What is ironic about Joe's post is that he is one of the more colorful writers on here and he gets his points across not in the most efficient manner but with a lot of imagery and style (even if it is a sometimes inscrutable style).
Water Cooler Book Club
- Thread starter BradStevens
- Start date
Not enough footnotes.*
*Footnotes are odd little things. They first appear in the early 17th century, acting as a marriage of history and philology.
Perhaps no one has mastered this melding of narrative and erudition, of utile and dulce, like Edward Gibbon (EG) the venerated 18th-century English historian.
EG wrote the sublime six-volume The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. (TDFRE) "The footnotes [of Gibbon]," writes historian John Clive in his book Not by Fact Alone, "must not be forgotten. . . . They contain those flashes of wit and humor that help to ease the reader's long trek through the centuries, from the reference to the Abbé le Boeuf as 'an antiquarian, whose name was happily expressive of his talents,' to the comment on the learned Origen, who, eager for perpetual chastity, thought fit to castrate himself ('to disarm the tempter,' in Gibbon's phrase)."
In another footnote, Gibbon skewers St. Augustine, noting that his "learning is too often borrowed and . . . [his] arguments are too often his own." Elsewhere, he jabs at his friend Voltaire: "M. de Voltaire, unsupported by either fact or probability, has generously bestowed the Canary Islands on the Roman empire." The last note is classic Gibbon: accurate, acerbic and informative.
More than anything, Gibbon should make us rethink our attitude toward footnotes and the attendant deathwatch. emphasis in our schools has been to replicate the form rather than the content or style of a good footnote. We should remember that reading Gibbon without the footnotes is like listening to Mozart without the 16th notes; the music of each lacks its distinctive, ineffable magic when the little notes are taken away.
Have you read Infinite Jest? I’ve had it on my bedside table for at least 5 years. Hoping to absorb through osmosis, I guess. I’ve read several of his essays and short stories, but just can’t tackle that one.
Yea I stopped. I’m like you and I can count on one hand the number of books I didn’t finish. That’s one
I've read all of DFW's non-fiction, but only one or two short stories. I haven't been able to get into his fiction and, quite frankly, don't want to ruin my view of him by being disappointed. He's one of my favorite writers.
have you guys decided on a book? What are you thinking? Phil Robertson’s The Theft of America’s Soul?
Okay welcome to the first edition of the Water Cooler Book Club. I'm "Brad Stevens;" hang on. not great with zoom. not sure i have the camera right
It's going to be EPIC.Okay welcome to the first edition of the Water Cooler Book Club. I'm "Brad Stevens;" hang on. not great with zoom. not sure i have the camera right
Orange laptop seems appropriateOkay welcome to the first edition of the Water Cooler Book Club. I'm "Brad Stevens;" hang on. not great with zoom. not sure i have the camera right
i was trying to find a zoom with a big group of goof balls. one of my old college teammates coaches and teaches high school and during the pandemic he used to send us what he sees teaching by zoom. was absolutely hilarious. one of hte best parts of the pandemic
He doesn’t look near desperate enough. Give it time.
I think a book club is a great idea and I commend you for trying to bring it to life.
Some suggestions to get started...
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Post of the year so far?Some suggestions to get started...
He did put in a lot of work. I mean he’s retired. But still; a lot of work. For a man his age.
Great reading!A few more...
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Book Club Opportunity:
Vibrant, thoughtful book club is accepting applications for a new member or two.
Books read so far:
Moby Dick, The Iron Heel, Flaubert's Parrot, and in the middle of Absalom! Absalom!
We read about 100 pages a week and meet weekly.
Next book will be James by Percival Everrett that we will hold our first meeting on it in 3 weeks, if you want a headstart:
www.kirkusreviews.com
Members must (1) be agreeable (2) read the book (3) talk about the book and (4) understand how to operate a camera during Zoom (looking at you, @larsIU)
DM me if interested.
Vibrant, thoughtful book club is accepting applications for a new member or two.
Books read so far:
Moby Dick, The Iron Heel, Flaubert's Parrot, and in the middle of Absalom! Absalom!
We read about 100 pages a week and meet weekly.
Next book will be James by Percival Everrett that we will hold our first meeting on it in 3 weeks, if you want a headstart:
JAMES | Kirkus Reviews
Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn as told from the perspective of a more resourceful and contemplative Jim than the one you remember.
www.kirkusreviews.com
Members must (1) be agreeable (2) read the book (3) talk about the book and (4) understand how to operate a camera during Zoom (looking at you, @larsIU)
DM me if interested.
I have a face made for conference calls. Besides, I'm rereading Never Split the Difference.Book Club Opportunity:
Vibrant, thoughtful book club is accepting applications for a new member or two.
Books read so far:
Moby Dick, The Iron Heel, Flaubert's Parrot, and in the middle of Absalom! Absalom!
We read about 100 pages a week and meet weekly.
Next book will be James by Percival Everrett that we will hold our first meeting on it in 3 weeks, if you want a headstart:
JAMES | Kirkus Reviews
Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn as told from the perspective of a more resourceful and contemplative Jim than the one you remember.
Members must (1) be agreeable (2) read the book (3) talk about the book and (4) understand how to operate a camera during Zoom (looking at you, @larsIU)
DM me if interested.
Zoom blows.Book Club Opportunity:
Vibrant, thoughtful book club is accepting applications for a new member or two.
Books read so far:
Moby Dick, The Iron Heel, Flaubert's Parrot, and in the middle of Absalom! Absalom!
We read about 100 pages a week and meet weekly.
Next book will be James by Percival Everrett that we will hold our first meeting on it in 3 weeks, if you want a headstart:
JAMES | Kirkus Reviews
Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn as told from the perspective of a more resourceful and contemplative Jim than the one you remember.
Members must (1) be agreeable (2) read the book (3) talk about the book and (4) understand how to operate a camera during Zoom (looking at you, @larsIU)
DM me if interested.
We can put that on the list if you'd like. We have mentioned the idea of reading a handful of short stories one week.The Greatest Book Ever Written
