What is the What Question Four

Who do you think "wrote" this book, Dave Eggars or Valentino Achak Deng? The story is incredibly moving (few would argue this point) but how do you feel about the book as a book?

merry christmas

merry christmas to all the smart women.

how far is everyone in What is the What? i want to ask some more questions, but i don't want to give away plots.

is everyone done with "book one"?

Kona Wind, Kona Coffee...

So i am almost finished with the epic love story of Scarlett and Rhett...and last night I was reading it in this awesome coffee shop (Glazer's), to which my dear friend Joe invited me...p.s. google Joe Philipson for a peek at him and his awesome photography. I believe he called me "so analogue" for bringing book instead of laptop, and i thought that was hillarious. I almost burst into tears when Rhett was waiting (chain-smoking with desperation) just outside Scarlett's door as she recuperated from a tumble down the stairs.

Lead the revolution! Bring books into coffee shops instead of electronics! They're lighter and waay more fun. Plus, if they break down or you spill coffee on them, they still function for the most part!

What is the What Question Three

Do you think that focusing on the refugees as separate groups (ie: young or old, christian or muslim, male or female) reduces or intensifies the understanding of their plight? by viewing Lost Boys vs Lost Girls, for example, do we minimize the experience of one group to allow ourselves to fully actualize the trials of the other?

What is the What Question Two

Did you know the plight of the Lost Boys before you read this book? Did it change what you thought about the situation?

Gone With the Kona Wind

So I just joined and realized everyone else has these cool blogger nicknames, and mine is just virginia...so unoriginal! So you all may refer to me as "the lady of the night". Incredible nickname, yes?

As for reading, right now I'm mid-reconstruction in Margaret Mitchell's Gone With The Wind. Food for thought: is Scarlett really all that selfish or is she just a modern woman stuck in an ancient culture? She doesn't seem any more selfish than I am. Of course, when you compare her to the great ladies of the book, Ellen and Melanie, she would look wild and self-centered. Of course we would all wish to be Ellen or Melanie when described by others, but can you honestly believe that you reach that level of selflessness reserved only for ficticious characters and Sisters of the Missionaries of Charity? Yes, maybe she went a bit far with the whole Ashley ordeal. But aren't we all a little bit hussy?

What is the What Question One

What is the What is technically considered a fictional novel. How do you feel about this classification? Do you think it affects you while you read it? Do you think it affected Achak when he told his story, knowing it may be perceived as 'fictitious'?

you have been invited

ok, let's vote:

Arcadia (Tom Stoppard) a play. one of the subjects it touches on is determinism.

The electric michaelangelo (sarah hall) about a tattoo artist in 1930s coney island.

1000 Splendid Suns (khaled hosseini) ...Afghanistan in turmoil. The story covers three decades of anti-Soviet jihad, civil war and Taliban tyranny through the lives of two women.

What is the What (dave eggers) based on the real life story of Valentino Achak Deng, a Sudanese refugee and member of the Lost Boys of Sudan program.

Bonfire of the Vanities (tom wolfe) fiction about NYC "... chronicler of the way we live in America."

authorship

SY - thanks for adding to the list.

another question: do we want to make this blog private and manage the list of who can see it, or do we want it open? do we want to use initials like i just did, or names? personally, my other blog is anonymous, and i'd like to keep that up. 

finally, do you all want to be made authors to the blog so you can add posts, or do you want me to keep the admin authorship so that you just make comments after a post?

eh- once we iron all this out we can start reading. im excited for that.

welcome to the test run

hey ladies, we're going to try this out for our book club. the first order of business is deciding what to read! i know we tossed around the idea of What is the What, as well as some other titles that i dont remember. please post a comment with your suggested title.  (if you are new to blogging, the word "comment" below should be a link. click on it and follow the steps).