The Next Best Book Club discussion
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Brown Bottle
Author/Reader Discussions
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Brown Bottle - Author/Reader Discussion
Yes, I'd like to do this and can participate in the discussion May 23-29.
I really enjoyed participating in the last discussion.Taylors writin&his friendly responses made it very special.
I would like to be entered in the giveaway, i live in the US and agree to participate in the discussion. Prefer a print copy.
I would like to be entered in the giveaway, and agree to participate in the author discussion May 23-29. I am fine with either the print edition, or the Mobi copy for my Kindle app. I live in the US :)
book sounds very interesting and I agree to participate. I am in Chicago
print copy please :-)
Yes, I'd be interested and can participate in May (Print edition preferred - live in Wisconsin)
Yes. I'd like to read and participate in discussion. Mobi or PDF please. Thanks.
As a science fiction author, I find I don't read other genres enough -- I'm changing that if selected for this giveaway - I'll participate, and enjoy every second of it! Either format is fine with me . . . thanks!
I would like to participate and read. Since I am an old fashion girl, I would rather have a printed book, thank you.
Would love to participate in the discussion. It looks like a great read. I'd prefer hard copy. Thanks!
Would love to participate.I was involved in the chat with Taylor Fallen Land it was great.I would like a hard copy
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Rhonda, your profile is set to private. If you are a winner, there is no way for me to contact you. Can you take it off private or respond here with your email...
I would like to also participate in this group discussion. I prefer hard copy, thanks.
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That means, everyone who has an unprivate account or left their email address is a winner : )
Congrats to Kim, Karin, Peg, Betty, Deanna, Book Concierge, Leeanne, Brian, Clara, and Jennifer!! I'll be in touch shortly to get your info.
Lori wrote: "Rhonda wrote: "Would love to participate.I was involved in the chat with Taylor Fallen Land it was great.I would like a hard copy "Rhonda, your profile is set to private. If you are a winner, the..."
Took it off private.didn't realize that's what I had set it at.lomazowr@gmail.com.
Lori wrote: "Rhonda wrote: "Would love to participate.I was involved in the chat with Taylor Fallen Land it was great.I would like a hard copy "Rhonda, your profile is set to private. If you are a winner, the..."
Changed it no idea I had set it to private.lomazowr@gmail.com
Mod
Rhonda, your profile is set to private. If you are ..."
Sorry Rhonda, but the winners were already named this time around! Leave it off private for next time : )
Lori wrote: "Rhonda wrote: "Lori wrote: "Rhonda wrote: "Would love to participate.I was involved in the chat with Taylor Fallen Land it was great.I would like a hard copy "Rhonda, your profile is set to priva..."
Will leave it off private
Mod
I'd like to be able to give away all 10 copies so that we have 10 participants in our discussion next month, so the next three people who message me here on goodreads stating they want to participate, and give me their preference of digital or print, and their email (for the digital) or their shipping address (for the print) win the copies!
My copy arrived yesterday, hooray! But first I am going to finish Glory over Everything: Beyond The Kitchen House. I went and read the first book in the series first plus wanted to wait until closer to that discussion.
I will probably get mine today when I get home as well.
Got my copy. Excited to start reading.
I got my book yesterday. I am already on chapter three. So far, it is interesting and hope it keeps me interested.
My copy arrived!
Mine arrived too!
Did you get everyone? I am so ready for a new book. I prefer paper. I am sure since I am this late you have found your 3 peoplechrispwallace@yahoo.com
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Lori wrote: "Hi Chris. Yeah, sorry, we're all set for this one. We give away books once a month typically so keep your eye out!"Thank you , I will. I just thought I would try.
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As you know, tomorrow begins our weeklong discussion of Brown Bottle with author Sheldon Lee Compton!
And as many of you also know, since I will be working all day long tomorrow, I want to take a moment to welcome Sheldon and set the stage for questions:
Hi Sheldon! We are thrilled to have you here at TNBBC, and many many thanks go out to you and your publisher for making copies of the book available so we can all share in this opportunity.
I recall as I read the book considering alcoholism and its potential connection to you as an author. Was there someone in particular you were writing of when you fleshed out your main character Wade?
Good morning Lori. I'm still almost speechlessly grateful to take part in this. Thank you so much.You were right to have alcoholism in mind while reading. I'm a recovering alcoholic and during the entire time I wrote Brown Bottle I was in and out of recovery, slipping, relapsing, nearly losing everything that meant anything to me. I started to explore the idea of redemption and the costs throughout this novel.
Wade is a mesh up of my former step-uncle and myself, I guess. But mostly the step-uncle. When I was between the ages of five and seven my step-dad, who was nineteen at the time and also an alcoholic, struggled with his obligations, let's say. His youngest brother sort of stepped in and spent a lot of time with me, sort of nurturing me the way a father should. In particular he encouraged me to take up for myself in my first real fight, that is a fight that actually brought blood. He was so proud of me and I was so proud of myself that I guess the memory stuck and served as the beginning idea for the book.
I'm so excited to be part of this discussion. Thank you, Sheldon. I loved the book. I felt myself becoming frustrated at times with the decisions that the characters were making. For me, the best line of the book was Fay stating, "in all the wretched decades I've been here, you hillbillies still confound me with your reasoning." Yes! This! The bad decisions seemed to be more than the effects of drugs and alcohols, but also were also driven by some other mindset. I feel the story would be very different if it took place in say, upstate NY, where I am from. Can you give some background on the regional influences of the book?
I'm surely glad you liked the book, Jennifer. Thanks for the kind words.Everything about the book was influenced by the region I live in. More specifically, though, the habit of good people making bad decisions is something you can't get away from around here in Eastern Kentucky. People here are pushed in ways that can quickly become complicated. No jobs, no money, if they have a job, getting an education becomes difficult, etc. It's almost like to have one thing we have to give up something else. Our basket is only so big, and the bottom is pretty weak. Drugs and alcohol become the means by which some of us try to forget about being pushed and, for others, it becomes a way to make a living, especially with drugs. I know really good people who deal prescription drugs. I know that sounds backwards, but it's true. They're good people. They just deal drugs.
Hi Sheldon, I really enjoyed your book. I am wondering if the "hills" or Appalachia region are as violent and drug infested as you and others portray? If so, how does anyone, including maybe yourself, battle that mindset to become successful and productive? It seems even your book ends without a feel good resolution, will Nick change, or was Wade's sacrifice for nothing?
Hi Deanna...I'm glad you liked the book and glad it brought some questions I can try to answer here.Is the Appalachian region as portrayed by me and others...Well, the area I live in is, but not all areas. Certainly not cities such as Lexington and Frankfort, etc. But in Eastern Kentucky, the region I'm located in Pike County, is very much as I portrayed it in the novel. Violence and drugs are as much a part of life here as lawn sprinklers and customized mail boxes are in the suburbs. There are also good things, though, like loyalty and people who have developed persevering spirits. It takes a hell of a lot to completely break us.
As for being productive as writer in the midst of this sort of place, I've never had a choice. I started writing at an early age because a lot of people in my family told stories and I wanted to do the same. And part of it, if I am being honest, was to escape my reality. The artistic soul can survive any area or conditions, it seems. I kept writing because I couldn't stop, in the long run.
Wade's sacrifice wasn't for nothing, in my mind at least. The change in Nick isn't immediately apparant at the close of the book, but he knows again how much Wade loved him. This was something he had forgotten along the way, lost with his childhood in the same way his as his innocense. I had considered, and even started, a followup novel about Nick to show the eventual change, but I'm not going back to it, I think. The Taylor family is as mended as such a family can be, probably.
It was hard for me to read the book because of the subject matter. My father was an alcoholic and that did not end well either. This story touched home. I put down the book several times just because it made me angry in some parts. While reading, I was looking for a character to like. For example why did Nick's mother act like she did not care about him. She was more into her own life. Is it that she was sure Wade would be able to reach him better than she could?
Hi Sheldon,I'm still reading this, and while it took a while to get into it, I have to say that by now I'm quite drawn to Nick and rooting for a good outcome for him. I am a bit in the dark as to why Nick's mother appeared to be so concerned for him when he was little, and then showed no care later, so am waiting to see if I ever find out why.
I am carefully avoiding reading the posts of those already done. I have never been to that neck of the woods, but there was plenty of similar things where I grew up given the nature of the local economy, etc. In addition, some people would go out and collect magic mushrooms.
I'll be back again to see all the spoilers I'm not reading now.
Hi Karin...Glad to hear you're drawn to Nick. He needs all the people rooting for him he can get. Magic mushrooms ha! Folks around here mostly grow pot and look for what they call dry land fish, a type of mushroom that's not so much magic, but tastes pretty good fried with butter.
Hi Sheldon. I am not quite finished with the book, so I'm going through this thread gingerly, trying to avoid anything spoilerish,. I'm always interested in writers' influences and beginnings, so your response to Deanna's question begs for more. I'd like to hear more about your family and their stories. What members of your family have influenced your stories and your writing the most?
Hi Sheldon. I don't know if you have missed my question regarding Nick and his mom. Do you think this book would be appropriate for high school students to read in school?
Clara wrote: "It was hard for me to read the book because of the subject matter. My father was an alcoholic and that did not end well either. This story touched home. I put down the book several times just becau..."Hi Clara. Nick's mother basically shifted her attention to a man, choosing him over Nick, in my mind, after a certain point. It is her flaw, thinking she has to have a man in her life in order to feel whole. I'll admit though it wasn't a trait I thought about very much when writing the character. But it is her weakness, just as alcohol is Wade's and drugs are Nick's.
Peg wrote: "Hi Sheldon. I am not quite finished with the book, so I'm going through this thread gingerly, trying to avoid anything spoilerish,. I'm always interested in writers' influences and beginnings, so y..."Hi Peg, thanks for reading and coming here to talk about the book.
The family members who most influenced me with their stories were my grandmother, Ava, and my uncle, her son, Gayle. Ava (Mother, as I call her since she raised me during most of my childhood) always told ghost stories late at night. Her eyes would just light up with this sort of pleased mischief when she saw the stories were starting to scare me a little. She was so tuned into how much pressure to put on a listener, when to push and when to pull back. She was a natural storyteller. Her son, Gayle, went on to become an acclaimed Appalachian poet writing under the name G.C. Compton. Growing up he always supported my writing, treating me, even when I was twelve and just starting, like a peer, an equal, giving me sound advice and encouragement. These two people more than the anyone else put me on the path to write stories and gave me a respect for both written stories and oral storytelling. I consider both forms to be high art. The most memorable story Mother told happened when she was ten years old (she's 96 now) and took place in her bedroom late one night. She said she she kept waking up cold and noticed her quilt kept ending up pulled off her in the middle of the night. One night she said she stayed awake and after a couple hours lying still she said the covers started to be pulled off her, being pulled from the foot of the bed. It seemed as if someone was under the bed or at the foot of the bed and pulling them off her. When they finally moved from the house, Mother said her dad, when loading her bed in the truck, noticed a dark stain on the floorboards under Mother's bed. They found out later that a woman had been murdered in the house, killed in her bedroom by her husband. The stain couldn't be washed up but did turn a dark red when they tried to scrub it away with water and soap. So, yeah, that was the kind of stories I listened to and then tried to go to sleep afterwards. It really instilled in me the absolute power that story can have on a person's mind.
Clara wrote: "Hi Sheldon. I don't know if you have missed my question regarding Nick and his mom. Do you think this book would be appropriate for high school students to read in school?"I did see your question about Nick and his mom. I think I posted it here in reply but if you don't see it let me know.
I think the novel would be okay for high school students. It would probably never be used because of language or something, but I think it would speak to kids about Nick's age and to kids who are maybe caught up in something like drugs or alcohol and aren't sure what to do about it or if anyone really cares.
It's funny because I wrote this thinking of Wade as the main character but it may be that Nick is the heart of the book. It's cool to get so many questions about good ol' Nick. And just for the record, I think Nick makes it out okay in the end. There may another book that focuses on Nick alone. Who knows?
Sheldon wrote: "Hi Karin...Glad to hear you're drawn to Nick. He needs all the people rooting for him he can get. Magic mushrooms ha! Folks around here mostly grow pot and look for what they call dry land fish, ..."
People grow pot in my home town, too, on the Canadian west coast. The probably grow it in New England, too, where I moved when I got married.
A sequel about Nick might be a great idea, but first I need to finish this one. I also want to see what happens with Ashley and her mother (also a drug user, as Nick realized right away.)
If Nick's mother replaced Nick with another man (weird that she coudn't love both, but it absolutely happens at time in real life) I wonder why she didn't come back after things didn't work out with Jim, but then, it seems like she has just given up on all of them, and perhaps even herself.
I got another 8 pages in before my kids' school music concert and plan to get back reading it tonight.
Sheldon thanks for your comments on my earlier post. When you write your stories has anyone in your town ever wondered if a specific character was based on them, and if so, were they pleased or did they believe, rightfully or not, that you are airing out someone's dirty laundry?
That's a great question, Deanna, and one I've actually written about in an essay called "Dangerous Stories" that was included in Walk Till the Dogs Get Mean: Meditations on the Forbidden from Contemporary Appalachia last year. A lot of people in my area who actually know me and who actually read my books (that's not very many for the latter) do ask if a certain character is them or not. I'm honest about it, even if it hurts. Most of the people I based characters on don't read my books so it's less of an issue, really. But the ones who do know (my own mom for instance) either are okay with it or lie and tell me they're okay with it. Tucker and Stan, the brothers from the book, are based entirely on some neighbors I had back in 2011 and 2012. These two guys have read my first book but not Brown Bottle. I have no doubt they'd recognize themselves and, well, might be offended. I'm not really sure. They're both really good guys, other than the drug stuff. They always brought me and my girlfriend vegetables from their garden and offered to cut our grass, etc. Just solid mountain people. So I painted them, especially Tucker, a little darker than reality, maybe. But it's close as I've ever been to basing a character entirely on a real person.
Sheldon, you mentioned loyalty earlier as part of the background of this part of Kentucky. This seemed to be a driving force behind Wade, something he clung to, his unquestioning loyalty towards Nick. I was struck by how Wade was so loyal to Nick that he viewed his drug use as the fault of others, and struck out at those he felt were responsible. He never viewed Nick as the responsible party, never took him aside and slapped him upside the head and asked what the hell. I feel had Wade been able to view Nick as a highly flawed person who made his own choices it wouldn't have ended so bad for so many people. Did you intend to make Wade's loyalty both his greatest strength and his biggest weakness?
The Next Best Book Club
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His publisher has given us a total of 10 copies to give away - your choice of Print (for US only) or digital (Mobi or PDF, internationally).
In order to be considered, you must comment here or on the blog for a shot at winning one and secure a spot in the discussion that kicks off on May 23rd.
http://thenextbestbookblog.blogspot.c...
This giveaway will run through April 8th.
Winners will be announced here and via email (if you provide one) on April 9th.
Here's how to enter:
1 - Leave a comment here or in the giveaway thread over at TNBBC's blog (linked above). Let us know which format you prefer - Print (if you request this, you must be a resident of the US) or Digital (Mobi or PDF, available internationally).
ONLY COMMENT ONCE. MULTIPLE COMMENTS DO NOT GAIN YOU ADDITIONAL CHANCES TO WIN.
2 - State that you agree to participate in the group read book discussion that will run from May 23rd through May 29th. Sheldon has agreed to participate in the discussion and will be available to answer any questions you may have for him.
*If you are chosen as a winner, by accepting the copy you are agreeing to read the book and join the group discussion right here in this thread next month.
3 - If your goodreads profile is blocked (set on private), please leave me another way to contact you.
GOOD LUCK!!!!