Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Livros.

I've been taking an online English class (American Lit 1914-1960, for those who are interested), and so most forms of free reading have been put on the back burner. Today I (finally) finished a YA book I had been trying to read all month. After I finished, I thought, "Hmm, I oughta blog about this." Then I remembered that in early May I read four books in five days, while basting in the Mexican sun. How did I forget to review those reads? My book reviews are some of the only semi-important material I have for my blog! So, I now present, in the order in which I read the books, some literary reviews:

1. The Pleasure of My Company by Steve Martin.
Yes, Steve Martin. The actor. Just knowing that Steve Martin wrote the book made it infinitely more amusing to read. Martin became the default narrator in my head. The plot revolves around a cripplingly neurotic recluse, Daniel Pecan Cambridge, and his bizarre maneuverings through a world of self-imposed rules and restrictions. The man takes 45 minutes to walk two blocks to Rite Aid because he can only cross the street at particular driveways that must perfectly face each other. Curbs=big no-no. This book was crude at times, but... a laugh from start to finish. Plus, I mean c'mon, Steve Martin?!? The guys a comic genius, on stage, on screen, and in print. I was very impressed.


2. The Man Who Ate the 747 by Ben Sherwood.
Ben Sherwood?!? Okay, maybe his name doesn't instantly ring a bell, but the man is the executive producer of Good Morning America. Pretty dang good, right? And Sherwood still found time to write a couple of novels. You know, in his "spare time" whatever that means! I really enjoyed this book, partly because the premise was so unique. J.J. Smith is Keeper of Records for the Book of Records, and he is sent around the world to document the impressive, the unbelievable, and the downright absurd. He lands in Nebraska for a while, to track a man eating an abandoned 747 to prove his love to Willa, the local newspaper lady. Less crude than Pleasure, and I think a very sincere look into the nature of real love. Not Hollywood love. Just real people who, yes, fall in love. It does happen. Great book.

K, my brain hurts. This shall be continued tomorrow...

3 comments:

Failon said...

http://xkcd.com/245/

P.S. Totally did stuff like that all through elementary school.

Hilary said...

Um, I still do it? Living in London was interesting, a world of pavement. I discovered that I do not step on sidewalk cracks. Not only do I avoid sidewalk cracks, I count how many strides I fit within one sidewalk slab, and I calculate the approximate fraction of my stride that falls on each side of a crack. And then I figure out different paces that work in such a way that I can distribute 1/2 of a stride on either side of a crack, 1/3-2/3, 2/3-1/3, etc.

I'm a little neurotic. Maybe that's why I kinda like Daniel.

Failon said...

I managed to stop caring so much a few years ago, but I'll still do it if I'm bored. Tiles was mainly an elementary school thing.

However, last Friday proved that I need to revamp my efforts in this field. My left pinky toe decided to explore a crack in the mats that my sensei and I were working out on. Then he threw me. Left pinky toe then stuck out to the side about 80 degrees. Yeow. I'll post pictures at some point.

And who would've thought that there'd be a real-life situation where this is a matter of self preservation!