Reading Group: 2004 Discussions

LGBT Community Center NYC The Gay & Lesbian Reading Group, based in New York City, is a friendly and diverse discussion group founded circa 1982. We welcome everyone interested in GLBT Literature, and appreciate all points of view. We read contemporary and classic works of GLBT-related fiction, non-fiction, drama, and poetry. Join us the second Thursday of each month, 8:00pm at the LGBT Community Center, 208 West 13th Street, NYC.

In addition to many GLBT Literature Resources, this site also archives information about the G&L Reading Group from 1997 to today, including all of the books we have discussed.

Books & Resources: 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999 || Books Only: 1998 | 1997 || Full Index

Books Discussed in 2004

(in reverse chronological order)

December 2004	Three Junes – Julia Glass 2002 Novel DISCUSSION – December 9, 2004 LINKS Three Junes – Amazon.com resources: reviews, readers' comments, other works by the author. If you order a new or used copy here you help support this site – thanks! Reading Group Guide to Three Junes (free from Anchor Books) – – excellent resource with author background and interview, discussion questions, excerpt from the novel, list of related books, much more Glass interview (bookpage.com) – May 2002; focused on both Glass's background as a painter and this novel Glass Q&A (ABCNews.com) – wide-ranging questions Introduction to Three Junes (New Zealand book-club.co.nz) – introduction, selections from various reviews, more Brief Annotations to Three Junes – includes summary and comments New York Times review of Three Junes San Francisco Chronicle review of Three Junes
November 2004	Berlin Stories – Christopher Isherwood 1939 Novel DISCUSSION – November 11, 2004 LINKS Berlin Stories – Amazon.com resources: reviews, readers' comments, other works by the author. If you order a new or used copy here you help support this site – thanks! Isherwood (glbtq.com) – excellent article discusses same-sex aspects of his work Isherwood biographical sketch and list of works Isherwood Collection at the Huntington Library 20th Century GLBT English Literature – explore the broader GLBT literary tradition which informs this work Isherwood's "The Problem of Evil" – Vedanta-inspired essay We discussed in August 2000 Isherwood's autobiography Christopher and His Kind (link is to discussion summary) Isherwood film connections – from Internet Movie Database (IMDb), including Cabaret, based on Berlin Stories
October 2004	The Waves – Virginia Woolf 1931 Novel DISCUSSION – October 14, 2004 LINKS The Waves – Amazon.com resources: reviews, readers' comments, other works by the author. If you order a new or used copy here you help support this site – thanks! Woolf as New York Times "Profiled Author" – the original NYT reviews, and more Virginia Woolf Web – many resources, incl. Woolf Studies on Web Introduction to Woolf – biography, criticism, and more Works by Woolf which we have discussed previously: Flush: A Biography (discussed May 2003 – link is to a summary of our discussion) A Room of One's Own (discussed August 2001 – link is to a summary of our discussion) To the Lighthouse (discussed July 1999) Mrs. Dalloway (discussed May 1998) Works by Woolf – Free, Unabridged Online Texts Woolf film connections – from Internet Movie DataBase (IMDb) Under The Sand (link to my review), French gay writer/director François Ozon draws on The Waves in this enigmatic, romantic – and very Woolfian – film (which may or may not be a ghost story). In one spellbinding scene star Charlotte Rampling, as an English Literature professor living in Paris, reads and discusses an extended excerpt from The Waves (Bernard's monologue which opens chapter 3), even as we see her own mind blending into that of Woolf's character. Mrs. Dalloway (link to my review), from Dutch lesbian filmmaker Marleen Gorris, is the best picture I have seen of a book by Virignia Woolf. Gorris adapts Woolf's landmark 1925 stream of consciousness novel, Mrs. Dalloway (which we discussed in May 1998) with its structural and emotional richness not only intact but brilliantly reimagined for the screen.
September 2004	A Home at the End of the World – Michael Cunningham 1990 Novel DISCUSSION – September 9, 2004 LINKS A Home at the End of the World – Amazon.com resources: reviews, readers' comments, other works by the author. If you order a new or used copy here you help support this site – thanks! Cunningham (qlbtq.com) – excellent brief introduction Cunningham (literati.net) – brief excerpts from reviews of his books, his postal mail address (c/o his publisher), more Cunningham interview (pifmagazine.com) – informative; from 1998 Cunningham recommends five "sorely neglected" recent novels We discussed Cunningham's The Hours in April 2000 – here are resources for that novel plus a brief summary of our discussion NOTE: I added several resources for The Hours in May 2004 which had not been available earlier Recent Gay Male American Literature – explore the author in relation to contemporary gay writing Gay Male Novel – for an historical literary context GLBT Fiction & Film Group event for The Hours (tentative) – to tie in with our discussion of Cunningham's first novel. At this free event guests will share a friendly potluck dinner, discuss Cunningham's novel The Hours, then together watch the film version and discuss it as well. Details of The Hours event, and sign-ups, will only be 'in person' at the Reading Group monthly discussions beginning. Michael Cunningham film connections – from the Internet Movie DataBase (IMDb) – includes links to information about films based on A Home at the End of the World (2004) and The Hours (2002) New York Times review of the film of A Home at the End of the World
August 2004	The Book of Salt – Monique Truong 2003 Novel DISCUSSION – August 14, 2004 LINKS The Book of Salt – Amazon.com resources: reviews, readers' comments, other works by the author. If you order a new or used copy here you help support this site – thanks! Truong interview (ReadersRead.com) – covers all major aspects of the novel; from May 2003 Truong interview (BookBrowse.com) – includes link to brief author bio Truong interview (Time Magzine – Asia edition) – she discusses her feelings about Vietnam (issue of August 18–25, 2003) Review of The Book of Salt (MostlyFiction.com) Gertrude Stein resources – linked from this site (Stein and her partner Alice B. Toklas are major figures in Truong's novel) American Lesbian Literature, Post-Stonewall (glbtq.com) – see the author in relation to modern lesbian writing Lesbian Novel – for an historical literary context Paris Was A Woman (link to my review) – filmmaker Greta Schller's (Before Stonewall) illuminating and moving documentary about Paris's 1920s/30s Left Bank lesbian artistic circle, focusing on Gertrude Stein, Colette, and others A film version of The Book of Salt has not yet been announced, but you are welcome to visit... Jim's Film Website – featuring many original resources: over 30 "best" lists, guide to film, reviews, extensive section on GLBT Cinema and a Recommended GLBT Film of the Month.
July 2004	Sons and Lovers – D.H. Lawrence 1913 Novel DISCUSSION – July 8, 2004 LINKS Sons and Lovers – Amazon.com resources: reviews, readers' comments, other works by the author. If you order a new or used copy here you help support this site – thanks! Sons and Lovers FREE online – complete & unabridged, FREE to read or download D.H. Lawrence resources (Universitiy of Nottingham) – biography, timeline, photo gallery, criticism, FAQs, more D. H. Lawrence's writings FREE online – links to all FREE unabridged online copies his fiction, non-fiction, poetry, drama D.H. Lawrence (glbtq.com)– excellent article discusses same-sex aspects of his work 20th Century GLBT English Literature – explore the broader GLBT literary tradition which informs this work Gay Male Novel – for an historical literary context D.H. Lawrence film connections – from the Internet Movie DataBase (IMDb), learn about the over two dozen films based on his works.
June 2004	Chelsea Girls – Eileen Myles 1994 Autobiographical Stories DISCUSSION – June 10, 2004 LINKS Chelsea Girls – Amazon.com resources: reviews, readers' comments, other works by the author. If you order a new or used copy here you help support this site – thanks! EileenMyles.com – her Web site – includes upcoming gigs, press stuff (pictures, reviews, bio, interviews), books, MP3s, and much more Eileen Myles (Queertheory.com) – several resources Myles at the Universitiy of California, San Diego – where she currently (2004) teaches in the Literature Department Myles – Salon.com Audio – reads her poems "Sleepless" and "On the Death of Robert Lowell" American Lesbian Literature, Post-Stonewall (glbtq.com) – see the author in relation to modern lesbian writing Lesbian Novel – for an historical literary context Lesbian Poetry – provides a wider literary context
May 2004	You Are Not a Stranger Here – Adam Haslett 2003 story collection DISCUSSION – May 13, 2004 LINKS You Are Not a Stranger Here – Amazon.com resources: reviews, readers' comments, other works by the author. If you order a new or used copy here you help support this site – thanks! Adam Haslett's "The Beginnings of Grief" – complete story (also included in the book) Haslett interview (BookMunch) – author's comments on his book Haslett interview (B&N) – very brief Review of You Are Not a Stranger Here (Salon.com) Review of You Are Not a Stranger Here (San Francisco Chronicle) Review of You Are Not a Stranger Here (Minneapolis Star Tribune)
April 2004	The Black Prince – Iris Murdoch 1973 novel DISCUSSION – April 8, 2004 LINKS The Black Prince – Amazon.com resources: reviews, readers' comments, other works by the author. If you order a new or used copy here you help support this site – thanks! Murdoch Resources – much information Murdoch Internet Resources – many links "Iris Murdoch" by Joyce Carol Oates – excellent overview of Murdoch's work up to 1978, when this essay was published "Go(o)d in Iris Murdoch" by Alan Jacobs – philosophical and theological themes in her work We discussed Murdoch's 1958 novel The Bell in September 2002 and her 1978 novel The Sea The Sea in January 2003 Murdoch film connections – from the Internet Movie DataBase (IMDb) film Iris (2001) – biography of Murdoch, directed by Richard Eyre, starring Judi Dench in the title role Jim's review of the film Iris
March 2004	Rough Music – Patrick Gale 2000 novel DISCUSSION – March 11, 2004 LINKS Rough Music – Amazon.com resources: reviews, readers' comments, other works by the author. If you order a new or used copy here you help support this site – thanks! Rough Music Reader's Guide – includes information about the novel, Q&A with Gale, discussion questions, more Gale – introduction – from the UK's wonderful Knitting Circle Gale interview – focuses on Rough Music Gale – brief essay discusses same-sex aspects of his writing 20th Century GLBT English Literature – explore the broader GLBT literary tradition which informs Gale's work Gay Male Novel – see Gale in a fuller context Patrick Gale film connections – from Internet Movie DataBase (IMDb)
February 2004	The Death of the Heart – Elizabeth Bowen 1938 novel DISCUSSION – February 12, 2004 LINKS The Death of the Heart – Amazon.com resources: reviews, readers' comments, other works by the author. If you order a new or used copy here you help support this site – thanks! Bowen biography – brief Bowen bibliography – with brief descriptions of all of her many books Bowen – excellent article discusses same-sex aspects of her work 20th Century GLBT English Literature – see Bowen in a more comprehensive context Elizabeth Bowen film connections – from Internet Movie DataBase (IMDb)
January 2004	Middlesex – Jeffrey Eugenides 2002 novel DISCUSSION – January 8, 2004 LINKS Middlesex – Amazon.com resources: reviews, readers' comments, other works by the author. If you order a new or used copy here you help support this site – thanks! Interview with Eugenides (BOMB Magazine – Fall 2002) – in-depth interview in which he discusses his life, work, and influences Interview with Eugenides (powells.com) – conducted October 25, 2002 Jeffrey Eugenides film connections – from Internet Movie DataBase (IMDb)

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Reading Group: 2004 Discussions

Books Discussed in 2004

(in reverse chronological order)

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