Book Update No. 1
I've discovered that I can get some reading time in if I check out books on CD from the library. Usually, I avoid this format because it's prohibitively expensive, not to mention that my eyes work perfectly well. However, Little J's sleeping schedule has made my eye efficiency pretty moot unless applied to the intracacies of getting finger paint out of hair. My first foray into books on CD was a fluke: I happened to notice a spine that was a violent shade of green mixed in with mostly drab olive and brown hues. I snagged The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd, and six weeks later I still hadn't finished the sucker. Okay, we don't spend much time in the car. I turned the CD's back in to the library, but checked out the book instead, and viola, finito. And it wasn't a bad read (or listen, mostly). The only thing that was a drawback to listening rather than reading was that the readers voice started to feel a little oppressive in a heavy southern accent. But that might have more to do with my recent refugee status as an ex-North Caronlinian than the reader's voice.
At the same time, I was working on Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, and 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen by Julie Powell. Ms. Powell's writing felt like a piece of my own voice put to print, which was both thrilling and reaffirming. For example, it was nice to find someone else who uses the work "fuck" as every part of speech (anyone remember that Carlin skit "Fuck the fucking fuckers"?) without either shame or regret. Apart from that, the experience Powell describes of working her way through the entire Mastering the Art of French Cooking sounds exhausting, but fun, for those of us with the compulsive need to take on projects far larger than sanity dictates is realistic. I read the book in two days, and could barely be convinced to put it down, which for me means that I'm actually being actively engaged by a text. And that doesn't happen often anymore.
I also started reading The Magician's Nephew (I am not linking to the book for reasons that will come clear momentarily) after the Powell book. A bit of preface: I searched around for an indication of which book to start with, being marginally aware that there was some controversy over this issue. I decided on chornological ordering because my brain is fairly linear and I could give a crap about surprises. I am abandoning the reading of the Narnia series (yet again, I tried when I was a pre-teen as well) only part way through the first book. Reasons: 1. I'm not much for heavy-handed biblical references, 2. The book isn't particularly well-written (and no, the "children's book" excuse doesn't work here, see J.K. Rowling as proof), and 3. I think the whole series and C.S. Lewis might have been a little over-praised. That last assumption will need proof from other sources, if I ever get around to it. Otherwise, my opinion: it's crap, don't bother.
At the same time, I was working on Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, and 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen by Julie Powell. Ms. Powell's writing felt like a piece of my own voice put to print, which was both thrilling and reaffirming. For example, it was nice to find someone else who uses the work "fuck" as every part of speech (anyone remember that Carlin skit "Fuck the fucking fuckers"?) without either shame or regret. Apart from that, the experience Powell describes of working her way through the entire Mastering the Art of French Cooking sounds exhausting, but fun, for those of us with the compulsive need to take on projects far larger than sanity dictates is realistic. I read the book in two days, and could barely be convinced to put it down, which for me means that I'm actually being actively engaged by a text. And that doesn't happen often anymore.
I also started reading The Magician's Nephew (I am not linking to the book for reasons that will come clear momentarily) after the Powell book. A bit of preface: I searched around for an indication of which book to start with, being marginally aware that there was some controversy over this issue. I decided on chornological ordering because my brain is fairly linear and I could give a crap about surprises. I am abandoning the reading of the Narnia series (yet again, I tried when I was a pre-teen as well) only part way through the first book. Reasons: 1. I'm not much for heavy-handed biblical references, 2. The book isn't particularly well-written (and no, the "children's book" excuse doesn't work here, see J.K. Rowling as proof), and 3. I think the whole series and C.S. Lewis might have been a little over-praised. That last assumption will need proof from other sources, if I ever get around to it. Otherwise, my opinion: it's crap, don't bother.
