fiction files redux discussion

Hello. I'm here. If you don't know me yet, I'm just another booknerd looking to discuss book related matters.

M

Hi, Maren! Welcome to the Fiction Files.

Yay! Maren is here! We need to find our other stray members. :)

Hi. My name's Kate. I just read all of your lovely introductions last night when I was trying to sleep despite my current NyQuil withdrawals. So I now know everything about everyone in this group-ish. Very cool. I've never introduced myself, and the last post I saw on my iTouch last night before I stapled my eyelids shut was from Shel about finding the other "FF strays." I joined in..um well let's just officially say today but actually a short while back after my sister Elizabeth told me to. When you're a taller little sister, you have to do what your shorter older sister says to maintain balance.

I love reading, writing and books in general. One of my favorite sites is http://bookshelfporn.com/ enjoy that. That doesn't mean that I don't have a Kindle, but there's nothing like a good book shelf. I like a variety of genres, but contemporary fiction and poetry are my favorites. Authors I love, to no surprise: Oats, Vonnegut, Hemingway, Eugenides, Andre Dubus, Jhumpa Lahiri, Kafka, Raymond Carver, Flannery O'Connor, Willa Cather, Salinger...poets: John Donne, Pablo Neruda, Whitman, Keats, Wordsworth, Auden, Machado...

I studied English in college. I'm now working for myself as an independent photographer after realizing that the business world bored me to no end, that I'm really only passionate about marketing myself and that being creative/striving to be great at what I love is better than christmas pie. I also moonlight at a little fine dining Italian joint in St. Charles, IL called Zaza's, where I sell my soul for side cash a few nights a week.

I'm currently reading Ben's, Stories for Nighttime and Some for the Day....he's in this group, yes?? So random--I got his book for a friend recently and a few days after Elizabeth told me he is in the FF. (I never come on here.) I love the book. I find myself holding my breath reading some of the stories. And then I'm recovered by ones like, The Duck Who Fell in Love with a Rock...(I think that's the title). I also had the pleasure of going to dinner with Jonathan, his lovely wife and baby, Shel and a few others from the group last year for Jonathan's book read in Naperville, IL. I jumped right into All About Lulu, which I enjoyed very much, but West of Here is the next book on my list. Looking forward to it! I'm a slow reader, but I'm going to try and jump in on your book list and keep up with the comments. I'll be the quiet one in the corner. Please don't attack me with staves and swords if I say something stupid, I often do. Cheers!

Welcome Kate! We love all folks in this group: the avid posters, the piper inners, and the lurkers.

And yes, Ben is in here somewhere. I'm glad you like his book. That duck story is one of my favorites!

I've been around for a while, never saying much. The name's Richard. Richard Melo. I read and reviewed 20+ books a year for Publishers Weekly for a few years (including the starred review of West of Here) and now am getting back to read just what I want. I'm stuck in a Sam Shepard phase these days.

I'm also a writer, with a first novel that came out in 2004 called Jokerman 8, and a new one due this summer called Happy Talk. Pleased to meetcha.

Hey Richard, welcome to the group please take a look around and don't hesitate to stir up some controversy. Some sure bets to do so:

Borges? More like snorges.
Roth is the god of all American Literature.
PKD sucks D.
Evison is a pantywaist
etc...

Hey all, I’m Jessica – a friend of Elizabeth’s. I just started on Goodreads so I'm still learning the site. About me: I’m an introvert. I like to play outside mostly. Of course I love reading. I would like to be in control of my emotions rather than the other way around. I talk to myself a lot, often out loud. I wonder about inane things like why it’s generally accepted to change a curse word or phrase into a child-like version of itself, despite the intent & meaning of it not changing.

I grew up with authors like Madeleine L’Engle, Patricia C. Wrede, C.S. Lewis, Susan Cooper, and Cynthia Voigt. The only poetry that I can remember ever having read is 2Pac’s The Rose That Grew From Concrete, which I chose to analyze for a term paper in high school. I wonder if I would still like the material – I lost the book ages ago. For the last 10 or so years I’ve read a lot of commercial fiction. I appreciated it for what it was – fun. Certainly not literary genius. It got old, though. The books keep coming but the plot never changes. I am ready to read literary fiction and excited to be a part of this book club – can’t wait to discover new authors and new worlds.

I am a fantasy/sci-fi freak, and I’m also a romantic… love the tragedies. Books I’ve really, really enjoyed: The Lord of the Rings, The Belgariad set (David Eddings), Jonathan Livingston Seagull, The Count of Monte Cristo, Jane Eyre, The Call of the Wild, and the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

I’ll try not to be a lurker here… and I look forward to meeting some of you at Dorkapalooza 2012 – thanks for letting me tag along!

Welcome Jessica!

Hello everyone,

I'm Jackson Burnett. I'm a writer but you can't be a writer without being a reader first. I read and write mysteries and think Raymond Chandler and James Lee Burke are two of America's greatest writers. What I really love, though, is finding little known writers whose prose and storytelling blow me away. Maureen, thanks for the invitation to the group and what is dorkapolooza?

Jackson

Hi Jackson!

Hi Jackson:

There's a welcome that gives us some background to the group: http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...

as for dorkapalooza, it is yearly gathering that some of the group members attend. we get together in real life to celebrate the friendships we've made through the group (which started in 2006 when we were all still on myspace). feel free to poke around other threads to get a sense of what we chat about, and welcome. :)

Dear Maueen,

Thanks for the introduction and the note. This looks like a really good group. I must admit, too, that A Prescription for Love beats out my previous choice for worst book ever written: "I Was a Teeny Bopper for the CIA."
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/73...

Jackson

Hey Jackson,

Welcome, and I think you'll find us a pretty comfortable group with a variety of reading (and other) interests.

Glad you're here,
Smartykate

Thanks Smartykate!

Jackson

Jackson wrote: "Dear Maueen,

Thanks for the introduction and the note. This looks like a really good group. I must admit, too, that A Prescription for Love beats out my previous choice for worst book ever writt..."

Hello Jackson! Very funny. Welcome.

I thought I'd re-introduce myself since I haven't been on here since forever. I'm Martyn. I'm a poverty-stricken film critic from England. I used to be angry and grouchy but I've sort of calmed down the past few years. This is a fine group of people, some of whom I've been fortunate enough to get drunk with in the past.

Martyn wrote: "I thought I'd re-introduce myself since I haven't been on here since forever. I'm Martyn. I'm a poverty-stricken film critic from England. I used to be angry and grouchy but I've sort of calmed dow..."

Welcome home, Martyn! I'll be over in the corner waiting for you to call someone a cunt.

;)


***I hope that word doesn't offend anyone, but it can pop up around here now and again. Especially with Martyn, our resident Brit.

:D

Elizabeth wrote: "Jackson wrote: "Dear Maueen,

Thanks for the introduction and the note. This looks like a really good group. I must admit, too, that A Prescription for Love beats out my previous choice for worst..."

Thanks Elizabeth!

Welcome back, Martyn!

Jackson is such a great name. And I'm not saying that because I named my kid that.

Welcome!

Hi All,

I jumped into your IJ discussion without a proper hello.

In brief, born in the New York megalopolis in 1961, lived the first half of my life there and studied "literature, intoxicants, and the female form" (a four-year undergrad program) at Rutgers University.

Headed west, first for a few months in The People's Republic of Berkeley, then took the BART to S.F. and stayed for 26 years. Finally left S.F. in 2011 when I acknowledged how thoroughly overrun the city was with digital pod-people.

Now living the quiet rural life of an expat in the Perigord Noir area of Southwest France, about 90 minutes due east of Bordeaux.

I have way too much time on my hands and so read many books, and so, quite content, so far.

I hate you - just kidding (envy is a bitch) - welcome on board

Jim wrote: "Hi All,

I jumped into your IJ discussion without a proper hello.

In brief, born in the New York megalopolis in 1961, lived the first half of my life there and studied "literature, intoxicants, an..."

Wow. This makes me think we should start another thread with our dream intros just for the fun of it.

Good for you, Jim. Glad to have you here.

Elizabeth wrote: "Wow. This makes me think we should start another thread with our dream intros just for the fun of it.

Good for you, Jim. Glad to have you here..."

Thanks Elizabeth, Matt, and the rest of the reduxionista's (or whatever moniker works for you)!

It is nice finding a new life and culture and I'm thankful everyday.

One thing I wasn't expecting was becoming conscious of living outside the perimeter of the U.S.'s geopolitical/military borders. I now live closer to Cairo, Gaza, and Syria than I do to New York. I also live within the borders of NATO and hear French Mirage jets doing their mid-morning practice runs everyday, sometimes at supersonic speed with its attendant 'Boom', which is something I haven't heard since the Viet Nam war days. I now have a big appreciation for the cushion of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and the Canadians and Mexicans. I feel no impending doom or anything, but I can appreciate European sentiments when it comes to talk of war and embargoes and so on, that I had the option of ignoring before.

But then, the wine is great, gourmet mushrooms are free for the picking in the forest, and my mother-in-law prepares awesome French meals every Sunday, so I suppose it's a wash, no?

Jim wrote: "...becoming conscious of living outside the perimeter of the U.S.'s geopolitical/military borders..."

France is outside the U.S.'s geopolitical/military borders? ...hmmm, we might need to talk.

Michael wrote: "Jim wrote: "...becoming conscious of living outside the perimeter of the U.S.'s geopolitical/military borders..."

France is outside the U.S.'s geopolitical/military borders? ...hmmm, we might nee..."

I guess I didn't express that very well. I mean that being physically outside the U.S. proper, and so close to the Arab Spring countries has a different kind of feel to it. This past spring an Al Qaeda member was de-mapping soldiers on the streets of Toulouse - less than 2 hours drive from my front door - and ended his mini-reign of terror by shooting a rabbi and his two young children in the head at point blank range while he was taking them to school in the morning. It's this physical proximity that's a new and unnerving experience for me.

I'm Dave. I've used all my well learned politesse to be a musician. I've written a book, played at Madame Wong's in the 80s, have 3 kids, 2 cats, and one wife. I like this group a lot. It's very different. I have had similar hobbies to Neil.

Welcome, Dave!

David wrote: "I'm Dave. I've used all my well learned politesse to be a musician. I've written a book, played at Madame Wong's in the 80s, have 3 kids, 2 cats, and one wife. I like this group a lot. It's very d..."

Hi Dave, pleased to meet you. Did you also ride a tank and hold a general's rank, while the blitzkrieg raged and the bodies stank? Just wondering...

Woo woo woo woo.

Pleased to meet you!

Your hobbies are cocaine and egg smuggling?

It is indeed better to do them for love rather than money.

Jim wrote: "David wrote: "I'm Dave. I've used all my well learned politesse to be a musician. I've written a book, played at Madame Wong's in the 80s, have 3 kids, 2 cats, and one wife. I like this group a lo..."
I shouted out who killed.... Never mind

I'd like to be a gal of wealth and taste. There is something to like in every genre. My favorites are Jane Eyre, Pride and Prejudice, A Tale of Two Cities and George RR Martin's A Song of Fire and Ice series.

Currently reading: Infinite Jest by David Fostet Wallace, Catherine the Great by Robert K. Massie, and Moon over Soho by Ben Aaronovich.

My plot lines are becoming a little jumbled. So far Sophia from Germany is at the Enfield Tennis Academy. Her agent is counselling her to go to an academy in St Petersburg, Florida and to change her name to Catherine which will be Great! Hal is in London asking Mama Thames where he can score some Bob Hope. Peter Grant has to save Peter Ulrich from the Pale Lady. As you can see I have Infinite Jest on the brain.

welcome jim, dave, and alice! so nice to hear new voices in the fiction files. i hope you stick around after the infinite jest discussion! :)

Maureen wrote: "welcome jim, dave, and alice! so nice to hear new voices in the fiction files. i hope you stick around after the infinite jest discussion! :)"

Thanks Maureen! What I'm finding most fun about this group is there aren't any timid people here. Everyone seems to be letting their freak flag fly... but in a fun and respectful way.

I've got a pretty ambitious reading plan for '13 and hopefully one or more of those books will pop up here for discussion.

Hi All,

I'm Matthew. I stumbled upon this group by way of Brain Pain, by which I mean Jim, and lurking in on your Infinite Jest discussion. Although I'm almost a good three or four weeks off Infinite Jest I still have some lingering flashbacks brought on by your comments. I'm quite obsessed lately with a curiosity for the field of philology. Past obsessions have included Gnosticism, which after many years may just be my denied Catholicism rearing its ugly head, and Philip K Dick, who I've noticed some of you share a liking for as well. Ditto the Borges.

I'm a writer by practice and am currently just getting a feel on this whole writing reviews thing we do here. (I merchandise housewares otherwise) However, I'm hankering to sit down and edit a novel I wrote a few years ago. I was born, studied film and writing at SF State and identify deeply with the city of San Francisco, thus I feel a peculiar sense of exile living currently with a part-time retail job and living as cheaply as I can in nearby East Bay suburb of Pleasant Hill. Im one of possibly many people living with an obscene amount of debt due to college education, and thus feel somewhat unable to get back to that city I consider my home.

I have fond memories of driving with my father in through the backroads of this area, through the Delta along the Sacramento River, and through the sparest areas with small towns like Isleton or Angel's Camp, or learning how to drive by driving switchbacks up Hwy 50 in the '68 mustang, driving just that fast in miles per hour, feeling every bit of it with the shocks as bad as they were, and a v8 engine. Sometimes we were you going to Weimar, a tiny town outside of Auburn, or sometimes we were going to South Lake, and, which leads me to my point, we were driving up 49 to visit Jackson or other parts of Gold Country. It's a shame I couldn't go to Dork 2013, I am way out of funds and am currently looking for a full time job. Still, thought I would say hi and thanks for the invite.

Matthew wrote: "Hi All,

I'm Matthew. I stumbled upon this group by way of Brain Pain, by which I mean Jim, and lurking in on your Infinite Jest discussion. Although I'm almost a good three or four weeks off Infin..."

Hey Matthew, and welcome. I'm Martha (aka smartykate), a transplanted Texan now living in Oakland. Glad you are here, and glad you are jumping into the discussions. Please throw any Gold Country info you think we need to know into the Dork thread...maybe you can come out for a day trip?

Jim wrote: "Maureen wrote: "welcome jim, dave, and alice! so nice to hear new voices in the fiction files. i hope you stick around after the infinite jest discussion! :)"

Thanks Maureen! What I'm finding most..."

Hey Jim,

Don't wait for some other Dork to raise titles. Let us know what's on your reading horizon for 2013. Some of us might tag along.

Matthew wrote: "I was born, studied film and writing at SF State and identify deeply with the city of San Francisco, thus I feel a peculiar sense of exile living currently with a part-time retail job and living as cheaply as I can in nearby East Bay suburb of Pleasant Hill. Im one of possibly many people living with an obscene amount of debt due to college education, and thus feel somewhat unable to get back to that city I consider my home...."

So sorry to hear about your East Bay exile. Maybe you can write a series of Kafkaesque short stories about your life in Pleasant Hill since it is such a demonic cornucopia of mini-vans, jesus, and despair. You can title the collection: "Trapped in the CCC: My Life as a BestBuys Piss-boy"

Here's hoping you find your way home!

Martha wrote: "Hey Jim, Don't wait for some other Dork to raise titles. Let us know what's on your reading horizon for 2013. Some of us might tag along...."

Okay, here's a sample of what's on my reading plan for the year

Miss MacIntosh, My Darling
Nightwood
1Q84
The Ice-Shirt
Life A User's Manual
Pale Fire
Doctor Faustus
Giles Goat-Boy
The Erasers
The Flounder

plus another 30 or 40 others. I usually set my reading goal to about 50 books per year. I think I have too much time on my hands...

welcome matthew! i think a lot of my interests intersect with yours (i was fervent abou gnosticism in my undergrad days, and i love borges and PKD) and i also completely understand student debt related poverty -- i just finished paying mine off after sixteen years -- my credit rating was also screwed up by the whole endeavour. still, if you should arrive upon a winfall of dough before july, we'd love to see you at the dork! this is a great group of people, and i'm glad knowing jim (who is also awesome) helped you find us!

Jim wrote: plus another 30 or 40 others. I usually set my reading goal to about 50 books per year. I think I have too much time on my hands... "

i generally read at least 50 a year and feel like i never have enough time! is it this difference in perspective the result of you living in laid-back france and me living in corporate nightmare land? :P

i am curious about the ice-shirt, though i seem to have an irrational aversion to the authors name. it's not like i hate voles or anything but his name iggs me out for some reason... :)

Maureen wrote: "i generally read at least 50 a year and feel like i never have enough time! is it this difference in perspective the result of you living in laid-back france and me living in corporate nightmare land? :P

i am curious about the ice-shirt, though i seem to have an irrational aversion to the authors name. it's not like i hate voles or anything but his name iggs me out for some reason... :) "

I used to have the same corporate nightmare life and could only squeeze in 15 or 20 books per year. Now I'm semi-retired (fancy word for having no paying job) and so have time for reading every day.

V******n is nowhere near as strange as his work, but if you can get past the title page, I think you'll find he's rather amazing. Some people call his work "post-post-modern", but that's so lame I came up with a better descriptor - "writing without borders".

Ooooh! I've been meaning to read Nightwood for years!

Welcome Matthew!

Hi I'm Audra. I joined this group back where it started on MySpace then folllowed it here. My life soon after took a wild dump and I strayed away from reading and from this group, both for various reasons. But I think now things are stabilizing and I will be able to spend more time with my love for books and literature and people who can speak intelligently about both. :-)

Welcome back, Audra! Things have been too quiet in these parts lately.

:-) thanks Dan :-)

Welcome back, Audra! The books have been patiently waiting for you. :)

Thanks Patty! I am doing my best not to feel as tho I've put myaelf behind. Books do wait though, don't they. :-)