On the Pile

Been a while since I've done a reading round up. Probably because I've spent most of my waking hours watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Arrested Development on DVD. And because I've significantly reduced the number of hours that I spend awake.

That has not stopped me, however, from acquiring more and more books---some borrowed, some bought. So hum the Reading Rainbow theme to yourself---or outloud, why not?---while you imagine LeVar Burton beating the stuffing out of Dennis Hastert.

Meanwhile, I'll be reading the following

Democracy Matters by Cornel West
Cornel West is brilliant. This book is brilliant. Why it isn't being quoted far and wide and made required reading for every American is beyond me. If you haven't read it, put down the mouse, stop humming the song, and get your ass to a bookstore to get a copy. And as Madaes pointed out, when I say "ass," I mean business.

If You Want to Write: A Book About Art, Independence, and Spirit by Brenda Ueland
I'm not as in love with this book as I was during the first half of it. And I don't think it is going to change my life. But it does have one of my favorite quotes about writing:

"You should feel, when writing, not like Lord Byron on a mountain top, but like a child stringing beads in kindergarten---happy, absorbed, and quietly putting one bead on after another."

The Art of Happiness by the Dalai Lama and Howard C. Cutler
Yeah, so I'm not so good at art. But just looking at the picture of the Dalai Lama on the cover makes me a little happier.

Practical Demonkeeping by Christopher Moore
Yes, Eric, I'm finally getting around to reading this. It's been so long, you've probably forgotten that you lent it to me. I'm three chapters in and so far, I'm meh. But I loved Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, so I'm willing to give this one some time.

Virginia Quarterly Review
I broke my promise about not going into bookstores this weekend. I also broke my promise not to give up on the GREs. But I kept the one about not going on a date with Michael Schaub or Marc Blucas. Anyway, so I bought VQR (and a few paper craft magazines to give me some ideas for more crafts I can't afford). It's got Isabelle Allende, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and Sven Birkert, among others.