Just Kids, by Patti Smith - the rock 'n' roll biography about Smith's fantastic lifelong friendship and love with Robert Mapplethorpe.
Next meeting: Monday, June 27th, Wimmer's 7 PM
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
First Half of The Blind Assassin
Book gang had a small, but lively meeting March 26th in the fabulous yard of Ms. Larah P. Larah, being the ever-gracious hostess, made a themed hors d'oerves tray of canapes, some with fresh cucumbers and spread on wheat bread, some with tasty peppers and hummus.
With most members of Book Gang only part-way through the book, the meeting talk was of general themes and some of the various threads of mystery which Ms. Atwood has woven through the pages. Particularly distressing (ahem, maybe a bit annoying) is the funky sci-fi side-story which surfaces frequently throughout the book. Is this some metaphor for Laura and Iris? And parable about love affairs of their time? Or is this side-story serving some alternate purpose in the book? Read on, dear Gangstas, because only time, and chapters, will tell...
Also discussed was the bizarre personality of young Miss Laura Chase and whether or not she might suffer some mental illness or personality disorder. The Gang also went back through some timeline stuff, to confirm that yes, Laura was age 25 when she plunged her car over that bridge. And we also talked about gender roles and how stringent they were back in the days before WWII (and some of us maybe paused to wonder, Have we come a long way, baby? Maybe? Maybe not.)
Book Gang will meet again to discuss the second half of this alluring, multi-dimensional, generation-shifting book on April 26th at 7 pm, back at the same spot, Ms. Pawlawski's enchanting backyard. Bring your crystal ware and Xanady genie costumes!
With most members of Book Gang only part-way through the book, the meeting talk was of general themes and some of the various threads of mystery which Ms. Atwood has woven through the pages. Particularly distressing (ahem, maybe a bit annoying) is the funky sci-fi side-story which surfaces frequently throughout the book. Is this some metaphor for Laura and Iris? And parable about love affairs of their time? Or is this side-story serving some alternate purpose in the book? Read on, dear Gangstas, because only time, and chapters, will tell...
Also discussed was the bizarre personality of young Miss Laura Chase and whether or not she might suffer some mental illness or personality disorder. The Gang also went back through some timeline stuff, to confirm that yes, Laura was age 25 when she plunged her car over that bridge. And we also talked about gender roles and how stringent they were back in the days before WWII (and some of us maybe paused to wonder, Have we come a long way, baby? Maybe? Maybe not.)Thursday, March 3, 2011
Successful 1st Meeting, and Plans for March
Greetings, Gangsters,
Jenna here, reporting on our successful first meeting at Lara Plecas' place. We met Sat., Feb 19th, and even though not everyone finished the book (no shame, ladies! I know I picked a slow one!), we had a great talk about Sufis, spinning dervishes, various rare bird species and a special dedication to The Phoenix.
On Ms. Pawlowski's recommendation, we'll be diving into the divine Margaret Atwood's The Blind Assassin. Next meeting to be March 26, at Larah's place. Rumor has it there will be 1940s-themed cocktails, dresses and hors d'oeuvres. Yay!
Jenna here, reporting on our successful first meeting at Lara Plecas' place. We met Sat., Feb 19th, and even though not everyone finished the book (no shame, ladies! I know I picked a slow one!), we had a great talk about Sufis, spinning dervishes, various rare bird species and a special dedication to The Phoenix.
On Ms. Pawlowski's recommendation, we'll be diving into the divine Margaret Atwood's The Blind Assassin. Next meeting to be March 26, at Larah's place. Rumor has it there will be 1940s-themed cocktails, dresses and hors d'oeuvres. Yay!
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Arizona One Book 2011
The official selection for one book Arizona this year is :
Hopi Summer: Letters from Ethel to Maud by Carolyn O’Bagy Davis
Visit http://www.onebookaz.org/ for more information, or how to nominate books and/or vote for next year.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Welcome to Book Gang AZ; This ain't no Oprah's Angel Club!
Welcome to Book Gang AZ.
Book Gang is something me and some radical Brooklyn friends started 3 years ago (can you believe it kept going??) to pretty fun success. My hope for Book Gang AZ is that we can round up some equally awesome, book-luvin' people here in the PHX area to commit to meeting every month and talkin' books.
For the first meeting, please read The Conference of the Birds by Farid Ud-Din Attar. We will meet Sat. 19 at Lara's abode. Bring a copy of the book and come ready to drink & discuss!
There's no theme for Book Gang; the sky is the limit. We could read a work of non-fiction one month, and the next month a book of poetry. We could dig deep into the classics and the next time we meet, select something from the New York Times Book Review. The books could be odd, obscure, or could come from the bestsellers list. What we read is entirely up to the members of Book Gang.
Book Gang is very democratic, especially about scheduling. I picked the first book to get the ball moving.
I can explain everything at the first meeting.
In the future, we will always vote on meeting dates and times, to try to make sure everything is as fair to all members as possible.
Please use our Gmail account to communicate and post meetings and interesting readings around the Valley on the calendar. Use this blogspace to post member meeting picts and meeting postmortems.
Thanks, dudes. Looking forward to seeing you at our launch meeting! - Jenna
Book Gang is something me and some radical Brooklyn friends started 3 years ago (can you believe it kept going??) to pretty fun success. My hope for Book Gang AZ is that we can round up some equally awesome, book-luvin' people here in the PHX area to commit to meeting every month and talkin' books.
For the first meeting, please read The Conference of the Birds by Farid Ud-Din Attar. We will meet Sat. 19 at Lara's abode. Bring a copy of the book and come ready to drink & discuss!
There's no theme for Book Gang; the sky is the limit. We could read a work of non-fiction one month, and the next month a book of poetry. We could dig deep into the classics and the next time we meet, select something from the New York Times Book Review. The books could be odd, obscure, or could come from the bestsellers list. What we read is entirely up to the members of Book Gang.
Book Gang is very democratic, especially about scheduling. I picked the first book to get the ball moving.
I can explain everything at the first meeting.
In the future, we will always vote on meeting dates and times, to try to make sure everything is as fair to all members as possible.
Please use our Gmail account to communicate and post meetings and interesting readings around the Valley on the calendar. Use this blogspace to post member meeting picts and meeting postmortems.
Thanks, dudes. Looking forward to seeing you at our launch meeting! - Jenna
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