Posted on 07/19/2002 4:54:20 PM PDT by PJ-Comix
Have you ever heard about reading clubs? This is where readers read a particular book at the same time. I think it would be fun to do something like that here. A book could be assigned and Freepers who wish to join in could read the book at the same time. Following the deadline date for completion, we could post our commentaries on the book.
Since it is < proprietary mode> my idea < /proprietary mode> I suggest that I be the one to make the book recommendations. Some folks have flamed me for supposedly looking down my nose at Sci-Fi books. However, this is not the case. I have read most of the books written by the major Sci-Fi writers such as Heinleain, Asimov, Vonnegut, etc.. However, I do feel way too much emphasis has been placed on Sci-Fi at the expense of other literature. Therefore I will tend to recommend books other than Sci-Fi (although I will sometimes recommend Sci-Fi books if it has socio-political implications).
Anyway, if you think my first recommendation will be From Here To Eternity, or Invisible Man (Ellison, not Wells) or Ann Coulter's current best seller, I am going to surprise you.
Here is my first book recommendation: Shane by Jack Shaefer. Although not about politics, this book has a lot to say about character. In fact, this country would be a lot better off if every schoolkid was REQUIRED to read it. Yes, the movie was very good, but the book is much better. I am leading off the Freeper Reading Club Book list with Shane because it is actually a long short story and is very easy to read. Most folks should finish it in under 4 hours of reading. However, I am setting August 12 as the due date for reading it and posting commentary. I read Shane years ago and was incredibly impressed with its message but I will be re-reading it again for this assignment. Shane is easily available at your local library or book store.
Interesting fact. Salinger chose the name "Holden Caulfield" from the two stars of a postwar comedy movie. The stars were William Holden and Joan Caulfield. I don't remember the name of the movie right now but I believe Salinger chose that movie and the stars' names because the movie comedy was very middle America.
Shane is one of the few cases where the book and the movie are outstanding.
True but the book was MUCH better. A lot of the message of Shane didn't get into the movie.
At first glance, it seems like a clear cut case of good versus evil, right versus wrong, good guys in the white hats, bad guys in the black. But every time I reread the book, I find myself intrigued by the multitude of layers Jack Schaefer has woven into this fast-paced, exquisitely written story.....
First of all, the book is written in the first person, from the point of view of Bob Starrett, Joe and Marion's young son. If Bob doesn't see or hear it, it's not in the book.....
But that first person point of view is incredibly effective. Since Bob is only about ten years old, there's an entire layer of the story that he overhears and sees yet doesn't understand. And in his innocence he merely reports the words said, reports the emotions in the room, yet he doesn't label or judge -- or condemn.....
But the book is called Shane, and it's Shane who leaves me breathless even after countless readings. Jack Schaefer leaves me breathless, too -- for creating such a perfect romantic hero. Shane is a multifaceted, complicated man, filled with countless contradictions. Each time I read the book, I am struck by how effortlessly Schaefer has created such a hero without ever writing from Shane's point of view!.....
And that review above was written by a woman so, you see, Shane isn't only a guy's book.
For many readers, Shane strikes a deep personal chord. In his Foreword to the critical edition of the novel, for example, western historian Marc Simmons declares: "Shane has been an almost lifelong companion. I return to it whenever I need a bit of inspiration or a boost of energy." For him, as for countless others, the book's message is "as deep and vital as the man it describes."
The ball is rolling now. Just pick up a copy of Shane. It should be available at your local library. It is an easy and quick read so you should be finished by August 12. On August 12 we will start posting our impressions of Shane and then, if my credibility is still intact, I will assign the next book.
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