COMMENTS

12 responses to “Senior Planet Book Club: Week 1”

1. This is one of my favorite Calvin Trillin books. Another New Yorker, I am a big fan of his. Thanks for choosing a humorous book to start off!

   Reply to Kathleen Treat

2. I am lifelong Manhattanite so the many NYC references and types make sense ro me, make me laugh, etc. I was fortunate to have a garage in my building during the years when I had a car but I have my share of parking stories. I suffer from narcolepsy. So I would often park the car, put money in the meter and take a nap. That said, about the book. I found myself making some observations again and again. These include:

   In the way that Elmore Leonard captured the language of his cons and mostly blue collar workers, Trillin is acutely sensitive to the language and mind-set of New-York-Times/New Yorker readers who are, I believe, his his fan-base. (He’s equally good, mind you, with civil servants and NYC blue collar folk too.)

   Tepper’s responses, which are always basic but logical, brought to mind Chaucey Gardiner, although again a more upper-class, or at least educated version.

   We’ll have to read on to find out the “meaning” of parking and not getting to Tepper (if in fact Trillin chooses to give us won). Maybe it’s Tepper’s “Rosebud,” a kind of Maguffin that doesn’t really explain much at all.

   I’m wondering if anyone recognized some of the characters, the authencity of language, the irony of the Catch-22 categories. After all, life is very big, we’re small, we’re only here for a short time–so the meaning of life is illusive.

   Freaky, no, that the mayor, while I’m assuming he’s a riff on Guiliani, captures Donald Trump to a tee–14 years or so before anyone would have placed him in the political arena?

   I’ve got a few more but I’m waiting until the end . . . .

   Reply to June Lazerus

3. As a New Yorker from the L.E.S I am enjoying this book and can totally relate to finding parking and not giving it up even when you have paid monthly parking. Finding a spot is priceless it’s like winning the lottery. And people’s reactions are spot on. I love his calmness and willingness to just listen. Everything is so relatable. Even the remark from the reporter who said they renamed the L.E.S The East Village. Pretty funny but accurate.

   Reply to Sandra

4. Who would be interested after we finish the book, in having an online meeting where we can discuss over video chat? Let me know!

   Reply to Senior Planet

   1. Fine by me – Lucy

      Reply to Lucile Dewart

   2. I would love to participate in zoom .I feel we can have a really good dialogue much better than texting. I know I wanted to say do much more but it’s too much of a hassle to text.

      Reply to Sandra

   3. I would. Surprised the club is not being run via Zoom or similar platform.

      Reply to June Lazerus

      1. Great! We’ll schedule a Zoom meeting for the week we finish the book.

      2. Hi everyone! We’ll host a discussion over Zoom on Thursday, April 30, 6pm EDT. Here is the event link:
         https://seniorplanet.org/event/book-club-tepper/

         Happy reading!

5. I’m liking it so far and find it easy n peaceful reading, but not sure what time frame we are in, but also did not read all chapters we were mean 2, yet;)

   Reply to Lucy

6. As someone who lives in Texas, it is hard to imagine what people go thru to find a parking place since this problem is mainly in our downtown areas of our larger cities like Houston, Dallas, etc.
   Tepper is a good listener and I like the relationship between the folks at the Jewish deli -first one of the clerks then another. The article that one of them wrote about Tepper and his parking was a great piece because Tepper’s brief encounters with some of these folks had such a postitive lasting impression. Most of Tepper’s encounters even with coworkers give people postitive advice. Since I haven’t been to New York in over 20 years the geographic borough information, I cannot really appreciate but I bet New Yorkers can.

   Reply to Shirley Conrad

   1. As a new New Yorker, I understand what you’re saying. It’s been an adjustment!

      Reply to Pamela Hugi