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No, I'm not planning to delete this thread. I was just wondering when you wanted to read China Mountain Zhang. I just started a book yesterday, and probably won't have time to finish it until early next week, but after that I'm ready to read CMZ whenever you are. Celia, if you decide to blow off school work after all, you're still more than welcome to join us.
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Of course, I did post this immediately after you said that you were signing off of Hatrack for the day. I'll bump this tomorrow if necessary.
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That sounds great! Anybody else that wants to is welcome to join in. No idea how much discussion there will be--it could just be Sara and I saying "yep, that's a good book", but you never know.
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I'm tidying up my loose ends. Writing from bed at a Toronto workshop -- in bed for other reasons, not that kind of workshop -- and getting ready to face the world again.
It is beautiful and sunny and we are learning all sorts of things, and life is good.
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Really? Ibuprofen makes you sleepy? I've never heard of that as a potential side effect. Interesting!
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Pfizer has all its package inserts online. For ibuprofen, dizziness was reported in 3-9% of those studied in the initial trials (the acknowledged "probable cause" being the medication) and somnolence in less than 1% (but in such a pattern relative to the controls that the ibuprofen was rated "probable cause" here, too).
It made my mom sleepy, as well. I myself think it might be secondary to the relief of pain -- I use ibuprofen for migraines, menstral cramps, and post-surgically, all times when I was likely to have high levels of stress hormnes in my system. Insulin is one of the primary stress hormones, and this dazed, foggy, "I have to sleep now" feeling is similar to that from after having a high-carb meal with high glycemic index.
That is, I think it's secondary to an insulin crash from the pain, moreso than the medication itself. That's just a guess, though.
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*giggle* Well, I'd wait until you weren't so sleepy at least. We don't want you to drown! There's still plenty of time to enjoy! I'd go sit by the pool with your laptop and enjoy the sunshine ar least
What do you think of Afro-peruvian drumming, btw? I was thinking of calling in one of your babysitting coupons with the caveat that you accompany us and take Sophie out if she fusses.
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In answer to your question, Christy, it's a phenomenal book, definitely one of my favorites if not my absolute favorite. Years ago I recommended it to Sara, who liked it as well, and we've decided to reread it together.
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Oh, sure, sounds like fun! I'd adore Nanny Duty, so long as I get to hang on to Sophie.
I can share my copy of CMZ with you when I get back, and you can see if you like it. (If I don't space myself out, I'll read it all in one sitting anyway, and that isn't as much fun as discussing chapters.)
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I'm going to have to resist the urge to devour the book in a single bite too Sara. I do think that the discussion will be more interesting if we hold ourselves in check, but when a book is that good it's hard to make yourself stop.
My mother refuses to give me back my copy of CMZ (or to read it ), so I've gotten myself a cheap paperback copy at my local used bookstore.
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I'm thinking electroshock, Noemon. Some kind of buzzer for if I turn the page to start the next chapter.
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I put it on hold at the Library. Does next thursday mean tomorrow or in 8 days? P.S. I think the drowsiness may be from Beta-endorphin, which is released for pain, and also for any high calorie meal (which is why people eat when they feel bad sometimes). Maybe you feel it more because you are tiny, as I recall.
Anybody read any Walter Jon Williams? William Sanders, whose short fiction I'm incredibly impressed by, considers him one of the best writers alive, so I thought I'd give him a try. I'm about 1/3 of the way through The Rift, and while it's okay, and definitely competently written, it's not striking me as anything special. Anyway, I have to finish that before I'll be able to read CMZ, so definitely *next* Thursday, rather than tomorrow.
The electro-shock thing sounds like a good idea Sara. Should we hire stun-baton wielding monkeys to administer the shocks, or just read with our feet submerged in tanks containing specially trained electric eels?
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Tom's expressed interest now too. We might get a used copy ourselves. I am fairly sure that he'll be unable to go chapter by chapter, though. *laugh* Lest I remind you of the late night bathroom reading of a certain book that was recently alluded to. *grin*
How slowly are you going to read it? I know Sara and I tried to do this with "The Hours" but ended up just discussing after we had both read the book.
And, Sara, *starts to get the shakes* You are coming BACK from Canada, aren't you?!
I was incommunicado today because our router went on the fritz. Of course, as soon as Tom came home it was fixed. Grrr!
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I have read this, and I can't remember why. It was almost certainly a suggestion from here. I don't think I can join the reader group, though. I have read it too recently, and I'm not yet ready to return. I would love to read the comments, though. Posts: 26077 | Registered: Mar 2000
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Honestly, Christy, I expect that at some point, very early on, our restraint will fail and we'll all end up finishing the book at our own pace. I'd *like* to do it chapter by chapter, but I doubt it'll happen somehow.
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I got it! It was a bit of an adventure, but I had a blast in the process.
I started out looking online but found that it would take 1-3 weeks to arrive. That will never do. So I went to Cambridge (UK) and looked in a few new booksellers to no avail. They each had it on their inventory list but had long been out of stock (with no intent to replenish ). I had just about lost hope, but thought I remembered another store just down the road. There was a sign for the public library.......why did I even look at the book stores?
So explain to me the rationale behind reading and discussing a chapter at a time? For those of you who have read it before it probably is a little different than for me. Perhaps I'll read it now, jot down a few thoughts, and then skim the chapter that you're discussing as a group to refresh my memory at that time.
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Glad you were able to find a copy rubble--hope you like it!
As I see it, there would be a couple of advantages to reading it at a measured pace. Just recently celia and I read McHugh's Mission Child together, and while that was a lot of fun, it would have been more fun (for me), and more conducive to discussion, if we'd been reading it and talking about it a chapter at a time. Our discussions would have been more detailed, more in-depth, that way. As it was, our discussion of it mostly consisted of agreeing with each other that it was a good book, and agreeing with each other that the pacing slipped in the final third of the book. Doing it chapter by chapter, we'd be able to go over it with a fine tooth comb, and probably turn up a wealth of ideas that we otherwise wouldn't. Another advantage, now that it isn't just Sara and me reading this together, is that people who aren't already familiar with the book would have to worry about spoilers if we were discussing a part that they hadn't gotten to yet.
Now, that said, I don't think that we'll actually manage the whole "chapter by chapter" approach.
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I vow to be able to discuss it chapter by chapter, though I'll probably munch it all up at the first go. However, my goal is to then reread chapters if needed to discuss.
Should anyone be so inclined to care, yes, I am still intolerant of clams. If I could live through last night, by gum, I can reread a few chapters. *fierce, if sleepy, look
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Based on Noemon's track record for book recommendations, I'm gonna give this a shot. I just ordered a copy of half.com, so hopefully it will be here by Thursday.
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I've gotta find a copy, so I'll probably miss out on the first week, but I'll show up eventually Posts: 2911 | Registered: Aug 2001
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I can't remember how long the chapters are (might be too short?). I'll look tonight.
As far as I'm concerned, the "rules" are up for grabs, tho I'd like to leave room for detailed plot (& maybe technical construction) analysis.
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Sticky paste. The thicky white salty kind that comes in pots.
quote: Kindergarten paste was just flour and water (they knew we'd eat it) and although paste causes digestive trouble in adults, at five it made us plump and sleepy and that's the way we liked it.
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I read China Mountain Zhang a few years ago. I'm pretty sure I wrote something about it on this forum. There are some terribly powerful scenes. I'll be happy when you all get through.
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Sat. morning sounds good. I've already broken the whole "read a chapter at at time" plan. I was in a doctor's office (nothing serious, just getting a plantar's wart frozen off the ball of my foot), and it was either CMZ or Ladies Home Journal. I'm sure all of you would have done the same.
I'm taking notes chapter by chapter though, so I'll be ready for whatever form the discussion takes.
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I'll be pretty busy tomorrow, my oldest is getting baptized. Something I've noticed so far is that at least the first chapter of CMZ is unusually long. So are we discussing it here or on a separate thread?
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I am sneezy and anxious, and so I commandeer control of the topic on the grounds that I am pitibly unsuited for leading anyone around at this time, although agressive. Thus, the obvious choice for an overseeing position.
I will start a new thread in the early am which you may visit or not, as you see fit. However, any competing threads will be heartily sneezed on, and -- given current obsessive-compulsive tendencies -- have all the lint picked off their shoulders.
(Actually, a new thread would be nice and tidy, and whoever gets up first tomorrow is welcome to do it up right. Or here, should you choose. Say, first 20 pages as a start, then go from there?)
*achoo!
[ October 08, 2004, 04:30 PM: Message edited by: Sara Sasse ]
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I have read most of his novels. He is very good , one of my favorites. Aristoi, Metropolitan and Met.'s sequel City on Fire are his best.
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Unfortunately, we couldn't find the book anywhere! Fess up, Sara, you bought out the entire town's books didn't you?! Its on special order, but we'll not have it until next week sometime. I'm going to check the library today.
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I went looking for an extra copy as well, just to save myself digging it out of piles of boxes of books from the last move, once I realized it wasn't where I thought it was. Guess where I'm spending my morning/afternoon? Posts: 2919 | Registered: Aug 2004
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