|
|
"Words, verse, and reading are
the redeeming miracle of my life. Reading created the inner landscape,
as Sam Shepard calls it. I would not be able to have put my own
experiences into expression without the example of writers like Sheppard
and Kerouac, poets like Wordsworth, and thinkers like Beckett.
Reading did not come easily for me as a kid. My mind held every
resistance to it. I wish everyone patience and courage in the journey to
literacy. I assure you, it is a worthwhile journey, no matter when it
begins." ~ Stephan Jenkins
Introduction
|
|
Stephan's
Book of the Month - MAY 2003
|
 |
The Cambridge Illustrated History of Ancient Greece
by Paul Cartledge
Buy This Book!
|
Stephan's
Book of the Month - APRIL 2003
Stephan's
Book of the Month - MARCH 2003
Stephan's
Book of the Month - FEBRUARY 2003
Stephan's
Book of the Month - OCTOBER
2002
|
 |
How the Scots Invented the Modern World: The
True Story of How Western Europe's Poorest Nation Created Our World & Everything
in It
by Arthur Herman
Buy This Book!
|
Stephan's
Book of the Month -
SEPTEMBER 2002
|
 |
A Heartbreaking Work of
Staggering Genius
by Dave Eggers
"I'm reading this book and
I'm also reading the Koran. I think Islam is very misunderstood. I
want to study it because we're over there bombing these people and we don't
really know why. I'm Episcopalian by birth but Islam is the simplest
religion and I want to learn about it." - Stephan 9/12/02
Buy This Book!
|
Stephan's
Book of the Month -
APRIL 2002
|
 |
The Heart Is Deceitful Above All
Things
by JT LeRoy
Buy This Book
|
Stephan's
Book of the Month -
MARCH 2002
|
 |
Filth
by Irvine Welsh
"filth by irvine welsh, the guy who wrote trainspotting is on my list to
read, but i may not get to it so soon. "
~ Stephan
Buy This Book
|
Stephan's
Book of the Month - FEBRUARY 2002
|
 |
Sarah
by JT LeRoy
"This book is a difficult,
but amazing story about a male, gay prostitute. The writer is a fan of Third Eye
Blind and we may work on a script together in the future." ~ Stephan
Buy This Book
|
Stephan's Book
of the Month -
JANUARY 2002
Stephan's
Book
of the Month - OCTOBER 2001
Stephan's
Book
of the Month - SEPTEMBER 2001
Stephan's
Book
of the Month - AUGUST 2001
Stephan's
Book
of the Month - JULY 2001
Other suggestions for people who like to still do their homework outside of school:
Stephan is also reading In the Days of William the Conqueror by Eva March Tappan. This book is out of print so look for it in the library, used book stores, basements, attics, garage sales, etc.
And he's also reading a book about the History of Modern Design and some poetry. He plans to start reading Charles Bukowski soon.
Some picks by Bukowski:
Stephan's
Book
of the Month - JUNE 2001
Stephan is reading Goethe (roughly pronounced
'Ger-Tah'), but he didn't specify which book by Goethe.
Here are some selections by Goethe:
Goethe was a writer of romantic literature-- this is not to be confused with paperback romance novels that are of a completely different genre. The genre of romanticism explores dark and mysterious parts of the mind and psychology. There is usually death or some other tragedy and involves some torment resulting from a lost love or other kind of longing.
"This band thrives on friction, musically and lyrically. It's about the pull between things - even the happiest song on the record, 'I Want You', is about death: 'The village churchyard is filled with bones weeping in the grave...Send me all your vampires, I want you.' I've always liked the romantic literature that highlights the glory of life by focusing on mortality. That's something I relate to." ~ Stephan Jenkins
Other romantic writers:
Edgar Allen Poe
Lord Byron
John Keats
Percy Bysshe Shelley
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
William Blake
Mary Shelley
William Wordsworth
Stephan's
Book
of the Month - MAY 2001
Stephan is going to be the best man for Eric Godtland's wedding and he's reading this book to help him make sense of commitments and relationships.
Many people think this is a biography of either Jesus or the Prophet Muhammad in poetry form, although Gibran contends that it is not about any prophet.
Stephan's
Book
of the Month - APRIL 2001
Stephan's
Book
of the Month - March 2001
Stephan's
Other Recommended Readings:
On The Road
by Jack Kerouac
Pride and Prejudice
by Jane Austen
Ulysses
by James Joyce, Morris L. Ernst
- Note:
This book is like 543638976439 pages long
The
Complete Works of Shakespeare
by William Shakespeare
Jesus' Son
by Denis Johnson
The
Moral Animal : Why We Are the Way We Are : The New Science of Evolutionary
Psychology
by Robert Wright
The
Art of Raising a Puppy
by New Skete Monks
The
Trial
by Franz Kafka
The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook
by
Joshua Piven, David Borgenicht
Introduction and
Rules
The first rule about Stephan's Book Club is you don't talk about
Stephan's Book Club.
Outside of this club, you don't talk about Stephan's newest recommendations, you don't talk about the 20% you got off at Amazon.com.
My name is Ruby, some people call me Wooby, she's Jen, I call her G. When you encounter us, or other book club members at a concert,
TV taping, or out back by the buses, you will say nothing about the Book
Club.
When you see us at the corner cafe indulging in the newest selection you may exchange a wordless knowing glance, recognizing us from our page-turning-raw fingertips and our fatigued eyes, our asses sore from sitting around reading all day.
You will know each other by the 3eb shirts you wear and the passion you feel surging through your quasi-fascist, reading-based revolutionary consciousness.
You will read Shakespeare, Austen, Kerouac. You will learn which online bookstores carry the best discount and which neighborhood independent stores contain all the great hidden treasures. You will apply for a library card. You will know all this and more, but you will not talk about
Stephan's Book Club.
The Second rule of the Stephan's Book Club is YOU DO NOT TALK ABOUT STEPHAN'S BOOK
CLUB. You will spot each other at airports and hotel hallways. You'll be standing in the moshpit next to a book club member, but you will not talk about the
Book Club.
The Third rule of Stephan's Book Club is if this is your first visit, you MUST READ TONIGHT. You will drive down to Barnes and Noble or log into Amazon and purchase the newest recommendation. You will dust off your library card and put it to good use.
You are here because, deep down, you want to read. You think you have what it takes to be one of us, but reading takes discipline. And it demands perseverance. You have to possess, from the gut, the willingness to commit to pages with words on it, one that may well take weeks in some cases. You will need all of these things, as well as an admiration for Stephan's own writings, a pencil to jot down thoughts in the margins of the book or in your own journal and and a mind to think with, if you expect to survive here.
We as visitors of this site have gathered together in glorious rebellion against the dehumanizing boy-band pop music consumer culture that insults our intelligence. We are here to fight back against a society that tells us that musicians must be airheads and their fans must be even more clueless.
Now, which one of you thinks s/he's ready? Who wants to read first?
We're just kidding, we just thought it's be fun to act like we're in the Fight
Club for a few minutes. hehe We actually DO want you to talk about the Book Club.
And when you have some thoughts you'd like to share with other
Book Club members, then
POST it in the
Book Club discussion board.
Jen's Recommended Readings:
Beach
Music
by Pat Conroy
This book made me realize that my fucked up family situation was not one in a
million. I've never been so emotionally touched by a book until I read
Beach Music. Pat Conroy hails from the South, like me, and his writing
style is very descriptive and captivating.
The
Water Is Wide
by Pat Conroy
The
Prince of Tides
by Pat Conroy
The
Dharma Bums
by Jack Kerouac
After reading On The Road, I found myself addicted to Jack Kerouac's writing
style and spoiled by his detailed descriptions of events. He made me feel
like I was a Beatnik lurking around the Bay Area pre-dot-com invasion with a
hard on for mischief.
Book
of Dreams
by Jack Kerouac
Desolation
Angels
by Jack Kerouac
Big
Sur
by Jack Kerouac
Left
Behind (book 1 in the Left Behind Series)
by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins
The Left Behind series definitely kept me busy in 2000. I read them
back-to-back and found myself forced to flip to the next page, even at
3am. This series is about the Coming of Christ and how unbelievers are
"left behind" to endure years of hell on earth as the Beast
(antichrist) takes control. A 21st century version of the Book of
Revelations that will at least make you wonder about the God you've never
seen. Lights!
Tribulation
Force (book 2 in
the Left Behind Series)
by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins
Nicolae:
The Rise of Antichrist (book
3 in the Left Behind Series)
by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins
Soul
Harvest: The World Takes Sides (book
4 in the Left Behind Series)
by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins
Apollyon:
The Destroyer is Unleashed (book
5 in the Left Behind Series)
by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins
Assassins:
Assignment--Jerusalem, Target--Antichrist (book
6 in the Left Behind Series)
by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins
The
Indwelling: The Best Takes Possession (book
7 in the Left Behind Series)
by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins
The
Mark: The Beast Rules the World (book
8 in the Left Behind Series)
by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins
Mrs.
Piggle-Wiggle
by Betty MacDonald
All of the Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle books were my favorite as a child. I
always wished I could be at her upside-down house searching her cupboards for
long-forgotten treasures.
Green
Eggs and Ham
by Dr. Suess
This is the first book I ever read. I was in Kindergarten and I taught
myself to read with this book.
Ruby's Recommended Readings:
To Kill a Mockingbird
by Harper Lee
The Lorax
by Dr. Seuss
words I live by
The Mating Mind
by Geoffrey F. Miller
Dr. Miller has a really convincing theory on why musicians tend to exhibit the most sexual prowess. You look at musicians in a whole new light after reading this one.
Frankenstein
by Mary Shelley
A beautiful and tragic story. If all you know about Frankenstein is those campy old movies, wipe your slate clean and be moved by this stunning piece of humanity.
The Poisonwood Bible
by Barbara Kingsolver
yes Oprah convinced me to pick this one up but I don't regret it at all. She's one of the most gifted writers I've ever read.
The Great Gatsby
by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Autobiography of Malcolm X
by Malcolm X and Alex Haley
Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life
by Jon Lee Anderson
The Ways of White Folks
by Langston Hughes
Happy Prince and
Other Stories
by Oscar Wilde
I've never cried while reading a book before. NEVER. But this kiddie tale set me bawling so grab a box of tissues.
