What shall we read next?

DiscussionsView Results

Dreams from Bunker Hill by John Fante

The Black Dahlia by James Ellroy

Devil in a Blue Dress by Walter Mosley

Sharp Teeth by Toby Barlow

Dreaming of Babylon by Richard Brautigan

The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler

Ask the Dust by John Fante

sushi and intimacy

My good friend (since high school), Daniel, was in the neighbourhood. After I finished doing laundry we met up at Larchmont for a sushi dinner. Daniel was working on his dissertation a bit at my favourite Peet's coffee shop. He was in the men's room when I arrived. I even scored a slice of carrot cake from my uber barista, Nicole. It was closing time so she hooked me up. (Yay!) Daniel actually thought I was walking out without paying for it. "Wait...did you just steal that?"

Sushi at my regular spot across the street was delicious as usual. Danny and I had interesting discussions about books, family, culture, politics, and my lengthy/complicated explanation of The Time Traveler's Wife movie plot line. I excused myself and moseyed over to the little girls room. As I was heading back to my table I see a man reading over dinner. The chopsticks in his right hand maneuvered morsels into his mouth while his left hand pinned down his book.

Mark is reading "Intimacy" by Osho. It's a non-fiction, self-help book on how to trust yourself and the other person in relationships. The book speaks of meditating and looking within yourself. "One must first master being intimate with themselves before they can be intimate with another."

Interesting story on how he came about this book. About a year or two ago he was eating at a vegetarian/vegan restaurant on La Brea. "There were all these different books around the restaurant and this book happened to be one that was laying around. Flash forward a couple years and I am at the Bodhi Tree bookstore on Melrose (by Urth Cafe). I happened to be browsing around for books and spot "Intimacy". I was drawn to it because I had recognized it from that vegetarian restaurant. I picked up the book and it looked interesting so I decided to buy it." Mark tells me that it's definitely a quick read "but it's turning out to be a book that I would want to reread and study again and again."



Non-fiction, historical books and legal history are Mark's genres of choice. "I'm also big on alot of metaphysical books." His favourite book of all time would have to be "You Are God" by Mary. "Yes, it is just by 'Mary'. No last name. Just Mary. That's all." Upon hearing that I brought up Stranger in a Strange Land (since I just finished it for book club). I told Mark about the phrase in the book: "Thou Art God", giving him a bit of background on what it meant in the book's context, or rather, what I "grokked" it to be. I also gave him a bit of background on the storyline itself and the different thought-provoking concepts that the reader encounters. This piqued his interest so I wrote down the title and author on a piece of paper and fully endorsed it!

When asked what book he would write he was taken aback. I was met with a big "Wow." He sat back in his chair, stared off yet one could see that he was sifting through various ideas in his head." He looked back up at me, finger up as if putting me on hold. "There is just so much I could write about. But I would like to write about my personal experiences and interactions. Yeah, I suppose it would be like a memoir. But I'd like my book to be more of a self-help book drawing from my own personal life experiences. It would be a book of life lessons."


What self-help topic would you write about?

The Partner in the Previa

Walking out of my apartment, heading out to see my mom for our Sunday "lunch & a movie". As I was strolling down the sidewalk to get to my car I notice an old sitting in a maroon Toyota Previa, van door wide open, book opened and propped on his knee. He looks up and we both smile at each other. I walk on passed him then do an about-face. I walk up to him and ask him what he's reading.

Oscar turns the book over and shows me the cover. From what I could gather he must have been sitting in the van and cleaning it out. He must've found the book shoved under the seat and started thumbing through it again. He tells me he enjoys John Grisham books. "Good story", he kept telling me. I asked him what it was about. He smiled and handed me the book. Oscar was giving it to me so that I could read it for myself to find out. I was a bit shocked because I wasn't sure if we understood each other. I kept trying to give the book back to him saying, "No, no. You're reading it. It's yours. Please, keep it." Oscar kept on insisting that I have it. "You like to read, right? So here, read it. I give to you."

Why thank you, sir. It's like a "found book" on a park bench or bus seat (in a way).


As for the Sunday movie? We watched The Time Traveler's Wife. I wasn't really planning on see it since I wanted to read the book first. But it happened to be playing a few minutes after our lunch. Final verdict? I enjoyed it without knowing anything about the story (except for the mini synopsis from my day at jury duty). I now want to read the book for the "whole picture". I'm also curious to see if the book's narrative is from the time traveler's point of view or the wife's. The movie was in Henry's POV yet the title focuses on the wife...so yeah...I'm curious.

Madame "Bouvry"

It's the end of the work day and I'm headed to the kitchen for one more glass of water before I high-tail it out of the office. Upon getting up I see Vanessa, assistant to both the President and the CEO of the company, reading at one of the intern stations as she waits for the President to finish up his final meeting of the day.

Vanessa is reading a book of Gutave Flaubert's works. She is currently reading Madame Bovary in English. Vanessa is French and grew up in France. That being said she's read Flaubert, Zola, and Proust (to name a few) "en francais". This is her first time reading Madame Bovary in English after having read it in French several times. "It is probably my favourite book of all time. Aside from having similar last names I really love the main character and can relate to her - she's such a bitch. I actually think everyone is like her in one way or another. We are all a bit of a bitch in our own way, I'm sure, and that is why I think everyone can relate to her on some level."


Vanessa HATED the school books she had to read in France. "We were all forced to read all these classics. Blah! It was all this 19th century description crap. I think I hated it so much because we were forced to read it all. It took the fun out of everything. But I think that Madame Bovary is the one and only book I enjoyed from the bunch, and re-read on my own."

She tells me that she always carries a book around with her. The last book she read was Nick Hornby's A Long Way Down. Another great book is Stephen Clarke's A Year in the Merde. It's about a British man who lives in France and opens a tea house. "I thought the book was hysterical! I laughed so much because everything he writes about French culture is so true. Being from France myself I completely understood what he was referring to and could relate." (Stephen Clarke is also the author of Talk to the Snail, In the Merde for Love, and Merde Happens.)


I asked her to recommend a book to me and she immediately responded with The Secret Diary of a Call Girl. "The first book is better." It's one of her favourite contemporary books and she thinks I would enjoy it as much as she has. Vanessa has seen the HBO series however she feels the television version is watered down and has nothing to do with the the book, in her opinion.


"I love the book because the character talks to you. That is why I prefer reading books with first person narratives. When I read I want to be entertained and the characters in these books are speaking directly to me. I am also getting their perspective and you easily start to relate and grow closer to them."


If she were to write her own book it would be about all the things that happened to her in the entertainment industry. She's held various jobs at movie studios and agencies so her book would be a diary of sorts of all the day to day occurrences. "I want to show people what I went through. It would be a memoir but I wouldn't use my own name. It would be 'anonymous' just like the Secret Diary of a Call Girl."


Have you read a book that made you laugh out loud the whole time you were reading it?

Sagas in the Waiting Room

Fidgeting in the Cedars-Sinai hospital waiting room and hoping someone would call my name already. I was in to get a few tests done. The waiting room was packed with people waiting to get X-rays, cat scans, ultrasounds and the like. To my right a young woman, Dorothy, sat down. She took out a massive book and as a covertly lean in to read the spine I see "New Moon" in gold print.


Dorothy is half-way through the book. Like many others, she is a big fan of the Twilight books. This was a good time as any to get in some reading as she waited to get an ultrasound. She was about to go in and see the baby in her belly.

We talked a bit before she was called. I told her about the massive Rob Pattinson poster hanging in my co-workers office as well as the fact that said co-worker's husband is a celebrity and musician photographer who has photographed dear ol' Rob many-a-time (and continues to do so). Naturally Dorothy was chartreuse with envy.




In front of me a mother was sitting patiently, waiting to go in and see her child. In the meantime she passed the time with a copy of Home Song by Thomas Kincaid and Katherine Spencer. This is actually the 2nd book in the Cape Light series. The novel in set in New England and follows the mayor of Cape Light, Emily Warwick. "Emily deals with issues with her mother and sister among other trials and tribulations. She is also mourning the death of her husband." The mother has read the previous book hence she was compelled to read this one. She enjoys the books and loves the fictitious town. "They are also quick reads. I started this book yesterday and I'm almost done." That and she's a quick reader.

Presidential Reading

Curious as to what President Obama is reading while on vacation?

In addition to golf, tennis and family time, Deputy Press Secretary Bill Burton has indicated that Obama will be covering a fair amount of literary terrain while vacationing on the Vineyard. On the reading list for the week:

--Tom Friedman's "Hot, Flat and Crowded"

--David McCullough's "John Adams"

--Richard Price's "Lush Life"

--Kent Haruf's "Plain Song"

--George Pelecanos's "The Way Home"

In all, this comes to about 2,300 pages, or 300 pages a day.

[courtesy of Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/24/obama-vacation-the-presid_n_267218.html]

12.21.12

I remember sitting in my living room with one of my best friends, Karen. She was in town from Oakland and she came over to have a glass of wine and catch up on each others lives in an intimate setting before we headed out. When we were younger (sometime in high school) we made up a list of things we wanted to do before we were 30. That night she was over we started to think of other things to add to our list.

"Do you believe in 12.21.12?", Karen asked me. I paused then asked her to elaborate.
"Oh you know. The date when the world is supposed to end according to the Mayan calendar." My eyes widen. "Wait...that's after my birthday...and I'm not even going to be 30 yet! What about our list!" All joking aside, Karen started to tell me about the date and how she'd been reading about it. She told me about floods, how California would be an island or not even exist at all.

Her apocalyptic standpoint is different from other's point of view. For example, sometime last year I interviewed a former co-worker who is an avid believer in the Mayan calendar. Remember Matthew and his Cosmic Birthday? He told me about the accuracy of the Mayan calendar in relation to everything around us, to music scales, art, energy, seals and symbols.

Recently I had the privilege to interview William Gladstone, author of The Twelve. With the help of my friend, Matthew, a handful of questions were posed to the author. He was nice enough to partake in my little Q&A.

1. What book are you currently reading right now?

Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

2. What is the book about?

The human condition as seen in a fanciful Latin American context. This is the second time I am reading this book after twenty years and I’m enjoying it even more as the language itself is beautiful beyond the story which is ironic, amusing and wistful.

3. Did you have any favourite books growing up?

The Wizard of OZ and all the Baum books in that series. I also enjoyed The Hardy Boys, baseball books, and The Black Stallion. I loved the magic of the OZ books and the emotion of The Black Stallion. I loved baseball as a kid and enjoyed the sports descriptions in the baseball books

4. Is there a book you like to recommend to people?

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

4b. Has there been a book recommended by a friend of review that you absolutely loved?

Black Swan by Nassim Nicholas Taleb and a Biography of Orson Wells.

5. Is there a book you've read multiple times?

I have read One Hundred Years of Solitude at least five times.

6. Can you please tell me a bit about TWELVE? How did you come about writing it?

I had a concept for a film 30 years ago in which I saw the final scene. I wrote the film treatment at that time and then revised the treatment again around the year 2000. I was about to engage a guild credited screenwriter to turn the treatment into screenplay in October 2008 when I was stopped by the screenwriter’s strike. I decided to write the back story of the main character Max Doff, and before I knew it, had a completed novel.

7. Are you a big believer in the Mayan calendar?

Yes. It is perhaps the most accurate calendar ever created. Of course there are many different Mayan calendars but I assume you are referring to the long count calendar. It is inconceivable how a calendar covering 26,000 years could have been created several thousand years ago. "Why" and "how" are fascinating questions which intrigue me and many reader.

8. What are your thoughts of humanity moving away from the Gregorian Calendar to a calendar that measures natural time cycles like the Tzolkin?

I think this is unlikely to happen in our lifetimes.

9. Do you feel your novel sends a more positive message about the 2012 date than the negative messages being blasted through mainstream media?

Yes, very much so.

10. The Mayans viewed the number 13 as a very powerful number and measured cycles in multiplications of 13. Your book is called THE TWELVE, which according to the Mayans is the Tone of Understanding knowledge, Teaching, and the continuity of wisdom. Are you familiar with the Mayan Tones of creation?

Yes and I believe that they are accurate and insightful.

How do you feel about the number 13 and the cycles of creation being measured in multiples of 13?

13 is an important number in THE TWELVE. In music there are 12 notes to a scale. When you introduce the 13th note you move to the next scale. Metaphorically 13 is the number of transformation. It is believed in many cultures that when twelve are gathered in complete harmony the 13th will appear.

11. What are your personal hopes for the 2012 date?

December 21, 2012 should be a day of rejoicing and celebration initiating the transformation of consciousness on a massive scale with hundreds of millions of people participating.

12. Are you familiar with the works of Jose Arguelles, Carl Calleman and Ian Xel Lunghold ?

Yes, though with varying levels of familiarity.

What are you thoughts of the Dreamspell Calendar vs. The Classic Mayan version?

I feel that the Classic Mayan calendar is the most useful at this time

13. Do you have any special, random, interesting quirks or habits when reading or handling a book?

I like to treat each book with tenderness as the special gift books are. I like physical books and hope they will still be important as physical entities many years from now when Kindle versions may be outselling physical books.

14. In Anne Fadiman's "Ex-Libris" she refers to an "odd shelf". It's a collection of books you own that are of a particular genre...but just really random collection of books whose subject matter is totally unrelated to the rest of your collection. Her Odd Shelf holds 64 books about polar exploration: naval manuals, journals, narratives, collections of photographs, etc. Do you have an "odd shelf"? And if so, what subject matter would I find? If you do not currently have an "odd shelf" per se, what would your ideal "odd shelf" contain?

I do not have an "odd shelf" however if I had an “odd shelf” it most likely would be a collection of books containing odd facts about people, places, and the universe. Books of unexpected information fascinate me especially when there is no seeming purpose for collecting the information other than the passion and curiosity of the author.

To find out more about William Gladstone and his novel feel free to check out his site: www.12thebook.com

@reading pt. 9

@KMGMT I'm racing Dia to see who can get through Moby Dick first. Today I got to page 29. My name is Ishmael.

Fan me on Facebook!

Are you a fan of Noses in Books on Facebook? If not be sure to check out the Facebook page and fan away!

Hello from Harper

I remember trudging along on the elliptical machines at my gym. I just got the May 2009 copy of Fast Company magazine in the mail the day before so I brought it along with me. Browsing through the trusty table of contents my fingers and eyes land on "Fast Talk. Page 17: Book Tech". To the left of this was a large photo of Julia Cheiffetz, Senior Editor at HarperStudio in New York. "We're looking at multimedia packaging such as including a DVD of Isabella Rossellini's Green Porno films along with her book." This struck me because not too long ago I was having a discussion about various forms of media (or other recreational items) being packaged with limited edition books. Nonetheless, I was quite thrilled and enthralled by all the articles in the Book Tech section especially the segment on HarperStudio. Many of you may already be very familiar with HarperCollins publishing. HarperStudio is part of the HarperCollins family that's trying to rethink both the format of books and the book business model. "HarperStudio will publish just two books a month and offer authors 50-50 profit sharing rather than a tradional 7% to 15% royalty." I think they should have a playdate with our friends at Flatmancrooked! In a nutshell HarperStudio wants to "publish books in a way that is effective, creative, and sustainable. [They] believe books are a vital part of our culture. [They] believe traditional publishing models are broken and are experimenting with new ones."



I was sold and proceeded to check out their site, see what they were all about. From then on I naturally started following all of them on Twitter, communicated with them via this medium, and even contacted them to see if they would be interested in donating a few HarperCollins children's classics to my book drive. Their very own Assistant Editor, Katie Salisbury, was kind enough to have a number of books sent over from their various offices including "Where the Wild Things Are" (THANK YOU!!) She was also super kind enough to participate in an exclusive interview for the blog and share some of her recent reads along with other faves. She also dips into life at HarperStudio and her habit of sniffing books!


I give you 20 Questions with HarperStudio's Katie Salisbury. And be sure to also check out their blog, 26th Story.

What book are you currently reading right now? Who is it by?

Yellow by Don Lee

What is the book about?

It’s a collection of short stories about Asian Americans living in the fictional and somewhat isolated town of Rosarita Bay in Northern California. I actually just finished it and enjoyed it quite a bit, especially the last story in the collection which shares the book’s title.

How did you find out about this book?

My roommate had a copy of it and recommended it to me.

What book did you read before Yellow?

Before Yellow, I read The Neon Bible by John Kennedy Toole. It was his first novel and he wrote it when he was just 16. Pretty incredible. He was quite the perceptive 16-year-old.

Do you have a favourite book or a favourite author?

It’s hard to choose one favorite book, but if I had to, I would probably say The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera. Two of my favorite authors are Virginia Woolf and Jhumpa Lahiri; Woolf for her lyrical prose and the central role of women in her novels and Lahiri because her short stories are just so good—despite their somewhat formulaic structure, they never fail to deliver.

Is there a particular genre of books you tend to gravitate toward? Why is that?

When I read for pleasure, I tend to read short stories and more literary fiction…although I have been known to read a Vampire novel or two. And then there’s always Tolkien and Star Wars…

Is there a genre of books you have yet to read and would love to get into?

I’d like to read more non-fiction, especially since that’s what we mostly publish at HarperStudio.

Did you have any favourite books growing up? Why were they your faves?

Growing up some of my favorite books were The Teddy Bears’ Picnic, the Cam Jansen series (remember Cam’s photographic memory?), and The Little House on the Prairie books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Also, a book called The Dollhouse Murders—no matter how many times I read it, I always got chills!

What is it like working at HarperStudio? Do you find yourself reading more since working there?

Working at HarperStudio is a lot of fun, especially since we get to experiment and make up the rules as we go along. We’re such a small group that everyone is doing a little bit of everything and I’m learning a lot. I definitely find that I’m reading more now than ever just to keep up with all of our books!

What are some books you excited to read?

I’d really like to read Lush Life by Richard Price. It’s a hard-boiled crime story and most of the action takes place in my neighborhood in New York.

Has there been a movie based off a book that you felt was faithful to the text?

In general I think that movies based on books should not be held to the standard of recreating a book word for word; they’re different mediums and should be judged accordingly. But if there ever was an excellent film-version that was completely faithful to the book, it’s the BBC six-hour long version of Pride and Prejudice, hands down. After all, it made Colin Firth into the Mr. Darcy we all know and love.

Do you own a kindle? If so, do you like it? Thoughts on the Kindle vs. an actual book?

I don’t own a kindle, but I would love to try it and if the price was right I would definitely get one. I’ve tried out the Sony Reader, but so far it hasn’t persuaded me to do most of my reading electronically. That said, I still think digital e-books will be a big part of the future of books.

Do you have any special, random, interesting quirks or habits when reading or handling a book? Perhaps never bending the spine?

I like smelling books, especially old ones—I like the smell of musty, yellowing pages. It sounds gross, I know, but I’ve discovered this habit runs in the family…my grandmother and my aunt, who is a librarian, also do this!

In Anne Fadiman's "Ex-Libris" she refers to an "odd shelf". It's a collection of books you own that are of a particular genre...but just really random collection of books whose subject matter is totally unrelated to the rest of your collection. Her Odd Shelf holds 64 books about polar exploration: naval manuals, journals, narratives, collections of photographs, etc. Do you have an "odd shelf"? And if so, what subject matter would I find? If you do not currently have an "odd shelf" per se, what would your ideal "odd shelf" contain?

My odd shelf is probably the one I have dedicated to books on or related to China, including memoirs, non-fiction accounts/analysis, and novels. I studied abroad in China during college and I’m kind of a Sinophile.

I've done my civic duty

After realizing that they had been sending my Juror Summons to my old home the fine city of Los Angeles was able to track me down once I updated my information during the election. I didn't really think I would get called in to report. However after years of evading their letters there was no way I wasn't going to be asked to show up bright and early this lovely Monday morning. Blech indeed! Picture me calling the juror hotline multiple times to make sure I heard them correctly. I often referred to this as taking a pregnancy test multiple times to make sure I was seeing that plus sign right. It was confirmed. I had to go in.

Despite being a bit disgruntled and anxious about coming in (I was so worried about the work I'd have to miss) I realized I would encounter many readers in the assembly room. I saw a woman reading Twilight, another reading some magic books, an older man sitting across from me reading Round Ireland with a Fringe by Tony Hawks (the man was laughing to himself the whole time), my eagle eye made out the cover to Inherent Vice by Thomas Pychon, a handful of Dan Brown books and the "Highly Sensitive Person" by Elaine N. Aron Ph.D.

While on my lunch break, picking at my salad in the courtyard between the courthouse and the public library one of my fellow jurors sits next to me on the red bench. I remembered seeing her a few feet away on her phone and in the assembly room earlier. She was one of the many who got called up first. A civil case but she wasn't allowed to tell me anything else. On her lap was a copy of The Time Traveler's Wife. I remembered seeing the book in the room this morning and meant to ask her how she liked it. Suzie (or Susie/Suzy) was just getting into the book today but enjoys it so far. One of her daughters, who happens to be an avid reader, had recommended this book to her so they are reading it together.


I asked her what the book was about since I am so familiar with the book title and cover but not the storyline itself. She tells me that it's about a man who travels through time, visiting different eras back and forth. At some point he meets his wife as a young girl and tells her to remember certain dates and locations so that she can go to them on those dates. She remembers him but he does not remember her on these encounters. I'm intrigued and may have to suggest this book for our next book club :)

Suzie knows about the upcoming movie adaptation starring Rachel McAdams. While she plans to watch the movie she wants to read the book first. It will definitely be a great mother/daughter outing!

We start talking a bit about books we started reading because of the TV shows and movies that are based off of them. Twilight came up and I confessed not having read any of the books but told her that I saw the movie and found it "enjoyable". Suzie loves the Twilight books. Her daughters actually got her into them. Her eldest son is also a fan and recommended it to his new wife. Now she is addicted! We talk a bit about True Blood and how I want to start reading them. Suzie hasn't read the books or watched the show but really enjoys books that are part of a series. I tell her how I am currently obsessed with Scott Pilgrim books and can't wait to get the third book! (Thanks, Cesar, for getting me hooked!)

Most of the books Suzie reads are based off of recommendations from her daughters. Once they finish a book they insist she reads them especially if they loved them. "They can usually tell if I would be into a book and will often hand over books once they are through." One daughter just finished Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay and Suzie will most likely read this next. It's about a younger brother and older sister during the Holocaust. The novel follows the story of the siblings, how the older sister hid her younger brother in a cabinet and kept the key. As the story was being described to me I made a mental note to get a hold of a copy. I had just read Maus so I am interested in reading more Holocaust related books.

Suzie's daughters were calling to check in on her and I was on my way back in. We wished each other luck and hoped we'd get out her. For her, we hoped she'd be excused off the panel. As for me, I had a long wait ahead of me but thankfully I had my copy of Stranger in a Strange Land to keep me occupied. After many hours of waiting the remainder of us were finally excused to go home. I was never called on a panel! See you in 12+ months, Courthouse.

Warped Reading

I love it! Meg & Dia caught reading whilst in the catering line this morning on the Warped Tour!
(Photo courtesy of @warped09)

!!!!!!

ohdearlordimdroolingoverthisgorgeousvision

http://bookshelves.tumblr.com/

Borders-line

A few weeks ago I got a lovely gift card to Border's because said giver wanted me to spoil myself with books. "It was either a gift certificate to Border's or to a spa...I figured you'd get a lot more mileage from a stack of books." Why thank you, lady.

That same day I made my way to the Border's by my office after work. I made out like a bandit! I grabbed myself a handful of books including The Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz, Murakami's The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, and book 1 from the Scott Pilgrim graphic novel series by Bryan Lee O'Malley, just to name a few. I also grabbed a few children's books for my book drive. It felt so nice to browse through the children's section and see all the titles that I remembered as a child and new stuff that kid's are into nowadays. Of course I had to ask for assistance, asking one of the guys who worked there what was "in" in children's reading. I also got a few Golden Books. Talk about throwbacks.

Upon checking out I struck a conversation with Jonathan, the guy behind the counter. As he was scanning the children's books he thought I was a teacher. I shook my head and let him know about my book drive then about this blog. Somewhere in there I told him how my sister and I used to eat our Golden Books. "And look how you turned out!" , he chimes in. Exactly.

Jonathan contacted me and we eventually set up a time to meet up. He had checked out the blog and wanted to talk about the book he had been reading. So one Saturday afternoon after the last book club meeting I made my way to Pan Pacific Park on Beverly Blvd. and Gardner, parked myself on a wooden bench and waited until Jonathan found me among the screaming children in princess outfits.

"Funny thing happened. I was having the most interesting text message conversation with someone who I thought was you..." Turns out he'd added the wrong number into his phone. Nice. Once he was settled on the bench I had claimed as my own we proceeded with a bit of small talk. We look around and chuckle at the random kids. I wig out off the caffeine from my iced latte then my eyes zone in on the massive book Jonathan's been clutching. "Yeah, I had to lug this huge thing around with me on the way here." He had taken the bus over from Westlake, east of where we were, right by Downtown and Echo Park. Jonathan looked around. "I don't want to talk here. Can we go somewhere else?" Seeing as I was comfortably cross-legged I convinced him that this was as good a spot as any and he conceded. We dive right in.

Jonathan is reading "World Art" which covers various pieces from each art period. When asked why he decided to read this he simply answered, "I don't know. I guess I just like art. It's universal." The book was on sale for like $10 (plus he got to use his employee discount). His love for art is somewhat recent. He used to live in Pennsylvania. While there he visited the Philadelphia Museum of Art, one of the top museums in the country. Ever since that visit a couple years ago he's been inspired by art and thus his newfound love and admiration was born.

He flips through the pages and shows me how the book is laid out. Art pieces taking up about 3/4 of the page and then a description of the painting below it. He enjoys the Renaissance because that is when people started to put effort in art. He turns to those pages and points out the different details to me.

Jonathan was just getting into the Modern art sections of the 40s and 50s. "Modern art is intriguing because it's different." I share my feelings about modern art, how I love many things but can live without other pieces. I tell him about my trip to the Art Institute in Chicago, about the new Modern Art wing that I got to visit during opening weekend, about the wads of paper towels splattered with paint that I could care less about and about the modern furniture I could not get enough of. "You like the furniture?! That's the part of modern art I don't get!" Difference of opinion.


I purse my lips and squint my eyes. "Let me guess. Your least favourite art would have to be...impressionism." Jonathan's eyes widen. "How did you know?" I laugh under my breath. "Because it's one of my faves..."

We flipped through more pages and I notice he had drawn big black stars on the corners of certain pages to mark off the paintings he liked. One was Munch's "The Scream'. "I love this piece. I mean look at it...". His fingers begin to trace the lines and colours. "You compare this to these earlier religious portraits with the defined lines and then you have this...the evolution of art." He isn't a huge fan of religious paintings. "It's all pretty much the same." I chuckle some more because I've recently been on a religious art "kick". There's just something peaceful about them, I tell him but then digress. What can I say. I'm a lapsed Catholic but I enjoy the somber Biblical images. I turn to him and ask if he's watched "This American Life" and proceed to tell him about an episode about a guy in Utah who recreated scenes from the Bible and painted them. I told him how the guy looked for bearded men and, in an open field, had these random joe "models" pose for the crucifixion scene. I start to lift up my arms and position them on top of the wooden bench to show Jonathan how the men's arms were placed on the cross.
"So no nails were actually driven into their palms and wrists?", he chides. "Nope, not this time." I pressed a finger into my palm and told him how I used to want stigmata as a child...but that is a whole 'nother story.


Since he's so into art I ask if he has any pieces at home. "I was around the neighbourhood and saw a yard sale on Crescent Heights. I stopped because I noticed a painting of a man and a wife over a wash bowl. I was drawn to it because the man reminded me of my dad, practically a mirror image. I had to get it because it made me miss him. He's back east. So now I am the proud owner of this $20 painting. No matter how bad it is I keep studying it."

We go on to talk about museums around Los Angeles and I wondered which he's visited since he's been in LA. (He moved here around November). He's been to the LACMA (he's not a huge fan of it) and also the Getty where he saw the Annibale Carracci exhibit. He suddenly flipped to the book's appendix, index finger going through line by line. Finally his finger found what it was looking for and he flipped to a certain page. "Here...this was a Carracci piece I saw there."

We veer off the art discussion and I ask him about other books he's read and enjoyed. "I really love Catch Me If You Can. Man, that guy is my hero! I saw the movie first but liked the book better." Like many of the people I've interviewed Jonathan confesses that he doesn't read very often. He is, however, writing a book. "I started writing a book when I moved out to LA. Actually, I was just thinking up the concept in November then come January 1st, because I like dramatic beginnings, I proceeded to start outlining the story. I actually started writing it on June 24th.. I've just been very inspired to write this book since I've moved out here. I can't tell you much about it, for obvious reasons, but the book is LA inspired but not set in Los Angeles. It's set in the South. I'd like to have it finished by October 5th. That's my birthday."

We start talking about books he read as a kid. "You know, I can see them in my head but I can't quite think of the titles." There was a long pause as he started sifting through the folds in his memory. "Oh! Ok, there was a book called "Koala" and the cover had fur on it that I would pet all the time. My mom read this to me everyday." He also enjoyed "Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb", a Dr. Seuss book. He also remembers ordering books through those Scholastic programs in elementary school. "I ordered a few Goosebumps books but never really read them. I just liked the covers." Jonathan suddenly remembered this great program they had at his school. "Our teacher's would take us down to the cafeteria where a bunch of books would be laid out. We were allowed to look through everything then take one book home for free!"

Another series of books he remembers reading often were Todd Strasser's "Help I'm Trapped...". Jonathan explained the concept. A scientist makes this machine that a kid gets ahold of and this kid ends up switching places with someone else. In one book he's trapped in his teacher's boy while in another he'd trapped in a wrestler. I start to get intrigued and concerned about what happens to the person whose body this kid enters. "Do they switch places? Are they aware what is happening?" Jonathan doesn't quite remember but thinks it may be like what happens in Freaky Friday.



We did a bunch of talking so decided to stroll around and treat ourselves to popscicles while we explored the park. Jonathan remembers that his mother had taken all his childhood books and put them in a box on the curb. "I recall watching the garbage men picking up the box as I stared in awe some the window. I couldn't believe she threw them all out!" I flashback to wishing my mother didn't give away my collection of Babysitters Club and American Girl books. We look at the time and realize we can catch the next showing on (500) Days of Summer at the Grove "next door" so we conclude the interview and rush on over in time to grab more iced caffeine before the opening credits.