we do saturday night right!

additional cheese monkey resources

hey everyone,

thanks for a great meeting! here's a coupla links pertaining to last night's discussion:

• if you want more of the word nerd ish, check out "thinking with type" by ellen lupton. i used this in my mag design course, and it's a good read for those with designing or editing inclinations. http://www.papress.com/thinkingwithtype/
• some "book club" questions to go by if you weren't completed BLOWN AWAY by my assessment of himillsy's final project (jk dudes) http://www.underconsideration.com/speakup/archives/001410.html

as for our next meeting, could we bump it to august 19? this one's going to new york for a long weekend, starting on the 20th.

Blog Resurrection

Is it worthless to once again attempt to resurrect using the blog? I think it would be really helpful to communicate this way, without clogging email inboxes — we could communicate via posts and comments. Or should we just say, "Eff it!" and continue the enormous email thread tradition. Food for thought ...

Either way, the next book on the list - "Bright Shiny Morning" by James Frey comes as a recommendation from my friend Justin P. who is an author and screenwriter who claims this as his "favorite book of all time." After reading BSM he refused to read anything for months, as surely nothing else could live up. Upon hearing such a strong conviction over a book from someone in the writing community, I wanted to read it right away.

I'm currently 20 pages deep ...

So ladies (and gentlemen, should you choose to accept this mission), shall we be proactive and plan a future TSRM meeting for late August? Thursday, August 20th @ 7pm @ location TBD? I start Grad school the following week, so I definitely want to get this in prior (selfish, I know).

I'd also like to give a shout-out to Jilly for picking an awesome book and to all y'all for the inspired discussion last night. I deem it: best book club meeting evaaaaa!

Hugs,

Copo

Here's a plug I received via email for a play Justin wrote, being performed this Sunday, if any of you are interested in going:

Friends,

I have written a 10 minute play that will be part of the First Annual American Theatre Company's 10x10 Festival. It's Sunday July 19th @ 7PM. $10 suggested donation. I even believe there's beer. Details below.

I hope to see you there,

Justin

1st Annual

10x10 Short Play Festival

American Theater Company 1909 W. Byron www.atcweb.org

Sunday July 19, 2009 at 7:00pm

Suggested donation of $10.00- includes beverages, no reserved seating

10 Writers. 10 Plays. 10 minutes.

What does it mean to be an American?

Summer: Hold My Hand!

Dear Neglected Blog,

We are sorry.

Faithfully,

TSRM

Color me optimistic - a new, glorious season is looming, and with it, our newest theme of magic and motivation!  S: HMH!  Many props to CoPo and PoPo for this one.

And now - drumroll - NEW BOOK!  Everyone pick up a copy of The Cheese Monkeys by Chip Kidd.  This month's recommendation is by our very own Docta Love.  She would like us to be prepared to discuss, at length, the end of this book at our next meeting.  

Let's try to squeeze this in before Posh leaves for her grand Asian vacation on May 16th.  And for the record - it's an actual vacation to Asia.  The fact that she IS Asian does not make it an "Asian Vacation."  Just to be clear.

Anyway.  Happy reading, happy moving.  xoxo.

Beauty in the mundane

My apologies for being a self-respecting flake when it came to Auster. I pledge to pick it up this time around. If I may, I'd like to weigh in on the next book pick. I don't mean to make the obvious suggestion, but I'm going to throw Updike into the ring. I've always meant to read his famous tetralogy, the "Rabbit" series, and it seems rather appropriate now with his recent death. You can read the Times' love letter to the guy here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/28/books/28appr.html

He wrote, "My only duty was to describe reality as it had come to me, to give the mundane its beautiful due."

I'm always intrigued when writers can bring enlightenment to the ordinary. Would anybody be interested in reading the first book in the series, "Rabbit, Run"?

(How funny: I just noticed that Corey suggested reading this on one of the first TSRM blog entries. Full circle, I like it.)

Next Book

Thanks to Denise for hosting last week!

My vote for the next book is the new Gladwell. Outliers: The Story of Success. Angie expressed interest in it as well. After spending some time with characters hell-bent on destroying their lives, why not find out what makes real people become successful? Gladwell's books also tend to be light and easy to read, yet respectable.

We had talked about top 5 favorite books. Here are mine... for now.
1. Timequake - Kurt Vonnegut
2. Manhattan Transfer - John Dos Passos
3. Siddhartha - Hermann Hesse
4. The Sun Also Rises - Ernest Hemingway
5. Modoc: The True Story of the Greatest Elephant That Ever Lived - Ralph Helfer

I also have to give a shout out to my two favorite Shakespearean plays. Titus Andronicus and The Merchant of Venice. As the bloodiest Shakespearean play, I have no idea as to why Titus has yet to become mainstream. Too many characters maybe?

Reflection Upon a Night

We were two men down tonight (you were missed), but we had a good meeting. And in an effort to stay more connected, but not as a replacement to real live book club meetings, I am rekindling the TSRM blog fires. 

In an unfortunate turn of events, I left my Paul Auster trilogy along with my iPhone at Denise's after book club. She was kind enough to meet me half way. Excitedly walking back with Auster in one hand, the iPhone in my other, and a head full of thoughts, I took one badass fall on a patch of black ice. So watch out for that black ice.

And let's make our next book pick. Fiction or non? Anyone have a book they're dying to sink their teeth into? I promise next time I'll make a flier, kind of like Obama sipping on some Pinot, but maybe not as inspiring. 

Let's blog, shall we?

Inaugural Self-Respecting Man Book Club Meeting!

Just about a week away until The Self-Respecting Man goes live! Refer to the email for more details. Or email me if you didn't get it!  Hope you've been getting your read on, Barack-style. 

See you next Thursday,

Corey

A decision has been made. Correction: Decisions have been made.

Sorry, Pauline, but decisions have been made in your absence. The question does remain: Where are you?

In order to be, like, super-cultured, here's the plan: Gonna read us some Kafka from "The Complete Stories." Not exactly sure which stories right now. But a few. Will elucidate more soon upon further discussion.

Then we're going to see "Kafka on the Shore" a la Steppenwolf. See how worldly this is becoming already?

And then afterward, to add another layer of depth, we're going to delve into "What I talk about when I Talk About Running" by Haruki Murakami.

Welcome aboard, Abbie!

If your suggestions were obvious, then mine are about to slap you across the face.

At long last, I have something to contribute. I like both of your suggestions, Angie. I'd especially like to read the running book by Haruki Murakami. I hadn't even heard of your second suggestion. I'm not very hip. So ... obvious? Pah! You know what all the cool kids are up to these days.

I have some books I feel that I need to make up for because I have not already read them. I will throw them into the wind. There is a very good chance you ladies (or gentlemen) may have already read these books. I'm feeling uncultured and not very self-respecting for having not read them yet (too many negatives in a run on equaling a positive? perhaps), but I am going to put them out there anyway.

Into the world you go:
1) Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins
2) Rabbit, Run by John Updike
3) Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
4) Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

I'm going to keep it short and sweet and pretty frickin obvious for now, though the list could go on. I hope we're planning on book-clubbing for a while. P.S. Book club is now a verb.

Pauline, where are you?