Gatehouse & Stepping Stones Bookclub

If you like reading books,
seeing films,
going to gigs
or plays
and discussing them
you are invited our Bookclub.
Talk to or email:
Bruce (moodyseptic@hotmail.com),
Chris (gatehouse_gatehouse@yahoo.co.uk)
Andrew (gateho@aol.com)

Suggestions for next book:

Charlotte's List

With the movie 'Capote', theres more interest in his
brilliant journalistic novel 'In Cold Blood', which
could open eyes to more ideas on the cult of the
outsider and the writing of a non fiction
novel...though this is quite a dense book.
One way to approach this is reading one of Capotes
short stories 'Music for Chameleons',
which is a prison interview with Bobby
Beausoleil...reading this could generate more interest
in 'In Cold Blood' and could promote a lot of
discussion.

Capote; despite being as camp as hell he went into small cells with
notorious killers...Sirhan Sirhan/Bobby Beausoleil
and others, and asked really bolshie questions;
situations that would freak out the most macho of men.
Capote may have been gay, but he had bollocks...and
also had a life that was very alienated and
traumatic...the proverbial outsider.
(I have this short story and could photocopy it for
you.)

Philip K Dicks paranoic novel 'Through A Scanner
Darkly' is surreal, has a drug and paranoia angle but
is also interesting look at the concept of police
states.

Angela Carter though considered a mainly feminist
author is fab, ditto Isabelle Allende (and again uses
a mix of realism and fantasy that could inspire).

Primo Levis 'The Periodic Table'about Auschwitz is
incredible, and gives a lot of insight into surviving
trauma and the guilt that goes with it...something
that helped me out a lot when I was pulling myself out
of my hole and off the streets.

Upton Sinclairs book, 'the Jungle' is amazing and the
fact it helped change legislation at that time makes
it more so,
Its pretty accesssible too.

Orwells 'Down and Out...' goes without saying...could
provoke a rewrite!

'Fear and Loathing in Las vegas' is a good one in some
ways as it could open the discussion up to gonzo
journalism and its fun and accessible.

'Morvern Callar' (can't remember the author) is very
good, and more contemporary, and looks at the
personality/morality disassocation that e culture
produces in a much more personal and less noisy way
than Irving Walsh.

' The Beach' by Alex Garland is a good read and would
probably be appreciated and mulled over.




Read on to see some of the comments from our last book choice:
‘Stuart a Life Backwards’ by Alexander Masters.
Tells the story of a friendship between a writer and illustrator (‘a middle class scum ponce, if you want to be honest about it, Alexander) and a chaotic, knife-wielding beggar whom he gets to know during a campaign to release two charity workers from prison. We have a limited number of review copies to give away.