Tale for One City 2010!

This year's title is The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time !

Blog participants are the first to hear which title has been selected! Here is a quick summary of this summer's novel:

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

Christopher is autistic; he navigates life on its myriad levels by way of mathematical equations and the laws of physics—everything at face value with no understanding of human emotion or motivation. There’s a lot he doesn’t understand—and so many reasons why no one understands him. How on earth will he ever solve a murder mystery?

Mark Haddon writes so that we truly see the world through Christopher’s eyes—his quirkiness becomes lovable, and we ache for him and know his fears. Haddon offers us a rare opportunity to step into someone else’s shoes, see through his eyes, and think with his mind; we can’t help but walk away changed by the experience.

Off the Grid

The following is an excerpt from another email I recently received.

"Also, there's a part of me that loves the idea of what the parents are trying to do. Live off the grid. Defy conformity. Be self-sufficient and tell the world to [go jump off a bridge]. But I've never had the nerve to follow through. Still, what happens to people who just can't fit in? What happens to people who can't do the 9 to 5 thing? Are they destined to live on a knife edge? Are they destined to become self-absorbed and self-destructive? The parents are so crazy and selfish, but I see some of their points. How many creature comforts do we really need? Does the security of a "normal" middle-class existence KILL the adventure of life?"

I included this because it raises a few things worth reflecting on. To start, what does happen to those of us who are uncomfortable with the 9-5 conventions of daily life. Is there a space in our society for those people to thrive? Does our society force round people into square holes?

What about this idea of living off the grid is that even possible anymore? What about it is so appealing? How can we harness those things about such an existence that ARE appealing and some how work them into otherwise conventional lives?

Brian's Thanksgiving...

Well, people in town are certainly talking about The Glass Castle and I was trying to think of ways to stir up some more chatter on this blog. If you are too bashful to post, please feel free to email me your thoughts and I can post them anonymously for you.

One staff member at the high school recently emailed me to say:
"I loved the book for its portrayal of yet another questionable style of raising kids....A few random thoughts: I loved how the brother says at Thanksgiving that it isn't that hard to put food on the table, I wondered what Jeanette thought about the mother's art since the canvases and art supplies travelled with the family when little else did. "

For me, Brian's statement at Thanksgiving was one of the most haunting moments of the book. In small part because Walls recounts many of her memories in such a straightforward fashion. For the most part, it is what it is. The bluntness of what she is saying lends it power. But in that one sentence, Brian says and means a lot. While the moment seems to be one of reconciliation. Brian shows that all is not forgiven. He reminds the reader that this really isn't a story about "alternate parenting" or "trying your best" or "alls well that ends well" -- but about parents who were too self absorbed to give their children what they owed them.

Thoughts?

New! Event Calendar Added

Sparta Books has added two events to our Tale for One City events calendar! You can find this (interactive) google calendar at the bottom of the page.

Wednesday - August 26th - 7:00pm
"The Glass Castle Book Talk"
Sparta Books will be holding a book discussion on The Glass Castle. Everyone is welcome to join us for an enjoyable talk about this year's Tale of One City title! Whether you have finished the book or you're just starting it, meet up with other members of the community for some light refreshments as we talk about this wonderful book.

Thursday - September 10th - 7:00pm
"Back-To-School Book Talk"
If you enjoyed the August Glass Castle Book Talk, or if you missed it, join us for a Back-To-School summer reading discussion!

Event Suggestions

We are currently negotiating possible events with the Sparta Library and Sparta Books. Details will be posted to this site as soon as they become available.

In the meantime, readers, what kind of events and discussions would you like to see in the community? Please post them here.

If you are a business or organization member who is interested in participating in A Tale For One City by holding a event please email brooke.kaska@sparta.org or post your ideas below.

How to Post

If you are new to blog posting you may experience a few problems when trying to reply to this blog. The blog requires you to identify yourself through an online account like a google or AIM.

Below the "Post a Comment" window you will see a "Comment As" drop down menu. Select the account that you have. If you don't have one, you can easily make a google account for this purpose.

If you are already signed in to your Google account, the site should recognize you.

Please be careful. If you write a lengthy reply without realizing that you are going to need to sign into one of these accounts you may lose your post. Please email me at brooke.kaska@sparta.org if you need extra help.

UPDATE: You may now post without associating your reply to an online account.

Perspective

Last week I ran into another teacher at the high school and we struck up a conversation about The Glass Castle. "I can't BELIEVE that mother of hers!" she grumbled. She went on talk about how angry she was at Mrs. Walls. As I listened I wondered if I should not have been angrier at Mrs. Walls.

As I listened to her interpretation of things I realized that we had read the same book yet we hadn't read the same book at all. Who we were influenced what we saw when we read this book. This teacher was a wonderful mother, so to her this was a novel about a neglectful mother. I looked at Mrs. Walls as helpless and saw this as a novel about the nature of the human spirit and the difference between those that make excuses as to why they don't succeed and those who just succeed. But there are events in my childhood that lead me to identify with the children and their relationship with their parents.

So, let this kick off our discussion of the novel. What is this novel about to you? What is it about your experiences and the way you look at the world that makes you see this novel the way you do?