Happy Belated Posting!

There are many "things" I enjoyed about Possible Side Effects aside from his quirky stories making me laugh when I probably should have been crying!!! Here is a list of my favs:

* His love for the truth and nothing but! I can "honestly" say I have never read a book by an author who wasn't afraid to get naked for his readers

* The way he finds humor in the incidentals of life (good OR BAD)

* His love of dogs

* His unconditional love for Dennis

"Happily, GLEEFULLY, would I live in dire poverty with him, if it meant we got to live to each be one hundred years old. The next morning, a tree could fall on top of our cardboard box and crush us both to death at the same instant. Bliss"

...love in its purest form

* The ending of the book.."Oh," she said, smirking, and blowing a plume of smoke into the air. "Well, don't say anything hateful about me." "Don't worry," I said smiling. "I would never do that." Priceless.

All in all, I thought it was a good read. I found myself sharing Augusten's tribulations with my friends and family...always a good conversation starter :)

Excellent choice! I'm ready for the next book !!

Mental note to self: Contribute more to our discussions and not take so damn long doing it!!!

xo

NIColE

Better Late Than Never?

Whoops, sorry I am a little late in responding to 'Possible Side Effects'!  

I loved this book.  I had previously never read anything by Burroughs', although I had seen the movie version of 'Running with Scissors' so I knew a little about his life.  I really enjoyed his short stories.  They were brutally honest and self-deprecating but in a totally hilarious way!   I don't know how someone who went through such a traumatic childhood and early adulthood could find such a humorous take on it all, but I am so happy that he did.  It made me really sad to read about his mom's bipolar breakdowns and his dad's absentee presence in his life, but I love it when an author can master the whole spectrum of human emotion and take us from laughing to crying.  

Some of my favorite moments:

In "Killing John Updike", just when you think Burroughs has had a change of heart about his death wish toward Updike ("If anyone deserved to die in his sleep tonight, or choke on a tortilla chip, it was me") he then turns to plotting the death of Ira Levin ("Okay, Ira. Your number's up.")  Love it.  

Jumping on the chinese man's lap in his allergist's office and yelling, "Santa! I love you, Santa.  And I want a bike with a banana seat!"  Oh, man, that image kills me!

In "Unclear Sailing" when Chip is explaining the complex process of measuring and cutting the sails, he says "See what I mean?" and Augusten thinks "I did not see what he meant, but I nodded, which meant, I see that you have a large Adam's apple and I am very tempted to reach over and touch it."

Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed the read and I just checked out 'Dry' and 'Running with Scissors' from the library.  I'm looking forward to reading more of his stuff!  Thanks for the great book idea, Erika!

Next up...

I stumbled across this book and would like to select it as the next novel...

"The Center of Everything" by Laura Moriarty
Synopsis
A dazzling debut in the tradition of Jane Hamilton and Mona Simpson.
In Laura Moriarty's extraordinary first novel, a young girl tries to make sense of an unruly world spinning around her. Growing up with a single mother who is chronically out of work and dating a married man, 10-year old Evelyn Bucknow learns early how to fend for herself. Offering an affecting portrayal of a troubled mother/daughter relationship, one in which the daughter is very often expected to play the role of the adult, the novel also gives readers a searing rendering of the claustrophobia of small town midwestern life, as seen through the eyes of a teenage girl. Evelyn must come to terms with the heartbreaking lesson of first love -- that not all loves are meant to be -- and determine who she is and who she wants to be. Stuck in the middle of Kansas, between best friends, and in the midst of her mother's love, Evelyn finds herself . . . in The Center of Everything.

Time Out New York
Moriarty creates empathetic, engaging characters and situations.

San Diego Union Tribune
Teriffic…. Moriarty has steady confidence…expertly wringing poignancy from…young lives…. A deeply satisfying novel.

Denver Post & Rocky Mountain Ne
Lively and endearing… complete tour of…conflicts between mother and daughter, as well as between the narrator's hopes and dreams.

Elle Magazine
Intelligent and charming debut novel.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Moriarty's enchanting novel passes too quickly.

USA Today
It's not easy to build a novel around a personality, but Moriarty does it well. — Anne Stephenson

The New York Times
Laura Moriarty's debut novel has the makings of something wearily familiar: the Midwestern mother-daughter coming-of-age story, featuring at least one episode in which Mom leaves home looking like a movie star but winds up collapsing in tears. Happily, Ms. Moriarty's artful, enveloping book is a lot more interesting than its genre initially suggests. It traces not only stormy adolescence, but also the essential stages of Evelyn's moral and intellectual evolution. — Janet Maslin

Right On

I guess that we will probably all agree that "Possible Side Effects" is a fun and funny novel. Although I found that Augusten's stories were really over the top, there was something about them that reminded me of myself. I mean, I have never been an alcoholic and I have never been addicted to Nicorette gum or McDonald's. But, I have made many impulsive decisions. My favorite part of the book was the entire section about the dogs. I laughed reading that entire section. I hated that he drank so much, but that was him finally being honest with the fact that he made some mistakes! I was particularly stressed out with how messy his apartment was, and I didn't care for him being locked out of his apartment. I think that I will read, "A Wolf at the Table" at some point and I will rent and watch, "Running with Scissors." I hope that you found this book to be interesting.

~Erika

Finished PSE

I finished "Possible Side Effects" Friday night. It was a fun read. I really enjoy Augusten's childhood stories involving his mother, father and brother. I get stressed out about him in his drinking stories. If you want to know more about that you have to read "Dry."

I was back to laughing in the end.

"Throwing things horrified me."

Bedtime routines

Hungover from her festering mental illness...

"Searching for that penny occupied much of my life..."

"And most importantly, how could I manipulate the situation for my personal gain?"

He is crazy :)

Picking the Next Novel

Okay, so I realize that some of you may not be finished with Augusten's Burroughs' "Possible side Effects," but it is never too early to talk about the next novel. I received an email today from Amazon and I was wondering what all of you thought about the books that are posted at: http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=pe_23490_9562360_fe_txt_1/?docId=1000061771

Or-If you really want to read a certain book please post about the book. I am interested in reading, "A Lesson Before Dying" by Ernest Gaines and "The Glass Castle" by Walls? I am not really sure of the author. What would all of you like to read? I chose the last book so if anyone else would like to choose, that would be great. Keep me posted!!!

Have a great day!

~Erika

Reviews for Augusten's new book....Wolf at the Table (memoir)

Now, I know we are reading Possible Side Effects...but here's the thing. I love the book we are reading so much I was just taking a quick look to see what else he has coming out...and I read these two GREAT reviews on Wolf at the Table....chilling and true....

Burroughs' 'Wolf at the Table' memoir is a serious departure...In 2002, Burroughs became the memoir "it" boy with his hilarious yet heartbreaking Running With Scissors...But this memoir is not at all funny. It's a moving depiction of fear and powerlessness from a child's point of view...In A Wolf at the Table, Burroughs paints a portrait of his father as a rage-filled alcoholic with a personality disorder. His health was poor. And his marriage to Augusten's mother was a nightmare of screaming and physical violence...But the most compelling aspect of Wolf is the way that Burroughs has left behind the campy humor of Running With Scissors. This is a serious book by a grown-up writer."- Deirdre Donahue, USA TODAY

"Augusten Burroughs's much-anticipated new memoir begins with a chase. In a gripping prologue, we are alongside the pajama-clad 10-year-old as he races barefoot through the woods near his family's Massachusetts home, his enraged, alcoholic monster of a father at his heels...This scene, shocking and terrifyingly thrilling, hooks the reader immediately. It promises that Burroughs is about to take us on another rapid-fire, acerbic, so-horrible-it's-hilarious ride of our lives, the kind we've taken with him in both "Running With Scissors" and "Dry." Yet this is not that Burroughs...Burroughs is doing something new here: ripping the scabs off emotional wounds without his usual acidic humor to deaden the pain...Still, Burroughs retains his capacity to move the reader: There is gorgeous writing on every page...Clearly, this was not an easy tale to tell. "


I got pins and needles just reading the reviews...I can only imagine the reading the novel itself!

Nicole

Possible Side Effects

This is a nice book to read after "A New Earth." It's almost pure entertainment. My favorite story so far has been The Sacred Cow. I was worried that Augusten would never come to love the Cow, and it was great when he did. So do you girls think Augusten Burroughs is a likable guy? More often than not, he paints a pretty unappealing picture of himself. He always talks about himself being shallow, and of course there are his numerous addictions. I'm not sure what I would think if this was the first book of his I read. As it is, I feel like I already kind of know him and this is just bonus material of his life. Do you feel compelled to read his other books and find out about his childhood? Just wondering :)

P.S. I think the name Augusten is adorable.

Please...

Watch the first Youtube video. I only have control over the top video...so needless to say, I have no idea what the other videos are doing there.

Okay.

Hope all is funny, happy and great.

~Erika

Well, well, well

Hey all-

I was searching for some information on Augusten Burroughs and I found a blog that is really interesting...

Check it out!

http://www.augusten.com/blog/

My favorite thing about the book is that I feel like I am hearing Augusten's voice when I read. I would love to meet him.

Touching Base

Hello-

All of you new members...

We are a laid back book club. We realize that people are often busy at different times and we realize that it is really hard to stay on schedule. So, you can post at your leisure. For example, I assume that most of the people reading the book will post about the first few chapters sometime this week. You can just say what you are liking, not liking, relating to, not relating to, inspired by, motivated by, etc. You can talk about the author, the author's writing style, and other books that you have read that might tie into this novel. Please feel free to talk to each other about the book, too. If you are a fast reader and would like to post when you are finished, that is fine. But, you might want to get involved in some conversations via post throughout your reading...that's totally up to you.

I hope that you enjoy reading with us. Like Kim said, I am finished with the book; however, I will be participating in all of the discussions. I look forward to hearing what all of you think.

What did you all think about the tooth fairy story in the beginning? :o)

Got it

I got the book last night and have started reading. Erika told me that she is already done. Should we just post when we're finished? It's OK that we're not a structured book club, lol.

Let's do this!

I got Possible Side Effects today.  I'm excited to start reading!

I am so excited

I forgot to tell all of you...

Wally Lamb is coming out with a new novel in November!!! I am ridiculously excited.

Just for fun

Hello-

I hope that all of you are having a great week. I am. Anyway, I just received an email from borders.com. Did you know that borders has a book club, too? They provide discussion questions and information. I stumbled upon some discussion questions for "A New Earth" and I just wanted to share. You can choose to respond or you can just read through the questions.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. In Chapter One, Tolle discusses the reasons for reading A New Earth, and what leads people towards awakening. He writes: "For some, it may have begun through loss or suffering; for others, through coming into contact with a spiritual teacher or teaching, through reading The Power of Now or some other spiritually alive and therefore transformational book." Discuss why you decided to read this book and seek spiritual awakening. What led you to want it? Do you think you were already on the path when you began reading A New Earth? How did the book help you with your enlightenment?

2. Discuss the following passage: "If the structures of the human mind remain unchanged, we will always end up re-creating fundamentally the same world, the same evils, the same dysfunction" (p. 22). Do you agree with this statement? What changes does Tolle argue for? What can humans do as a people to make change happen? What can you do as an individual?

3. Why does Tolle tell the story of "The Lost Ring" in Chapter Two? Have you ever felt as the woman in the story feels? Why does Tolle teach the importance of disassociating ourselves with our physical possessions? Why do you think people are so quick to identify so closely with their possessions? How can we stop? Why should we stop?

4. On page 52, Tolle discusses the importance of feeling the inner body. He says we should "Make a habit of feeling the inner body as often as you can." Why is this so important to do? How is your inner body different than your outer body? What can we learn from our inner bodies?

5. In Chapter Three, Tolle delves into "Reactivity and Grievances." Discuss a grievance you've had with someone. Have you let go of it? How or why not? Why is it so important to let go of grievances? How does holding on to grievances damage your ego?

6. In what outward behaviors does your ego manifest itself? Pride? Superiority? Criticism? Examine the outward face of your ego. How can you conquer these issues and let go of them? Now consider the internal manifestations of your ego. What are you holding on to? How can you try to let go? Discuss.

7. "In Zen they say: 'Don't seek the truth. Just cease to cherish opinions'"(p. 121). What does this statement mean to you? How can you practice this in your own life? What other sayings or thoughts help you to see beyond your own mind to get beyond your ego?

8. What unconscious assumptions (ie. "Nobody respects me" or "I don't deserve love") have you had to fight against? Have you been able to conquer these assumptions? How? Are there any you are still trying to conquer? Why are some harder than others? Why is it so important to get unconscious assumptions out of our minds?

9. Discuss the parable of "Carrying the Past" on page 139. What does the story mean? How does it relate to the larger themes in this book? Are you carrying baggage from your past? How can you unload it? If you have unloaded past baggage, explain to the group how you managed it.

10. What is Tolle saying when he writes about the pain-body? How does the pain-body manifest itself in you? How can you break free from it? How is the pain-body stilting to spiritual growth and awakening?

11. How have the lessons in this book helped you to identify who you truly are? How can you expunge negativity and unhappiness to find your true self? What techniques have you tried? What has worked and what hasn't? Discuss with the group.

12. How is your true identity different than your inner purpose? How can you find your inner purpose? What in this book has helped you to uncover it? Do you feel that you have reached an awakening? What more do you have to work on? Discuss ways to help one another to reach the awakening you seek.

13. How can you help other towards enlightenment? Do you think "The New Earth" that Tolle writes about is possible to achieve? How can the human race a whole be helped by his teachings?


ABOUT ECKHART TOLLE

Eckhart Tolle is a contemporary spiritual teacher who is not aligned with any particular religion or tradition. In his writing and seminars, he conveys a simple yet profound message with the timeless and uncomplicated clarity of the ancient spiritual masters. There is a way out of suffering into peace. Tolle travels extensively, taking his teachings throughout the world. He lives in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Well...

I said that I would post the new book by Monday, which obviously did not happen! I was very busy, and I forgot to post. :o(

Anyway, I have decided that we should read, "Possible Side Effects" by Augusten Burroughs. I have already started to read it, but I understand that it may take some time for you to get your hands on a copy. I found it at the library, but I also saw that there were many copies available on amazon.com. Please let me know if you are having a hard time finding a copy.

Talk to you soon...


Erika

Let's Regroup

Hello all-

As you can see, Kim and I are finally finished with "A New Earth." We both felt like the book changed our lives and we are both really happy that we read the book. Now, our next order of business is deciding on the next novel. I am thinking about choosing an Augusten Burroughs novel. He is very funny and charming and I think that his style would be great to read after "A New Earth." Also, I think that his writing is easy to follow and read.

I checked out a couple Augusten Burroughs books from the library and I am going to read a little bit of each book. I will probably pick a book by Monday. If you have any last minute suggestions please feel free to post them on the blog.

Kim has already read "Running with Scissors" and "Dry" so it will not be either or those.

Great.

Have a good one,

E

The End is only the Beginning...

This book changed my life. I feel like this book allowed me to have the life that I was blocking from myself. It swept me up at the most perfect time. I was experiencing lows that were coming more frequently. I was manifesting so much pain-body. I remember driving to knitting class with Lou one Monday night and telling her my weekend had been shitty. That I didn’t know how I was going to make it through more time in Arizona. Lou looked at me and said, “You need to read the book.”

I also saw A New Earth featured on the Oprah show, and I heard the quote Erika mentioned in her first post about, “How do you know this is the right experience? Because it is the experience you are having at this moment.” That one quote had a powerful impact on me, and I could only imagine what reading it in its entirety might do for my state of mind.

I was finding a lot of fault in my present situation, but there was nothing terrible about the present moment. My thoughts about things were terrible. How I reacted was terrible. Sure, I disliked my job something fierce, but I later learned to accept it for what it was, and not make it my identity.

When my parents were here in January, I came home from work every single day upset about my job. Why the F didn’t I just enjoy that time with my parents?! I would also ruin nights or sometimes even days with Jason being in a foul mood. Like Erika, I had no idea I was carrying that pain-body in me. The greatest revelation of all is that, like E said, it was all me which allowed that to happen!

My thinking also got crazy when I got this idea in my head about what I should be achieving and when. I forgot the present and began looking to the things I didn’t have that would bring future happiness.

“Don’t let a mad world tell you that success is anything other than a successful present moment.” - Eckhart Tolle.

I still experience pain-body but I usually recognize what triggers it. That recognition is my awareness. My ego still gets in the way, but the awareness doesn't let me totally lose myself. Even when my sister received a huge medical scare for something that has impacted her health greatly and changed her life forever, and I worried about her like I never have before, and I wanted to be with her just to be there with her, I held onto some sanity. That sanity, that peace, is in the present moment. The present moment was that she does not have worst case scenario, and we can look at the changes in her life in a positive way. There is no point cursing the situation that we can’t change. The resistance causes more pain.

When I made the decision and the effort to accept that job situation for “what it is,” I became happier and I could bettter tolerate it. Things then got worse at work and I was fine. I knew I had to get out of the situation but I wasn’t going to do anything rash and it wasn’t getting me down in my day to day. In a spectacular turns of events, I was laid off from the job, which then led me to applying for my dream job and securing it just one week later.

“Acknowledging the good that is already in your life is the foundation for all abundance.” - Tolle. “The source of all abundance is not outside you. It is a part of who you are.”

Hi, The Secret.

I am astounded, looking back, at how often I let myself be engulfed in pain-body. Jason was the #1 person who had to deal with that and the only person really affected by it. When I focus on my present being with him, I am the happiest person in the world. How could I let so much other stuff matter to the extent I thought it did?

I truly hold this book in very high regard and I am so, so happy that I read it. Thank you, Lou, for busting my ass! E, it was so much fun reading it with you.

Love, Kim

Final thoughts

Ah, to finish a book...

I feel great. I feel as though I just spoke with someone about all of the things that I have been feeling about myself for the last 29 years. So, needless to say, I really enjoyed reading "A New Earth." I felt like the book inspired me to look deep within myself. I also felt like the book inspired me to be a better person.

Over the last few years, I've been working with young children in a variety of environments. I worked at a daycare, as a nanny, in public schools, in private schools, etc. But, I could never go through a day without being totally and completely irritated. I would just end up being so frustrated with the children that I didn't even want to return the next day. I had no idea why or how their behavior could make me feel the way that I did. I can even remember driving home in tears. However, while I was reading, "A New Earth" I realized that it's all about me. I had no idea that I was carrying and fueling so much pain-body. Granted, I have no idea where all of my pain-body derives from, but I am sure that it is present.

I was guest teaching in a 4th grade classroom after I read and learned about pain-body. Unfortunately, there were numerous staff members who informed me of the "bad" behavior that I was going to encounter throughout my day. But, I didn't have any issues or behavior problems. I would not let that negative energy into me or into that classroom. I was there for two days and those two days were the best teaching experiences that I've ever had. When I left, I felt happy. I wasn't happy that I was leaving, but I was happy that I was able to teach the children something valuable. Most importantly, I was able to show those students who I really am...

At the end of the novel, Tolle writes, "This, too, will pass," which I found to be so interesting. Now, if someone had said those words to me right after Matt passed away, I would have thought that the person didn't understand the pain that occurs when someone you love passes away, but it makes sense to me now. Although I am very sad that Matt passed away, the initial sadness and shock has faded. All of the worries that I felt about passing tests, ex-boyfriends, and past experiences have passed. In some cases, I can't believe how much time and energy that I spent worrying about things that I couldn't change. I can't bring Matt back, I can't become a ballerina, I can't change the past. It is what it is. The past is the past.

If I could choose one thing that I really learned from reading "A New Earth" I would say that I learned to be aware of this moment. Right now. I learned to appreciate and become aware of my Presence... I am.

Thanks for participating. I will decide on a new book next week. Stay tuned.

~Erika