volunteering almost daily at the local library's done wonders for my reading habits. my shift entails about an hour of actual work (shelving, cleaning, discarding books, the like) followed by two hours of nearly constant reading, interrupted only by the occasional child who needs help finding a stray CLIFFORD book. those go like hotcakes. (what's a hotcake? haven't read LITTLE HOUSE in too long.) I've never seen more than one in the bin at a time, and the library has dozens.
notables
[08.07] nuremberg: infamy on trial by joseph e. persico
found this gem while straightening every row of books in the entire library; that was a great leg workout if nothing else, seeing as I had to do a full squat every time I reached down to the lower shelves. I happened upon several books that I wouldn't have otherwise (a full shelf's worth of Dating Advice for the Modern Woman, anyone?) so I can't say exactly why this
book is the only one I chose to check out: my morbid fascination with the horrors of war and especially those perpetrated by Nazism, perhaps. anyway, I assume it's far from the most objective account of the Nuremberg trials, but it makes for p thrilling narrative nonfiction. you might find yourself feeling sympathetic towards the worst kinds of war criminals; it's not your fault.
[08.08] the pillars of the earth (2010)
super regret to say that i never found the time to watch more than one episode of this. TAKE: Friday night: home alone, ostensibly working on college apps. instead: watching pillars, of which I remember only five minutes' worth of two childbirths intercut followed by two deaths intercut. I liked the book. I think I'll come to like this adaptation if I eventually watch more of it, but the first episode wasn't worth [not inviting people over & throwing a very secret party].
[08.11] headhunters by jo nesbø
FULL DISCLAIMER: I read this only because the Film of the Book* holds a special place in my heart. HEADHUNTERS is not notable because it's particularly well-written. I am not so against the first-person narrative as many seem to be, but the main reason I enjoyed this is because I suck at mysteries. if you are of clean and innocent mind, like myself, you will want to skip the scene in which the main character finds himself literally drowning in shit. you will also think the reveal is the cleverest thing you've read all month.
[08.14] skippy dies by paul murray
this book is so very long, and you'll to get to page 300 or so and not remember why you started it or even what was going on in the first few pages. but you will love it for what's happening. it's difficult to explain; I appreciate it immensely on a couple of different levels. ONE: it's a mad cocktail of everything I love to read about: WWI, cosmology, boarding school, teenagers, music, folklore. you name it, SKIPPY DIES has it. TWO: it's tragic. and hilarious.
*FULL DISCLAIMER #2: I only watched the film of the book because Nikolaj Coster-Waldau plays the villain. I am easily swayed to new genres by the likes of Nikolaj Coster-Waldau.
