Book Club

Has anybody read this? I realise it's online and in the public domain, but I'm no longer fifteen - my eyes aren't what they used to be, I need ink and paper. If you've read it, anyway, feel free to share your views. I'm hoping to pick it up soon.

The Blind Owl by Sadeq (or Sadegh) Hedayat.

If you want your protagonist to be TOTALLY FUCKING INSANE and cut up his lover with a butcher knife in 1940s Iran, this is the book for you. I read it today in a single sitting and it's now in my top ten books.

Freakonomics (SD Levitt & SJ Dubner) : Nonfiction book about economics and statistical tools applied to everyday situations. Very entertaining and thought provoking. To be classified in the same trend of reviewing common opinions through numbers as Moneyball (M Lewis).

i think being on this site indicates that most of us, i know i am, are dedicated not only to our potential for success but the medium of books as a whole. i was flipping through channels and came upon an episode of inside the actor studio. who it was is inconsequential really but the concept of an show of that nature with writers. for starters we tend to be a lot more interesting with all the turmoil we can go through. if some one could make this happen we might be able to truly take the idea of long form fiction to a level that is well above it current status in popular culture. the ratings might such but could be cheap to produce. i am just afraid as some one starting out that the society is getting way to far away from a place of active readers. sorry for the rant, kind of needed to get it out in some form

i got All the beautiful Sinners - stephen graham jones and When You are Engulfed in Flames - Sedaris.
But i'll probably just read the first one and push the other one onto the pile so I can get into reading Moby Dick like I have been wanting to.

I just finished reading the collection of short stories Knockemstiff by Donald Ray Pollock. I believe that this collection is one of the best books I've ever read! I picked this book up because of the kudos from Chuck on the dust jacket of the book. My jaw literally dropped at some of the appalling stories enclosed inside the 206 page masterpiece. I find it hard to believe that these stories are the first that Pollock has published. Each story from beginning to end held my attention and made me anticipate the next chapter. I am from a small town not unlike Knockemstiff, so I can relate to the characters on an omniscient level. I can't say that I live on the same fringe of society that these characters do in Knockemstiff, but I read this book and knew some the characters. I was wondering what some other fans of Pollock have to say about this book. What are your thoughts? Praises?

(mods, let me know if this is in the wrong place...)

Colored Chalk has been rolling strong for four issues, and we want to read more from our Writer's Cult! The theme:

Sins of the Father.

Submissions are open through October 31st, 2008.

Sins of the Father
(inspired by an essay from Will Christopher Baer)

A man's relationship with his father is perhaps one of the most oft-explored subjects throughout literary history. The Father is a powerful literary figure, from the Bible to Beowulf, Hamlet to Star Wars and beyond. As Baer says in the above-linked essay, at a young age, God is the Father and our Father is God. As such, the relationship is a delicate and complex one of love, anger, loyalty, betrayal, honor and deceit.

I've seen the movie and though I would like to cut Nick Cage with rusty pinking shears, I did enjoy it. Has anyone ever read the novel it's based on? Always wanted to read it, never trusted the movie to book situation.