August Book- Amalia's month

This month was Amalia's book pick. She picked A Million Little Pieces by James Frey.

"I can't let go of what once was and what will never be." -pg 114

About

James Frey's memoir of drug addition and recovery was a bestseller even before Oprah Winfrey picked it for her book club in 2005, but the subsequent revelations about discrepancies between the story and the author s real life touched off a national debate about the line between fact and fiction.

Filled with graphic scenes of epic substance abuse and the torments of withdrawal, A Million Little Pieces was widely heralded upon its publication as a harrowing, self-lacerating, and courageously confessional autobiography. It received many admiring critical reviews, carried cover endorsements from noted literati, and was selected by Barnes & Noble as a 2003 Discover pick. (Our reviewer called Frey prodigiously talented, poetic, and unflinchingly honest ).

In January 2006, the author acknowledged the truth of charges that many details in the book were embellished or fabricated. In a note to readers that was prepared for subsequent printings, he apologized to those who felt they had been misled and explained why he wrote the book the way he did. Reactions to these revelations included soul-searching by publishers about their responsibilities for ensuring accuracy, ruminations by critics on the line between fact and fiction in modern culture, and spirited defenses of the author by readers who maintained that the book's inspirational message was of primary importance. One thing seems certain: A Million Little Pieces is a book that promises to have a long-lasting impact.
-Barnes and Noble

Watch: James Frey on Oprah

Questions
Why does the Tao Te Ching speak to James powerfully?
Why are James and Lilly so drawn to each other?
What are the sources of James's rage and self-hatred?
In what way does A Million Little Pieces illuminate the problem of alcohol and drug addictions in the Unites States today?

A very successful first meeting that took place on September 2nd! Thanks Amalia =)

Septembers Book: One Day by David Nicholls

Make sure to visit Good Reads for book ideas.