How I Paid for College : A Novel of Sex, Theft, Friendship & Musical Theater- Page 4
How I Paid for College : A Novel of Sex, Theft, Friendship & Musical Theater
#75re: How I Paid for College : A Novel of Sex, Theft, Friendship & Musical Th
Posted: 10/20/04 at 10:16pm
I totally agree bdwaygirl. It was a book you never wanted to end. You wanted to follow these characters for the rest of their lives. Marc Acito can't allow these characters to die on us.
This is that book that you will read again and again, especially when you need a good laugh out loud.
#76re: How I Paid for College : A Novel of Sex, Theft, Friendship & Musical Th
Posted: 10/20/04 at 10:29pmYES! I immediately wanted to read a sequel. 5 years, 10 years, etc. later. That would be excellent!
Our fingerprints don't fade from the lives we touch.
Puppies are babies in fur coats.
Tinfoil...The Terrorizing Terminator
#77re: How I Paid for College : A Novel of Sex, Theft, Friendship & Musical Th
Posted: 10/21/04 at 7:37am
Maybe we should blackmail Marc Acito to keep this up. We need to come up with a plan. Do you have any nun habits from The Sound of Music? 
#78re: How I Paid for College : A Novel of Sex, Theft, Friendship & Musical Th
Posted: 10/21/04 at 7:42am
hehe. My cousin does from Halloween a few years ago.....
Or you could maybe just call up 'your people'? 
Our fingerprints don't fade from the lives we touch.
Puppies are babies in fur coats.
Tinfoil...The Terrorizing Terminator
#79re: How I Paid for College : A Novel of Sex, Theft, Friendship & Musical Th
Posted: 10/21/04 at 7:44am
I could do that too...but we need to have some fun...if it doesn't work out... like that whole Julliard/Frank Sinatra escapade...then I'll call in "the family".
#80re: How I Paid for College : A Novel of Sex, Theft, Friendship & Musical Th
Posted: 10/21/04 at 8:04am
SPOILER!!! WARNING!!!!! This post contains content from the book that you may not want to read.
My neighbor (across the street from me) has a Buddah in her front yard. Do you know how tempted I am to start costuming it in the middle of the night? I'm seeing a Bo Sox uniform!!!!!
Updated On: 10/21/04 at 08:04 AM
#81re: How I Paid for College : A Novel of Sex, Theft, Friendship & Musical Th
Posted: 10/21/04 at 8:11am
SOMMS you need to do it and take pictures...they're actually having a contest asking people to do that. I'll email you the instructions.
#82re: How I Paid for College : A Novel of Sex, Theft, Friendship & Musical Th
Posted: 10/21/04 at 8:17amShe has two Foo Dogs flanking her front door also. Any idea's for them? Actually her whole front yard is a tribute to Asia. We're talking about a $800,000 house too, by the way -- EGADS!)
#83re: How I Paid for College : A Novel of Sex, Theft, Friendship & Musical Th
Posted: 10/21/04 at 8:24amI think clown afros on the dogs would be kind of cute. Maybe those lame wigs like they're Buddha's back up singers.
#84re: How I Paid for College : A Novel of Sex, Theft, Friendship & Musical Th
Posted: 10/21/04 at 8:27amBoobs, these are the moments when I wish you lived in Yardley or I lived in Aberdeen. A Desperate Gay Housewive's for the BRAVO channel!!!!
#85re: How I Paid for College : A Novel of Sex, Theft, Friendship & Musical Th
Posted: 10/21/04 at 8:30am
Ahhhhhhhhh SOMMS...could you imagine the trouble the 2 of us would get into?
BTW..I emailed you the info.
#86re: How I Paid for College : A Novel of Sex, Theft, Friendship & Musical Th
Posted: 10/21/04 at 8:36am
Who's having a contest? Wow someone actually has a Buddha in their yard. SOMMS, you need to discretely take a picture of her front yard for us.
Boob's, I'm not a good escapade schemer. Can you add that to the list of things you're already putting together? 
Our fingerprints don't fade from the lives we touch.
Puppies are babies in fur coats.
Tinfoil...The Terrorizing Terminator
#87re: How I Paid for College : A Novel of Sex, Theft, Friendship & Musical Th
Posted: 10/21/04 at 8:39am
bdwaygirl...fully noted.
BTW...I'll forward to you the email I rec'd.
#88re: How I Paid for College : A Novel of Sex, Theft, Friendship & Musical Th
Posted: 10/21/04 at 8:50amGot them Boobs! I am so going to get arrested! Did I mention that to offset my neighbors front yard collection (I will take pictures and post them) that I installed a purple gazing ball in my yard! I love subtle evilness!
#89re: How I Paid for College : A Novel of Sex, Theft, Friendship & Musical Th
Posted: 10/21/04 at 9:02amSOMMS I can't wait to see these pictures...I wish I could help, but I'd probably wet myself from laughing so hard.
barts
Swing Joined: 9/8/04
#90re: How I Paid for College : A Novel of Sex, Theft, Friendship & Musical Th
Posted: 10/21/04 at 6:05pm
There's an interview with Marc Acito on TheaterMania.com. In his introduction, Michael Portantiere called How I Paid for College "gut bustingly-funny."
TheaterMania.com Article
#91re: How I Paid for College : A Novel of Sex, Theft, Friendship & Musical Th
Posted: 10/21/04 at 7:33pmThanks for sharing that with us barts. Excellent !!!
#92re: How I Paid for College : A Novel of Sex, Theft, Friendship & Musical Th
Posted: 10/22/04 at 6:59am
MARC: You know, I had a funny experience at the gym the other day: I was hanging up my towel to take a shower and somebody said to my bare ass, "Hey, I just got your book!" How he recognized me, I have no idea. I turned around and this guy fished into his gym bag, pulled out my book, and said, "I just bought it today!" Then he handed it to me and asked me if I would sign it. I looked down at my naked body and said, "With what?" He managed to find a pen, so I signed the book right there in the shower room. I wrote: "To Stuart, whose book I signed naked."
I need to start going to the gym !!!
#93re: How I Paid for College : A Novel of Sex, Theft, Friendship & Musical Th
Posted: 10/23/04 at 2:30pm* BUMP* I'm so passionate about everyone on this board to read this book that I don't want this thread to get lost !!!
iflitifloat
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/10/03
#94re: How I Paid for College : A Novel of Sex, Theft, Friendship & Musical Th
Posted: 10/23/04 at 2:56pmI downloaded the audiobook from Audible.com and loaded it on my iPod. I've been listening to it in the car. (I drive an hour and a half a day...it's a great way to pass the time.) The guy who reads (more accurately, acts...) the book is, in this instance, outstanding. I highly recommend this in audio form.
#95re: How I Paid for College : A Novel of Sex, Theft, Friendship & Musical Th
Posted: 10/23/04 at 8:59pmOk Addy, now that you finished the book...what character would you say was the most like you back in High School???
NYadgal
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/18/04
#96re: How I Paid for College : A Novel of Sex, Theft, Friendship & Musical Th
Posted: 10/23/04 at 9:09pm
It's funny - I was thinking more about my friends in High School - and which characters they were than I was picturing myself in any of them.
I always used to befriend bizarre groups of stragglers - so in a VERY odd way, I think there's a touch of Doug in me.
What do you think??
NYadgal
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/18/04
#97re: How I Paid for College : A Novel of Sex, Theft, Friendship & Musical Th
Posted: 10/23/04 at 9:10pm
Boobs - you are Edward.
For the women - I'm probably a little bit Paula...
NYadgal
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/18/04
#98re: How I Paid for College : A Novel of Sex, Theft, Friendship & Musical Th
Posted: 10/23/04 at 9:11pm
or maybe Kelly.
LOL - not an easy answer...
NYadgal
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/18/04
#99re: How I Paid for College : A Novel of Sex, Theft, Friendship & Musical Th
Posted: 10/23/04 at 9:35pm
*****POSSIBLE SPOILER*****
I found an interesting 'discussion site' for the book. For those of us who have finished reading, it might be interesting to consider some of these.
For those who haven't finished, if you like having questions to guide your reading you might want to look at the list. If you don't want to use these questions to frame your reading then READ NO FURTHER!!
***************
1. HOW I PAID FOR COLLEGE has been described as “if David Sedaris had re-imagined THE CATCHER IN THE RYE.” Do you think the analogy to THE CATCHER IN THE RYE is appropriate and, if so, how?
2. The book is set in the fictional bedroom community of Wallingford, NJ. Could it have been set in another part of the country and, if so, where and why?
3. The story takes place in 1983-84, Ronald Reagan’s “Morning in America.” How do you think the Reaganite atmosphere affects the behavior of the characters? How are today’s teenagers different from those in the 1980s and how do you think they would act in similar circumstances?
4. During the book, Edward is confused about his sexuality. What do you think of this confusion? Is he straight, gay or bisexual? How does his sexuality impact his plans and schemes?
5. In most classic coming of age stories, the parents are either absent, unavailable or dispensed with quickly. (Think of Holden Caulfield, Huck Finn and Harry Potter.) What is the point of having the parents be absent and what do you think would have happened if Edward’s parents had been around?
6. What role do the supportive adults (Aunt Glo, Mr. Lucas and Kathleen) play in Edward’s life?
7. HOW I PAID FOR COLLEGE is in development at Columbia Pictures to become a major motion picture. Who do you see playing the characters?
8. Edward and his friends are obsessed with musical theater. What do the musicals discussed (GREASE/A CHORUS LINE, PIPPIN/YENTL) illustrate about the characters?
9. When Edward visits Mr. Lucas’ apartment, Mr. Lucas talks about how books gave him a reason to live after his accident (“I kept reading, just to stay alive. In fact, I’d read two or three books at the same time, just so I wouldn’t finish one without being in the middle of another–anything to stop me from falling into the big, gaping void”). What do books and reading mean to you?
10. Throughout the book, other works of literature are referenced (OEDIPUS REX, ANTIGONE, HAMLET, GREAT EXPECTATIONS, DAVID COPPERFIELD, PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG MAN and GO TELL IT ON THE MOUNTAIN) How do these works relate to the themes in HOW I PAID FOR COLLEGE?
11. Throughout the book, various religious elements are present (a Buddha, a New Age mom, nuns and priests; Edward even plays Jesus in GODSPELL). Discuss the relevance of the religious imagery and its significance
12. Along the same lines, discuss the relevance of Frank Sinatra.
13. In Greek drama, a deus ex machina refers to the entrance of a god (on a piece of stage machinery) who uses his divine powers to solve all the mortals’ problems. HOW I PAID FOR COLLEGE contains a very intentional deus ex machina. How does it relate to the themes of the book?
14. The complicated plot is set in motion by Edward’s overwhelming desire to be an actor. But, after reading the book, do you think Edward would be successful as an actor?
15. Is there a moral to HOW I PAID FOR COLLEGE?
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