No Good TV = Much More Reading

Other than last weekend's marathon that was Harry Potter, my appetite for books has been voracious of late, more likely due to the elimination of TV distraction. Since I seem to have ADD sometimes, I'm in the middle of quite a few books, not to mention whatever magazines capture my fancy at the bookstores or grocery checkout lines...

Blankets is a graphic novel I actually finished in one night while babysitting/housesitting two Fridays ago. I can't get enough of Craig Thompson's work. His very personal stories and illustrations are simply amazing. I read Goodbye, Chunky Rice over Christmas and can't wait for his next book. I almost feel like a groupie in that I want to go up to Portland and meet him, so that I can tell him in person how great his stuff is.

One of my favorite authors is Karen Brichoux. I guess her books would qualify as chick lit, but I think her stories and writing style elevate her books from the usual lighter and fluffier fare. I recently finished her latest one, Falling Into The World, which deals with a girl putting her life on hold to take care of her invalid father. The premise doesn't sound light at all, but her thoughts and the reappearance of her "wild " runaway sister shakes up her life a bit. I'm just extremely fond of the mood Brichoux creates and the way the language flows in her books.

I started but haven't finished two different compilations. One is The May Queen, which I bought last year. I always forget about it because it's tucked underneath by bedside table. Based on Misocrazy's recommendation, I also started Good Luck Life, a book that provides more of the background on those crazy fun things we do in our culture for holidays, superstitions, and traditions. I lent it to my brother last weekend and he said it was pretty much a lot of common sense things we already knew but never questioned.

Finally, I started another compilation with a hilarious title. The Bigger the Better, The Tighter the Sweater. It contains personal essays and stories dealing with all the body issues women grow up with, told from the point of view of twenty-one different women. One of my dear friends contributed a story to the book, so I attended her book reading and had her autograph my copy.

Lots of good stuff to read, and still more unread books sitting in my shelf as always. At least I have until fall when the new TV season starts...