John Updike Dead at 76

Since we have read "Rabbit, Run" as part of our bookclub, I thought everyone would be interested in this news....

Prolific, two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist John Updike has died of lung cancer at the age of 76.
According to publisher Alfred A. Knopf Inc., Updike died at a hospice not far from his home in Beverly Farms, Mass.
Several of his works wound up in Hollywood hands, most notably the James Caan-starring adaptation of one his most famous books, Rabbit, Run (which earned him his first Pulitzer), and The Witches of Eastwick, which, thanks to Jack Nicholson, Cher, Michelle Pfeiffer and Susan Sarandon became a star-studded, twice Oscar-nominated affair.
The author even went on to earn the ultimate pop-culture honor—playing himself in an episode of The Simpsons.
Updike's final work, My Father's Tears and Other Stories, his first collection of new short fiction since 2000, is scheduled for release on June 2.

Has anyone seen the film adaptation of "Rabbit, Run"? I didn't even know that there was one, but now I'd definitely be interested in seeing it...

Favorite Thing of 2008 - The Daily Beast's Buzz Board

One of my favorite discoveries of 2008 was the Daily Beast's Buzz Board: http://www.thedailybeast.com/beast-board/

The Daily Beast is an online news magazine founded by Tina Brown, former editor in chief of the New Yorker magazine. The website is a fun medley of the serious and silly. One minute you can get up to date on the biggest new stories of the day and, the next, you can immerse yourself in the latest celebrity gossip.

The best part of the site, for me, is the Buzz Board. It's a place where smart people (writers, politicians, celebrities, and entrepreneurs) - people in the know - recommend their favorite things. The choices are far ranging and freewheeling - picks include books, tech products, movies, music, restaurants, and philanthropic opportunities.

Whenever I’m looking for inspiration for what to read, see, and listen to or something new to explore, this is one of my go to places. Highly recommend checking it out. You may become as addicted as I am!

Favorite Things of 2008

It might be a little late for this, but I'm interested in learning about some of our favorites books, films, music, and events from last year. Perhaps we could write a few words on what moved, enlightened or entertained us in 2008.

I will post one of my favorite things shortly - looking forward to reading yours.

Ender's Game

I haven't read much Science Fiction (it's not really my thing), but a friend of Pete's suggested ENDER'S GAME and had great things to say about it, so I'm giving it a chance.

Essentially, it's about this 6 year old named Ender Wiggin who is chosen by the government to hopefully lead an army to kill the "Buggers" who have been attacking Earth.  In fact, all of the "soldiers" are children, but they think that Ender may be the "chosen one".

So far, I think I like it (I'm about half way through).  There aren't too many over the top, out of this world plots/dialog so it's pretty easy to follow and it's interesting that the characters are mostly children, but they are treated like adults.  

Has anyone else read this?  Do any of you have any Science Fiction novels that you really like?

Tis the Season....for Film Adaptations!

Holiday film season is here! In my weekend ritual of cruising the New York Times online, I have come across so many reviews for movies based on popular books.

So my question for the book club is:

-Which ones will you go see?

-Have you read the books?


Twilight

So I remember Tiff's previous post about the Twilight series, and I had never heard of the books before she mentioned them. But now there is apparently a movie, and it has definitely sparked my interest in wanting to read the book, or at least see the movie (if it ever makes its way to Hong Kong)

Opens November 21, 2008





Revolutionary Road

Have any of you read this Richard Yates classic? It's on my To-Read List, hope I can finish it before seeing the film! Kate Winslet and Leo reunited! Woohoo!

Opens December 26, 2008

The Tale of Despereaux

A great modern children's book by Kate DiCamillo (also wrote Because of Winn-Dixie) . The animation and art direction look really great. I love the book's full title: The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread. I think that about sums up the plot!

Opens December 19, 2008




The Reader

I read this book back in NYU days, I really enjoyed it, and too bad I wasn't in a book club back then to talk about it. Would definitely recommend reading the book. The film's director previously directed the film adaptation of The Hours, which I personally feel is one of the best book to film adaptations I have ever seen. I hope he does equally great work on this film adaptation.

Opens December 10, 2008



The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Anyone read F. Scott Fitzgerald's original short story? There was also a similar book that I saw at Barnes and Noble called The Confessions of Max Tivoli that I had wanted to read before hearing about the Benjamin Button movie. I'm not sure how different MT and BB are. I believe MT was also based off Fitzgerald's short.

http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2004/01/26/040126crbo_books

Opens December 25, 2008

Identical Strangers & Secrets and Lies

I’ve recently started reading Identical Strangers and am enjoying it. As I read, I keep thinking about the movie Secrets and Lies.

Have any of you seen it?

It’s one of my favorite movies. It’s about a 30ish successful, black adopted British woman who decides to find her birth mother. When she finally meets her mother, she discovers that her mother is white and has not told anyone in her family that she had her child adopted years ago.

I found it interesting how the main character in the movie starts her search to answer a simple question (who is my mother?) and ends up uncovering a host of family secrets. In a way, she finds herself with more questions than answers. So I’m interested to see where Elyse’s and Paula’s story leads, what other surprises are in store for them.

Jenn's Questions for Out Discussion

I finished Out and really enjoyed it. Here are some questions that I would be interested in hearing your responses to. I will post my own thoughts later since some of you might still be reading the book!

1. I didn't understand the title of the book when I first started reading it. By the end though, I thought the title to be very fitting. What does the title mean to you?

2. Do you think each character's way out was befitting for them?

3. Which woman did you empathize/sympathize with the most? The least?

4. How would you compare the treatment of women in Japanese to society to women in America?

5. What did you think of the secondary characters, Anna, the loan shark, the Brazilian? Were you satisfied with their storylines, and what did their characterizations add to the books' perception of male/female roles in Japan?

6. What one word would you use to best describe this book?