The TWC Facebook Summer Reading Club: Michael Kimball's Us

The summer reading club has begun. Stop on by our Facebook page to participate. Here's the first prompt:

Our summer book club will last the next three weeks. We'll be discussing Michael Kimball's novel US. Today we'll start by discussing part one. ONLY part one. Try not to give too much away for those who've not yet read the entire book. You're more than welcome start your own discussions. Check back in to the conversation from time to time.

Week One: Part One
What strikes me about part one is the voice. It's an incredibly strong voice, and it has to be to tell this spare story. It also does something very interesting: it uses repetition.

Example:

"I stopped outside the doorway. The hallway was so much brighter than her hospital room was that I had to close my eyes. I turned around to look back inside her hospital room at her, but it was already too dark inside there for me to see my wife anymore."--page 38.

Let's talk about the voice in part one. What do you think about it? What makes it successful? Why do you think Kimball chooses to use repetition here?

Upcoming Local Readings: Cheryl's Gone, Three Tents, and Takoma Park Third Thursday

Plenty of outstanding readings coming up in the DC area. Here's a sampling:

Thursday, May 12, 2011 - 8pm
Cheryl's Gone presents...

Art Taylor (fiction--and host of TWC's podcast)
Lauren Bender (poetry)
Jennifer DePalma (poetry)
& music from LunaSol (folk duo)


@ Big Bear Cafe
1st and R NW
Washington, DC

Cheryl's Gone is a monthly reading and performance series at Big Bear Cafe in Washington, DC. For complete details, visit www.cherylsgone.com.

Thursday, May 19, 7:30 p.m.
Takoma Park Third Thursday Series

Featuring workshop leaders Michele Wolf and Anne Becker, along with Michael Gavin

Takoma Park Community Center
7500 Maple Avenue
Takoma Park, Maryland
For more information: 301-589-3717


Wednesday, May 25, 7:00 P.M.
Tyrant Books and Big Lucks presents a Three Tents reading at The Big Hunt on Dupont Circle in DC.

Readers include Michael Kimball, Rae Bryant, TWC's own Caitlin Cushman, and Phillip Dean Walker.

Join us as we celebrate the release of Michael Kimball's "Us!".

Doors at 7
Drink/food specials all night!
For more info, including author bios, visit Big Lucks' Web site.
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The Three Tents Reading Series is a bimonthly reading series hosted at The Big Hunt in Washington, DC. It was created to provide authors who’ve recently released novels, collections, or chapbooks with independent presses an opportunity to add a major metropolis with a rich literary tradition to their book tour. Three Tents also features upcoming local authors and graduate students, in hopes of bringing these communities closer together.