and off we go

Rick Moody - The Black Veil
Joan Didion - Where I Was From
John Irving - Until I Find You
Kazuo Ishiguro - Never Let Me Go
William S Burroughs - Junky


Here's my december library haul. This time I braved the bus ride and walk and escalator ride to the dungeon that is the Central Lending Library, picked up the two reserved books, marvelled at the heft of John Irving's latest (and even considered asking not to borrow it, but eh they'd still charge me the reservation fee) and breathed a sigh of relief at the relative smallness of Kazuo Ishiguro's newest. Then I wandered the non-fictions to find the Joan Didion (her latest isn't out yet so I wanted to read some of her writing just to see what she was like) and also came across the Rick Moody (whom I always want to spell as Ricky Moody) and then a pop over to the fiction side to find that there are several Burroughs books available. Must... come... back...

As I sat along one of the black benches provided, with a view of the books by authors whose names start with B, I watched as a teenaged girl in a red t-shirt and denim skirt hovered over the Bs, poring over the collection to find... that perfect Charlotte Bingham novel. I'd never heard of Charlotte Bingham, but she's sure been busy. I could see at least 10 different books by this industrious woman. Although somehow they all seem to have the same cover, in blues or other pastely colours, with a woman, most often looking longingly into the distance. Ok so from where I was sitting I could only see a few covers but I'm guessing the rest of them look all the same.

I hope it's just a teen thing, and that she will not be reading Ms Bingham's books for the rest of her life - although I'm sure Bingham will still be producing these things then. Saul Bellow was a few steps to the left, why not that? The next row had Cheever and Chekhov staring right at her. But there was hardly a flicker of interest. Well, I admit that I've only read Bellow's Ravelstein, wanted to borrow Augie March once but the weight of the hardcover scared me a little. Chekhov I've not really read much of either.

But I suppose reading crap is better than not reading anything at all! In secondary school I really didn't do much reading, as I've said before. And I'm now just trying to catch up. Struggling to, that is.

listening to: The Decemberists - We Both Go Down Together