Our Next Book is Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace

Equal parts philosophical quest and screwball comedy, Infinite Jest bends every rule of fiction without sacrificing for a moment its own entertainment value. The world was shocked by author's death in 2008, come discuss the first half of his masterwork. We discuss the second half in March.

We want some entertainment value! I'm about to file for entertainment bankruptcy!

Come discuss this book Saturday January 16th at the Main Library in Conference Rm 3 at 11am. Feel free to bring food and drink.

Some thoughts about If on a winter's night a traveler

- What were Calvino's intentions when writing this book? Why not just write a series of essays about reading and writing? Why not just write several beginnings of novels as a collection of short stories without the Reader and the Other Reader tying them together?

- The notion of an Other Reader seems intrinsic to the concept of book clubs. Why do you come to a book club? What do you get out of it?

- If you found out a book you loved was actually written by a counterfeit author or a computer program would it matter to you?

- In many ways If on a winter's night... is a homage to reading. Do you have any rituals when you read? Places you love to read in / at? Conditions that have to met: certain light, certain time of day?

- Kindle?

Come discuss this book Saturday November 21st at the Main Library in Conference Rm 2 (a one time change) at 11am. Feel free to bring food and drink.

Our next book is If On a Winter's Night a Traveler by Italo Calvino

Calvino shows that the novel, far from being a dead form, is capable of endless mutations. If on a winter’s night a traveler turns out to be not one novel but ten, each with a different plot, style, ambience, and author.

Come discuss this book Saturday November 21st at the Main Library in Conference Rm 3 at 11am. Feel free to bring food and drink.

Some thoughts about Louis Riel

- Are any of Riel's actions legally justified? What about morally so? Do you think he received a fair trial?

- When William McDougall forges the Queen's signature, is that not a treasonable offense?

- The parts about MacDonald deliberately instigating a rebellion were troubling to me. I wanted to know if they those sections of the book were factual. Do you think Brown has a bias, or is he fair?

- How do you know if you are really a prophet or not?

Here's the full transcript of Riel's final statement at his trial.

Come discuss this book Saturday September 19th at the Main Library in Conference Rm 3 at 11am. Feel free to bring food and drink.

Ex Lit Book Club: Our next book is Louis Riel by Chester Brown

Legendary cartoonist Chester Brown reveals in the dusty closet of Canadian history there are some skeletons that won't stop rattling. To some Louis Riel was one of the founding fathers of a nation but to others he was a murderer who nearly tore a country apart. A man so charismatic he was elected to government twice while in exile with a prize on his head--but so impassioned his dramatic behavior cast serious doubts on his sanity. Riel took on the army, the government, the Queen, and even the Church in the name of freedom. Will Riel's visionary democracy ever be enough to defend him from the verdict of history?

More importantly, what will our verdict be? Come discuss this book Saturday September 19th at the Main Library in Conference Rm 3 at 11am. Feel free to bring food and drink.

[this blog is feeding into my twitter, so that's why I keep putting Ex Lit Book Club in the titles of posts. In case anyone was wondering.]

Ex-Lit Book Club: some thoughts about Illuminatus!

- Does this book have a political agenda? If so, what is that agenda?

- Does this book have a protagonist? Who, if anyone, are we supposed to root for?

- Conspiracy theories are an integral part of the plot. What role do conspiracy theories play in our culture, in our history? Is their influence positive or negative?

- Another plot premise is that minds can be altered (reprogrammed) with or without the knowledge the subject. Is this true? Do the government, or corporations, or any other body for that matter try to unconsciously alter our minds? Can someone be driven insane against their will, or be convinced to commit a crime against there will?

- What is the role of religion within the book?

- Can you think of any historical or fictional models that Hagbard Celine might be based on?

We'll be meeting to discuss this book discuss this book SATURDAY July 18th at the Main Library in Conference Rm 3 at 11am. Feel free to bring food and drink. This will be our first meeting on Saturday. I'm sure it will be a fun one.

Ex-Lit Book Club meeting and reading schedule 2009-10

I’ve played it safe and went ahead booked Saturday morning times (11am) as staff have been instructed to expect a Metro budget cut. We'll stay in conference room 3 at the Main Library. Here are this year’s winners:

Illuminatus! Trilogy by Robert Anton Wilson & Robert Shea - July 18th

Louis Riel: A Comic Strip Biography by Chester Brown – Sept. 19th

If On a Winter’s Night a Traveler by Italo Calvino – Nov. 21st

Infinite Jest (first half) by David F. Wallace – Jan. 16th

Infinite Jest (second half) by David F. Wallace – March 20th

Collected Works of Billy the Kid by Michael Ondaatje – May 15th

Blood & Guts in High School by Kathy Acker – July 17th

New people continue to come to each meeting and maybe new people can come now on Saturdays too. Thanks everyone for your continued support. This is an amazing reading list.

Next Ex-Lit Book Club selection is The Illuminatus! Trilogy by Robert Shea & Robert Anton Wilson

Here's the publishers blurb for the The Illuminatus Trilogy:

Joseph Malik, editor of a radical magazine, had snooped into rumors about an ancient secret society that was still alive and kicking. Now his offices have been bombed, he's missing, and the case has landed in the lap of the tough, cynical, streetwise New York detective Saul Goodman. Filled with sex and violence--in and out of time and space--the three books of The Illuminatus! Trilogy are only partly works of the imagination. They tackle all the cover-ups of our time--from who really shot the Kennedys to why there's a pyramid on a one-dollar bill - and suggest a mind-blowing truth.

The author of the Wikipedia entry has this to say:

The Illuminatus! Trilogy is a series of three novels written by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson purportedly between 1969 and 1971, and first published in 1975. The trilogy is a satirical, postmodern, science fiction-influenced adventure story; a drug-, sex- and magic-laden trek through a number of conspiracy theories, both historical and imaginary, which hinge around the authors' version of the Illuminati. The narrative often switches between third and first person perspectives and jumps around in time. It is thematically dense, covering topics like counterculture, numerology and Discordianism.

The following are excerpts are from Amazon reviewers that gave the book FIVE stars:

People love to point out, and attack, this book's muddled ideology, its ever-shifting style, its countless digressions, its violent swings between adolescent fantasies and serious philosophy, etc, etc, ad infinitum. To these people, I can only say, "Duh." This book, like most things RAW [Robert Anton Wilson] has worked on, is A TEST. It runs the gamut from Occultism to Solipsism to Libertarianism to Objectivism, and most of the things in between. Through it all, the narrative refuses to attach itself to one specific outlook. Why, you ask? - Varius, Pittsburgh PA

Illuminatus! is pershaps one of the most wonderful books I have ever read. The combination of occultism, anarchism, and outright wierdness carries the reader through the most bizzare conspiracy theory ever dreamt of. This book will make you laugh, rage, and probably cause you to become a bit paranoid. -J. French, Oakland California

This book changed my life in ways I never knew it could change. It shook my death grip upon the pillars of my so-called sanity loose and taught me a little bit about being more comfortable with myself, with acceptance, with tolerance, with sobriety, with religion, with spirituality, with consciousness, with unconsciousness, with love, with lust, with politics, drugs, sex, with cults, with fraternal organizations and all the other dirty subjects that people seem to "know" so much about around here. - John McLaughlin, Ladera Ranch CA

The following are excerpts are from Amazon reviewers that gave the book ONE star:

To be honest, I bought the book many years ago, after it came highly recommended by a friend. I did not read any reviews before I started reading it, because I wanted to keep an open mind. And oh boy, was I in for a surprise. I really, really, really tried to stick to it, but all I could get through was the first 130 pages. I must say that once in a while the narrative is quite interesting, but... Overall, it seems like the book was written by a undermedicated paranoid schizophrenic, who's been smoking something very illegal. I feel very sad and sorry for people, who thought this book was intellectual and profound. - JR, New Jersey wilderness

After several of my friends raved non-stop about the trilogy I decided to see what all the fuss was about. I was without a doubt the single biggest waste of my time. I tried to read it; I actually got through the first book and into the second one before my frustration overcame me. I did something that I have never done before I destroyed the book. I threw it into a foul disgusting gutter where it proceeded to fester and rot. I'm not kidding. I actually hated the book that much. Only the Mission Earth Series by L. Ron Hubbard comes close to being such a colossal stink bomb as this one. - A Customer

I know that this book's cover is really interesting, and that the synopsis is intriguing. That's why I bought the book in the first place. Well, I was duped. Like a fool, I and my money were soon parted. I wasted my money. Okay, first of all, this isn't a real conspiracy novel. It's an (intentionally) incoherent mess of rambling that happens to mention a lot of famous names. - A Customer

--------------------------



Oh what a long strange trip it will be. Come discuss this book discuss this book July 16th at the Main Library in Conference Rm 3 at 6pm. Feel free to bring food and drink.

Discussion questions for Bearheart

- Bearheart, as with much of Vizenor’s oeuvre, is concerned with trickster mythological figures. Do any of the characters fit trickster archetype? If they do, how does their behavior effect the events in the story?

- What does role does Vizenor think language plays in society? What role in our consciousness? What does he mean by “terminal creeds” and “word wars”?

- Many characters shift identities (Bishop Parasimo, Pio Wissakodewinni) or have multiple names (Saint Plumero, aka Bigfoot, aka double saint). What function does this have in the story?

- Lilith Mae Farrier? Your guess is as good as mine.

This meeting will also be the final vote for next year's selections, if you didn't already vote via email, and also the last chance to vote when you would like to meet if the libraries hours change.



We'll be meeting to discuss this book May 21st at the Main Library in Conference Rm 3 at 6pm. Feel free to bring food and drink.

Ballot for 2009 - 2010 selections

Ballot for next year's books:

Blood and Guts in High School - Kathy Acker

Louis Reil: A Comic-Strip Biography - Chester Brown

If on a Winter's Night a Traveler - Italo Calvino

Cronopios and Famas - Julio Cortazar

House of Leaves - Mark Z. Danielewski

The Dark Night Returns - Frank Miller

The Third Policeman - Flann O'Brien

The Collected Works of Billy the Kid - Michael Ondaatje

Tropisms - Nathalie Sarraute

Infinite Jest - David Foster Wallace

Email me your top four selections in order of preference before our meeting on May 21st, OR make sure to come to the May 21st meeting and vote with a paper ballot. In the event we elect to read lengthy works, I'll split them up as need be.

It was also suggested that we meet once a month, instead of every other month. If you would prefer this, let me know before May 21st or come to the May 21st reading voice your opinion.

Our next book is Bearheart by Gerald Vizenor

Gerald Vizenor’s first novel reverses the sentiment of Manifest Destiny as Proude Cedarfair and his wife Rosina travel south through the ruins of a white world that ran out of gas. The Cedarfairs, and a bizarre collection of disciples, are forced on a pilgrimage when government agents descend on the reservation to claim their sacred cedar trees for fuel.

An unclassifiable mix of mythology, fictional satire, cultural theory, and esoteric history, Vizenor’s prose will point your mind into unseen nooks of the American psychic landscape.

If you're digging around for a used copy, Bearheart was originally released with title Darkness in St. Louis: Bearheart.

May's meeting will also be the final vote for next year's selections, so if don't vote via email before then, be sure to come that this meeting. (And Vizenor is one of favorite authors, so you should come anyway.)

We'll be meeting to discuss this book May 21st at the Main Library in Conference Rm 3 at 6pm. Feel free to bring food and drink.

Some thoughts about Labyrinths...

- Borges is always sited as being highly influential. Heck, even I said it when whipping up a blurb for this blog. What aspects of his work are influential? In the works we’ve read so far can we see his influence?

- Borges is also cited as a giant in “world” literature. His works seem totally European to me. Any thoughts about this?

- I found these stories, sometimes, very funny. Would you consider his stories satire? Why do scholars and readers have so much trouble classifying his stories?

- Two ideas that recur over and over are the circular nature of time and that all persons are really a singular person. Do these ideas have any validity in reality?

Here’s a great Borges website:

http://www.themodernword.com/borges/

We'll be meeting to discuss this book March 19th at the Main Library in Conference Rm 3 at 6pm. Feel free to bring food and drink.

Our next book is Labyrinths by Jorge Luis Borges

If Jorge Luis Borges had been a computer scientist, he probably would have invented hypertext and the World Wide Web. Instead, being a librarian, he became the leading practitioner of a densely layered imaginistic writing style that has been imitated throughout this century, but has no peer.

Borges is the father of nearly all the titles we read here at the Experimental Literature Book Club. This is not the month to miss.

The library did acquire copies for us, so make sure to grab yours at the Main Library return desk!

We'll be meeting to discuss this book March 19th at the Main Library in Conference Rm 3 at 6pm. Feel free to bring food and drink.

Some thoughts about Dhalgren...

Wow. I'm not sure where to start (I think Delany would consider that a literary victory on his part), but I will try:

- Where or what is Bellona?

- What is the Kid's real name?

- How is Kid's state of mind portrayed? Is he insane?

- How are gender roles portrayed in the book?

- Who or what is Roger Calkins? Who or what is Ernest Newboy? What role they play in creation and publication of Kid's poems?

- Did Jack kill Paul Fenster?

- What about the all the sex; is it necessary?

- Dhalgren was begun in 1968. How might the political events of that time influenced its subject matter?

- What are some the other ambiguities that are never resolved (e.g., the red eyes, the scratch on many of the female characters calves, etc.)? Do these have a function within the story?

Here's a literary biography of Delany written by himself under a penname. Towards the end is an extensive bibliography of critical texts dealing with his work.

=================================

We'll be meeting to discuss this book January 15th at the Main Library in Conference Rm 3 at 6pm. Feel free to bring food and drink.