On the Southern Literary Trail discussion

It's official. With 23 of 41 members voting, A Confederacy of Dunces took the most number of group member votes with 13. Hoping no one suffers from Triskaidekaphobia. Absalom, Absalom! was second with 7 votes. Wise Blood scored 2 votes. Wise Blood came in with one vote.

To kick of the discussion, John Kennedy Toole unsuccessfully sought publication of his book. He committed suicide eleven years prior to its publication by LSU press in 1980. Toole was posthumously awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1981. Walker Percy was instrumental in the book's finding publication. Toole's Mother, Thelma was persistent in seeing her son's novel see the light of day after some publishers said, while brilliant, it was a "story about nothing." Hmmmm...seems like similar statements were made about a television show called "Seinfeld."

Welcome to the life and adventures of Ignatius Reilly, perpetual job saboteur and observer of life--from his own unique perspective. Happy reading.

Lawyer Stevens

Department of Research and Reference
I.J. Reilly, Custodian

Ah, readers...

If you haven't begun, it's time to set the mood and the atmosphere to begin A Confederacy of Dunces. So, how about a little music, Maestro?

"Do you know what it means to miss New Orleans
And miss it each night and day
I know I’m not wrong this feeling's gettin' stronger
The longer, I stay away
Miss them moss covered vines the tall sugar pines
Where mockin' birds used to sing
And I'd like to see that lazy Mississippi hurryin' into spring"--Eddie DeLange and Louis Alter

This song was first heard in the movie "New Orleans" in 1947, where it was performed by Louis Armstrong and sung by Billie Holiday.

Here's the original movie recording. Enjoy...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xhkxy3...

Lawyer Stevens

I do know what it means to miss New Orleans. It's one of my favorite places I've ever visited. Every journey needs a good guide book. You can follow along in Ignatius' footsteps in this wonderful blog, complete with landmarks found in the novel...

http://ignatiusghost.blogspot.com/

Lawyer Stevens

I went my senior year of high school in New Orleans. I still love it.

Kathy wrote: "I went my senior year of high school in New Orleans. I still love it."

And well you should. *smile* The Cafe du Monde http://www.cafedumonde.com/main.html remains a favorite haunt of mine at all hours day and night, plus restaurants too many to count. Faulkner House in Pirate's Alley is a regular stop. The mixed voices tinged with so many different dialects adds to the charm. I travel there by way of The Crescent, lulled by the sound of the rails. There is little use for a car if you stay in the city. There's always a cab to http://www.tipitinas.com/. And, God, the music, the music. The cemeteries. The tomb of Marie Laveau. The voodoo shops where you can buy gris-gris for the charms most needed. The seriousness of the seller behind the counter. Oh, the magic's there. The Garden District...and the miles of abandoned houses in the 9th Ward, so dark at night. Oh, I know what it is to miss New Orleans.

I took The Crescent the last time I was there (five or six years ago). I hate getting stuck spending half my time in cities searching for a parking space. It was a fun place to spend some teenage years, for sure, perhaps a bit too fun.

Well, this is a test. Let's see if Ignatius appears...

http://s1151.photobucket.com/albums/o...

Try, try again...



"Statue of Ignatius Reilly, Located in front of the former location of the D.H. Holmes Department Store where our story opens"

I'm so excited to re-read this novel!! I'm traveling currently and won't be able to start before this weekend but I will try to contribute to the discussions based on my memory of having read it previously.

Tajma wrote: "I'm so excited to re-read this novel!! I'm traveling currently and won't be able to start before this weekend but I will try to contribute to the discussions based on my memory of having read it pr..."

I'm always glad to have a happy reader. *grin* I'm just a short way into the novel on my re-read. But the grins return as they were the first time I read it.

Lawyer Stevens

Oh, that's so good to know, Mike. I remember literally laughing out loud when I read the book. I had wondered if it would lose some punch the second time around. Silly of me! Fine novels never lose it.

I'm loving the book and although he is certainly an interesting fellow in every sense, I find myself waiting to see what he will say next! Indeed, he is quite funny.

I joined GR in February, 2011 and ACOD was one of the first books I read and reviewed after joining.

I kicked myself that I hadn't read it years earlier.

My review is here:

http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

Thanks to Mike for finding my review and inviting me to join.

Good morning. Not sure if this is the correct location, but I had some questions about the group read for Dunces, and this will be my first group read and discussion on Goodreads. Will there be a different location for discussions, rather than here? Will there be a reading schedule, or is it read as you like? Trying to get my bearings set for the read. Thanks to all who can shed some light on this for me.

George, there will a separate thread for this months read, to go up today or tomorrow. No reading schedule at all, read at your own pace, thread is for discussion only. We set up 2 threads for each book. One for questions and spoiler free discussion, another for posting reviews and resolving questions that might contain spoilers. Thanks for asking.

Diane wrote: "George, there will a separate thread for this months read, to go up today or tomorrow. No reading schedule at all, read at your own pace, thread is for discussion only. We set up 2 threads for each..."


Diane, thank you for the information. I am looking forward to reading and discussing with everyone.

I began reading A Confederacy of Dunces. I gave it 100 pages, which is what I give every novel I read. I gave up. As I did with Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury. If I have to wade into crashing waves for hours until I come to something I can swim in, I admit I don't have the stamina.

I am forever grateful I had to readThe Sound and the Fury for one of my honors seminars in college, once I got into it, I began a lifelong love affair with Faulkner's works. A Confederacy of Dunces, not so much.