EBI’m back from vacation! I know you all missed me (and the blog) terribly. While I was away I read two and a half books:
One Day: There was so much backlash to this one that I had a backup book ready to go when I opened it up on the plane . . . but then I read it straight through in one sitting. It totally fell into a category I normally hate (books or movies where everything would be solved if people just had an honest conversation about their feelings), but for some reason it didn’t bother me like it often does.
Best American Crime Reporting 2010: Always good. I look forward to this series every year and it never disappoints. This year I felt like the quality was particularly good—there was maybe only one story that I wasn’t totally invested in.
Started Early, Took My Dog: I’m halfway through this, the new Kate Atkinson, and so far I think it’s her best yet. With every book her hero Jackson Brodie reveals himself to be more and more like my boyfriend.
As soon as I finish Started Early I’ll be back to digging into some of our upcoming books (like this summer’s Simon Van Booy novel). I somehow managed to avoid temptation and not buy any new books in SF or LA, though I was sorely tempted at my new favorite out-of-town store, LA’s Skylight Books. I have many beloved stories in nyc (Word, McNally, Greenlight, BookCourt) but sometimes have a hard time connecting with other stores. I once visited a store that shall remain nameless and couldn’t wait to get out of there because it was so cramped and messy. I might be a priss but I like my bookstores to be neat and organized and well-lit and near other cool stuff. Skylight fits all those criteria (it’s across the street from the legendary House of Pies, at which I tried in vain to finish a lemon cream slice) and was also playing a CD by a not-super-well-known but beloved-by-me Brooklyn band called Palomar when I went in, endearing itself to me forever. My suitcase was already way too full to stuff another book in there, but I’ll be back, Skylight!
