In Percival Everett’s "James," the interplay of identity and history prompts us to question: Slave, or Slav? Is it slave language, or Yiddish? Jim, or Me? James, or I am? The satire and psychology are sophisticated, showcasing why Everett is regarded as both dark and masterful. In his "retelling" of Huckleberry Finn, Everett suggests that Huck serves as the alter ego of Samuel Clemens, who adopted the pen name Mark Twain-paralleling Jim’s transformation into James. Here, Huck emerges as the true "Slav," as his family’s lineage traces back to colonial immigration from England to America, arriving not as free men but as indentured servants, bound by "slave-like" conditions. Interestingly, Clemens’ mother, Jane de Lampton, may have Slavic (possibly Jewish) roots, further complicating our understanding of identity in the text. This nuanced exploration highlights Everett’s genius, inviting readers to reevaluate the intersections of race, history, and self.

I want to join your reading group! lol 😅🤣😭

Well I'm going to need a new copy. I just destroyed mine yesterday in a fit of rage and frustration after trying to decipher one paragraph for twenty minutes and realizing it was taking me twice as long to read Middlemarch as it did to read Ulysses

I am so glad to see your discussions back up on You Tube. I read Middlemarch years ago and loved it. Just ordered a new copy from your store to reread...inspired by this book club.

Monday, April 8th, 2024… Just discovered the Arcadia Book Club videos - such a good time! Are you still meeting?? 🥸

Beautiful space! I love it!

Looks awesome!

Visiting virtually from Maryland! Wonderful to see the 'new' store. Hoping to make it back in person one day! 🪑📚☕

It looks great. Thanks for the tour. Some lovely new touches.Can't wait to see you all again. And so glad that there WILL be a cafe again!

Please consider “The Kamogawa Food Detectives” by Hisashi Kashiwai if you enjoyed this book.

So, Ann is not actually a mom, but she is a stepmom, but came to that later in life. I agree, though -- she nailed it.

I love this book club! Listen to you all every month. Cannot wait until your discussion of Middlemarch. It is delicious and so misunderstood.

Tuned in to the end for October's book - I love Persepolis for October and so appreciate the compulsion to read Middlemarch for January (far too hefty to have picked it up of my own accord.)Thank you to Nancy, James and this lovely group.

I picked up The Wager this week after reading Killers of the Flower Moon last month. The way Grann wove a novel-like story out of his historical findings truly sucked me into the time period of his books. Truly an amazing author!

I finally caught-on to Jane Smiley’s writing-rhythm and figured-out what it is people like about the book, “Perestroika in Paris”. If one is too busy or frenetically running around with too many thoughts to think, her writing is like trying to read small-print without glasses, but if one can slow down enough and allow themself to be absorbed, not by the story per se, but by the telling of it, they can bring it into focus and thereby escape into a simple, magic world of childhood fantasy. I get it now. Before, I kept waiting for something big to befall, something that would blow me away…but that isn’t going to happen. There is no bad-guy, no monster, no unleashed evil in this world. There is just life, and little lives at that. Tiny, insignificant, seemingly unimportant lives, for what is the worth of a couple of breeding ducks on a pond, or a few rats that live on crumbs, or a raven with an attitude, a smart dog or even a curious horse in the grand scheme of things? How does one compare a homeless man who dies under a bush in the park with an old woman who lives her entire life in a Parisian mansion in the heart of town? Jane Smiley slows things down so the reader can appreciate every breath, every sunrise, every meal-even if it’s only crumbs from a shared baguette. She doesn’t need an antagonist because nature itself is enough to bear. Her story inspires one to feel-if I woke-up this morning….I lived another day. She has a way of making every moment matter and her story delivers a simple joy gentle people will respond to in a loving way.

Dear Arcadia Books, Thank You for Presenting this discussion with Mr. McPhee and His daughter Martha. Writers such as the John and Martha contribute so much by Their Art and Gifts, in that their writing Captures and then Frees the Experiences and Histories of the Individuals and Subjects that They focus on. In Their Writing, they Breath Life into the Moments of All the Subjects that They write about, and in doing so, Teach us, the Reader that All Around us is indeed a Living World, even the Stones are in a Transition, just as We are as Humans and Families. To Read a Work by the McPhees is a Liberation... For the Subjects, For the Reader, and for even the Universe as They Convey to us the Opportunity to Appreciate All the Moments we have been Granted in the Finite Time we live. Truly, may All of You at Arcadia Books, and the McPhees, be Blessed as I have by the Wisdom and Experiences You have Shared with all of us. Good Luck and Godspeed, Bruno Biava ⚓ Olney, Illinois

Atchafalaya is from “The Control of Nature.”

Thorough and scholarly review of The Blue Flower on KZbin. But, the barking dog? Shouting at the barking dog? Recut this?

The Hacienda was a really great read. Definitely gothic and witchy!

Hello. I’ve been listening again and again to different parts of Sea of Tranquility. (Audiobooks are just easier right now.) Food for thought. Why was the woman time agent there with author Olive? I think there could be a tie in to a future book. Unless all the part about Dion breaking his confidentiality agreement about the design of the new “university” is a red herring. Seems to me those in charge of the “time cops” want her DEAD. She’s smart enough to figure out things they don’t want to be public knowledge. What if our hero wasn’t named for the character in her book but it’s the other way round? Have I gone off the rails thinking this author is still putting out clues? I haven’t read Glass Hotel and didn’t really start thinking along these lines until I heard y’all (I’m from Arkansas) talking about how people from that book showed up in this one.

I agree that rereading parts of a story after the mystery has been solved is rewarding.

Thank you James as a mother of a beautiful boy who died at two of a Berry aneurysm during meningitis what you read expresses my grief ,for me I didn’t cry for 20 years until I was well loved and had therapy. And therefore in grief all hearts are united by Maggie with Shakespeare. Why else should he have raised a quill.

I love this book and Ruta Sepetys. Please read all of her books, they are truly amazing. I stumbled across this discussion group by accident because I was in charge of coming up with questions for my book club's discussion of The Sentence. I love your book choices and discussions and have now watched most of your KZbin videos. They are awesome. I do have to make one small comment to Larry...every discussion I have viewed has included at least one political comment by you. As a fellow educator, you may want to reflect on whether you do share your political views with students...even if it is not overt. Thank you Arcadia for this wonderful opportunity to listen in. I promise my next book order will go to you and not Amazon

“Writing is like driving at night in the fog. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.” ― E.L. Doctorow, Writers At Work: The Paris Review Interviews

Mmmmm… steamed milk and books. ❤️

I SO agree about Lincoln Highway - one of my faves of the year too.

wonderful. Thank to James and Nancy and everyone at Arcadia Books. You make OUR lives better

I hated reading books until I came across John McPhee. The way he writes would draw even an amateur to his world of descriptive poetic writing about any topic under the sun. Once you read a sentence by him you begin to wonder “Who would have thought of framing the sentence like this?” So poignant, endearing, mesmerising, curious, humorous and sarcastic - that’s his writing that speaks about the man he is - always young and inquisitive. God bless him

Perhaps because I'm originally from Japan and Ishiguro's contemporary and living in an English speaking country for life like him, I smell something peculiarly Japanese when I read his novels. (I’ve read all of his work chronologically in original English.) Just like I thought the 'Remains of the Day' was a unique servant class samurai story cause certain value of chasing esthetic vision was the underlined theme, this one has given me a lot of Japanese cultural metaphors also. So from the beginning of reading, I didn't see Klara too simply as AI robot. That is because I feared if I take the face value only, I would get frustrated all the way. Every character in the novel is a metaphorical figure to represent a group of people we notice in the social realm. Since the story's got a SF fiction like layout, people may be automatically lead to look for a non-fiction story like explanations for every detail to make senses but we want to remember it's a creative writing, a fiction. In the context, Klara represents what I might see old fashioned or outdated spirit of innocence. The person with an absolute sense of purity and uncontaminated faith. Very unrealistic yes, but such figure perhaps could be the hint of salvation and hope in our upcoming AI technology dominated world. BTW, the highest deity in Japanese Shintoism is the Sun Goddess, Amaterasu-Ohmikami. Klara was the one and with it.

Wonderful chemistry between the two of you. Wish you both the best of luck in the future.

Fascinating interview! Bryan Clancy is amazing - his investigative reporting for Nat Geo was groundbreaking..and important. I am about 2/3 of the way through his novel, In The Company of Killers and adore it. I don't want it to end. He is a fabulous writer and a lot of this story is based on real people, entities and events (or at least some that I think I recognize---Krieger and Cyril and The Sovereign at least.) DO READ IT!!!!!!! And I was at the Times Square Ivory Crush in 2015!

Great discussion! So much more erudite than the average book club I've "attended" (and I've attended many). I was sorry to hear the political slam of the Trump years, however; as in literature, perceptions vary... Carry on with this book club! Many thoughts resonated with me 👌😊

This is the top selling novel in the UK in April 2021. Even though Hamnet, Shakespeare's son, died aged 11 in 1596, not of the plague because the plague hit Stratford Upon Avon in 1564, the author has Hamnet die of the plague after his sister caught it. Pulls at emotional heart strings to bring in the plague. I care about historical facts. Obviously many don't.

Heartfelt thanks to all at Arcadia. We're so fortunate to have this gem in our town. Can't wait to get back there in person. Here's to a happy and healthy New Year!

lovely discussion. thank you for sharing.

John Mcphee is nearly as eloquent in his natural speech as he is in his writing, but far more heartwarming. A national treasure.