December Not Fiction Book Discussions

 We conclude our 2013 discussions with The Dangerous Animals Club by Stephen Tobolowsky, which the author says in the publisher's promotional video below "is a book about the beginning of things." Tobolowsky is a character actor who has appeared in more than 100 movies and more than 200 television shows, including Mississippi Burning, Memento, Groundhog Day, CSI Miami, Deadwood, and Glee. In The Dangerous Animals Club, he shares hilarious, touching stories from his childhood, his career, and his relationships with family and friends in a manner that film critic Leonard Maltin compares to Garrison Keillor's. Tobolowsky says, "A question I frequently ask myself: why do I tell these stories? My answer: The mystery. It is a mystery as to what makes us do what we do. It is the other side of the mystery as to what makes us who we are. . . . Telling a story . . . is the only way I know to make sense of the unpredictable" (p. 24-25). This is why we read as well.

Enjoy Tobolowsky's storytelling timing and energy and learn more about the origin and themes of The Dangerous Animals Club in this video from Simon and Schuster:



We hope you will join the discussions of what Library Journal calls "that most magical of memoirs--one that illuminates the reader's life as much as the author's": Tuesday, December 3, at 6:30 p.m. at Main Library; Thursday, December 19, at 11:00 a.m. at West Ashley Branch Library; and here on the blog.