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Thanks to everyone who came to final meeting Down the Rabbit Hole. If anyone wants to share thoughts about books I lurk (sorry, I mean work) at the Main Library in the Popular Materials department. 

You can also find book recommendations here:

http://offtheshelf.nashvillepubliclibrary.org/

We encourage everyone to write comments and keep the conversation going. 

our next (and final) text is The Passion According to G.H. by Clarice Lispector

Availing herself of a single character, Lispector transforms a banal situation of a woman at home, alone into an amphitheater for philosophical investigations. The first-person narration jousts with language, playfully but forcefully examining the ambiguous nature of words, with results ranging from the profound to the pretentious: "Prehuman divine life is a life of singeing nowness" or "The world interdepended with me, and I am not understanding what I say, never! never again shall I understand what I say. For how will I be able to speak without the word lying for me?" These linguistic games frame existential and experiential crises that Lispector savors and overcomes. Although this idiosyncratic novel will not have wide appeal (who cares), those with academic (snobs) or markedly erudite tastes (weirdos) should like it very much. 

Sounds perfect for Down the Rabbit Hole! 

Come discuss The Passion According to G.H. by Clarice Lispector Saturday July 16th at the Main Library in the 3rd Floor Program Room at 11am. Feel free to bring food and drink.  

some thoughts about Tristram Shandy

- Is this book still funny?

- Who has a better outlook on life Tristram's father or his Uncle Toby?

- What about the hobby horse?

- Sterne copied many passages directly from other 18th century authors. Should this change the way we view the book?

Come discuss The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman Saturday May 21st at the Main Library in the 3rd Floor Program Room at 11am. Feel free to bring food and drink.  

Our next book is The Life and Times of Tristram Shandy, gentleman by Laurence Sterne

Laurence Stern's great masterpiece of bawdy humor and rich satire defies any attempt to categorize it. Part novel, part digression, its gloriously disordered narrative interweaves the birth and life of the unfortunate "hero" Tristram Shandy, the eccentric philosophy of his father Walter, the amours and military obsessions of Uncle Toby, and a host of other characters, including Dr. Slop, Corporal Trim and the parson Yorick. A joyful celebration of the endless possibilities of the art of fiction, Tristram Shandy is also a wry demonstration of its limitations. 

Come discuss The Life and Times of Tristram Shandy, gentleman Saturday May 21st at the Main Library in the 3rd Floor Program Room at 11am. Feel free to bring food and drink.  

Some thoughts about Not the End of the World

- Stories about Trudi and Charlene bookend the collection. What do you think about Trudi and Charlene's attitude about what is "not the end of the world"? Why do these two stories open and close the collection?

- Buffy the Vampire Slayer? What about Joss Whedon in general? 

- Are TV shows and video games the mythology of today?

- These next ones are borrowed from discussion questions which appeared in the paperback edition of the book:

How do you think Eddie's relationship with his mother affects his attitude? Do you think June is a good role model for him?

 Fielding's doppelganger has a lot more fun than Fielding ever does. What do you think that says about Fielding's choices? If your doppelganger were free to do whatever he or she wanted, what would he or she be doing?

Discuss the ways in which people at the edges of your life - the people you sometimes see at parties, who date your distant relatives, who pass you on the way to work - are living their own stories as well as influencing yours. Where, how often, and in what ways does your life overlap with theirs?

The entire list of discussion questions can be found here.

Come discuss Not the End of the World Saturday March 19th at the Main Library in the 3rd Floor Program Room at 11am. Feel free to bring food and drink. 

Our next book is Not the End of the World by Kate Atkinson

Equal parts comedy, tragedy, and myth, Atkinson's stories inevitably lead to utterly surprising conclusions. Meredith Zane, one of the legendary Zane sisters, known for their perfect teeth and far-flung travels, may have just discovered the secret of eternal life. Fielding, a burned-out media critic, suspects he has a doppelganger who is sullying his reputation - and having a much better time than Fielding ever has. Marianne is a young mother whose untimely end on a rainy highway doesn't necessarily keep her out of her family's life. Arthur, a neglected and precocious eight-year-old boy taken under the wing of an enigmatic nanny, discovers a world he never knew existed.

Come discuss Not the End of the World Saturday March 19th at the Main Library in the 3rd Floor Program Room at 11am. Feel free to bring food and drink. 

Some thoughts about Acme Novelty Library

- By satirizing comics collectors like "Rusty Brown" and "Chalky White" is Ware biting the hand that feeds?

- Does this book have a protagonist? Did you relate to any of the characters?

- Why design a book that is intentionally, physically, difficult to read?

- If you are familiar with the work of R.Crumb, how is Ware's work similar? How is it different?

- A lot of the story lines and fake ads are very dark satire. What is the point Ware is trying to make? Who or what is he satirizing?

In May of 2010, Ware was commissioned by Fortune Magazine to do a cover for their "Fortune 500" issue. Fortune rejected his cover but you can see it here.

Come discuss The Acme Novelty Library Saturday January 15th at the Main Library in the 3rd Floor Program Room at 11am. Feel free to bring food and drink.