RIP PBCS

I think the PBCS is dead. There may be another bookclub, but it will not be this bookclub. So, the books we read are:

Under the Volcano - Malcolm Lowery (Patrick)
Midnight's Children - Salmon Rushdie (Anne)
The Known World - Edward P. Jones (Devin)
At Swim Two Birds - Flann O'Brien (James)
The Master and Margarita - Mikhail Bulgakov (Maggie)
Kafka on the Shore - Haruki Murakami (Catherine)
Tsotsi - Athol Fugard (Kathrin)
Ada, or Ardor - Vladimir Nabokov (Patrick)
The History of Love - Nicole Krauss (Anne)
The Stranger - Albert Camus (James)
Inheritance of Loss - Kiran Desai (Maggie)
Children of Men - PD James (Kathrin)
The Sea - John Banville (Jerusha)
Miss Lonelyhearts and Day of the Locust - Nathaniel West (Patrick)
Revolutionary Road - Richard Yates (Anne)
The Long Goodbye - Raymond Chandler (Devin)
Lucky Jim - Kingsley Amis (James)
Dud Avocado - Elaine Dundy (Maggie)
The Leopard - Giuseppe di Lampedusa (Patrick)
The Sheltering Sky - Paul Bowles (Devin)
American Gods - Neil Gaiman (James)
Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert (Maggie)

A fitting tombstone: for my birthday Devin gave me an awesome old copy of Under the Volcano, our first book and one of the best ones we read, that he inscribed with PBCS-abelia and illustrated with themes from UTV. Check it out:

The Leopard

It is finally here!! I had a little trouble ordering it. I'm sorry it took so long but they are ready to be picked up.

PBCS Selections Thus Far

PBCS Selections

Under the Volcano - Malcolm Lowery (Patrick)
Midnight's Children - Salmon Rushdie (Anne)
The Known World - Edward P. Jones (Devin)
At Swim Two Birds - Flann O'Brien (James)
The Master and Margarita - Mikhail Bulgakov (Maggie)
Kafka on the Shore - Haruki Murakami (Catherine)
Tsotsi - Athol Fugard (Kathrin)
Ada, or Ardor - Vladimir Nabokov (Patrick)
The History of Love - Nicole Krauss (Anne)
The Stranger - Albert Camus (James)
Inheritance of Loss - Kiran Desai (Maggie)
Children of Men - PD James (Kathrin)
The Sea - John Banville (Jerusha)
Miss Lonelyhearts and Day of the Locust - Nathaniel West (Patrick)
Revolutionary Road - Richard Yates (Anne)
The Long Goodbye - Raymond Chandler (Devin)
Lucky Jim - Kingsley Amis (James)
Dud Avocado - Elaine Dundy (Maggie)
The Leopard - Giuseppe di Lampedusa (Patrick)

Lucky Jim

We met to discuss Lucky Jim last night. Well, TC and I discussed since we were the only ones present who read the entire book. Everyone else listened and with good reason. It's near the end of the summer and people have things going on. FP's move comes immediately to mind.

I thought the book was great. The one thing that caused people some trouble was that the book starts in the middle of a conversation and it takes you a moment to get accustomed. You're not really introduced to the characters.

Once you get used to it, the book flows. I like the character of Jim. I know that the book is obstensibly an academic novel, but to me it's a novel of conflict. Yes, it's a comedy, but there's conflict between department chair and department peon and between Jim and Bertrand over Christine.

Next Up: Lucky Jim

Those of you who read my blog and receive my emails should know by now that I selected Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis to be the next book club read.

So far, it looks like there's been general approval of my choice. I was asked last night why I chose the book. DTrane had known that I was seriously considering this Graham Greene book.

For several years I've had a fondness for novels with an academic setting such as Richard Russo's Straight Man and Jane Smiley's Moo. For what it's worth, I prefer the Smiley book if only because the fictional university in her book reminded me a lot of Mississippi State University, where I earned my B.A. and M.A.

I've also been known to email links to articles and columns that are found in The Chronicle of Higher Education. A few weeks ago, I was at the website and noticed this article.

Initially intrigued, I did some further research. I liked what I read about the book and thought it'd be good. We'll meet just once because Lucky Jim is less than 300 pages and also due to some actual and potential scheduling difficulties in the next few weeks. I'll send out suggested dates later today.

The Long Goodbye

So we read DTrane's selection The Long Goodbye and met last night. Some of us couldn't make it-- whether it was because of happiness, sadness, or newly found Texasness. We also had a early birthday party for FP, and she brought the cake.

It's safe to say that we're impressed with Chandler and expressed a desire to read more of his work.

lemuria's blog

Hello all, I haven't posted in awhile but I wanted to let you know that Lemuria is now blogging! We are on this system so take a look if you get a chance. See you all next week!

oops

We haven't updated in a while. I think since the last post we've read Banville's The Sea and Nathaniel West's Miss Lonelyhearts and Day of the Locust.

The next book is Richard Yates' Revolutionary Road. Dates and shit forthcoming.

P