From the story of a dysfunctional family in The Corrections to the story of one woman's atypical life in The Stone Diaries, I think we have inadvertantly picked the perfect second book for the year. I'm very interested to hear what everyone thought of this pseudo-autobiography and how Carol Shields writes women's lives. Below are the questions we'll use to start off the discussion when we meet next Monday, February 8, at the Book Cellar. New members are always welcome to join us.
- Who is telling Daisy's story? The first chapter is told in a first-person narrative, but the majority of the book is told in the third-person with the first-person narrator occasionally interjecting. What effect did this have on how you read the story and what you thought of Daisy as an autobiographer (if she really is one)?
- From the passionate Cuyler Goodwill to Barker Flett, who is smitten with Daisy while she is still a child, the men in this novel are both erotically enthralled by women and fulfilled by their relationships with them. In contrast, their wives seem bewildered by, indifferent to, or at best serenely tolerant of their husbands' ardor. Does The Stone Diaries subvert traditional sex roles? Where do Daisy and the novel's other female characters derive their greatest pleasure and fulfillment? How badly do Shields's women need men?*
- What role does memory - either the desire to remember or the desire not to remember - play in the novel? How does it drive Daisy's motivations?
- Would you describe this as a functional or dysfunctional family? Is Cuyler a good father? Is Daisy a good mother and wife?
- Compare Daisy's marriage to Harold to her marriage with Barker. Is there love in either of these marriages? What are her motivations for marrying the two men?
- In the chapter titled "Love," Daisy writes: "Men, it seemed to me in those days, were uniquely honored by the stories that erupted in their lives, whereas women were more likely to be smothered by theirs. Why? Why should this be? Why should men be allowed to strut under the privilege of their life adventures, wearing them like a breastful of medals, while women went all gray and silent beneath the weight of theirs?" (121). What implication does this statement have when taken in the context of her life and her autobiography? What does it reveal both about our protagonist and about the author?
- In the chapter titled "Sorrow," we're given first person accounts from Daisy's family and friends on what they think is the cause of her malaise. How does this form another picture of Daisy? Are these accounts to be trusted and do they seem to fit in a book that is mostly autobiography?
- In the final chapter, after speaking to her daughter Alice, Daisy writes: "Does Grandma Flett actually say this last aloud? She's not sure. She's lost track of what's real and what isn't, and so, at this age, have I" (329). What does this admission mean in terms of the record we're reading? Does it affect your ability to trust Daisy as the narrator of her own life? What might be the author's motivation in writing this statement?
- How well do we know Daisy by the time the book ends? Better or worse than her family and friends? Better or worse than she seems to know herself?
- What effect do the photos in the center of the book lend to the story? Does it make it more believable or less believable? Do you question any of Daisy's descriptions of her family members after seeing the pictures?
*From Penguin reading group guide.
— Veronica Bond /
News Tue Feb 02 2010
The Chicago Underground Library has had a number of homes over the past six years, and it recently added a new address to the list. The library now resides on the second floor at 621 W. Belmont Ave., in part of the Red Tape Theatre's space within St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Lakeview.
If you're not familiar with CUL, it's an open library devoted to independent and small press media produced in the Chicago area. Its holdings include books, magazines, zines, journals, broadsides, newspapers and art books. In some cases, the publications in its collection are the only known remaining copies, making the library an invaluable resource for anyone interested in independent media. If you'd like to peruse the stacks, stop by on a Tuesday between 7 and 9pm or a Saturday between 1 and 5pm, or make an appointment.
— Andrew Huff /
Events Tue Jan 19 2010
Dueling book readings give you two options at 6pm tonight.
At the Washington Library, Dr. Temple Grandin, an expert in animal behavior and humane animal slaughter as well as an autism activist, reads from and discusses her latest book, Animals Make Us Human: Creating the Best Life for Animals.
Meanwhile, down at 57th Street Books, Alexander Aciman and Emmett Rensin, authors of Twitterature, read their distillations of literary classics boiled down to 140-character tweets.
— Andrew Huff
Editor's Note: This article was submitted by Christopher Gray, an independent journalist in Chicago.
More than a year after broken pipes destroyed their library, the residents of Altgeld Gardens will be able to check out books in a space named for the first African-American poet.
The Chicago Public Library revealed Wednesday that a new library would take up residence in an unused, 4,000-square foot wing of the Phillis Wheatley Child Parent Center.
"It's actually a better location, closer to the school," said Mary Dempsey, the commissioner of the Chicago Public Library. "We'll have a separate entrance, we want this to be open to everyone."
Continue reading this entry »
— Book Club /
Hardcover Fiction
1. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
2. The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver
3. Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls
4. Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
5. Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger
Hardcover Nonfiction
1. Committed by Elizabeth Gilbert
2. Drive by Daniel Pink
3. Open by Andre Agassi
4. Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer
5. What the Dog Saw by Malcolm Gladwell
Paperback Fiction
1. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
2. Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann
3. The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery
4. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford
5. Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
Paperback Nonfiction
1. Food Rules by Michael Pollan
2. Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson
3. Flat Belly Diet by Liz Vaccariello
4. Animals Make Us Human by Temple Grandin
5. How to Take Over Teh Wurld by Professor Happycat
Children's
1. Diary of a Wimpy Kid #4: Dog Days by Jeff Kinney
2. Alex Rider Series #8: Crocodile Tears by Anthony Horowitz
3. Hunger Games #2: Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
4. Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl
5. When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
As gathered from Anderson's Bookshop; Read Between the Lynes; The Book Cellar; Lake Forest Books; The Bookstall at Chestnut Court; The Book Table; the Seminary Co-op Bookstores; and Women and Children First by Carl Lennertz.
— Alice Maggio /
News Thu Jan 14 2010
"You may read about how many ebook readers are coming out now -- but we've been offering downloadable collections for years. Did you get a new smartphone? Many libraries offer sites optimized for mobile users, offer answers via text message, and have even created apps for user convenience. We've become a proving ground for new technologies, and those who know us look to librarians for instruction and advice on a variety of digital tools."
Toby Greenwalt, a librarian at the Skokie Public Library, recognizes the gap between regular library users and those who never set foot inside a library. If you are a non-library user, Greenwalt wants to know how libraries can prove their value to you. Read and comment.
— Alice Maggio /
News Thu Jan 14 2010
— Alice Maggio /
Events Thu Jan 14 2010
Contributors of the quarterly Broadsheets and online literary magazine, THE2NDHAND, are calling you out. Tonight they beg the question, so you think you have nerves of steel? In the first installment of what will soon become a monthly Monday series, host "Harold Ray" (better known as coeditor Jacob Knabb) along with playwright Chris Bower, writer and performer Jill Summers, and literary addict Amanda Marbais, will present a performance ready to deliver verbal fireworks.
The idea behind the series is to feature one writer every month--tonight there will be two--who will comment on the question in the reading's title in any manner he or she sees fit. To witness the literary witticisms of these authors, head over to Quimby's Bookstore at 1854 W. North Ave. in Wicker Park. The festivities begin at 7 p.m. and--another bonus--admission is free.
— Vanessa Day /
Hardcover Fiction
1. Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger
2. The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver
3. Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls
4. Too Much Happiness by Alice Munro
5. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Hardcover Nonfiction
1. Stones into Schools by Greg Mortenson
2. True Compass by Edward Kennedy
3. Too Big to Fail by Andrew Sorkin
4. Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer
5. Open by Andre Agassi
Paperback Fiction
1. Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann
2. Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
3. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
4. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer
and Annie Barrows
5. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
Paperback Nonfiction
1. Food Rules by Michael Pollan
2. Hot, Flat, and Crowded by Thomas Friedman
3. I Am America (And So Can You) by Stephen Colbert
4. How to Take Over teh Wurld [sic] by Professor Happycat
5. Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson
Children's
1. Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
2. Crocodile Tears by Anthony Horowitz
3. Diary of a Wimpy Kid #1 by Jeff Kinney
4. Diary of a Wimpy Kid #4: Last Straw by Jeff Kinney
5. Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl
As gathered from Anderson's Bookshop; Read Between the Lynes; The Book Cellar; Lake Forest Books; The Bookstall at Chestnut Court; The Book Table; the Seminary Co-op Bookstores; and Women and Children First by Carl Lennertz.
— Alice Maggio /
News Wed Jan 06 2010
— Alice Maggio /
Events Wed Jan 06 2010
The Chicago Writers Association (CWA) is celebrating the latest authors nominated for the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame. The Deck the Hall party will feature local acclaimed authors Bayo Ojikutu, Marcus Sakey and Don De Grazia as special guests of honor. Also a silent auction will take place featuring autographed books, gift certificates, manuscript editing services, and much more. Tickets are available for sale online, $25 for members, $30 for non-members. The ticket allows entry to the event as well as unlimited specialty beers and appetizers. If tickets are purchased at the door, the price is $5 more.
So celebrate the end of the holiday season with good food, cold beer, and a bustling literary crowd. Deck the Hall is Thursday, January 7, at Sheffields 3258 N Sheffield Ave. from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.
— Vanessa Day /
I hope all of you have had a great time reading Jonathan Franzen's The Corrections and are as excited to discuss it next week as I am. Below are some questions we'll use to get the discussion going. Post your thoughts in the comments or join us on Monday, January 11, at the Book Cellar to discuss it in person. New members are always welcome to join us.
• If you had to describe this book to another person, what would you say it is about?
• What is the significance of the author's decision to name the Lamberts' hometown St. Jude? What is this saying about the family? How are the characters shaped by the fact that they keep being pulled back to this town?
• What kind of mother is Enid ? How accurately do her beliefs about her children mirror their realities? Why is this last Christmas in St. Jude so important to her?
• What is the marriage between Enid and Alfred like? How does this affect their children's abilities to have meaningful relationships? Would you say any of them, Enid and Alfred included, have been able to have successful relationships?
• How does Enid 's life change once Alfred is hospitalized at the end of the book? Was getting rid of Alfred the key to her happiness? How does the hospitalization affect each of the children, Chip in particular?
• Is there a hero or a villain in this story? Were you able to sympathize with any of the characters or did you find them all unlikable? Do any of them evolve or change throughout the story's timeline?
• Who is the narrator of this story? Is there only one or more than one? Do you trust that the story you're presented with is accurate? For example, think about the fight between Gary and Caroline regarding her hurt back - whose version of the story do you think you're supposed believe and whose version of the story do you actually believe? Can you think of any other instances where you're unsure of the narrator's trustworthiness?
• What does the title "The Corrections" mean? What are these "corrections" and what are they correcting? How does this idea play out for each character? What are their failures and how are they corrected?
• What do you believe the author was trying to say about the generic American family? Is there any truth to this story?
— Veronica Bond /
News Mon Jan 04 2010
Living Oprah: My One-Year Experiment to Walk the Walk of the Queen of Talk by Robyn Okrant, based on the Chicago-based writer, performer and yoga instructor's year spent living according to advice from our resident queen of all media, made its debut today. Okrant said the experiment was rewarding but ultimately exhausting -- particularly when Oprah contradicted herself:
Whereas most viewers regard Winfrey's directives as merely enthusiastic suggestions, Okrant took them literally, which at one point made her the owner of a fire pit from Lowe's.
While promoting a variety of products during her 2008 season, Winfrey also spent considerable time encouraging viewers to soak up the wisdom of Eckhart Tolle's A New Earth, which reminds people they are not what they own.
Winfrey's shows that season also featured ongoing segments on the plight of hoarders and tips on cutting down on clutter featuring de-clutter expert Peter Walsh.
The message was murky. Do you buy the items Winfrey says will improve your life? Or do you remember you are not defined by your possessions, and that you probably don't need many of them, anyway?
Okrent's blog about living according to Oprah's rules is still active at LivingOprah.com. She plans to transform it into a blog about "facing habits head on" starting this week.
— Andrew Huff /
In need of a little more fiction, circa 2009? The Reader's annual fiction issue is now online, featuring stories by Stephen Markley, Natalie Edwards and Robert Cass. If you find yourself in need of some more reads, you can always check out the Reader's archive which houses their fiction issues dating back to 2000.
— Veronica Bond /
Newcity has listed their Top 5 books of 2009, but instead of including books from all over the globe, they've also set aside two lists specifically for local reads. I wouldn't necessarily agree with all of their picks, but the local nod is always a nice thing.
— Veronica Bond /
The Stone Diaries is the fictionalized autobiography of Daisy Goodwill Flett, tracing an ordinary life from birth to death through the 20th century. A winner of the Pulitzer Prize for fiction, the National Book Critics Circle Award, and Canada's Governor General's Award.
