Held in Captivity

If the novel, or book, or bound object overflowing with print, is indeed a performance, then Dave Reidy's (pronounced reedy) Captive Audience would be the kind that leaves the reader, watcher, viewer, in a state of momentary awe. Captive Audience is his debut, and it does what lots of debut full length feature novels can only hope for. This is short fiction with a through-line, that through-line being performing. Whether it's a hacky stand up comedian campaigning to win over an audience, or a rock n' roll band trying to inject the crowd with a bit of life through sound, or even a star athlete seeking redemption, on and off the court. Dave Reidy chose a shape shifting motif to center his stories around, and his performance was nothing short of show stopping.

Every last Tuesday of the month I host a book club here at the bookstore (the Hard Boiled Book Club). It is fun. We read lots of fiction and form our theories about what we've read. Last Tuesday we met and discussed Captive Audience. We were lucky enough to be joined by Dave Reidy on the telephone. He answered our questions with an easy wit, and was generous with his time. He even dispelled the chopped pronunciation of his name that had been circulating the bookstore for weeks.

If you're reading this and are even remotely curious about the book club, come, we love new faces, freckles too. For May we're reading Willy Vlautin's third novel: Lean on Pete. He's also going to be here in the bookstore next Wednesday, May 5th at six, reading and signing.

We'd love to see you!

DISPATCHES FROM THE HARDBOILED BOOK CLUB

We met on Tuesday, the 28^th of July to chat about Jess Walter's Citizen Vince. Jess Walter agreed to call in the bookstore and answer any questions we may have had. He was very nice and generous with his time. His spoke like one of his characters might: clipped, succinct, also meandering (providing conversational fodder later for our bookgroup).

The format for this kind of thing errs on the informal side, we all write down questions and I draw them out of a hat or bag. When a question is drawn the asker asks the author. This goes on for several questions (between 3 and 5) and usually last 15 – 20 minutes. Walter's early writing career was grounded in journalism, and he told us how this cemented in him the need for the exact word; leaving no words to waste. Fortunately for us, he elaborated with his answers, and painted a vivid picture for the group on his process. He talked about why he chose to write a book in the eighties and what this generation may be able to gleam from the Reagan/Carter race. We also asked him about some themes represented in Citizen Vince, like starting over, or being a good bad guy, or a bad good guy. He answered all of our questions fairly, and was a very funny guy.

He also gave us a thumbs up on the next selection for bookclub: Gun, with Occasional Music, by Jonathan Lethem. Meet here, at Sam Weller's lower level August 25th, at 6:30 PM.

Hardboiled Book Club: Citizen Vince

Sam Wellers Bookstore's Hardboiled Book Club meets tonight, Tuesday July 28 at 6:30 p.m. in the fabulous Wellers basement.

Citizen Vince author Jess Walter will join our meeting via speaker phone to discuss our latest selection. This is your chance to ask anything you ever wanted to know about Jess Walter but were afraid to ask. Well not everything....

DISPATCHES FROM THE HARDBOILED BOOKCLUB

Tuesday, May 26th, we met to discuss Willy Vlautin's NORTHLINE. Written in stark concise prose, Vlautin explores the human condition, Reno, Nevada, and what it means to rebuild yourself. Usually for bookclub we have some sort of treat. Last night's was a speaker phone call by Mr. Willy Vlautin. He called the bookstore, chatted with the bookclub, and was very generous with not only his responses, but also with his time, at one point joking that he may be impeding on the bookclub. He's soft spoken, very nice and had an answer ready for a wide range of questions. I just can't get over how friendly and down to earth he was, like a character in one of his books. It was a memorable night.

A Juggling Act

Thanks to an upcoming event, two book clubs, and my own want to read something fun, I am currently trying to read four books. Usually it's a feat for me to finish just one book in a reasonable amount of time, but four? What have I gotten myself into?

First, the event. David Sedaris is coming to Abravanel Hall on October 20th for his newest book, "When You are Engulfed in Flames".

I am part of the little crew from our store working the event, so I am trying to finish that book by then. I'm not complaining, by any means. The man's a comic genius, the book is great.

Next, book club one of two. The newest book club meeting at Sam Wellers is queereads, a book club focusing on LGBT literature. Created and moderated by Adam Streeter, the first book is Sarah Schulman's "Rat Bohemia" to be discussed on Wed. Oct. 22nd.
Adam and I read this together in one night. It's a quick read and a great one. Even though this book was written thirteen years ago, I found myself relating to a character I didn't expect to, and reading about situations I've recently experienced. It was almost startling how familiar some of the emotions were. This book is a true gem written in beautifully simplistic, yet sometimes poetic prose. I'm really looking forward to discussing this at queereads.

Now for book club two of two. Zach's book club, the Hardboiled Book Club, is reading Ryo Murakami's "In the Miso Soup" to be discussed on Tuesday Oct. 28th.

I've only gotten about twenty or so pages into this one as of now, but so far, I like it.

And because I like to torment myself, I'm reading an advanced reading copy of "Fool" the newest novel by Christopher Moore, due out in February of 2009. It's Moore's take on Shakespeare's "King Lear". I'm a little more than halfway through this and all I want to do is lock myself in a room with no distractions and finish it. I'm loving it. I was unable to find a picture of the cover. I'll post a review with a picture closer to the book's release.

So right now, my reading schedule is like a juggling act, or perhaps something a little more scattered and inconsistent, say a really old intoxicated clown's version of a juggling act.