Lola finally got washed over the weekend. Lola, for those of you who do not know, is my car. Lola is short for "Lolita" -- "She may be small but she gets around..." (har...har...yeah....)
While in the little waiting area with all the candy ball vending machines and the claw machines with the flashing lights and whatnots I peek over at a group of squirrely kids. These young lads are begging their parents for another quarter so that they can procure a Spiderman plush toy via the weak claw grabby device. And yes, this is going on as I get through a few more pages of whore-dom in "Butterfly Stories".
The older, more "obedient" brother remained on one of the benches across from me. Keeping him occupied was a copy of "The Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days". It looked like the book had gone through heck and back which is a good thing. It means the boy has been putting it to good use, right?
I struck up a conversation with him and asked him if he enjoyed the book. He did...VERY MUCH. And how about the upcoming movie? What were his thoughts on that? Sheepishly, he tells me he can't wait for the movie.
Does he keep a diary on his own?
Nope, but he might start one. He prefers reading over writing.
Fair enough, kid.
Check out this review on the aforementioned book by my friend, Clark, from Green Apple Books in San Francisco. (OF COURSE I'm friends with a dude who works at a kick ass bookstore in another city!) The first part made me giggle. --> Click Me! Click Me!
I am STILL on the fence about the forthcoming Scott Pilgrim vs. The World movie. My beloved comic (thanks, Cesar, for getting me into my first graphic novel experience) turned into a movie? Not a novel idea but...I don't know.
My day job's former intern, Sam, has been my Scott Pilgrim movie tidbit supplier because I don't readily seek out the deets. He's sent me on-set photos (which weirded me out) and today he sent me the link to the official trailer (which I just watched and the movie STILL weirds me out!) Here is a link to watch: http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/universal/scottpilgrimvstheworld/
Of course I'm still going to watch the movie...or am I? Michael Cera is going to "Michael Cera" the hero! Torn. I'm torn, I tells ya!
Okay, so I posted about this amazingness on the Facebook page and I just wanted to re-iterate that I TOTALLY want to go on this "John Fante's Dreams from Bunker Hill Literary & History Bus Tour!"
In Los Angeles? Currently obsessed with John Fante? Then you should go on this with me and my potential army of literati.
Get discounted tickets here: http://www.goldstar.com/e/35096
After running into Stephen I had a chance to speak with Chris. I saw that he was a few pages into Les Liaisons Dangereuses (Dangerous Liasons). He definitely got an "ohhh lala" from me. En francais? Mais non. En englais.
Because I saw that he was just a few pages in I was expecting this to be his first time reading this classic. I assumed wrong. Chris is actually re-reading it. It happens to be one of the many books on his shelf from his college days and he's giving it another go. "I've been re-reading many of the books I read during college. I was a lit major so I've got many books from my classes. It's nice to revisit them. They become new pleasures."
He recently read The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway again. "I find it better now that I've read it at this point in my life. I have a different take on it and a better appreciation for the novel."
Chris is making it a sort of personal goal to rediscover his old books again. He's a lawyer by trade and while he may be very busy Chris does make it a point to find time to read. Spending some time that morning in the beautiful outdoors with this book was a perfect example.
Chris' practice? White collar crime. Good to know if I am ever in a bind...Is there a book you read in school that you absolutely abhorred but now have a newfound admiration for after re-reading it (as an adult)?
Armed with caffeine on a sunny Saturday morning -- such a beautiful thing. Upon leaving my supplier I pause to take the lay of the land. To my left I see Stephen with a copy of Dostoyevsky's The Idiot. (What a beautiful book cover, by the way).
Stephen has had this copy of The Idiot for years, probably since college, but never got around to reading it. "I remember getting it a while back and it's been sitting on my shelf this whole time..." He's just like me! We get our paws on books and let them "mature on our shelves" before we crack them open.
"I'm just getting started but I'm enjoying the book. It's fun. Initial thoughts? It's typical Russian literature. I find I have to really pay attention to all the details, the different families involved, and all the names in order to know what's going."
I asked what made him decide to pull this book off his shelf. He smiles then leans back on the stool he's perched on. "This story is actually pretty interesting. I recently signed up for an online dating site and one of the profiles I'm interested in mentions the book. They mention how they are slowly getting through it so I decided to read along. I guess you can call it our own little virtual book club."
Stephen's favourite book right now? "Oh I'm sure it's obvious because everyone's probably brought it up. It's The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen." I was surprised that was his response. He was surprised when I told him that he is the first person who has ever mentioned the book to me!
"Oh the book is absolutely great! It's sweetly sad and very smart, about a quirky, dysfunctional family. Everyone I've spoken to from all walks of life always tell me they love it because they all can see themselves and their families in the book. We can all relate."
Is there a book on your shelf you haven't read yet but have been meaning to?
Come one, come all to the "Noses in Books" April book club meeting! We'll be reading "Butterfly Stories: A Novel" by William T. Vollmann. Should be interesting stuff. And
don't worry, I am scheduling this meeting for post-Coachella b/c a handful of us are going. Maybe you can get some reading in while you're in the desert.
Date: April 24, 2010
Time: 2pm to 4:30pmNote: Date and/or Time subject to change. Feel free to bring a snack or drink of your choice. And invite a friend if you'd like. We love seeing new faces!
RSVP on the events page on the Facebook fan page.Hit me up with your questions.
