Meeting: Saturday, February 23, 2008

"The Anniversary Issue"

Call Me Loyd

David Owen

What’s in a nickname?

Q. Why do we give and take nicknames? Why do you think Owen wrote this article? What's your favorite nickname?

Thinking in the Rain

Susan Orlean

How to build a better umbrella.

Q. What are the elements of "The Steve Hollinger Experience"? How does Orlean manage to make 8 pages about an umbrella interesting? Do you think the article is interesting?

The Birthday Party

James B. Stewart

Wall Street’s unloved Midas.

Q. Do you have to feel rich to be rich? Is Schwarzman a likable guy? on and off Wall Street?

Coney Island Days

Robert Polidori, Mark Singer

The boardwalk off season.

Q. (Coney Island whitefish?!) The photos are practically timeless. Do Singer's words add anything?

True Crime

David Grann

A postmodern murder mystery.

Q. Is this a great detective story? What's troubling about it's conclusions? What are the pertinent facts? Is everyone sane?

“In Bruges,” “The Band’s Visit.”

Anthony Lane

Q. What lines do you enjoy in Lane's reviews? Would you see these movies based on his opinions?

“The Saws”

Robert Pinsky

Q. What is Pinsky telling us? Why are these sayings called "saws"?

FROM LAST ISSUE

Jonny Greenwood’s compositions.

Alex Ross

Q. Is this article about Greenwood, or "Blood", or the soundtrack? Which sentences are the most powerful and striking? What other films are of "Blood"-like proportions?

FROM THE ARCHIVES

April 15, 2002
Annals of Gastronomy
Don’t Mention It
The hidden life and times of a Greenwich Village restaurant.
by Calvin Trillin

Q. What is this story about? A man, a restaurant, a way of life? By the end of this chapter, what has been lost?

Meeting: Saturday, February 9, 2008

Adam Gopnik on Sarkozy’s amorous folly

The cover of Le Nouvel Observateur

Q. Does French scandal and gossip compare to American the way French cuisine compares? Why or why not? Is it elitist? Or just more tasty? Who do you think is being "used"? Sarkozy? Bruni? The press? de Beauvoir?

Lifting the Veil

Calvin Tomkins

John Currin’s pornography paintings.

Online Only

Q. Is Currin's work conservative? How does his work compare to someone like Koons? Is he like other figure painters? of today? of the 18th Century? Do we learn anything from the article about the meaning of his art?

Benjamin Franklin and Poor Richard.

Jill Lepore

Q. "Very few people have written more..." and been more written about too? This article is gold even considering it's intensely colorful subject. Any surprises of note to you? What about the time lines of his private accomplishments contrasted with his historical public service? What lessons can we take from the facts in addition to the amusement from the wit recounted by Lepore?

David Mamet’s “November.”

John Lahr

Q. Is this a good review? Is this a good review of the play? Does the reviewer like the play? Is Lahr a good reviewer of theater? What's flawed about his review? What's well done? What should a review accomplish?

John Cassidy on the credit-crisis prophet;

Q. Does Minsky's cycle describe a "binge and purge"? "feast and famine"? Is the U.S. economy innately self-destructive?

Caught On Video Dept.
Real Naked Ladies
by Lauren Collins

Q. Is there a flaw in Roth's reasoning for making the film? "Barraged with boobs"? Sure, it's all fun and games until someone puts their eye out...

The Color of Politics

Peter J. Boyer

Cory Booker’s post-racial generation.

Q. Oh no, politics! What similarities do Booker and Obama share (besides the Oprah "touch")? Where are they different? Even without race, is there still prejudice? What about an Obama/Booker ticket as opposed to a Clinton/Obama ticket?

David Levering Lewis’s “God’s Crucible.”

Joan Acocella

Q. What if the Muslim armies hadn’t been stopped at the French border? What do you think would have happened in Europe? Is anything in this article historically "news to you"? Are there any keen observations from Levering? from Acocella? Should a book that was collected, rather than composed, have to be internally consistent? Wouldn't it help?

Jonny Greenwood’s compositions.

Alex Ross

Q. Is this article about Greenwood, or "Blood", or the soundtrack? Which sentences do you find striking, if not breathtaking? What other films are of "Blood"-like proportions?


FROM THE ARCHIVES
February 17, 1986

Profiles
Covering the Cops
by Calvin Trillin

Q. What three adjectives would you use to describe Edna Buchanan's style of prose. To describe Calvin Trillin's? Is the article more about Buchanan or her work and writing? What can we tell about Trillin?