Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Bookish Thoughts

Picked up some new reads this weekend:

-The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery. This little dude has been all over the place lately; blogs, magazines, conversation. I've heard some people L-O-V-E it, and some people can't get into it. I guess we'll see which category I fall in to when I finish it in a week or two.

-Buddhism Plain and Simple by Steve Hagen. Apparently, the "clear and precise exposition of Buddhism" has *changed the lives* of some acquaintances, so I figured I'd give it a whirl. Not that my life sucks all that much but improvements are always welcome in any situation, even excellent ones.

-Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris. Yeah... I have a not-so-secret undying adoration for David Sedaris. I mean, the man is intelligent and well-traveled and neurotic and high-larious. I fell for him when I was assigned a compilation of short stories that he edited (which, for the life of me I cannot remember the title of) for my creative writing class in college, and I've never looked back. I'm way excited for him to blow my mind. Again.

-Maus I: A Survivor's Tale by Art Spiegelman. Confession: I heart graphic novels. I'm kind of a nerd that way. Specifically graphic novels that re-create historical events from a different perspective. Not only does a good graphic novel satisfy my love for visual representations, but it also addresses my proclivity for the written word. And, you know, this book (and it's sequel) won the Pulitzer. So...that's pretty badass.

What are you guys reading these days?

3 comments:

super des said...

I loveMaus, though it makes me cry. You definitely have to read the second part.

Persepolis is a similar graphic novel, about a woman in Tehran. You should read that too. :)

Nada Nada said...

Fear not, Des- I will most certainly be reading the second part. With a box of kleenex.

I've actually read Persepolis! It was such an awesome book. Her other one, Chicken with Plums, is on my list.

I'm pretty much in love with historically-based graphic novels. It's becoming a problem.

3kalb said...

Well, as you know I finished a book over the weekend, and today I plowed through most of an artist's analytical study of the human form called "Dynamic Anatomy" by Burne Hogarth. I'll have that finished tomorrow, and then I'll follow that up with some drawing exercises. On top of that I'm reading "Downtown Owl" by Klosterman, "Lamb" by Moore, and "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" by The Doyle!

I've started them all, and I keep juggling them. Soon, I'll just sit down with one and finish it one of the evenings so I can get them done.

DT-Owl is a quick quirky read. I'll probably finish that fooker up first. Then I'll move onto "Lamb". I'm not really hooked by it yet, but I have a feeling I may soon be. After all that is done I'll move onto Holmes.

Oh wait a tick! I ordered "Dry" from Amazon for four bucks. After hearing you talk about it, I looked more into, and yeah. It sounds great.

That's what I'M reading, but don't take my word for it. Bah-dum-DUM