Word Vomit/Lack of Focus

Bookish thoughts for the evening:

- So many people are reading Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by my boy Jonathan Safran Foer. I really, really enjoyed it and hope everyone else does too, although I'm a little bitter that the surge in popularity has been brought on by the new movie. While it's always great to see forgotten books see a increase in sales it makes me sad for the others of thousands of fantastic books that don't get that kind of publicity. In related thoughts, I'm really thinking about reading his Eating Animals book on vegetarianism, since I've been been reducing my meat intake.

- Twice in the last week I've been told by different groups of friends that I will one day buy an eReader. It's not going to happen, folks. Never. Not never as in "I'm never going to drink that much again," but never as in "Sarah Palin is never going to say something intelligent."

- I have to cave in and order a book, despite the fact my "Ultimate To-Do List" is still an impressive (?) 57 items. It's for a good cause- the new book club selection is The Call, by Yannick Murphy (speaking of vegetarianism).

- I'm currently reading The Geeks Will Inherit the Earth by Alexandra Robbins and am having some very mixed feelings. First of all, at almost 400 pages it's too long. Nothing against lengthy books, but this one doesn't need that kind of heft. Secondly, I find the dialogue from the supposed real teenage subjects a bit contrived. I do appreciate the message and am interested to see how it ends, but I must admit to being anxious to move on.

- I might actually go to the movies, willingly, to see The Hunger Games.



- Speaking of movies, I absolutely abhor movie-tie in covers. They're so gimmicky and cheap looking not to mention the obvious marketing purpose. Tacky.

- I loved stalking the Twitter hashtag #agentday yesterday; literary agents wrote about what they did, while they did it. Going to buy stamps and conferences calls sound much cooler when they involve signing authors rather than your stupid friend from high school chronicling their every effing move. Being an agent is a lot like being a high school teacher- they read, edit, babysit, and drink a lot. Career change? Nonetheless, I did manage to pick up on some helpful hints in case my awesome novel ever decides to write itself.

- I watched a documentary not too long ago called Helvetica, on the story behind the type that has basically infiltrated the world. It never occurred to me that a movie on a font could be boring- it was. I tried.

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- I spent a good fifteen minutes devouring Flavorwire's "The 20 Most Beautiful Bookstores in the World" the other day, and have come to the important conclusion that all future vacations will include mandatory outings to independent bookstores. Lisbon, anyone?


- After each book I finish I contemplate reading The Girl Who Played with Fire (that's the next one, after The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, right?) and I just never, ever feel like it. I mean it's on the shelf and the money was spent, so eventually it'll happen, but I can't guarantee if it will be in the next five years. Consequently, my blog post comparing the first book the movie has become my most viewed piece. I find this amusing because it wasn't really all that thought-provoking or analytical. Thanks anyway, though, Google.

Off to read. Or watch an episode of last season's Chuck (speaking of geeks). Maybe I'll get crazy and do both.

Man, I love these guys [source]