I like to read a few books at a time, in different genres too. Here's what I'm reading right this very moment.
With
Another book by one of my all-time favorite authors, Donald Harington. This one is a superb blend of fantasy and reality. A redneck Ozark Humbert Humbert kidnaps a beautiful seven-year-old girl named Robin. (Love that name!) He brings her to the top of a mountain in the middle of nowhere with the intent of becoming her "husband." Once up the mountain, however, he can't get his "thingie" up and she kills him with the shotgun he taught her to use. Robin then lives in a magical world with a smart dog, a ghost of sorts, and her Ouija board for company.
Honestly, I don't know how Harington does it. He breaks so many many writing rules, but it still works. Love it.
The Tipping Point
I read Blink a few years ago and liked it a lot. I've been meaning to read this one and then I saw it for 2 bucks at a library sale. Gladwell's greatest strength is his lucidity--he is crystal clear and the book has some interesting ideas.
But such clarity has an evil side. The book is repetitive, as if it were written for high schoolers, as if he's afraid we'll forget what we just read! I'm about halfway through and I'll finish it, but big chunks I'll skim. How many times can he explain why the Manhattan hipsters are wearing Hush Puppies?
Thrilling Tales
I adore short stories. I love to read them before bed and while I'm waiting for dinner. I saw this one at that same library sale and it had some of my favorite contemporary authors--Aimee Bender, Michael Chabon, Dave Eggers, Kelly Link, Neil Gaiman--so I bought it. I haven't read all the tales, but so far they're not all that thrilling. I didn't even finish some of them--but I won't say whose! My favorite at this point is Dave Eggers' story about some chick climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro. But I haven't read Gaiman's or Stephen King's yet. We'll see!
2 Response to Girls Girls Girls AKA Books Books Books!
ohhh "With" sounds very morbid, yet i want to read it. I shall check it out! :)
Harington rocks. I haven't had the chance to read "With" yet, but definitely is on my to-do list. I had the pleasure of having him as an art history professor for several semesters in Fayetteville. I'd have been happy if I could have remembered a fraction of what he had stored in his brain. What a guy.
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