Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Occam's Razor

I haven't read a book in months.

Not for lack of reading material...mind you. There are several new books (borrowed & bought) sitting on a shelf. Each and every one patiently waiting for their pages to be pawed. Unfortunately...nothing gets read this time of year. Well...excepting tax law updates, the NY Times and my horrid scope.

I stood at one book shelf and perused the goods.

Several borrowed.
Two in particular...that I've been wanting to read.
Devil in the White City...passed on to me by my uncle/boss. And...Autobiography of a Face...passed on to me by my uncle's wife. There are several more...but these two happen to be at the top of the stack.
I pick up The Devil...set it down again.
Not in the mood.
Pick up Face.
Too heavy.
Too...involved...for this time of year.


One new.
West of Jesus.
Surf oriented.
But really...I bought that one for the cute boy to read.

Wander over to the other book shelf.
(because my apartment is so expansive...that wandering is warranted)


Sigh...

Then I spot it.

Tucked in the corner...behind the wooden cat.

Straight Man

My favourite Richard Russo novel.

Haven't (re)read it for years.

He may have won literary awards for his other works...all, of which, I have read.

But this one..
has

repeatedly kept me engrossed.

Repeatedly kept me laughing aloud.

Repeatedly
kept me.


What I expected, was
Thunder, fighting
Long struggles with men
And climbing.

~Stephen Spender

5 comments:

ras said...

west of jesus is really good and a fast read

kyknoord said...

Shocking! It's probably all this screwing around on the interwebs that's kept you from your books. Go! Read!

spider said...

loved west of jesus.
happy 15th of april!

Kono said...

Down at the Docks by Rory Nugent, i highly recommend it for those who like the water and the industry around it.

twin said...

thank you for the suggestions, all!

m - if you liked west...i'll give it a go.

kono - will definitely check out docks.