Well, today is one of those great, great days. A few days ago I finished the book that I was reading (it was one of two that I found interesting out of the stack of books I picked up from my friend Darren in jail...he can only have so much stuff on him at a time so occasionally I pick up books and letters that folks have sent to him). So today I get to chose which book to read next. Frankly I've never been an avid reader, it seems there are always way too many other things to do but read. Somehow I have managed to turn that pattern around this past year, thanks in part to switching from driving to riding the bus to work. The choice comes from a stack of seven that I have acquired in the past week:
#1. My Life as a 10-Year-Old Boy by Nancy Cartwright (the voice of Bart Simpson). This one was sent to me by my friend Teagen for Christmas and it intrigues me on a multitude of levels.
#2. The Motel Life by Willy Vlautin. For those of you who don't know Willy is the lead singer of the Portland band Richmond Fontaine. He was approached while on a UK tour from a publisher who wanted to put out his stories in a book fashion. Willy is an amazing songwriter (and a hottie to boot) and the book is only available (for the moment) overseas but I ordered it a month ago and it arrived last Saturday.
#3. Microserfs by Douglas Coupland. I just discovered Mr. Coupland this year. Well, of course I knew about him previously as I did work at the library for 2 and a half years and I remember him on your coffee table Greg. In fact I think I owned a copy of Generation X at one time but being that I rarely read I hadn't actually read him until this year. I completed inhaled Girlfriend in a Coma and All Families are Psychotic and was still so hungry for more. However, being that I prefer to just read books I find at the Goodwill as-is I was forced to starve until yesterday when I found this one. Can't wait.
#4. How to be Good by Nick Hornby. I've never read Nick but loved the movie High Fidelity and saw virtue in the movie About a Boy (both written by Mr. Hornby) so I'm encouraged to read this one.
#5. The Book of Liz by Amy Sedaris and David Sedaris. This is just a play that I could probably read in a day, in fact I read the first copy of pages on Saturday. I adore the Sedaris siblings and want to adopt them as my own family.
#6. Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I've seen this book referred to in personal ads for years and being that it was a central figure of desire in a John Cusack movie I figured it has to be good.
#7. Wilderness Tips by Margaret Atwood. I've actually owned a hardback copy of this book for years but haven't read it. This paperback copy I picked up at Goodwill last week and I like the feel of it better. I'm one of the types of people that has to like the look and the feel of a book to really get into it. Is everyone like this? I never got around to reading To Kill a Mockingbird until this year because I finally found a gorgeous copy that I just couldn't deny reading. I adored it by the way. Anyhow Ms. Atwood is in my top five favorite authors of all time and I've never disliked anything I've read by her so I can't go wrong.
Now I'm just left to decide which one. I suppose I'm leaning towards The Motel Life, probably because I had to wait 6 weeks to get it from London. I'm thrilled with the cover and the presentation and the illustrations. It also looks like a quick read so I'll be able to start on another very soon.
Happy, happy day.
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2 comments:
So what did you pick? Motel Life? The Bart Simpson one sounds utterly fascinating...
I did choose to start with The Motel Life. It is sad as all get out but I suppose that is also part of it's charm. It was all I could do not to go to Powell's today and buy more David Sedaris books but then I reminded myself of all the books on my coffee table waiting to be read and managed to control myself.
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