Reading and other grownup activities

Thanks to my good friend, Mike in Austin, I have discovered this cool site and have invited many of you to join. Ahem. It's really a nice diversion, since I've got NOTHING I SHOULD BE DOING. Well at least it's literary, and it makes me feel smart. It's called Goodreads, and it's an online community of readers. Go check it out, it's fun.

I'm having a funky funk of a week. I don't know what to do about my life. It's all a jumbledmess and now I'm feeling like I'm a total selfish bitch for fixating on what I want when others are involved and I fear I'm no longer respecting their needs. I can't seem to find boundaries or direction anymore. Gah. So I'm burying myself in reading. I've just finished American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis. It was a damn rollercoaster ride of a book...scary, compelling, funny, horrible. I love a serial killer, but this was something totally different. Upsetting, but in a good way, which makes it even more upsetting. Now I'm getting into my next book, Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco, a total change of pace. It's difficulte to navigate, but really worth the headache. I'll keep you posted.

Tell me something, people, how do you make decisions? Faced with a really hard decision, where there are two options, both of which will result in a lot of pain, how do you decide? Vague, I know, but I can't get into it. So just speaking generally...how do you proceed with painful decisions?

Summer Reading List

I went to a book sale at Rosie's school a couple of weeks ago. I bought a ton of books and brought them home in a cute green recycle bag that I also bought there. Then I forgot about them. Yesterday I looked inside the cute green bag, pulled out my books and was happy to see what good things I'd found. I realized I have my summer by-the-pool reading supply, all for under $10.00.

First on the list, Wise Blood, by Flannery O'Connor. No, I've never read it all the way through. In fact, glancing at the back cover I realize I've never read it at all.


My copy looks just like this, by the way.

Second book: As I Lay Dying, Faulkner. I was told by a very erudite gentleman that it's the best Faulkner by far. I personally love Light in August an awful lot, so AILD has its work cut out for it.


My cover is nowhere near this cool, just plain white. I remember now that I actually did read this long ago, and loved it, so this should be interesting.

Book number three: Umberto Eco's Foucault's Pendulum, mainly because it has Foucault in the title, but I think I've heard this book referenced quite a number of times and feel like the universe is sending me signs that I need to read it.


My copy looks just like this. I don't know why I'm mentioning this every time but it seems significant.

Next book: Wise Children by Angela Carter. I love Angela Carter. She's a quirky British writer who weaves fiction, fact and fairy tales (sorry about the bad alliteration) in an odd way, questioning the borders between reality and fantasy. I once read a story she wrote called "Lizzie's Tiger," the crazy tale of a five-year-old Lizzie Borden sneaking out of the house to go to the circus. It's amazing. I later learned that there is a series of stories by Carter about Lizzie Borden.

Plus I just love the cover (mine looks like this) and the description of the story. I discovered when I googled the title that this was her last book, that she learned that she had cancer in the middle of writing it. Sad.

What else should I read?