My Mother? I also have a copy of Persepolis on hold for a while now.
 

Lillith1991

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Not long ago, as I made a list of all my favorite writers, I noticed a serious issue: less than 20% of the books I've read have been written by women. To mend this the last batch of books I've bought is mainly filled by female authors and I've started by a 20th Century Science Fiction classic: The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood.

Add Octavia Butler to your list Max. I would call her even more classic than Atwood.
 

lacygnette

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I've read Lessing - not the SF though. Liked her. Still remember parts of The Handmaid's Tale which I read long ago, so if it sticks, I think it must be good. Or very very bad!

For short stories you can't beat Rebecca Makkai. Music for Wartime. OMG-some of the best short stories I've ever read. In fact, I read a lot of women authors. I like Katherine Mansfield's short stories. Alice Mcdermott and Barbara Kingsolver's novels. Edith Wharton, Age of Innocence is amazing. There are lots of others, but these are at the top of my list.
 

Lillith1991

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Which book of hers do you recommend?

I recommend the Xenogenesis/Lilith's Brood series and Kindred. Kindred is her first published work if I'm remembering right and straddles the line of several genres by using spontaneous travel back in time and forward into her own time, which is very SF, as a means of telling the story and getting across different themes. Xenogenesis is just something I love because it revels in being both firmly literary and unabashedly SF at the same time.