Changing order

At our meeting last night we decided to change the order we’ll read our next few books.

Diane will get to live my dream

Below is one of my favorite quotes from Coming Into The Country. I was reminded of this excellent book and got a bit nostalgic when I learned that one of my co-workers, a sweet older lady named Diane, is planning to retire in two weeks. We had a tearful moment yesterday saying our early goodbyes but also dreaming about all the posibillities of things Diane will get to experience now that she will have all the time in the world to do so. One of the things she is planning on is a trip to visit her daughter who lives a little north of Anchorage.

“You come to the place on its terms. You assume the risk. When people come to Alaska, there’s a sifting and winnowing process that follows,” Pourchot said. “Some just make day trips out of Anchorage into the bush. Others go out for more than one day – fishing or whatever – but they stay in one place, at an established camp or lodge. After that come the hikers and canoers, and from them you get many stories of, say, the boat that breaks up and the guy who sits on the gravel bar for two weeks and walks out in five miserable days. He makes it, though. It’s a rare day when somebody starves or bleeds to death. You’re just not going to make a trip perfectly safe and still get the kind of trip you want. There are no what-if types out here. People who come this far have come to grips with that problem.”

This is going to sound really cheesy but I find this quote to be kind of universal and about life in general. M.

Grizzly mauling

We’ve survived the Hindu Kush; now this recent news story brings us back to the creatures we grew so fond of on our trip to Alaska. Hope this brings back some memories.

What Is the What review

I don’t think I ever expected to see Dave Eggers reviewed in Books & Culture, but here you go.

Why we can’t contact Umberto

A nice quote from our crusty old Italian friend. I guess we can forget about sending him our messages.

Suite Française again

An excellent review of Suite Française from The New York Times. Beware of the spoilers though.

Yeti

This whole thing with Rawicz meeting Yeti during his escape from gulag makes me nervous. Was the book just a scam? There is so much controversy around it. Please, don’t throw stones at me if The Long Walk turns out to be a disaster! M.

New books

Our books through October have been chosen. Appeals to the order I’ve scheduled will be accepted through the end of March.

Meeting this Friday

This Friday we will be meeting at Luke and Terilyn’s abode to mull over The Name of the Rose and to choose our next six books.

For those of you who are familiar with the movie, I saw Malachi running out at the lake last Saturday. I think this is a good portent for our discussion.

The Porziuncola

The English translation of this website is not the greatest, so it’s hard to tell exactly what is going on here, but I think this photo is a neat illustration of the ideas of poverty and riches that preoccupy the monks in The Name of the Rose. The humble chapel is preserved by the opulent structure that soars above it, taunting it and saving it at the same time.