betwixt sips and flicks

I finally attended my first Cemetery Screening of this season! The flick was "The Man Who Knew Too Much" by Alfred Hitchcock. Such an amazing summer night with amazing cheese, classy boxed wine, and friendly people all around! After some sips of the Franzia and minutes before showtime we made friends with this married couple next to us and proceeded to exchange berries. Deelish, I know. The guy was lounging on his patch-o-grass, flipping through a book.

Owen was reading Taking Measures Across the American Landscape by James Corner, Alex S. MacLean, and Denis Cosgrove. The book is filled with these lovely photographs of the American landscape, the different patterns you see from overhead, and various measurements and grids.



Owen is in architect school and, if I heard correctly through all the excitement, his wife studies (or teaches) art. Lately he's been reading alot of books on math. Owen's coming on late to the mathematics party bus but confesses that he's fascinated by it and wishes he got into it earlier.

Is there a subject that you wish you could devote more time to? How about something you've recently gotten into and wished you started earlier? Me? I wish I never quit the piano and wish I could play @ least 2 instruments well. On my list of things to-do before "a certain age". Also need to revisit my French.

Unfortunately I fell asleep during a massive chunk of the movie (read: the whole thing minus the first few minutes). Next time - easy on the Franzia.

Viva Fidel!

I've seen this woman before. The first time I saw her she was perched on the side of my office building right at our driveway's mouth. I was on my way to pick up some lunch but was in my car...I was in a rush...I couldn't stop. But she was just there, lips moving, reading to herself. She caught me staring while I waited for cars to let me merge. All I kept thinking was, "I hope she's there when I get back!" but alas, she was gone.

I mull over to the bus stop on my way home from work today when I see her on the bus bench. I recognize her bags and her book. She sees me sit down on another bench, peering at her from the corner of my eye. I smile and she smiles back. After clearing the smudge on her glasses she goes back to reading aloud to herself. I walk over to her. She smells nice. I ask her what she's reading and this wonderful accent starts speaking to me. I wasn't sure if she was speaking English or not at first.
"Why do you want to know? You think I'm bad for reading in public? You have something against me?" This reminded me of Pauly with the ESP book. I tell her I think it's cool that she is reading. She laughs a bit and says I wouldn't be interested in it anyway - it's in Spanish. She goes on to tell me that she is Cuban and she's reading about one of her favourite Cubans. She flips the book over to show me the cover: Fidel Castro: Biografía a dos voces by Ignacio Ramonet.

Honing in on my Spanish skills I find out from the desription that the author is a sociologist, cultural theorist, journalist, and a voice of the revolution! (I'm iffy about that last translation). The book is a biography about Fidel Castro and she is loving every bit of it! We flip through the pages together because I was curious as to when the book was published. We found "Junio 2006". I point out that it's exactly 2 years ago and her face beams as she calls me smart.

She's been here since the 1980s but before she came to America she used to be a schoolteacher in Cuba. She starts to rave about how amazing Fidel Castro was with the education system in Cuba, and she felt very fortunate to have partaken in his "gift to the people". Then she tells me about how there were homes ruined and how people became homeless, and how Casto comes to the rescue and builds many new homes for the people. She reminisced about the crowds that would gather to hear him speak in the streets at rallies. I asked if she's ever been able to go up to him at these events and meet him in person. She starts to get flustered like a school girl who faints at the thought of meeting someone like...Zac Efron? I mean, she literally held that book close to her bosom and started kissing Castro's photo, saying she only wishes she could've met him.


She flips through the pages a bit more and I see many lines and boxes around certain passages and even whole pages with the phrase "Es Unico" in bold letters written out on margins and through paragraphs! The schoolteacher that she is, she quizzes me and asks me if I know what "Es Unico" meant. I answer with "It's unique!"
"And what is 'unique'? Tell me what it means?"
"It means it's special, different, extraordinary..."
"Good girl!" I felt an imaginary gold star being placed next to my name on an imaginary chart.

The woman leans in and says, "Castro knew all about 9/11 before it happened! He was talking to spies and knew about the attack before it happened!" Eerily enough she looked pleased and supportive of her Castro.

I ask if she's waiting for the same bus, too, but she tells me she's just sitting there, passing the time. She sleeps in the streets, she says, and is trying to get some reading in before she has to find a new place to sleep tonight. She is thinking of going to the library before it closes, too, to get another book to read. "You should go to the library and read this book. Find in English. Oooohhhh yes, the library will have it, I'm sure. It's an amazing book!"

She wouldn't let me take a picture of the book and proceeded to hold the book close to her bosom again as if I were a demon trying to take her beloved baby away. But she gives me a smile again and says, "Maybe tomorrow...". Then I ask for her name and she is hesitant, asking why I want to know. I told her it was fine, I didn't need to know her name. "Maybe I'll tell you tomorrow..."

What book have you read about Cuba, Cubans, or written by a Cuban author?

Have you ever given a book to a homeless person you often see in your area?

The Cat Who...

Right as I was getting off the bus this morning I noticed a man come on with the book The Cat Who Moved A Mountain by Lilian Jackson Braun. Didn't get to talk to him but I was curious about the book. It had me at "cat"!

Apparently there is a whole The Cat Who.... series. Mystery & Thriller! And if I read the description correctly on Amazon, I think a gang of gatos are involved? SOLD!

Anyone read this series of books?

A little Eckhart to Eckhart

I approached Martin because I was drawn by the cover of his book - I thought it was beautiful. Found out that Martin is reading Meister Eckhart's "Selected Works". I paused because the name reminds me of Eckhart Tolle and as I was thinking this Martin asks if I'm familiar with The Power Now. I let out a little laugh and told him that I was just thinking of Eckhart Tolle, author of The Power of Now and A New Earth. At first I thought Martin was going to tell me that Meister Eckhart is a nom de plume of Tolle's but it turns out that Eckhart Tolle read Meister's works and have been a huge influence on his works. (I think Meister was around in the late 1200s).

Martin found out about this book from going to an Eckhart Tolle group meeting where the reader's discussed and practiced Tolle's teachings. There he met a woman who was reading Meister Eckhart and explained the connection between the two. Martin loves to read books by his favourite authors along with the authors who influenced his faves, and so on and so forth. He finds it interesting to see where ideas sprout from, the little nuances, and loves tracing the literary paths.


We got into this discussion about the two Eckharts and about the power of language. Martin says that while Eckhart Tolle avoids direct usage of the term "God" (using "presence" or "being" instead), Meister Eckhart goes right ahead and uses "God" in his writing. Tolle seems to lean towards the general "god" or higher spiritual being. Then Martin goes on to say that people are intimidated by certain terminology. Once someone hears "religion" or "God" they are turned off because the topic feels so .... heavy. The power of language! So with Eckhart Tolle's books, they touch on all encompassing ancient truths and beliefs that can all be found in all religions.

I ask if he preferred The Power of Now or A New Earth and he chooses the former. He tells me how so many people are reading these types of books now but it isn't for everybody, he says. Some like them, some don't, - it all comes down to timing and when you're ready to let these practices into your life. "If I had read these books when I was 21 I would have put it down right away. I just wouldn't be interested in them. And it's true. I got these books a few years ago and didn't take to them. Then I picked them up 2 years later and now I'm hooked!"

We talk about how the books are everywhere, how everyone is reading it, and then we discuss the Oprah touch! A New World was one of Oprah's picks and once Oprah endorsed it, as per usual, everyone had to read it! Martin read it before it got the O stamp of approval. He also adds that he tries to stay away from books on her list once she's held it up to the world. Why? Just a certain stigma about it. I guess one could compare it to music...how we love having it as our own but once it gets mainstream it's tainted in our eyes, it belongs to everyone, it's now our own. So we move on to the next "new" thing.

I bring up the book Eat Pray Love (another Oprah book, right?) and tell him about a "theory" the book club gals came up with - that it's a total "girl" book but if we recommended it to a guy, would he like it? But since he is into spiritual books I thought maybe he would be into the book. He smiles and says I am the 2nd person who has mentioned to him recently. A girl friend of his says EPL is one of her fave books right now and recommends it to him. Now he feels compelled to read it after hearing about it from her and now me!

We go on to talk about the "ego" and how people need to learn to detach themselves from it. Martin gives an example of someone who he feels is ego-less. "Take a look at Barack Obama. He is a perfect example of someone who is disconnected form his ego. He is just so calm, he has this coolness, and it's all natural. Nothing seems to bother him. I think he is a good example of being ego-less, in my opinion, at least..."

If he were to write a book of his own it would deal with his struggles with trying to live an ego-less life but sometimes straying back into his ego. He whips out a marble notebook and tells me that he writes down random stream-of-conscious things and how he'd incorporate it all into his book if he were to write out. But it won't be autobiographical because that would be feeding into the ego, he says. The book would be a general overview and would discuss struggles towards living a successful (in spiritual sense) life.

Does he read anything besides books about spirituality? Sometimes he reads fiction but feels like his time reading them could be spent reading more spiritual books. It is his passion so he must streamline! You can find him reading 3-4 books at a time. He calls himself a "book addict" and carries a few books with him everywhere. He just has to consume books at all times!


Are you more/less likely to read books that Oprah endorses? Do you have feelings for/against/neutral about the Oprah touch?

I will say that it is good to see that Oprah has gotten many people to read...

Brought to you by the number "3"

My apologies to my readers for not posting for a few days. I've been really busy with work and in the interim, have not really been running into readers. Well, any readers who are willing to talk to me, that is. But I am happy to report that I attended my friend's book club meeting this past Sunday! (We held it at an Indian restaurant in honour of one of the countries in the book). She's been going to hers for a while and I've been meaning to find a group to stick with so I have it a try. The last book they read was the Bel Canto by Ann Patchett. I started reading it to join in on the discussion but just couldn't bring myself to get past the first few chapters. Anyone else feel the same way about the book? Maybe it was just me. Needless to say, I sat that one out. This time around they were reading Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. I had heard so much about the book especially from my best friend who loves loves loves reading spirituality books and the like. She had suggested it to me months ago but I kind of put it in the back of my mind and never really thought of actually reading it until now. With 1.5 weeks to finish the book I feverishly read every spare moment I got. Sadly, I only made it through Italy and India...never got to Indonesia (because, of course, I get slammed with work towards the end of the week).



Ok, what do I mean by those 3 countries? Well, the author is writing about her spiritual journey after a bitter divorce in her mid-30s. After finally settling with the final paperwork she decided to leave for a year and travel to 3 countries: Italy, India, and Indonesia. Italy is where she goes to enjoy pleasure and does so by learning the language she's always wanted to master, working on leaving behind her husband and her lover, and eating all he deelish foods she can get her hands on!

India is where she goes to perfect her meditating, prayer, and goes to reach absolute spirituality and be able to commune with God better. She lives in an Ashram and dedicates a third of the year to prayer.

Indonesia is where she goes to balance both pleasure and spirituality/divinity.

I really didn't think I would get into the book but I devoured each page as if they were delectable Italian cream puffs and hearty pastas! I must admit that I was in love with the Italy section and was reluctant to finish that part because I fell for the people, the country, and the food. The gals at the table tell me I need to get through Indonesia because it's really good.

I really enjoyed how well Gilbert crafted the book with the mathematical proportions, the number 3, the coincidental "I"s in each country (on her spiritual journey to find herself), the number of beads, the number of chapters within each section...kudos!

It's funny how I found myself engulfed in her practices. I think it's just because I'm impressionable or personally would like to have a stronger spritual well-being. So I find myself resuscitating my whole mantra of looking myself in the mirror and say one positive thing to myself or how I want my day to pan out. Or I find myself digging up my journal that I have not written in in forever and writing out little things to myself again.

Talking to so many readers about spirituality has led me to recognizing my "ego" and trying to be more "positive" - less stressed...and funny how I am always described as "always so happy and positive" and for those who really know me (namely my family and super close friends) they know I am such a stress bunny to the point of tears sometimes. Though, I must say it is less and less so now. (Yay!)

I would recommend the book to my friends. Many girls have especially to friends who are going through a break-up or divorce, it seems. Definitely a hot commodity! I searched and searched for a copy in the libraries and it was checked out in practically every library in the LA county! I was supposed to be #106 on many waiting lists! Insane!

Have you read this book? Which was your favourite country and why?

Sitting in an outdoor cafe in Rome, the author's friend says that every city and every person has a word. Rome's is "SEX", the Vatican is "POWER". Gilbert said that New York's word is "ACHIEVE" while my own city, Los Angeles, is "SUCCEED". Later on she declares her word is "ANTEVASIN", a Sanskrit word for "one who lives at the border". What is your word?

It's in the cards...

Oy! What a day! First I wake up with yet another migraine (story of my life), then I get on my bike to head off to work thinking to myself, "Ok, so what if my head and eyes are killing me. This is going to be a good day!" Then POP! Pierrot's back tire is busted - a comically sized nail had wedged in. Had to schlepp in the heat and was late for work. After picking Pierrot up from the shop after after work I biked over to my haircut appt (Yeah...it'll grow out, right? Operative word is GROW). As I was turning unto Fairfax and Melrose I see a woman sitting on an overgrown tree root waiting for the #14 bus.

Nina is reading Fundamentos del Tarot by Octavio Deniz. She's been taking a spiritual class with a Mexican woman - a Shaman - and this is one of the books for the class. As you can see, Nina is learning about how to read Tarot cards and how to properly interpret them. Her class isn't strictly on learning about the Tarot cards but more about understanding magic and spirituality, topics that Nina has always been drawn to.

She usually reads books on metaphysics and many self-help books. Her passion all started about 4-5 years ago after a really bad experience in her life. "It's always those dark moments that instigate a spiritual rebirth. When you're at the bottom you've gotta get down to the bottom of the problem and start fixing yourself from there. You need to be honest with yourself and admit that things need to change for the better within yourself." She stresses that it's all about healing from within and not turning to things like drugs or alcohol as a mask to cover just the surface.



Next she opens her bag to show me her Tarot cards but they aren't like your ordinary cards. She smiles are she shuffles through them with me. Normally I'm used to the typical images of "Death" or "The Sword" but the images on these cards who different spiritual figures from different faiths. They were all so beautiful!

Nina knows many people are skeptical about Tarot cards but she explains the power they possess. "You can have a question in mind and then a random card falls out of your deck and you see the answer."

She meditates often and says that you have to be in a meditative state when reading cards. It's the only way it will work. The cards need to feel your energy and feel that you truly believe.

Have you ever had a Tarot reading? Read Tarot cards yourself? Read tea leaves? Played with a Ouija board? My friends and I tried to read our tea leaves once. I thought I saw a cat. We also bought a board...not Ouija, though. Oh man. We are never touching it again!

Let's Talk Los Angeles Politics While I Drool Over Your Sweet Ride...

Dinner plans with one of my oldest/dearest friends, Daniel. He gives me a ring to say that he is out front so I skip down the stairs hoping he's driving his baby. Lo and behold, his '63 Ford Falcon is parked across the street with a book balancing on his steering wheel. He's working on his PhD on Los Angeles Urban Politics so he's always got his nose in a book every spare moment he gets. Oh you intellectuals! It's funny how everytime I am with him we start talking politics. We both pointed out over drinks at The Woods that people don't talk politics. We can divulge our bedroom behaviour to our buddies but once you ask who the other voted for, well, you just don't got there, man. It's personal.

Daniel is currently reading Private Interests - Public Spending: Bounce-Budget Conservatism and the Fiscal Crisis by Sidney Plotkin and William E. Scheuerman. He came across this book because another text he othreading referenced this. He calls his reading style "following it all down the rabbit hole".

Event though the book was published in 1994 the issues are still highly relevant in today's times - especially now! The book is about the fiscal squeeze in the U.S over the last 20-25 years and asks "how the political squeeze is ideologically represented in the political sphere." The author argues that although our deficit crisis is seen as on a government level, we have a disconnect because the government balances the budgets but these problems all stem back to corporations. It is the corporations who are the cause. There is a conflict between public spending and private economic powers.

Daniel explains that this is all connected to Proposition 13 which was started in 1978 with the property tax revolt. People didn't want to pay a majority of property taxes. And then all this budget crisis leads to money getting cut from essential local programs like schools, libraries, other educational programs, etc. Danny says that coalitions should be formed betwixt labourers and consumer groups in order to work towards getting funding to programs that need it.


All this is pleasure-reading for him even though it still supplements his paper. Everything he is reading deals with Los Angeles suburbia and its political subjectivity. He started out by studying the gardeners and how government wanted to ban the leaf blower (his father and uncles all happen to be gardeners and he's been telling me about all these movements over decades - so fascinating!) Daniel calls his work "historical genealogy" where he traces everything back to find out how things led to our current problems and issues.

If I held all his academic books hostage he would love to read some Edgar Allan Poe. Daniel has been reading alot of Los Angeles Noir so he feels like Poe would hit the spot for him in that respect.

Danny would also love to read more LA Noir. "It's organic to historical L.A! It's the literary form that touches on social problems of the day and getting to the root of it all with all the investigating. It's literary fiction but also social diagnosis - going down the rabbit hole to solve the mystery of who killed who but it goes deeper than a murder!" Daniel totally has a literary crush on Arthur Mosley whose noir depicts the white capitalist elite and its affects on inequality of the LA minorities.

When Daniel writes his book someday he would love to continue his pursuit on the ban on the leaf blower and taco trucks and get to the root of "why" this is happening. I asked what type of tone he would take - stuffy academic talk or something similar to his noir reading. He would LOVE to be able to write his non-fiction book with a noir tone when it comes to the investigation of the banning so that his book isn't so cut and dry. "I want to converge the two so that the ordinary person can still pick up my book and enjoy it. I want it to be part of the popular purchase. So now I gotta practice my literary writing techniques and break away from my tendency towards sounding social-sciencey. That's why I'm reading more fiction to hopefully soak up and mimic that style and incorporate into my non-fiction."


What noir fiction book have you enjoyed? What is it about?

Have you read books pertaining to social issues in your city/town and researched its beginnings?

Pulpit Practice

On my way into Real Food Daily (yes, I can't seem to get enough of this place) I see Marcelo reading and waiting outside. I could only spare a few minutes because my lunch buddy was waiting inside at our table and I feel rude...almost like those people who check their blackberries during lunch or a meeting.

When I asked if I could interview him he smiled and chuckled a bit while agreeing to a conversation. "I'd love to but I'm sure I am not your typical Real Food Daily waiting reader." Marcelo is reading The Expository Genius of John Calvin by Steven J. Lawson - non-fiction. He (Marcelo) looks up to John Calvin. His admiration sprung while at a conference. There was a bookstore (at the airport or where the conference was held) and this particular book popped out at him. "You could say that the book picked me", he says. Marcelo has been interested in John Calvin for 5 years now and like Johnny from an earlier interview reading Spurgeon, Marcelo reads books on John Calvin to better his preaching.


Like a diligent student, Marcelo is armed with a highlighter and pen so that he can mark interesting points and even questions the texts before him. He calls it "arguing with the author" as he shows me an example of his notes in the margins. His latest notation? "This is a good point. But is humor always wrong?"

Theology and philosophical books are his bag. The last book he read was The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan, a book of dramas pertaining to the Christian faith and follows a man's religious journey in search of salvation.

Favorite book of all time? He didn't want to sound cliche but, hands down, his fave book is the Bible and reads it as much as he can everyday. I poked him a bit more to see if he had another favourite aside from the Bible and after much thought he responds with What Is Reformed Theology? by R.C. Sproul.


If he could write his own book (that was not theology-related) Marcelo would write about Martial Arts! Apparently Martial Arts is his other passion and has a strong background in it. He's been doing it for 13 years and has taught it for 7. I know, I totally wasn't expecting "martial arts" as his answer - very cool.

Marcelo would also love to write a parenting book on how to raise triplets. He's a triplet daddy himself (1 boy, 2 girls) who are now about 2 years old, if I remember correctly. (I remember making a comment about the terrible twos with his threes). I asked him how raising triplets has been and he definitely admits it's alot of work. He also adds, "When people complain to me about now being able to sleep because their child kept them up that night I don't even sympathize for them. I say, 'Hey! I've got to deal with 3 sleeping schedules! Ask me how much I've slept!"

We exchanged cards and he pointed out that he has a blog, too. Visit Marcelo's Blog here

Do you have a hobby that you'd like to write about?

Booklist Editors Reading for Fun

Stumbled upon this featured video on YouTube today and I thought I'd share. The Editors of BookList share some of the books they've been reading for fun. Have you read any of them?



Books named:
- Don't Point That Thing at Me by Kyril Lonfiglioli
- The Eustace Diamonds by Anthony Trollope
- Crescent by Diana Abu-Jaber
- Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage by Alice Munro
- The God of Hell by Sam Shephard
- Rusland and Lyudmila by Alexander Pushkin

A boy and his tiger...

It's Friday and it feels good. I have a few minutes to spare before I meet a friend for lunch at Real Food Daily down the street (omg I love their food!) so I bring you Rushie!

Rushie, with the amazing name and the amazing Australian accent) is finishing up Life of Pi by Yann Martel. This happens to be one of my favourite "contemporary" books so it was nice to hear what she thinks about it so far.

Rushie didn't really know what the book was about but had heard so much about it. She saw the book in a store, was drawn in by the cover art, and was sold once she read the little blurb on the back of the book.

I noticed that she tabbed a few pages with those post-it arrows and I asked to peek at her passages of choice. In her edition, she tabbed page 56...a paragraph pertaining to "fighting to live" and where little Pi finally feels fear once he realises that he's on a boat with a tiger and what he needs to do to survive this predicament. Rushie says these different philosophical passages stick out to her and have really made her pause and think.

We continued to talk about the book a bit more and I got really excited because she had a few chapters left. I told her the ending was gut-wrenching and I cried a bit. Or if I didn't cry, I most likely wanted to vomit. Yeah, it was one of those kind of endings that feels like I got punched in the gut.

Rushie doesn't really have a favourite genre of books. She usually picks up books she's heard good things about. Also, because she used to be a producer's assistant she finds that she tends to read books of films that are based on books. She tries to read the book before she watches the movie. No opinion on whether she prefers books over the movie versions, or vice versa.

Last book she read was "Against All Enemies" by Richard Clarke (non-fiction). She loves fiction but does try to mix it up with a little non-fiction reading here and there.

Another book she has just finished reading was Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. It's about the post-9/11 world, the United States fight against Islamic extremism through collaborative efforts by alleviating poverty and improving access to education, especially for girls. Rushie really enjoyed this one.

Favourite book? She'd have to say The Long Walk by Richard Bachman, who, she tells me, happens to be Stephen King's former nom de plume. Cue the "The More You Know" shooting stars behind me.


What were your reactions after reading "Life of Pi"? Did it get you thinking about certain things?

Do you read books by your favourite author's nom de plume? What/Who was it?

All In The Family

Yet another reader from this past Saturday's Cemetery Screening of The Hunger. I met Cindy at the front of the line, parked in her lawn chair with her book perched on her lap. Cindy is reading "Russka" by Edward Rutherford. (Its size reminded me of "Infinite Jest" by David Foster)

"Russka" is a historical memoir about the genealogy of different families in Russia. The book chronicles ancestry dating back to 180 A.D all through present day! That's pretty incredible! I asked what types of families are followed and it varies from certain political figures to families of noblemen to the commoners. Russian history was widely censored and most of the written documentation was destroyed, due to laws and the like, so much of the history was orally passed down from generation to generation.


The book's size may be intimidating but Cindy says it is not tough to read at all. It's alot of storytelling so it's quite engaging and easy to get caught up in it all.

Cindy loves reading historical memoirs (as we can see). She also tends to get "attached" to certain authors, Edward Rutherford especially. She's read alot of his works so far: "Sarum", "London", and "The Forest" - all historical/genealogical memoirs/novels like "Russka".

If she were to write a book of her own? Cindy would definitely want to write a historical memoir, too, but she adds, "It would have to be an embellished historical memoir! Actually, maybe not too embellished. It's funny how we may think that a book about ourselves would be boring but if you think about it our stories always sound better when we're retelling them to new people. You stop to think in the middle of it and say to yourself, 'Wow! Actually, that was a pretty damn good time in my life! That was a good night! That was an amazing trip afterall!"


Which country or family or historical era would you like to read more about?

Have you done reading and research on your own family tree? What interesting tidbits did you uncover?

Through The Plexiglass

At the Laemmle Theatre on Sunset Blvd to watch The Visitor on Sunday afternoon. I was asking the guy at the ticket booth about the movies playing and which he would recommend since I was up for seeing whatever. Then I noticed a book on the counter.

Dan is reading C.S. Lewis' That Hideous Strength. It's science-fiction. Dan is actually only a few pages into it and already isn't liking it so much. His dad told him to read the book, though, so he figured he'd tough it out for him. "It just seems so wordy and I can't get into it."


Dan usually reads non-fiction. Lately it's been books on gardening and greenhouses. (I'm kind of curious now as to what he'd like to grow and wished I had asked him then and there.) He wishes he could grow stuff now but he can't due to space. He lives in an apartment. He comes to Los Angeles by way of Pittsburgh where he had more room "to grow" but not so much now.

The last book he read was actually fiction. It was Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky which he really loved! He wants to read more of the staple classics but he's a bit picky with his reading - he's really gotta get into it. But you can say that about all readers. Dan told me that he found the time to read while in Germany a few weeks ago. He had alot of time so he was able to get through the book smoothly. Why was he in Germany? Vacation? Studying? Espionage? Nah, he was actually there with his band to record their new album! I know, go all the way to Germany to record an album when we are in LA...land of many recording studios? Nuclear Blast, their label, is actually in Germany, hence the trip. So the band got to spend 3.5 weeks in Germany. Even got to hang out in the woods and experience German nature. Pretty sweet deal! His band, by the way, is Meltdown. Thrash Metal! Check out their MySpace page
I LOVE the last line in their bio. I definitely chuckled out loud when I read it. Tight-pants-wearers don't stand a chance: We know how to play guitar and we wear clothes that fit us.


I actually had lunch in the same area and walked by the theater on my way to the restaurant. Saw Dan and said 'hello' in passing!

What other C.S. Lewis books have you read outside of the Chronicles of Narnia series?

Another Bullshit Night in Suck City

The first Saturday after Memorial Day rings in the Cemetery Screening Summer Season at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery! It's pretty much one of the highlights of being in the city during the summer. Who can resist watching classic movies/cult favourites come sunset? Luckily (and unfortunately due to the influx of parked cars taking over our streets) I love around the corner from here. This past weekend's screening was for The Hunger.

I didn't go but I was biking by and decided to chill in line with some people beforehand People line up HOURS before they let people in, armed with their blankets, picnic baskets, books, boardgames and booze, vigilantly guarding your post. You gotta be tough about it at these things! The crowds at last summer 's screening for Harold and Maude became lawless!

Met Susan. She was laying on her stomach on the grass as the official spot saver in her group, and passing the time with Nick Flynn's Another Bullshit Night in Suck City. It's a memoir recommended to her by a friend or a site, she can't remember. At first she was hesitant to read it. That title alone gave her second thoughts! "Yeah, I read that title and thought, 'Oh god, this guy is definitely trying too hard. It sounded pretentious...forced.' " But she gave it a shot and has taken a shine to it!

The book follows Nick Flynn and his time working in homeless shelters in Boston. His father was homeless and Nick ends up crossing paths with his father when father comes into the shelter Nick worked at. This hit him hard so he turns to alcohol and the rest just becomes a downward spiral to the point where HE ends up living at homeless shelters! Ironic...

Susan says that the book is a quick read with it's short and punchy chapters. And although it's simple she also finds that it has its complicated nuances. She also finds it hard, personally, to find time to read, so she hasn't gotten through the book quicker than expected. She just gets so busy during the week and tries to get in some reading before bed, on the weekends, or while waiting in line during Cemetery Screenings! (She comes to these every weekend in the summer).

Susan usually reads books based on recommendations from friends or websites and enjoys fiction but prefers memoirs and biographies. Why? She loves reading about human experiences, learning about people's faults and mistakes, and wanting to learn from them herself.



Whose biography have you enjoyed reading?

Ever been turned on or off by a random book title? What was the title?

Get Lit

In the Los Angeles area? Check out these literary events going on this week!


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Loungin' Outside the Lounge

Saturday afternoon bike riding in my 'hood and beyond. Rode around Theatre Row on Santa Monica Blvd. and encountered Dennis crouched outside the Lounge Theatre, cigarette in one hand, book in another. He's taking a little break from auditions (he's a writer...I think it's his play he's holding auditions for).


Dennis is reading Pedro Juan Gutierrez's Animal Tropical - easily translated to "Tropical Animal". The book is in espanol, his native tongue (he happens to be Cuban). It's about a Cuban's affair with two women: one Cuban and the other is Swiss. Senor "Casanova" met the Swiss lady on a trip abroad.


Dennis has read many of Gutierrez's books. The last book of his that he's read is Trilogia Sucia de la Habana (Dirty Havana Trilogy). This book happens to be Gutierrez's debut novel! Although the title suggests a trilogy, the book is more a collection of short stories that are raunchy and semi-autobiographical. Pedro Juan's character indulges in women, drugs, and lots of rum, but in his decadent lifestyle he has many moments of isolation. But the book definitely does not run out on depicting physical pleasures! Dennis really enjoys PJG's writing and compares him to Henry Miller. From the two books described to me, I am sensing that Gutierrez loves to write about carnal pleasures...

Another book he just finished? Independent People by the Icelandic author Halldor Laxness. It's about a man who endures many trials and tribulations, from trying to procure his own land, to losing his wife in childbirth, to raising his adoptive daughter (adoptive because she was fathered by another man, and dealing with the struggles of the class system. Dennis highly recommends this book because it captures the essence of human survival and the fight for "independence".

Dennis tells me that he reads about 3 books at a time. Does this get overwhelming to have to follow to many storylines? No, not at all. He actually finds it very convenient in that he has a book with him at all times, at different "stations" of his life. He tells me that he has a book at home for home reading, a book at work, and a book that he carries around to read while in transit!

Seeing that he is already a writer, I ask what kind of book he would write if he had a chance. He normally writes plays but he would love to write about his "lonely trip in Spain". He spent 6 weeks in Spain and wants to be able to convey the loneliness of that trip. Was his trip a time to reflect? "You could say that."

Dennis had to go back in to finish the auditions but told me to stop by in August for the play! Dennis, if you're reading this, send me more details - I'd love to come!


Do you read multiple books at one time? If you're doing it now, what books are you reading?

Have you had a trip or life-changing experience you'd like to write about?

Pictures for Dorian James...

[I meant to post this last week.] Yes, I was one of the many girls who went to see Sex and the City on premiere night with my gal pal, gussied up in our SATC best. But I was NOT one of the gals who bought her tickets a month early hence having to trek out to the Valley to see the movie since all theaters in Hollywood were sold out of SATC tickets.I went with my childhood friend, Danielle - the same one who is expecting her first child. We had some time before the movie so we roamed Border's bookstore at the Northridge Fashion Center (being at a mall on a Friday night = being swarmed by many teenagers. Reminded me of being young and license-less in the Valley growing up...).


Danielle wanted to buy a new copy of The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde - one of her favourites (and mine)...and who her baby boy will be named after) since she lost many of her books in a fire. We get into the store and instantly get sucked in by the bargain books for children! We scoped out all the different books that baby Dorian should have. One book in particular that popped out to Danielle was a pop-up book of King Tut and Egypt by Niki Horin. Growing up Danielle had always talked about Egypt and couldn't stop reading about it! She would draw pictures of pyramids and vowed she'd becoming an Egyptologist one day. Alas, that did not happen but it hasn't stopped Danielle from reading about Egypt and all its wonder!

The two of us flipped through the book before the previews started and it was so nice to hear my friend go on and on about the different images! She felt silly getting excited over a pop-up book and pop-up books in general (she admits she still loves going through them). But I told her it wasn't anything to be embarrassed about. She is reading about what she loves and that's all that matters! Plus, her baby will have a fun book to explore when he is older.

Along with buying this book and The Picture of Dorian Gray Danielle purchased a kid's "horror" book..."Baby's First Horror Book" or something like that, with cartoon pictures and all. Danielle LOVES anything to do with horror, gore and Fangoria! She can't wait to get lil' Dorian into it, too, and with this book she will start him off young! (How fitting that he will be born around Halloween)



When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up? I had a few things in mind: firefighter, doctor/scientist, general store owner/keeper, and teacher.

Living In The Now

On my bike ride home, I stop by my usual Peet's Coffee on Larchmont to revive myself with a little somethin'. I decided to indulge in a vegan chocolate chip cookie. There were many people hanging out in the front of the place and I see the infamous orange book: Eckhart Tolle's "A New Earth". I smiled inside because I was having a discussion with my friend about the book (she had just read it; she reads alot of spiritual books so we always tend to discuss them) over dinner and drinks.

Mike is almost done with the book. A friend of his had recommended it to him because he knew that Mike is very much into spirituality and knew he would enjoy the book. Naturally, Mike took to this book like fish to water and feels that this is probably one of the most in-depth books out about the "ego". We talked a bit about the ego and how Tolle talks about it in his book. I brought some tidbits I'd learned from the night before and he was kind enough to elaborate on some points a bit more. For instance, Mike tells me that the ego survives if you are "unconscious" about it. However, if you are conscious about your world and how you interact in it then your ego has no way of "surviving".

Ex. You're walking down the street and you see an overweight individual. You may automatically just start judging them. This is your ego thriving. If, however, you stop and realise that we are all part of the same human race, etc. and don't judge them then you are ego-less.


We talk more about living in the "now" and by living in the present one will not worry too much about what is to come, what has already happened...just enjoying "now". And we talk more about "pain bodies" (a term from the book).

So has Mike always been interested in spirituality? He tells me that he had a "shift of consciousness" in 2005 sometime around the time he watched a film called "What The Bleep Do We Know". A friend of his (who studied kinesiology) recommended this movie to him and he found himself crying after he watched the movie because that was when "it" hit him and everything just made sense. For the next eight months after that he started to really study physics/quantum physics because "it is all tied to the teachings of Buddhism and Hinduism. People don't realise it but science and spirituality are very similar to each other than we think." He then informs me that the greatest scientists have become very spiritual later on in life because they "give in" to a higher being - science is sometimes just so great and incredible and it all just...astounds them!

Mike finds himself more enlightened these days and feeling at peace. He has stopped killing bugs. He makes sure he doesn't judge people anymore because it all stems from fear so he goes through life being less afraid, being more accepting. "It is very important to stop the internal chatter in our brains. We say/hear things in our minds all the time, usually judgmental or negative things. Once you read a point where that internal dialogue stops then you are on your way to an enlightened state." My friend said the same thing...that we all talk in our heads and, in some ways, are schitzophreniac! When we hear people talking out loud to themselves, we tend to think they are crazy or weird. If you stop and think about it, we do the same things but in our head.

We also had the most interesting conversation about water + kinesiology + spirituality! It was all tied to that movie he watched. The movie talks about how is you expose a drop of water to positivity then it will transform into something positive and beautiful. If it is exposed to negativity then it becomes deformed. We are made up of 90% water so we do the same. He told me to try holding a bottle of water close to my chest. I will see that my body will lean towards it. Do the same with a can of soda, for example, and our body will tend to lean back and away. Hmmmmm

His friend also showed him some kinesiology exercise. Mike held his arm out and his friend said something positive then pressed down on Mike's extended arm. The arm remained firm. Now, when his friend said "Hitler" and pressed down on his arm, Mike's arm went a bit limp and weak. Why? Because our bodies/selves hear that term as negative and we do not want to be associated with it, hence our limp arm. With the positive, our arm remains firm because we believe it in, we "support" it. Interesting, indeed.

Next book on his list to read? "The Nothing that Is: A Natural History of Zero" by Robert Kaplan.
______

I feel like everyone is reading or has read "The New Earth" by Tolle. Are you one of them? Have you also read his book, "The Power Of Now"?

she's coming!

A former co-worker of mine (and his lovely wife) are expecting a baby girl any minute! She may actually even be here now. I asked them some questions about the different books they've been reading to prep for the pregnancy and about the books they've been receiving to start building baby Sierra's library. I sent over some questions via email and despite the early labour pains last night they were nice enough to send over their answers. Incidentally, Brian's wife, Kyle, went into labour shortly after the email was sent. Good luck you two!

Like many soon-to-be parents Brian and Kyle have read many pregnancy/parenting books during this 9 + month ride. One of Kyle's favourites is a book entitled "Sippy Cups are NOT For Chardonnay" by Stefanie Wilder-Taylor. She likes it because it talks about the experience of pregnancy from a more realistic (and sometimes cynical) point of view. However, she says that the book shares great advice, is well-written, and very funny!


As for the papa-to-be? He read "Pregnancy Sucks for Men: What to Do When Your Miracle Makes You BOTH Miserable" by Joanne and Jeff Kimes. Brian says that it is kind of in the same vein as "Sippy Cups..." but "I honestly preferred the more informative books. I didn't really agree with his opinions - call it my sympathy female hormones, but I found the book a little bit chauvinist and more irreverent than it needed to be.


Another book in the batch was "What To Expect When You're Expecting", a book that I wanted to get for my friend but she had picked it up already! Brian says that "this is like the owner's manual for pregnant chicks." The couple also picked up "What to Expect During the First Year", their owner's manual for babies!


I was curious to see if they had encountered any interesting factoids about pregnancy that they'd like to share. Some tidbits are that the amount of blood in your body increases during pregnancy by almost half as much as you had before pregnancy! (ahhh!) Also, pregnancy actually lasts longer than the 9 months we're always told! Kyle says, "It feels more like 9 years!" (ahhh!)

Non-pregnancy related books?
- Brian: The Road by Cormac McCarthy - Excellent book and very appropriate for a new father - even though it's really dark. It follows a man and his son wandering around and trying to survive in the aftermath of an unexplained apocalyptic United States.


- Kyle: "I Am America (And So Can You!)" by Stephen Colbert. Hilarious! One of our favorite TV shows and such a funny book, too. Captures the spirit of the Colbert Report perfectly!

As a child, Brian had two books that he loved dearly. The first was "Where The Wild Things" Are by Maurice Sendak. "I loved this book because of the beautiful illustrations and its sense of adventure and imagination. I definitely read it a lot when I was little." Look! They've even created a little "shrine" to the book in Sierra's nursery!

The other book he read all the time (and pretty sure he took everywhere) was an Incredible Hulk trade paperback. "It was about 200 or 300 pages long, a collection of a bunch of old Hulk comic books from the 60s. I was a huge comic book nerd when I was younger, and still am, although I don't read comics much anymore. The Hulk was my favorite super hero when I was little, so this book was perfect."

Favourite book as a grown-up? The Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien. "This book has it all. It's the ultimate adventure book and has influenced countless fantasy writers since. What makes it great is that it is so dense with detail. Tolkien did not just write a story, but created an entire world. I've read it a few times - which is necessary since there is so much going on. I am also a big fan of the films by Peter Jackson." And I can attest to Brian's love for such books. I remember he was one of many co-workers who would sit in their cars in the parking lot before work, voraciously reading the latest Harry Potter books that came out - both because the loved the books so much and because they wanted to finish it before one of us spoiled the ending!

Have they been reading to the baby in the belly?
Yes! "We have been reading to the baby a little bit, but not too consistently. We recently got a bunch of books for her and have read a few of them to her.



We've read her books like "The Giving Tree" by Shel Silverstein, "Counting Kisses," "Where The Wild Things Are," and "Goodnight Moon."


And how about audio books with the headphones attached to the belly? Kyle says,
"We haven't played her any books on tape. We mainly want her to hear our voice. The books that we read aren't that important, as she can't really understand what we're talking about. The trick is to get her used to the sound of your voice so she associates it with the calm of being in the womb after she is born. Brian takes some time to talk to her almost everyday. A bit of advice that we got is to read or talk about something that appeals to you as it can be a bit weird (and boring) talking to a belly. Brian mostly talks to her about the Lakers and sports."


And finally, since daddy is half-Mexican, do they read to the belly in Spanish?
"Yes. We have been reading her a book in Spanish. It's called "Quiero a Mi Papa Porque..." which translates to "I Love My Daddy Because". It's a great book with lots of pictures of different animals and there is a running English translation (so we can know what we're reading her and learn a little Spanish at the same time.)


Parents: Would you want to write your own pregnancy/parenting-how-to book?

Everyone: What book would you give a child as a present?