For those who may not already know: our first book for the book club is "Tales of the City" by Armistead Maupin (with the first of four discussion threads to be posted this coming Friday, August 7). I was a little behind in my reading (and posting, oops!) for The Club because I was finishing up another book but I'm all done and ready now and.... here we are! :eusa_danc So, what's this first post for? "Tales of the City" (TOTC) was first published as a book in 1978 but it was born one day at a time as a newspaper serial during 1976. So given that our book and story took place almost 40 years ago I thought it'd be fun to take a little stroll through that year so we get a sense of the different time we'll be reading about. To that end I looked up which songs were popular in 1976, listened to as many as I could stand (I didn't/couldn't get through them all) and chose the "best" ones (according to me of course). I also looked around for any videos that would show what it was like at the time. All of these are posted/linked below. Some interesting facts about Armistead Maupin: He's a veteran of the US Navy and the Vietnam War. He was also the last American sailor to withdraw from Cambodia. Before coming out as gay was a conservative military vet who met with Pres. Richard Nixon in 1971 to talk about how to counteract the antiwar activist John Kerry (our current Secretary of State)! He helped convince Ian "Gandalf/Magneto" McKellen to come out of the closet in 1988. Footage Here's a fuzzy movie of the 1976 pride parade in San Francisco, where TOTC takes place: [YOUTUBE]fX64EN6Z9-E[/YOUTUBE] Here's another very clear video but the pride stuff only lasts about a minute and the rest is in French, no subtitles. [YOUTUBE]SIGILZS1nwc[/YOUTUBE] 25 minutes of stock footage of 1976 San Francisco (no sound) Fun songs of the time (links to Youtube vids, didn't want to blow this post up with embeds) You Sexy Thing (I Believe in Miracles) by Hot Chocolate A Fifth of Beethoven by Walter Murphy & The Big Apple Band Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen (lead singer Freddie Mercury of course a famous gay icon) The Muppets version of Bohemian Rhapsody because why not? Shake Your Booty by KC and the Sunshine band (Soul Train video!) Play That Funky Music by Wild Cherry Love To Love You by Donna Summer (this played on the radio then?) Right Back Where We Started From by Maxine Nightingale (that video... just, wow...) The upcoming discussion "schedule": August 7: Chapters 1 - 26 ("Taking the Plunge" to "...And Many Happy Returns") August 14: Chapters 27 - 55 ("Mrs. Day at Home" to "The Landlady Bares Her Soul") August 21: Chapter 56 - 87 ("At the Fat Farm" to "How to Cure the Munchies") August 28: Chapters 88 - 115 (last chapter) ("The Hungry Eye" to "The Golden Gate") As always questions and comments are welcome and encouraged! Has anyone started reading yet? I have, and it's been really funny so far. Agree, disagree? And for those who are going to join this little adventure, just wondering, what kinds of books do you folks usually read?
I hope other people post in this thing I am about half-way through the novel. I was looking over a few passages today. I agree, it has been funny. I've only read one story by Maupin and it was a very serious one that really had no humor in it ("The Night Listener"), so this is a welcome change. I love the Northern California setting of course. I know all the places being referenced and I'm such a San Franciscophile, so to read a story set there is excellent. What kinds of books do I normally read? Not this, I'll be honest. Normally I read more bizarre stuff, like Kafka, Borges, Pynchon, Beckett...I love modernist fiction the most. Cerebral stuff. I also read a lot of non-fiction. But I have read some more "down to earth" stuff like Jonathan Franzen and I've enjoyed it as well.
I hope others post too! I lived in the Bay Area for a couple of years so the SF locations are kinda nostalgia triggers. This would normally be a fairly quick read for me but I'm constantly looking stuff up just to make sure what he's talking about (macrame plant holders, banana cows, Lurex knickers, electric nipples, etc.). I like it since it does a good job of transporting me to a somewhat familiar place but to another time altogether. Those are some heavy hitter authors Wallace N! I've only dipped my toe into the Borges and Beckett waters, no Pynchon yet but I'm in the middle of a long run read of all of Kafka's fiction. I read just about anything, fiction and non-fiction, but haven't done anything too genre-y except for a "guilty pleasure" thriller series here and there. Trying to get more sci-fi into my diet. Also might try to read all of Umberto Eco's books before his new one arrives later this year.
Oh, I had wondered what happened to the book club idea... This is great. Not convinced I can buy and start the book by Friday, but maybe next time. Have fun, guys!
I don't think it's quite the book club you might be thinking of but one that was mentioned in April (before I joined EC). I was wondering why there wasn't one already and searching around I only found one previous try that didn't catch on for some reason. I'm hoping this one works out. And no need to absolutely start with the first discussion. If you happen to find the book between now and any of the discussions and start to read, please join in! I know it depends on the individual reader but this book is a relatively quick read and fun too. But with whichever book, I hope you can join us in the future!
