in a conversation with my friend julie d., she mentioned that she would go a bit batty if she didn't read some "lighter fare" in between her heavier books.
i decided that i should listen to her, even though she was pretty convincing a couple of months ago i took her advice (to read lighter fare). i chose and just finished up reading anne lamott's plan b - further thoughts on faith. while i would probably have given it more than three stars like the reviewer in the amazon ratings, i thought it was okay and would recommend it if you have no problem with irreverence, cussing, irreverence, thoughtful inspired words, and irreverence.
other than the irreverence, i thought it was funny and found myself feeling guilty for laughing at some of her inappropriate analogies (i'm Catholic; guilt was predestined at the first *f* word...) but i also found i was glad to have read something a little lighter than merton or doherty. sometimes i find myself so engrossed in their words i either want to dash off and become a hermit or leave my family behind and run a soup kitchen in the inner city.
so what's next on the reading list, you ask?
i bought a (gulp) jan karon book and already feel like i won't make it beyond the first chapter. i went from irreverence to saccharine. don't think it's for me, unless someone can convince me otherwise.
also bought thr3e by ted dekker. judged it by the back cover, i'll admit. haven't started it yet. still don't know if i wanna...
someone else has mentioned annie dillard to me? looked through pilgrim at tinker creek while i waited for max to finish finding a book and thought i must not have my thinking cap on or pulizter prize winning novels may not be for me because i had issues with the first chapter.
sort of like e. annie proulx. tried a bunch of times to read the shipping mews and for the life of me...same with anything by joyce carol oates. she has mastered the art of run-on sentences so much so that one sentence can take up an entire page, not simply a paragraph.
i am in the mood to read more than i am to write at this moment, this moment being today, could change tomorrow - also find that i am desirous of stealing away to a library and hanging out there for a couple of hours... i am gearing up for my class in september when i know i will be writing a lot more. i am actually thinking about writing a book (!) and simply articulating that in print is something i have not yet shared with my family. i think i have a couple of ideas but want to learn a lot more on character and scene building...and...well, we'll see.
what books would you recommend?
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