[3] The Iliad [4] may be the oldest narrative work in the Western canon. Homer’s epic focuses on an argument between Achilles [5], the greatest Greek warrior at Troy, and Agamemnon [6], the commander of the Greek forces, and the disastrous results of that argument.
[8] In Robert Stone’s newest collection of short stories, Fun With Problems [9], the characters have just that. They’re everyday people from all walks of life, yet all are addicts with something broken about them. Stone’s characters are slightly despicable but at the same time familiar enough to ease the reader into their world.
[12] Do you ever look up at the night sky and wonder …What else is out there? What’s left to discover in all those stars? What will they find in space in my lifetime? If so, you might enjoy reading Percival’s Planet, the new novel by Michael Byers [13].
[15] In Michael Pollan’s The Botany of Desire [16], we get four stories: the histories of apples, tulips, marijuana, and potatoes. You might not think the story of a plant would be very compelling, but as our Plaza Branch Barista’s Book Club [17] learned, Pollan intrigues readers through careful management of historical facts, research, and personal anecdotes.
[19] Ever had a friend who would blurt out all the wrong things at the all the wrong times and yet was always funny in a screwball sort of way? That describes the wacky vibe and self-deprecating tone of Jen Lancaster’s new memoir, My Fair Lazy.
Links:
[1] http://www.kclibrary.org/blog/KC+Unbound/feed
[2] http://drupal.org/node/11816
[3] http://www.kclibrary.org/blog/kc-unbound/classics-reviewed-iliad
[4] http://classics.mit.edu/Homer/iliad.html
[5] http://www.pantheon.org/articles/a/achilles.html
[6] http://www.pantheon.org/articles/a/agamemnon.html
[7] http://www.kclibrary.org/comment/reply/10793#comment-form
[8] http://www.kclibrary.org/blog/kc-unbound/short-cuts-robert-stones-latest-stories
[9] http://kcaqua.kclibrary.org/?q=author:%22Robert+Stone%22+title:%22Fun+With+Problems%22
[10] http://www.kclibrary.org/comment/reply/10796#comment-form
[11] http://www.kclibrary.org/blog/kc-unbound/short-cuts-robert-stones-latest-stories#attachments
[12] http://www.kclibrary.org/blog/kc-unbound/book-review-percivals-planet
[13] http://michaelbyers.org/
[14] http://www.kclibrary.org/comment/reply/10801#comment-form
[15] http://www.kclibrary.org/blog/kc-unbound/book-club-review-botany-desire
[16] http://kcaqua.kclibrary.org/?q=botany+of+desire
[17] http://www.kclibrary.org/book-clubs/baristas
[18] http://www.kclibrary.org/comment/reply/10851#comment-form
[19] http://www.kclibrary.org/blog/kc-unbound/book-review-my-fair-lazy
[20] http://www.kclibrary.org/comment/reply/10852#comment-form
[21] http://www.kclibrary.org/print/10498
[22] http://www.kclibrary.org/print/10498?page=48
[23] http://www.kclibrary.org/print/10498?page=42
[24] http://www.kclibrary.org/print/10498?page=43
[25] http://www.kclibrary.org/print/10498?page=44
[26] http://www.kclibrary.org/print/10498?page=45
[27] http://www.kclibrary.org/print/10498?page=46
[28] http://www.kclibrary.org/print/10498?page=47
[29] http://www.kclibrary.org/print/10498?page=50
