Fourth meeting: Confederacy of Dunces

Picking up a 400 page Pulitzer prize winner to read for a book club is a bit daunting. First off, the mere heft of the book can scare a person off, and secondly the pressure to not only understand but like a book that has been touted world wide as a masterpiece is immense. I picked up Confederacy of Dunces with these fears in mind. What if I don't finish? (I did, by the way, an hour before the meeting) What if I don't get it? What if I don't like it and everyone else does? Of course after the book club meeting I realized that picking a book like this and leading an intelligible discussion about it is an even bigger feat. Luckily, my friend and fellow Psychology grad student Josh is braver (or better at faking) than I, and pulled off another fabulous meeting of Eat, Drink, and Be Literary.

Entering the meeting, I mostly had negative feelings about the book, but the lingering idea that I was missing something that made others think this book was worth a Pulitzer made me suspend final judgment. As it turns out, other members of the book club tended to agree. Though we could recognize literary merit that we haven't seen in our club otherwise, nobody was that excited about the book and overall we just felt ambivalent. The main character Ignatius Reilly was disgusting in every sense of the word and hardly a sympathetic protagonist; described as obese with a "damp" mustache and yellow eyes, Ignatius lacked all social graces and had severe delusions of grandeur. The story dragged on and on seemingly without any character development, and I felt that the point of this novel could have been better expressed in perhaps a twenty page short story. Each chapter seemed to be the same-- a huge ensemble of characters dealing with life in New Orleans in the 1960's. No characters take charge of their own lives but rather just let life happen to them. And, like Ignatius, the entire cast of characters was some what despicable. (Though, even I have to admit that some of these "dunces" managed to make me laugh out loud a time or two).

It wasn't until one of the last discussion topics of the meeting that a positive opinion of the work was restored. Early on in the meeting, someone commented on the fact that the story behind the author and getting the book published was better than the actual book-- John Kennedy Toole made several attempts to get his masterpiece published, but it was not until after he committed suicide that the book (with the help of his mother) that the book was discovered and of course subsequently won the most prestigious literary award around. At first this comment sort of rolled past me. I agreed the forward was easier and more pleasant to read, but I didn't give it much other thought. However, when Josh asked us if we had thought about the point of view of the author when reading the novel, I was stumped. Somehow I hadn't thought about the depressed but brilliant man writing the novel and what his worldview must have been like-- an unsuccessful author, he probably felt helpless and like he had no control. This was obvious in the representation of the characters. At the meeting, several people pondered which characters might have been somewhat autobiographical, and some speculated that perhaps all were in some way. Thinking about the novel from this point of view caused me to suddenly shift my opinion of the entire work. Suddenly the disgusting and tedious "adventures" of the dunces of New Orleans seemed incredibly symbolic of a tragic and wasted life.

Overall, I am very glad that I can add Confederacy of Dunces to the ever-growing list of book club books. I got so much more out of the novel through the meeting than I ever possibly could have reading the book on my own. And in all honesty, this might have turned into a "never-ender" if I didn't have the idea of insightful discussion and a tasty pot luck (New Orleans themed, by the way-- beignets, Cajun potatoes, and red beans with rice) to motivate me.

Updates

I'm half way through Confederacy of Dunces for the November book club meeting, and I already I am looking forward to the December book club pick. Mandy has selected Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann. I've never heard of the book, the author, or the real event it is inspired by (a tightrope across Manhattan skyskrapers?!) but I am excited none the less.

Third meeting- Little Bee

Last Sunday, Jamie hosted a lovely book club brunch meeting to discuss her book selection, Little Bee by Chris Cleave. 

I had a unique experience with this book. While reading it, I felt like I couldn't put it down. I opted to pick it up each evening instead of diving into the excessively long list of shows saved on my DVR, and that says a lot. However, immediately upon finishing the book I felt an overwhelming feeling of..... well, nothing. And as time went on, that nothingness turned into faint critiques, mild annoyance, and then slowly but surely, a confused feeling of dislike. Needless to say, I was anxious to hear a discussion about the book and come to a more definitive conclusion about its merits (or perhaps lack there of).

The other members (we had 7 in attendance) were varied in their opinions. A few felt confused like me or ambivalent, two liked it, and two despised it. This variance actually provided for some very stimulating conversation. But, before I tell you about our conversation, I will tell you about the book. The novel's jacket provides no description of the story other than a suggestion that the story is magical and shouldn't be ruined... well, for anyone who is concerned, I am about to ruin it. SPOILER ALERT: The story is told from alternating points of view: half of the time we are in the head of Little Bee, a Nigerian refugee seeking asylum in England. The other half, we hear from Sarah, a British businesswoman, recent widow, and mother to a four year old who believes himself to be Batman. As the story goes on, we learn that Little Bee and Sara (as well as Sara's late husband, Andrew) met on a beach in Nigeria where the poms were vacationing and Little Bee (along with her sister) were running from Nigerian oil company workers who were set out to kill them for knowing too much. And now to fast forward a bit: Sara cut off her finger to save Little Bee's life. Unfortunately, Little Bee's sister didn't make it. Sara's husband was distraught that he didn't to more, and two years later when Little Bee shows up in England, he kills himself. The rest of the story started there (and seemed unnecessary to most of us).

Even just summarizing the plot again, it is clear to me that this novel should have been powerful--tales of survival, of loss, of love, of terror, of resilience..... But most of us were in agreement that it was lacking in some major ways. First off, the writing was nothing special. As a group of academics who read day in and out we are potentially harsher than your average reader, but nobody was impressed. Secondly, the character development was almost non-existent. We were introduced to characters going through intense emotional situations, yet we didn't really know them and (at least personally) did not feel the emotions that we were "supposed to". There was just  no connection to the main characters... and there were supporting roles that seemed out of place. Finally, the book seemed to come to the climax only a third of the way in. The plot after the much anticipated beach scene was overly cumbersome and in some cases ridiculous.

It maybe obvious given the previous paragraphs that I didn't like Little Bee, but I still felt conflicted going into the meeting. After the discussion with the group I came to a careful decision that I didn't like the book (despite what my devouring behaviors suggested while reading it). In fact, I think all but maybe one hold out agreed by the end of the meeting that the book wasn't so fabulous. Ahh, group polarization, it's a beautiful thing (I love social psychology in action!!)

Perhaps more exciting to me was the selection of delicious treats we had. There was an apple baked french toast, some spinach quiche, roasted potatoes, and the masterpiece-- butterhorns. These little delectable gooey cookies were to die for. Sadly, I was not the person who created the masterpiece. In fact, all I brought was OJ. Despite my lousy contribution, and a less than perfect novel, book club meeting #3 was a great success!! Thanks to Jamie for leading a great discussion!

Just to tide you over....

I have barely done any reading since the semester started. Well, I take that back. I have done a TON of reading... granted, it is virtually all articles from psychology journals and does not exactly hold any literary quality.

But, this Sunday is our discussion of Little Bee (I cannot wait to hear other people's thoughts on this, because I am completely ambivalent), and then I get to start Shanghai Girls, and my friend Josh has just announced his book club pick--  A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Tool.

Happy reading!

Watermelon Frenzy

Who has time to read when there are fresh mini-watermelons available at the produce stand down the street? Actually, I usually don't even like watermelons, but I fell in love with these baby tiny cuties, and at 2 for 5 bucks I couldn't resist. Then, I tasted them... and wow. They are just luscious and red and juicy and flavorful. I can't get enough! In addition to just snacking on pieces, I am trying to forge into the unknown land of watermelon recipes as well.

First up was the vodka soaked watermelon. Think snack sized fruit martinis! I found a few different methods of infusing the vodka online, but I didn't have much time so I just cut the melon in half, cut the fruit into several pieces and scooped them out into a separate bowl. I dumped out any "water" left in the rind, and then put the pieces all back in and poured about 1/3 cup of vodka over each half. Then I popped it in the fridge and let it sit about 3-4 hours. The result was surprising... I wasn't sure if I should expect watermelon flavored vodka or vodka flavored watermelon. I got the latter. It tasted much stronger than I think it really was. Each juicy piece seemed like a shot of straight vodka (that you had to chew) but I don't think there was really that much alcohol in there. Who knows.

The second dish I tried was quite risky. I am talking above and beyond the risk of cooking with watermelon at all. I found several recipes online that varied just slightly, so instead of picking one to follow, I just very loosely followed all of them. If you know me at all, you know that I will read cook books all day long and yet never ever follow a recipe while cooking. I more just read about dishes and then make the proportions up as I go along or include/exclude ingredients as I please. But I digress-- the dish was a watermelon, feta, and mint salad.

Did you throw up in your mouth a little? That was my instant reaction, but people literally raved about this online, and I had feta and mint (from my besty's garden no less) on hand and thought, "what the hell". The salad did not disappoint. It was one of the tastiest, freshest, most uniquely delicious things I have had in a long time. And I don't even know how to describe what it tastes like other than watermelon, feta, and mint all having a party in your mouth. The flavors don't exactly blend, but they each offer something incredible. I don't know who thought these three things would go together, but man oh man they do. This dish is a total keeper.

My "recipe" is as follows:
I took 1 mini seedless watermelon (about 1/3-1/2 a regular watermelon) and chopped it up into bite sized pieces. Then I sprinkled feta cheese all over the top, followed by ribbon sliced mint leaves. Then I tossed all three ingredients together and added just a bit more feta and mint on top for garnish. Then, I made the dressing. Online, recipes varied from using no dressing, to using just lime juice, to using olive oil and just about every type of vinegar. I opted for white wine vinegar, olive oil, and black pepper (about 2 TBSPN, 1 TBSPN, and two shakes) and then just drizzled it all over the salad. I did not re-toss the salad because the watermelon just soaks the dressing up and then passes it down to the next layer.

Consider me watermelon crazed!

Second Meeting- Willful Creatures

Last Thursday was the second meeting of Eat, Drink, and Be Literary. This time, my friend Beth was the host. I was really excited for Beth's discussion because she was a literature major in college, and subsequently she knows how to book-club like it's her job! Beth picked Willful Creatures by Aimee Bender to discuss. The book is a collection of short stories that all were emotional and raw, but half were realistic, and half were like fairy tales for adults. The magical realism throughout the book was very powerful and emphasized the raw human experience throughout. I loved the book as a whole, though some stories hit me more than others.

The book club meeting proved that others had similar thoughts as I did. Beth did a fabulous job of asking questions that made us all think, and get us all discussing. I just love the group of people that came. Though most of us are psychologists, and therefore I have witnessed their brilliance at work, I usually don't get to hear how people interpret literature other than peer-reviewed articles so it is a treat.

Beth asked a few questions about the collection as a whole, but also focused in on several of the stories. A few of the stories we spent time discussing were stories that had a great impact on all of us emotionally, but that very few of us actually liked. One particular story was called "End of the Line" which was about a little man that got adopted as a pet by a big man (this would be one of the magical realism/ fantasy stories, obviously). The story got more dark and twisted as the little man was tortured in creative and horrible ways. A line that stuck out in the text was a thought that the big man had, "His little body was so small it was hard to imagine it hurt that much. How much pain could really be felt in a space that tiny?" Some of us viewed this line as a pro-vegetarian stance, others as a pro-life stance-- I took it as a metaphor for how we dehumanize people that are different from us. The story was disturbing, and evoked a response of discomfort and distress among all of us, yet I still think it was one of the best.

One of my favorite stories stories of the book had no mystical or magical elements like a family of pumpkin heads or a boy with keys for fingers (both present in other stories!) but rather just a simple, non-offensive use of profanity. The story, "The Motherf*cker" used the profanity in its most literal way, describing a man who.... well, f*cks mothers. The particular mother in the snippet of his life described by Bender was a famous actress. The use of typically obscene language in a technical and literal way threw me off at first, but then made me realize what meaning and beauty there was in the story.

The discussion of the fifteen stories was accompanied by some delicious treats (in true Eat, Drink, and Be Literary fashion). My favorites were a delicious Japanese Curry made by Beth, some homemade guacamole courtesy of Jamie. This meeting, I opted to bring a beverage. I made a non-alcoholic Pineapple Basiltini. I loosely followed a recipe from www.thatsthespirit.com and it was a hit! I combined pineapple, fresh basil leaves from my garden (bruised and muddled with just a tiny bit of granulated sugar) and club soda to top it off. It was completely refreshing and not a drop was left at the end of the meeting.... so I drove home and made a second batch, and this time included vodka. Yum.


For all Eat, Drink, and Be Literary members present, I think this book and the discussion of it (and the treats accompanying it) was a home run. I am fairly certain we could have spent an entire meeting focused on each of the stories but it is time to move on to the next book. Until then, happy reading!

Quitting is for schmucks.

Well, I'm a schmuck. Just this once I suppose. Typically, I have this very weird habit of never admitting that I could not finish a book or that I just quit reading it and moved on with my life. Instead, I maintain-- for weeks, months, even years-- that I am just "still reading" a book. I have several of these never-enders on my night stand at any given time, and every once in awhile I will actually convince myself that after a 3 year hiatus that I will magically be able to stay awake reading Atonement or Love in the Time of Cholera (neither case has ever been true, but both books have proven to be capable cuddling partners). But, something inside me snapped this week, and I decided to take one off the shelf and just say no... er... just say "I QUIT!"

Hello, my name is Katy, and I have stopped reading The Best American Non-Required Reading 2008 edited by Dave Eggers, Intruduction by Judy Blume.

Now don't get me wrong-- the book wasn't entirely bad. I usually love collections of essays, short stories, chapters, comics, poems, etc. I find that collections like these are sometimes the only thing that can capture my grad-student sized attention span (meaning very small because I'm supposed to be focusing on the three dozen unread journal articles sitting only a few feet away on my desk) and therefore as a "genre", I love collections. And I also adore Dave Eggers. I have read all of his books at least twice and my borderline inappropriate love of his work (and what I imagine he is like in real life) is what drew me to get this book in the first place. And Judy Blume? Hello, what adolescent girl (past, present, or future) has not been able to find her voice after reading just a blurb of Judy Blume's brilliance?

So why am I actually committing to QUITTING this book if all I can say are good things? Well... for one thing, it's freaking 2010. In fact, it's the second half of 2010. Why should I be focusing on the best literature of 2008 if there's just more (and better?) stuff piling up on my nightstand for me to look at? But still, I have clearly known that 2008 is long gone for about 18 months now, and still didn't quite give up. I put the book back on my nightstand and it continued staring me down. "Finish me! Don't give up!" it whispered every night as I would reach past it for something -- dare I say it-- better. So what happened? I answered the call of the book one night. I chose it above all others. I started a new short story and... well.. I just got bored. There. I said it. It just couldn't quite grab my attention and I kept re-reading the same two or three paragraphs night after night, trying to move forward.... somehow, this turned into literally flipping through the rest of the book and skimming random pages of random essays. When I realized that nothing more between the two pretty covers caused me to make a second glance, and that when I tossed the book off of my "to read" pile that I felt NO REMORSE I just knew. It is time to move on.

Whew! I feel liberated.

Upcoming Book Club Picks

The next three book club books have been chosen!

Beth picked a collection of short stories called Willful Creatures by Aimee Bender for August. I just finished the book and am looking forward to the discussion. The stories included dark, twisted and sad, beautiful modern fairy tales. I found them all very polarizing. It varied by story, but I either loved them or hated them.

Next up, Jamie selected Little Bee by Chris Cleave and for October, Emily has picked Shanghai Girls by Lisa See. Both of these novels are en route to my house now, thanks to Amazon Prime. I can't wait for the package to arrive! I move this week, so some new literary friends to join me at my new digs are exactly what I need to feel right at home.

Nothing says "Independence Day" like bourbon, jazz, and vampires!

Happy 4th of July! I rather like this holiday, if only for fireworks and an obligatory day off of work. This year, I think I have used my long weekend rather well.

Yesterday, I went to the Cedar Ridge Vinyard in Swisher, Iowa to try their newly released Iowa (100% corn) bourbon whiskey-- the first bourbon made in Iowa since prohibition. Along with a sip that was strong enough to give me a buzz, I tasted several of their award winning wines (from Iowa grapes-- practically unheard of) and got a tour of the distillery. It is a rather small scale production, and the bottles are all hand filled and hand labeled, but the staff was incredibly knowledgeable and friendly and everything I tasted was great. I love to support local business, and getting to drink some quality beverages while doing it made me feel even better! I'm no bourbon connoisseur, but I look forward to whipping up a batch of mint juleps and celebrating some Iowa spirits!

If wine and spirits weren't enough for one day, I also enjoyed Iowa City's Jazz Festival last night. It was a perfect evening for jazz on the lawn, beer on a warm breezy patio, and fresh kettle corn to munch on. Though today promises to be rainy, I am half tempted to head downtown if only to taste more of the treats offered by food vendors lined up and down the street.

This morning, I opted against anything so patriotic as a parade, and instead picked up the latest Sookie Stackhouse book, Dead in the Family. It is the tenth installment of Charlaine Harris's southern vampire (among other supernatural beings) mystery series. 


For those of you who have not picked up this delightful, trashy, addicting fluff I beg you do so only if you have a few weeks of free evenings to pound out the ten book series. The books are just as engaging, exciting, and swoon inducing as the Twilight series (yes, I am as bad as a tween girl), but they have an added raunch factor to please more adult (and more gender neutral) audiences. I just finished the book and am already counting down the days til the next book is released. I just can't get enough Sookie! Thankfully, True Blood seasons 2 and 3 can tide me over. Though the series is not nearly as good as the books, it definitely provides some, ahem, titillating distractions from real life.

On that note, I hope your Independence Day is full of good eats, delicious drinks, and as many adventures (literary or not) that you can handle!

The Time Traveler's Wife

I realize I am approximately two years behind the summer beach read train, but I finally got around to this swoon worthy read.

I'm not sure if I'm just more emotional late at night (the only time I get for pleasure reading) or what, but lately I have been crying buckets at nearly everything. My poor roommate must think I am nuts when I bust into his office at 1 am at least twice a month and try to explain riveting plots and beautiful characters between sobs. This week, when I finished The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger, it was no exception. Major sob fest. Major.

When I borrowed this book from a friend, I was expecting an easy and romantic piece of Chick Lit to numb my senses for a few weeks. I was very pleasantly surprised to find a complex and beautiful love story. I was really impressed with the author for her ability to write a story that weaves in and out of time, and I was simultaneously impressed with myself for being able to follow along as the main characters Claire and Henry fell in love one moment at a time. In fact, I became so engrossed in the novel that I felt like I was falling in love right along with them.

One of my favorite things about the book was actually the setting. Niffenegger managed to turn the city of Chicago into a character in this story. The city, changing every second with the hustle and bustle of life, also remains fundamentally the same throughout time. The city might seem constantly in flux with millions of busy people hurrying about, but the architecture, traditions, and even El stops remain unchanged. To me, this city (made extra special to me because it was Chicago, my home during 4 years of college) was a metaphor for Henry and Claire. Though they were together for just series of brief moments, back and forth across decades and decades-- the foundation of their relationship was unchanged and beautiful.

Maybe I'm just a hopeless romantic, but I utterly loved this book. I suppose I will have to see the movie now, but lord knows it will never live up to my expectations.

First Meeting- The Art of Racing in the Rain

Tonight was the first meeting of Eat, Drink, and Be Literary. I have been anxious all week to find out what my fellow book-clubbers thought of my pick The Art of Racing in the Rain.

As I mentioned in a previous post, The Art of Racing in the Rain (written by Garth Stein) is unique because it is told from the point of view of the family dog who wishes to be human, Enzo. Enzo watches his master Denny pursue a career as a race car driver, fall in love and get married to a woman named Eve, start a family, and then go through tragedy after tragedy which rip his family apart. The story is heart-tugging, though the book definitely lacked depth in many ways. The plot was predictable and sappy at times, and characters were rather superficial but I found myself deeply attached to Enzo and his obsessions with opposable thumbs and race cars. In other words, despite a lack of literary merit, I really enjoyed the book. If you're in the mood for feel-good fluff, I highly recommend it!

Before the meeting, I was worried how I would handle it if other people didn't like the book, but as it turns out (and this is probably obvious to anyone but me) varying opinions about the book were exactly what made the discussion this evening worthwhile. It was actually quite funny because virtually all of us were in complete agreement about the positive and negative aspects of the book, yet varied greatly in our overall feelings towards the book. In fact, the liking/hating ratio was about 50/50. Who knew a funny furry friend like Enzo could be so polarizing?

The only downside of the evening for me was that my asparagus puffs (one of my all time favorite dishes to wow a crowd) fell flat... literally. Perhaps it was something to do with the incredible humidity recently, but my puffs did not puff. Instead they humidified. Blech. Everyone else's tasty treats made up for this, however. My favorite? Cucumber sandwiches and fresh strawberries. Yum!

Cheers to a night well spent, and on to the next book!

First book!

I was in charge of selecting the book for the first meeting of Eat, Drink, and Be Literary. I agonized for days over this decision. Do I pick something I have read already and loved and risk the possibility of everyone else hating it? Do I blindly pick something I haven't read and risk the possibility of it being terrible and nobody returning to book club? Do I choose a novel? Non fiction? A memoir?

Finally, I consulted a glass (or three) of wine and a good friend and I selected The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein. It is a story told from the point of view of the family dog, Enzo. I read the book in three sittings, and cried at least once each time. Overall, I think my pick was a success, but that might just be the wine talking. The first meeting is next Thursday so I guess I will find out for sure!

Welcome!

What's better than cozy-ing up to a delicious meal, a fine glass of wine, and a good book? Not much, that's for sure. This blog will follow the eating, drinking, and literary escapades of one grad student (that would be me) and her book club. However, my love of avoiding school work is much greater than a monthly book club meeting can handle, so my personal adventures in the kitchen and in the library will from time-to-time make guest appearances.

Thanks for reading!