I think I forgot to mention that I finished the most recent Repairman Jack novel, Bloodline. Excellent as always! Ken is reading it now. He likes Jack as much as I do, as I knew he would. I honestly think Jack is one of the best characters in modern fiction. He can kick ass with the best of 'em, but he's really a regular, decent guy. From the website, it looks like a Repairman Jack movie is in the works, although it seems to have been in the works for several years now. I'm not sure how I feel about that. The books are so entertaining, and I don't know how it will translate to a movie. Of course, I said the same thing about Interview with the Vampire, and that turned out to be a great movie, even with Tom Cruise as Lestat.
Today our book club (mostly people at work) officially started. Our first book from the Modern Library's list is The Magnificent Ambersons by Booth Tarkington. Kind of appropriate that we're starting out with a writer from Indiana. I'm sure I've read some of his stories or essays at some point, but I don't think I've read any of his books. I've read the first two chapters of this one, and I think I'll like it. His writing is very descriptive but not obsessive, and it's also quite funny. I'm not sure I'll read every book on the list (and I've already read several of them), but I think it will be fun to do a few. My friend Jillian started this, and I think her idea of an online forum rather than a weekly meeting is an excellent one. Most people can't do a weekly meeting like that--I could, but I don't want to. Ha ha! But I think most folks can find a few minutes to sit down and write their thoughts via a forum, especially someone like me who spends a fair amount of time on the computer.
One of my favorite quotes--so far--from Ambersons is when Tarkington is describing the unpretentious homes in the town he's writing about: "Whatever does not pretend at all has style enough." That is nothing short of brilliant! One of my pet peeves is pretentiousness. Just be what and who you are--don't pretend to be something you're not, because that always shows and it always looks bad. This is not an excuse for bad behavior. Good manners are a must. But we can all spot a phony, can't we?
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