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About The Clackamas print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1989-2019 | View Entire Issue (May 7, 2014)
S he [fies: James J fite, fa n o f the chassies by ERIN CAREY news & culture editor When James Hite isn’t working for both Clackamas Comm unity College and P ortland State University as a political science teacher, the m an often finds him self doing countless hours of research for thè book he’s writing: Inspired by political histo ry and m ost often American presidents, Hite sat down with The Clackamas Print to discuss some of his favorite books and authors. British writer. He’s a great story teller and has some great themes irthis books. He’s very humorous, and very funny and witty in his writing. If you haven’t heard of him, you might have heard about one of his other books, ‘A Good Man In Africa.’ If you read that book too, that’s another favorite of mine. It’s a great book about this British guy who goes to Africa, He’s a bureaucrat, and just the mishaps he gets into, it’s hysterical. You will laugh out loud. He tells these stories and they’re very indicative of human nature. He’s a great waiter. The Clackam as P rint: W hat is your favorite book from your bookshelf, and why? Jam es H ite: ‘The New Confessions,’ by William Boyd. He’s a great writer and he’s a TCP: W hat writers have influ enced you? H ite: W illiam Boyd, defi nitely, apd I like a lot of David McCullough’s writing. I like biog raphies, as well. I read lots and lots o f fiction, so I’ve been influ enced by everybody from John Irving to Hemingway to Dickens. I think I’ve read everything but one book that Dickens wrote.T also write fiction as well. In fact I’m working on som ething right now that’s presumably going to be my first w ork offiction. TCP: W hat have you been reading lately? Hite: Right now I’m read ing for myself this book about E.M. Forster, who was another British writer. It’s a biography of him called A Great Unrecorded History.’ Forster was a novelist who wrote prim arily in thé early 20th century. He wrote about six novels, I think all of them have been turned into films. ‘Passage to' India’ is probably his most famous book. I’m reading a really interesting, and relatively new biography of him rig h t now. „ Also, I’ve got about 20 books that are stacked up from the library as a p art o f my research for another book I’m working on, having to do with Franklin Pierce, who was the 14th presi dent. I’m doing lots of research right now, so I have countless books about Pierce and that era when he was president, and vari ous topics related to him. As I tend to dp when doing research, I s a y „ T n l gonna skim these books’ and end up reading them all, so I’m cur rently reading about 20-plus books on F ranklin Pierce. TCP: W hat was yourfavorite book as a kid? Hite: My favorite book when I was a little kid, when I was about 10 or 12 was ‘The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin,’ and I absolutely loved it. I love politics and history, even when I was a kid. A nd then when I was in my late teens early 20s, I loved ‘The World According to Garp’, by John Irving. That book had a huge iinpact on me, just the story and the way Irving writes. HITE Bookstore patio opening draws hungry crowd Tap: Several students line up fo r free food, to celebrate the grand opening Of the new bookstore patio, “The Cougar Court. ” Left: The Cougar walks up and down the line posing fo r pictures with students and high-fiving the eager waiters. Above: Plants donated by the horticulture department to be given away. Below: Members o f the ASG and bookstore staff barbecue hotdogs and hand out cupcakes, Victory energy drinks and Kind Bars.
