Reading Kick.. i.e .Lots of Bold, Italicized Book Names

Maybe it's a last ditch effort to make something with my free time, or perhaps it's a long overdue drive for books, but I have been on a huge reading kick over the past few weeks.


It started with Remains of the Day, but Kazuo Ishiguro. I'm not sure why I wanted to read it - although the reference of Remains of the Day lunchboxes from Waiting for Guffman probably had something to do with it. Anyway, I read it, wasn't sure what to make of it, but liked it still. I also would really like a RotD lunchbox, please.

Upon talking with my friend Rob about RotD, he suggested Never Let Me Go, also by Ishiguro. I'd heard of this one because there was a movie based on the book and had been intrigued, but it was because of Rob's glowing review that I downloaded it immediately and read it pretty much nonstop. Wow, that was a good one. I still think of it nearly every day and it's been at least a week since I finished it.

Next I read Tina Fey's BossyPants, which only confirmed that if I somehow had lived a previous life, died 40 years ago, and been reincarnated- I would plead anything to the reincarnation gods to return to Earth as Tina Fey. Or, maybe I could just be her minion... that would be fine, too. Damn she's awesome.

Next I read Mark Sisson's Primal Blueprint. Interesting stuff. That's for a later post, though.

Next, Joe said I should read Richard Russo's Empire Falls. I'm about 100 pages into it, but I'm just not loving it yet. However I'm going to keep trying because I think it's in bad taste to give up on one of my boyfriend's favorite books. (Please get more interesting, book! Please please please!!!)

After relaying my love for NLMG, Rob suggested I read some Michael Chabon. So I immediately headed to the library (i.e. heaven) to pick up Wonderboys. As I was browsing the "books to go back to the shelves" cart, I found Chabon's first novel Mysteries in Pittsburgh. I guess it was meant to be that I should read it, which unfortunately happened later that night at 12:30am when I couldn't sleep. Anyway, it reminded me a lot of Catcher in the Rye... I liked it but I'm not quite sure what to make of it.  I liked Chabon's writing style a lot, and Rob keeps his 100% score in book recommendations.

Sitting on my desk is Impro by Keith Johnston, Shark Tales by my GMW mentor Barbara (do a google search for my name + Shark Tales and see what it says... I mean, it's pretty cool when I've actually made a few pages of a national bestseller. Next I will actually read the rest of the book!), Wonder Boys + the rest of Empire Falls.  To be honest, Jame's Michener's The Source is also sitting on my nightstand, but since it's been a fixture of my nightstands since I was 16, I don't feel the rush to finish it. Oh, there's also the Eyewitness Travel Guide to Brazil... but that's not technically a book book. (I'm not quite sure what defines book book, either.) I'm gonna read it anyway, though. Cause... IwannagotoBrazilrightnowplease! Obrigado!

So, I still have lots of books to finish before my accounting homework from UT arrives, which is any day now. Something tells me "The Life and Times of Debits & Credits" won't be so engaging...But until then... read on!