Another what-I’m-reading update:
The Motorcycle Diaries – Che Guevara: Still on the bookshelf feeling neglected.
After the Gold Rush – Lewis Buzbee: Made it’s way into my bookbag. Read another short story–Hairpin–on the bus. Might be my favorite Buzbee story, although that could be because I know him, and have visited many of the places he describes.
Pulp Fiction – Quentin Tarantino: I’m making an effort to understand story structure, and have therefore added some screenplays and plays. Unfortunately, I’ve been reading this in an unstructured way–picking it up and absent-mindedly reading a sequence while I’m at work–so I haven’t learned anything.
Dinner with Friends: Philip Marguiles: Another play. A friend suggested I read this in my effort to get a better grasp on story structure. I read it fast, caught up in the storyline and completely oblivious to it’s structure. A nice psychological treatise on the effects of a couple’s divorce on their friends.
Absurdistan – Gary Shteyngart: My wife picked this up off my bookstand and said it was overrated. I probably won’t read it. My wife loves books, and rarely comes to these sort of conclusions.
Wonder Boys – Michael Chabon: I found the much ballyhooed Kavalier & Clay to be too wordy, and so I hesitated to pick up another Chabon book, which a co-worker recommended. Loved it! Although, I confess to finding it hard to read, not because it was wordy, but rather because it’s about a burned-out middle-aged man who has written a 2,600 page opus that he is unable to finish. (I’m having my own issues with wandering opuses (word?) that I am unable to finish…)
The Power and the Glory – Graham Greene: Something tells me I’ve tried to read this classic before–we’ll see how it goes this time. Another novel about a preacher that I felt I needed to be aware of while writing VMP.
The Best People in the World – Justin Tussing: A fellow Oregonian’s debut novel.
Only Revolutions – Mark Z. Danielewski: Something tells me I’ll give up on this labyrinth fast…