What About the Bowl

Something about the bowl really annoys me. I can't find anyone that comments on the bowl. I think that what bothers me about the bowl is what bothers me about the stories in general - the sense of the unknown. I think I need more definitive answers in the stories I read.

I found the idea of three slightly connected stories interesting and the plots ideas were different. The semi-ongoing characters interrupted my ability to stay within the stories. The concept in the first half of the last story was the part I found most fascinating, but I became uninterested once the chase scenes began. I identified with the main character in the final story the most and had difficulty believing almost all of the other characters.

Reading Guides

You can find a Specimen Days reading guide HERE and a second one HERE.

Find a review of Specimen Days HERE.

You can find a reading guide on Leaves of Grass HERE.

If you are interested in being a member of this blog so that you can write your own posts about the books we read, let me know at goldennib at Comcast dot net or in the comments and I will add you.

I have finished Specimen Days and I am now trying to get through Leaves of Grass (first edition – because it’s the shortest.)

Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman

I got my copy of Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman yesterday so I can follow Jenn's suggestion and read it along with Specimen Days.

Specimen Days by Michael Cunningham

Michael Cunningham wrote The Hours. Specimen Days is his second book. Where The Hours highlighted Virginia Wolf, Specimen Days includes Walt Whitman. The novel takes place in New York City and covers three time periods. It has received excellent reviews. I bought my book today at Barnes and Noble. They have it in stock in paperback. I will be reading it through once for pleasure and then reading again for this blog. That should cover the month of October. November is for discussion, although comments along the way will be welcome.

October / November Book

Specimen Days by Michael Cunningham

Down and Dirty

Here's the basic ideas I had for the reading group. Let me know what you think and add any ideas you have.

One book every 2 months. We use the first month to read the book, research the stock questions and prepare specific questions. The second month is used to discuss the book and questions.

Everyone submits a question or topic related to the book (or more than one.)

Anyone can play, even anonymously.

All of the questions are posted as separate posts (one every few days so we can concentrate on a question) and everyone answers or responds to the questions in the questions’ comments sections.

Stock questions/research:

Research the author for the following information:
Birth date and place
Death date and place
Parents and their occupations
Siblings, position in family, how did the author get on with his family
Spouse, children and their relationships
Schooling, training, trade, occupations
Places lived
Time period
Politics of the time and of the author
Religion
Influences
Other works



Basic review of the book:
Synopsis
Characters
Place
Time
Themes
Mood
POV
Voice
Style
Language
Did you like the book?
How was this book autobiographical?


Reading Schedule:

Oct/Nov 2007 Specimen Days by Michael Cunningham
Dec 2007/Jan 2008 Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman
Feb/Mar 2008 The Works by Max Beerbohm
Apr/May 2008 The Waves by Virginia Woolf