The Horror!

That's right, I read an Oprah pick. In my defense, it was on my stack long before Oprah got her hands on it. In point of fact, I listened to rather than read Cormac McCarthy's The Road, but then audio books are really another form of reading, 'cause it's all literacy. In hindsight, I should have stuck with the codex here for a couple of reasons. The story has very few characters; an unnammed father and son account for almost all the dialog. The narrator did a great job with the father, but the whiney voice of the son grated. The story, which has no real beginning and not much of an ending, is not what defines this book but rather the stark writing -- something best enjoyed in one's head and not out loud.

Move over Blatz

This has become my beer of choice. I'm sad for those of you on the other coast who don't have access to all the micro-brews out here. Sniffle...

This Seattle brew is almost as good, but they don't bottle it, so I don't get it down here in Eugene.

Cool Docu

I caught this on cable the other night. It's a cool remembrance of a period of music that, sadly, flamed out just about the time I was starting to discover what was out there. This poor timing is likely directly responsible for the fact that, for a few brief days, I thought Matthew Wilder was the bomb -- an embarassment of which my brother takes great delight in.

Speaking of my brother, if you see this guy around on Tuesday, wish him a happy Birthday.

Scouting Libraries

I wandered around the Springfield and Eugene Public Libraries yesterday evaluating the good and bad aspects of each physical space. I had no intention of picking up additional reading, but I randomly stopped in the S's on the third floor (fiction)of the EPL and saw Garth Stein's first novel, Raven Stole the Moon. After the first 50 or so pages last night, I realized how very much he has matured as a writer. The storytelling is immediately recognizable, but his writing is much less refined than it is now. In The Art of Racing in the Rain, Stein says more with fewer words.

Two other things to note... Somewhere around page 30 a character enters a 'Starbucks Coffee.' I'm guessing an editor today would find that second word unnecessary! The next paragraph then provides the very same observations about the myriad decisions needed to order a beverage that were offered up in You've Got Mail, which released, I think, after the book. What's up with that, Nora?

Small Changes

So, really it only took a change in my 'identity' from I Buy Books to I Loan Books. Aaaaaaaaaand, we're off and running. I just finished my first week as a library Director, and thus far it's all good. Weirdly, I am lovin' the commute (about 25 minutes, some of it through a wildlife preserve area). Getting to hear large chunks of 'All Things Considered' makes me feel like the grown-up I'm really not, and reminds me so much of being a kid in the backseat while my dad had on NPR.

Literarily (not a real word, sadly), not much to report except that I found out they are making a movie of Pratchett's Wee Free Men. If they can get the Nac Mac Feegle right, we may have the greatest on-screen small creatures since the Brownies in Willow!

Oh, here's my office...

Gettin'Ready to Move, Still Reading

Three books read this week:
1. Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein. I love Garth's writing, and the canine protagonist, Enzo, is a pure character.

2. Into the Wild by John Krakaur. Re-read so that when I see the movie, I'll remember that I think Chris was a nut job, not the hero that the film will undoubtedly present.

3. Dirty Work by Larry Brown. Devastatingly honest anti-war novel with shades of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

Gonna read the new Molly Gloss, the new Kitteridge, and The Somnambulist by Jonathan Barnes over the next few days.