'Distant' ambitions

By David Allen on August 19, 2008 4:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) |

I've been taking "The Distant Land of My Father" to Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf in Claremont on weekends to have some focused time to read it, and also get out of the heat. After almost three weeks, I'm three-quarters of the way through and am enjoying it.

On Sunday I ran into my friend Vince Turner there, held up the book and noted that it had been chosen by the Claremont: On the Same Page people for everyone in town to read.

Turner, his finger on the pulse of Claremont as always, took a more practical approach.

Instead of foisting a 400-page novel on a time-pressed public, he said, "They should just pick a magazine for everyone to leaf through."

Claremont: On the Same Newsstand?

3 Comments

Mr. Naron said:

A magazine? Come on, Vince. The image I have of my adopted hometown of Claremont as the Last Literate American Town is in jeopardy.

[I agree. Even if no one but me reads the book, we should keep the book program just to maintain our image. -- DA]

August 19, 2008 1:29 PM

wyl said:

A magazine? Who has time for long form journalism? Claremont should pick a newspaper to read, alternating the Times, Bulletin and Courier in different years. Claremont: In the same newsrack.

August 19, 2008 4:35 PM

Bob House said:

2 somewhat related comments:

Palo Alto, CA has a reading program similar to Claremont's and they're now also reading "The Distant Land . . ."

Did you notice Claremont was the "Neighborhood Focus" in "The Guide" on LA Times' website today?

[There's a South Pasadena angle to "Distant Land," making Palo Alto a more distant land than Claremont. I did see the Times piece; it ran in the Calendar section in print. -- DA]

August 20, 2008 3:55 PM