FollowWhen I originally came up with the idea of a #FridayReads day on my blog, I thought of Nick Hornby’s piece in the Believer when he talks about what is he reading. It’s literally called “Stuff I’ve Been Reading” http://www.believermag.com/issues/201102/?read=column_hornby
So far me I will talk about what I bought, what I checked, out what I read …
So checked out this week (On Thursday):
Bill Clinton “Back to Work” .. Enjoyed the sample on Kindle, got through Minerva (Gray Public Library) .. Clinton has made a fine ex-president so far.
Ben Mezrich “Sex on the Moon” .. The tale and hubris of stolen moon rocks, heard about this story through I think NPR. .. Haven’t started the book yet.
Haruki Murakami “The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle” .. Starting to get into Murakami, heard this is one of his seminal books, excited to get started with it.
Carl Sandburg, “Chicago Poems” .. One of the great poets of American history, got through Minerva (Rockport Public Library) .. Beautiful edition from April, 1925. Need to read more of the man that nicknamed Chicago “The City of Big Shoulders” .. Also one of Kurt Vonnegut’s favorite authors.
The Kindle also had an excellent sale so have picked up some great books on Kindle this week.
I do love reading on the Kindle, is also easier in the call center (smaller pages), and love that can change font sizes.
Bought this week:
“Ham on Rye” by Charles Bukowski. Starting to get more into Bukowski. Tough tales from a tough time. This book makes me happy about my parents, even if I did grow up quite shy. About a third of the way in. Really good so far.
“Nation” by Terry Pratchett .. What is everything you know disappeared into the sea. Only about a tenth in, seems to be a story of lost civilizations, makes me think of all the tribes lost in the colonization of the New World.
“The Mancode: Exposed” by Rachel Thompson/@rachelintheOC on Twitter … Know Rachel as much from her fun Twitter feed as her books .. Have read quite a bit of “A Walk in the Snark” .. fun, silly advice book about the strange gulf between men and women. Her style reminds me of “He’s Not Really That Into You.” Only about 5% of the way through.
“AWOL on the Applachian Trail” by David Miller … I am fascinated by the Appalachian Trail as is my dad. Don’t know if I will through hike, would like to experience more of it. Lanna actually grew up on the last town before the 100 mile wilderness — Monson, ME. About a tenth of the way in. Fun book, very different voice then Bill Bryson’s classic “A Walk in the Woods.” Seems also like would be very useful if you wanted to try to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail.
“Midnight Cowboy” by James Leo Herlihy … Have never been able to get that far into the movie … Book hasn’t even reached NYC yet. 15% of the way through the book, Herlihy’s Joe Buck is wicked different then the sports broadcaster. Another tale like “Ham on Rye” of a boy/man who felt apart from the world. Excellent so far.
“Les Miserables” by Victor Hugo — Free on Kindle, in the should read column .. might get there eventually.
And my book of the week “American Gangbang” by Sam Benjamin. Easily the most I have spent so far on a Kindle book at $11.99 this is a lot of fun. Heard about this through a Portland Phoenix column about Sam Benjamin speaking at Space Gallery on December 8th. Wish I heard of the speech earlier, because the book is a lot of fun as is a 20 minute segment of his talk on the history of porn.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ERypwHimgk
Very fun, very identifiable voice of a Brown art student, who graduates and is not sure what to do. He picks up some vintage porn in a flea market and thinks why not. I love Benjamin’s voice and identify strongly with his not sure what to do in the world views. Highly recommended, don’t think I will see it in the library soon. Should finish this over the weekend.
Also reading:
“Nothing Risque, Nothing Gained” by Richard Lederer — silly double entendres .. wonderfully juvenile.
“Who’s Afraid of Post-Blackness” by Toure — fascinating so far .. there is no one black experience in America but 30 Million. Uses the example of the “Chapelle’s Show” as something that both links to, makes fun of and changes how blacks view themselves in society. Fascinating but slow read.
Books finished this week:
“After the Quake” by Haruki Murakami — 4 stars on Goodreads (really liked it) .. 6 30 page-ish short stories, supposedly linked by the Kobe earthquake. I think Murakami is better when he can invest more in his characters like in a novel. Some fun stories especially about “The Frog That Saved Tokyo”
“Granny Torrelli Makes Soup” by Sharon Creech — Again 4 stars on Goodreads .. my review on that site: Lovely little book. I like Sharon Creech’s voice.
Prefer the books written in poetry.
Cooking is a great place to teach and tell stories.
This seems especially true with Christmas coming up.
And here is my Goodreads bookshelf if you are curious. http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/3177908?shelf=%23ALL%23 Most of the books I am reading on Kindle haven’t made it there yet.
What have you been reading?