reading

I'm not sure what took over me, but April was non-fiction reading month.

Susie visited a month ago and, as usual, one of our stops was the local Borders. We hit the "Buy 2 Get 1 Free" table and I picked up Anna Seierstad's The Bookseller of Kabul. The book chronicles a period in the life of a well off (in comparison to everyone else in their town) Afghanistani family post 9/11 after the Taliban were driven away. I didn't know much about that part of the world and after reading this book it made me appreciate the freedoms we enjoy in this country even more. The chapters that focused on Sultan's younger sister and his son were the most moving.

I finished the Bookseller of Kabul mid-commute so I dropped in Kramers and perused their non-fiction trade paperback table. I remember Tim Harford's The Undercover Economist selling well so I decided to give it a try (if I didn't like I could always return it as long as I didn't dog ear the pages.) It was Economics 101 in book form. Now I know why Starbucks charges what they charge for a cup of coffee; why so many countries grow coffee; why some countries have improved the countries' financial stability while others continue to have the lowest GNPs; why supermarkets charge different prices in different locations for the same item; and how Amazon targeted their prices to individual shoppers.

There were many mentions of globalization which led me to read Franklin Foer's How Soccer Explains The World. Chris, my BFF, is a hard core soccer fan ... hardcore. I've heard him talk at length about AC Milan, Arsenal, and Chelsea. Foer's book delves into their inceptions, how they compare to other teams, and how their successes or failures depended on their countries government policies, religious fervor, and cultural differences. Now when Chris babbles about Ronoldo, Shevchenko, and Baros, I'll know which hottie he's referring to, what country they're from, and who they play for.

reading

Didn’t have much to do on Friday so I went to see Jhumpa Lahiri’s Namesake at the E Street Landmark Theater. You know that feeling you get when you’ve made a wrong turn? That’s the feeling I got as I entered death’s waiting room … er … theater 3 … old everywhere ... and all of them in the best seats. Rats.

I enjoyed reading the Namesake last year and only recently found out that a movie was being released in March with my favorite stoner Kal Penn in the role of Gogol. Namesake was one of my favorite reads of 2006 (I miss Advanced Readers Copies).

I related with many of the book/movie’s themes; the culture clashes, first generation Americans, and returning to your family roots. I would have liked to see more of Gogol’s parent first years in America as they assimilated to life in a strange country and embraced Bengali strangers to form an extended family unit (Aunties galore).

I was very moved by the scene where Gogol has his head shaved in respect for his father. Thankfully, I sat toward the back and everyone was spared the flowing tears. I’ve written before, I am very moved by rites and rituals.

I went to the B&N on the corner to see if they had any books on Indian rituals but, they didn’t have much to offer. Actually, their history section lacked “breadth” (another point for Borders.) I picked up and am breezing through Lahiri’s Pulitzer Prize winning collection of short stories, Interpreter of Maladies.

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I'm currently finishing up Erik Larson's Devil in the White City and I'm conflicted. I read his fifth book first (Thunderstruck) and was captivated by the two tales that would eventually merge at the end of the book, however, the climax was lame. Both stories were good and Larson painted a thorough picture of their timeframe, but how their fates crossed paths was stretching it.

I'm three quarters through Devil in the City and wished I had read it first as it is written in the same structure as Thunderstruck. The storyline that follows prominent architect Burnham's quest to pull together the building of the 1893's Chicago World's Fair in less than three years is amazing and would have made an incredible book on its own. The true crime story about Holmes, possibly America's first serial killer, is also interesting, but not something I would ever buy and read. I find myself breezing through the Holmes chapters and taking my time reading the Burnham chapters.

In both books (or is it four books) Larson brings to life a clear image of late 19th century and early 20th century history in America and Europe. Larson also wrote Isaac's Storm about the 1900 Galveston flood. No murderers listed in the summary (besides the storm that killed 6,000) so I may give it a shot.

reading

My commute to work, from door to door, is just under an hour. I am in constant need of entertaining reading material to protect me from blowing out the balance of my hearing from playing the iPod too loud. I'm so happy Chris recommended Lamb last year because that led me to Christopher Moore's hilarious backlist of titles. I went through four more titles this past December and January. Yup, I'm the idiot who stood on the metro station platform and missed two back to back trains because I was so engrossed in Jodi and Tommy's predicament (You Suck). Only five more titles to go but, I think I'll save them for my next vacation time ... maybe not.

reading …

… Anthony Swofford’s Jarhead, which chronicles the time he spent waiting for something to happen in Iraq the first time we invaded their country.

I really enjoyed the movie last year and recently caught it again at 3 AM on one of the cable channels. I picked up the book because I wanted to see how closely the movie followed the book and to find out more details about some of my favorite scenes. The sequence of events is different and some people are combined into one character but all in all a fairly good representation of the book made it to the screen.

I don’t know anyone who’s in Iraq but I hear stories from my good friend who has a pre-boyfriend out there. He works everyday (nothing else to do on a weekend) and relishes the few moments he gets to communicate with someone from home. I can relate better to his situation having read this book. I hope she reads it too.

What a mess. As of this morning, 3,145 Americans and over 60,000 Iraqis have lost their lives in our generation’s Vietnam.

reading

An employee at work recommended Wired's editor Chris Anderson's The Long Tail. It's not what I normally read, but I thought I would give it a shot since it's the first book he's ever recommended to me. It's a business book so I know I'm not gonna read it in one sitting. Oddly enough, for the past four mornings, it has been the first thing I reach for when I awaken.

Wait. That's not right. It's the second thing I reach for in the morning. My glasses are first otherwise the whole book reading thing would totally not work. Hold up ... I want to be most accurate here. Technically two out of the four mornings, the book was the third thing I reached for in the morning after my glasses and a brief adjustment in my tighty blackies ... but I digress.

Anyways, the book delves into companies like Google, Apple's iTunes, and Amazon and how they are reaping great profits by making available an infinite number of items that require very little warehousing. As a result, it gets harder to define what a "hit" is since the numbers sold per item have decreased while the number of items sold have increased.

If you're interested, it's an easy read for those mornings when you have nothing else to grab. Think really long magazine article ... really long.

reading

I wrote a few weeks ago about the power of a book jacket and this is another darn book that hooked me the same way.

I was going through a bunch of AREs (Advanced Readers Editions) when I stumbled across the cutest pic of a lab pup. Who could pass a pic of a pup? ... come on a dare you!

That week we were babysitting Molly's six month old pup of mysterious lineage while she was off on a cruise getting engaged to beautiful, sexy Greek Nick (well, what else would his name be). She didn'’t know for sure it was gonna happen, but she assumed he would ask since he invited himself on the cruise she was taking with her parents. She even went out and got "engagement shoes" (I had to go with her to get them because her out-of-town sister insisted someone gay go with her to get shoes as Molly would have selected comfortable clogs) and her fingernails nails done (a girl's gotta be prepared).

Cushlin (some Celtic name) was ours for a week. We were unsure as too how much attention Cush would need from us, but after a few hours, we realized that she wouldn't need anything from us other than filling her bowl and opening the back yard door for 1 and 2 (a whole lot of 2). Saki stepped into the mothering role as soon as Molly walked out the door. Saki slept with Cush, played with Cush, and ate her meals from the same bowl.

It was fun having two dogs in the house and watching them run from room to room and floor to floor. I told my Honey that I was having so much joy watching Saki play with Cush that we should consider getting her a little sister (he didn't shut me down, but negotiations are still ongoing). He got to choose Saki's breed (Boston) so I get to choose the next breed and I'm thinking an obscenely small black and white Chi Hua Hua. We're sticking with the black and white thing since our last dog (Lola) was a Dalmatian.

So back to the book ... it was ... okay. A quick read detailing the horrors of living with an unruly Labrador Retriever mixed with few moments of joy. I give credit to Grogan for sticking with this destructive, demented, and dopey dog. I couldn’t have done it.

By the by, Molly came to pick up Cush bearing a ring with a fairly large stone. She explained how this was the second ring placed on her finger because the first one presented was too small (ooohhh, Nick's gonna get it from me). They returned the real diamond ring for a one with a real big fake stone (sorry Nick, you really know how to choose them (the girl, that is - my girl is flashy)). Now we have a wedding to plan. Woo hoo!

reading

I’ve mentioned it before, but it bears repeating, one of the great things about working in a bookstore is getting to meet authors of the books you enjoy reading.

In the spring of 2003, I was walking by the biography section when I spotted a book with an amazing cover. You can’t judge a book by its cover, but you can certainly stop someone dead in their tracks if you get it right. I brought it into the employee lounge and did what I’ve done a thousand times before; I read the first two chapters to see whether the book had any merit and to see who the book would appeal to.

A few pages into it and I knew who it would be perfect for ... me. I read a few more chapters and knew I was buying this book at the end of the day (as opposed to borrowing it and returning it to the shelves when I was done). Working in a bookstore has to have some lame ass perks.

Later that morning, I was working at the information desk where a man walked up and said he’s a newly published author and would I mind if he signed the copies on the shelf. This happens almost everyday and, for the most part, it is fairly inconsequential, but sometimes we only have one or two copies and the author starts whining about why we have so few or even worst, they want to know why it isn’t in the main window or front table. This gets tired, real quick.

This khaki clad man was very cool and laidback and he scored major points by asking politely. I asked him for his name so I could look up the title. I pulled up the title list on the screen and then slowly turned to him and said, “This is so weird, I was just reading your book about an hour ago.”

I grabbed all the copies off the shelf, had him sign them, and then brought them down to the front table and placed them in a prominent spot. Then I ran to my office and got my copy of the book and asked him to personalize it to me. He talked for about half an hour about his story depicted in the book, the screenplays he’d written, his writing of the book, and his subsequent move to NYCity. I hand sold almost every copy of his book in the two next weeks and convinced several associates to read it as well.

I spoke with a friend who worked at the home office and told her of the experience. She was elated because she read the galley of his book a few months before and recommened its inclusion in the program where noteworthy first-time writers are featured. Having also met him, she echoed my sentiments about his demeanor.

Today we got our super secret shipment of Oprah’s next Book Club pick. I peeked in the box to see who “won the lottery.” As I lifted the flap, I saw a vivid color that immediately reminded me of the above mentioned book. I got all giddy as I lifted the other flap and found that it was indeed that book. Woo Hoo! I shouted. The receivers looked at me like I’m an idiot. I told them the story and now they think I’m an idiot and an uber geek. I needed validation, so I knew what to do. I called my friend who read the galley. As I told her who was selected, I had to pull the phone away from my ear because she was yelling with glee (then I knew for sure that I wasn’t an idiot, however, the jury's still out on the geek thing).

This laidback, cool author’s life is going to change in a major way on Thursday when the title is released. I met Jacquelyn Mitchard a year after being chosen as Oprah’s first book club selection and I asked her how her life changed since then (I, of course, lacked imagination, and asked her something that she was asked everyday). Her response was something like, “My great, great grandchildren never have to work.” That’s hard for me to comprehend (but I petitioned the courts to have her adopt me).

I’ll post the book jacket on Thursday ... got to respect Oprah (and what she has done for many authors’ careers and lives)...

I love this cover, by Rodrigo Corral Design,
but the content inside is more compelling.

At the age of twenty-three, James Frey woke up on a plane to find his four front teeth had been knocked out. His nose was broken and there was a hole through his cheek. He had no idea where the plane was headed or what had happened over the preceding two weeks. He had been an alcoholic for ten years and a crack addict for three. When he checked into a treatment facility shortly thereafter, he was told he could either stop using or die before he reached twenty-four.

A Million Little Pieces is Frey’s acclaimed account of his six weeks in rehab; fiercely honest and deeply affecting, it is one of the most graphic and immediate books ever to be written about addiction and recovery.

A picture of the lottery winner.

reading

I just finished reading Morgan Spurlock’s Don’t Eat This Book, which chronicles the 30 days he spent eating only items from the McDonalds menu. There isn’t anything new in the book that wasn’t covered in the documentary Super Size Me, so you don’t necessarily have to read this book. Instead, I would recommend reading Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser or Fat Land by Greg Critser which delve into how government’s policies have contributed toward this national nutritional crisis.

I loved the first episode of 30 Days where Morgan and his girlfriend lived off of minimum wages in Columbus, Ohio. To save money, they lived in a sketchy neighborhood, walked to work, ate rice and beans for dinner, and frequented “free” attractions to entertain themselves. With Morgan working two jobs, they were barely making ends meet doing until they both needed to visit the emergency for an infection and sprained wrist ($1,000 bill).

Inspired by Spurlock, I’m almost done reading Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By In America by Barbara Ehrenreich. It sheds light on the plight of the poor who “work” to overcome low wages, healthcare deficiencies, unaffordable housing, poor nutrition, and lack of respect in the workplace. My only issue with Ehrenreich’s and Spurlock’s experiments is that they could always walk away from the experiment. I don’t think they’re able to tap into the survival instincts of people who do not have an escape from that lifestyle.

Closer to home: The starting wage for a bookseller at McBooks was $7.50 an hour (after 90 days) and while I had no problem with part-timers making that amount (mostly students and people with other full time jobs), it bothered me considerably when full timers came on board for that amount. The next level up paid a dollar more, so I encouraged all my managers to develop the full timers to that level. It might have only been another $25 to 30 in their take home pay, but at the very least it covered their commuting expenses.

Many of the employees took advantage of their employee discount and ate their meals in the cafe. When I was a bit more naive, I once told an employee, “You must really like that soup.” My Assistant pulled me aside and set me straight. “No one likes the soup that much.”

One of the proudest things my staff regularly did was to bring clothing they were going to donate to the store for other staff members’ perusal before taking them to Good Will. When I lost weight last year, I did the same and one employee took the whole bag home. It was weird seeing my clothing on someone else. I couldn’t resist, “Geoff, that shirt goes better with the blue Hilfiger pants.”

This started out as a commentary on last night’s episode of 30 Days, but two paragraphs in I ended up going down this avenue. I’ll write about the dieting thing later this week.

read this

The current read is Haunted, the latest from the demented mind of Chuck Palahniuk. In Haunted, 18 writers are invited to spend three months, secluded from the rest of the world, perfecting their writing skills. Sounds pleasant, unless you’ve read Palahniuk before, then you know things are going get fucked up pretty quickly.

When they aren’t writing they are thinking of ways to make their captivity more compelling to the public when their story is eventually released in book and movie format. Some of the writers think that the best writing comes from suffering, so they take it upon themselves to make their living conditions a little more challenging. A little handicap here and there adds up to a really grotesque living situation.

The novel is integrated with poems and short stories written by the captives ... er ... writers. The first story, Guts, sets the pace for the rest of the stories. Just when I thought I tried and considered every method of masturbation known to man, Chuck dishes out a few I just cannot fathom (or am willing to try). Typical reactions upon hearing the author read Guts at signings have included fainting and loss of bladder and bowel control. You can read Guts here or, if your too lazy to read, you can hear Palahniuk read it at a McBooks signing here.

The rest of the stories ... definitely weirder.


I’ve been a big fan of Palahniuk since seeing David Fincher’s movie, Fight Club. Lullaby is hysterical and Diary is okay. You should give him a try if you like David Sedaris, Sarah Vowell, or Nick Hornby.

reading

Sometimes I feel the need for something less filling, so I'll pick up pop fiction to satisfy that craving. This morning, I found a copy of John Dunning's latest book, The Sign of the Book, on our coffee table (lots of books in this house) and I haven't been able to put it down. It may not be literature, but it is highly entertaining and educational.

Cliff Janeway, an antiquarian bookseller, is a former cop who occasionally takes on investigative work which, wouldn't you know it, always manages to involve books. The plotlines are okay, but it is Dunning's insights to book publishing and collecting which are most interesting. The first two books in the series, Booked to Die and Bookman's Wake, are loaded with proper book handling and scouting tips.

Twelve years ago, my friends F&A subleted an apartment in NYCity that was filled with books. I wish I knew then what I know now about book collecting because I'm certain there were some gems in that collection. All of them were hardcovers from the sixties and seventies with pristine book jackets. The landlord's parents collected the books, so I'm sure she didn't know what was in there.

We have several autographed books (Ann Rice, Sting, Augusten Burroughs, Bill Clinton), but our prized possession is an autographed first edition of David Sedaris' Barrel Fever in which he inscribed in childlike handwriting "i still care." It may not be worth a lot, but we treasure it since it was his first book before he became more famous.

Books make good gifts, but autographed first editions make great gifts. John and Helen Dunning maintain a website in which they sell "a great variety of books, many cheap and recently out-of-print, some still in print, some scarce and long out-of-print, a few somewhat pricey, but most, they hope, having the main characteristics they looked for in the store: is it interesting, is it useful, is it in very good or better condition?"



That's a picture of John, not Helen.

read this

I picked up this book last week after catching Sarah Vowell's appearance on Jon Stewarts' Daily Show. She wasn't the greatest guest (too nerdy), but I did find her book's premise very interesting. It took me all of a few hours to devour this book. It's informative, funny, and highly entertaining.

Instead of hitting South Beach for rays, Sarah spends her vacations visiting sites of historical significance throughout the states with her friends and family members. This collection of essays focuses on her visits to the presidential assassination sites (and auxiliary points of interest) of Lincoln, Garfield, and McKinley.

In the creepy category - Robert Todd Lincoln was the Jessica Fletcher of his time since he was in the vicinity of all three assassinations. Later in life, after falling onto NYCity train tracks, he was pulled to safety by Edwin Booth, John Wilkes' brother.

Why did I not know that Garfield was assassinated? I'll admit to sleeping through my high school english classes, but I distinctly remember paying attention during history classes. I'm certain this wasn't covered in any of my Mr. Greene's or Mr. Elia's lesson plans. Very disappointing.

I enjoyed this book so much that I picked up and am almost through with her previous book Partly Cloudy Patriot. Next on deck is Take the Cannoli and Radio On: A Listeners Diary. I'm sorry I didn't discover her any sooner.

Must force myself to listen to NPR.

By the by, a google image search for Sarah kept coming up with pictures of Violet from the Incredibles. It turns out Sarah voiced the character and clearly looks a lot like her.

read it before the movie comes out

Looks like my absolute favorite book from 2004 is slated to become a movie. I'm going to keep my fingers crossed and hope they get it right. Sometimes they do and it's an amazing complement to the book (The English Patient, About a Boy, Fight Club, Hours, Remains of the Day, Seabiscuit, and Wonder Boys), and other times it's just horrific (Adaptation (Orchid Thief), Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, Absolute Power [that's two Eastwood movies], and Under the Tuscan Sun).

Gus Van Sant is in negotiations to direct "The Time Traveler's Wife" for New Line Cinema. The studio acquired "Traveler" in 2003 for Brad Pitt, Jennifer Aniston, Brad Grey and Nick Wechsler to produce. New Line said Grey, who took over the reins of Paramount Studios on March 1, remains attached as a producer. Written by Audrey Niffenegger, a writer and professor of book arts in Chicago, the book is a loose retelling of "The Odyssey." The story centers on a man with a time-traveling gene that allows him to appear to his true love at different points in her life. Jeremy Leven adapted the book.

reading

I was raised Catholic but there came a time when it just wouldn’t stick. It was a gradual transformation but one that started fairly early.

The first signs of disenchantment occurred when I started taking communion classes in the South Bronx. I hated going to class from the very first day. First of all, I couldn’t sleep in on Saturday mornings (so not fair, weekends are supposed to be free), secondly, I had to go to class, which meant I was in school six days a week, and lastly, all the best cartoons aired on Saturday morning and I would miss all the good ones (and the bad ones which I would have rather watched).

Then there was the whole hypocrisy thing. It’s hard to live up to church expectations and there was no way my relatives were able to maintain the pure, chaste, moral life advocated in the priest’s sermons. My aunts and uncles, like many people coming of age in the seventies, cursed, drank, and fooled around (and I loved them for it). Party like crazy all week and then confess your sins and all will be forgiven; pretty convenient cop out that many took advantage of.

Ultimately, I just didn’t believe and even a few semesters at a Jesuit university couldn’t change that. For some strange reason, while I didn’t have faith, the liturgy spoke to me. I enjoyed attending mass but never paid attention to the message as I was enthralled by the production of it all. The costumes, protocol, and history were far more interesting. I’ve developed a love for baptisms and weddings and a fondness for a well executed funeral (I skip burials, they’re creepy).

I was sad to hear that JP2 was hospitalized, but became somewhat excited when I realized that the mother of all Catholic rituals is in the near future. The last conclave was in 1978 and I was too young to appreciate the pick-a-pope process, but this time I am ready. I’m reading John L. Allen, Jr.'s Conclave which does a wonderful job of explaining a pope’s role in the modern world, detailing the voting process, and giving a who’s-who in cardinal rank.

Some interesting facts:
-The camerlengo is the HNIC from the pope's death until the next candidate accepts.
-JP2 has selected all but three of the cardinals eligible to vote.
-The person they select must be younger than eighty.
-Like presidential cabinet positions, all cardinals in charge of curial offices lose their jobs upon the pope’s death.
-John II was the first pope to change his name in 533. He thought Mercury was too pagan.
-JP2 is the first non-Italian pope since Adrian VI (1522–23).

So here’s what I would do if I could produce the next Conclave …

Live from the Vatican, The Supreme Pontiff would air Thursdays on ABC after CBS’s Survivor and NBC’s Apprentice. Truly must see TV night. Cardinals will have to compete in weekly challenges to prove they have it in them to become the Bishop of Rome. Besides the obligatory obstacle courses (stamina test), cardinals will face off in the following challenges: locked in a room with an altar boy (test of control), handcuffed to Kathy Griffith (test for patience), and a church makeover funded by whatever donations they can raise at mass (fiscal test). At the end of each episode, one cardinal is given a black rose, declared “un-pope-worthy,” and excommunicated for life. The last cardinal standing becomes pope, inherits JP2's frequent flier miles, and receives one year’s representation with the William Morris Agency.

i see yooouuuu ...

reading

I had the pleasure of hearing Simon Winchester speak two years while he was promoting The Meaning of Everything. I tried reading it but quickly lost interest since I learned all I wanted to learn about the Oxford English Dictionary from The Professor and the Madman. Winchester is a great speaker and I highly recommend you experience him in person.

The two weeks after the tsunami disaster, Winchester was all over the cable news shows discussing the similarities between the Krakatoa explosion and the current disaster. As always, he did a great job bringing the history to life so I went to the basement and found a copy to read. Bonus, it was even autographed by Winchester.

reading

Currently reading Men and Cartoons by Jonathan Lethem. Not my favorite but perfect for the short Metro rides. Loved Motherless Brooklyn, Gun With Occasional Music, and especially Fortress of Solitude. I just read that Ed Norton has the rights to produce Motherless Brooklyn. He'd be great as Lionel Essrog.

agitprop - n- political propaganda, especially favoring communism and disseminated through literature, drama, art, or music

implacable - adj - Impossible to placate or appease: implacable foes; implacable suspicion

jape - v - to joke or quip

koan - n - A puzzling, often paradoxical statement or story, used in Zen Buddhism as an aid to meditation and a means of gaining spiritual awakening

bacchanalian - adj - used of riotously drunken merrymaking