library day

Tomorrow is library day! My brain was beginning to turn into sludge, but after tomorrow, I'll have a whole new pile of books to read. Hopefully this batch will be better than the last one...I don't know what my problem was, but I really picked some awful books. Very disappointing. Normally, my M.O. is to browse authors that I know I like, or topics that I specifically want to read about, or sections where I know I'll find something good (like the cookbook section). I pick those books out first, and then I make my way over to the fantasy and romance sections for a couple of guilty-pleasure books (I can't pass up a good historical bodice-ripping romance novel. They are my kryptonite). Last week, though, I just half-assed the whole process and scooped a whole bunch of books into my bag pretty much based on the number of heaving bosoms on the covers. Predictably, I was forced to reap the consequences. I grabbed three books in a series because they had appropriately swashbuckling titles, at least two of the book covers featured a man in flowing sleeves on a horse, and all three of the books in the series were present on the shelf. That was the worst decision ever, because after one chapter of the first book, I KNEW it was a bad series, but I also KNEW that I had been sucked in, so I'd just have to read all three. I was bitter about it. It wasn't fun. The series did not improve. My attempt at a "legit" book went south, too. I picked a short novel by Phillip Roth, not because he's an author I like, but because I know for a fact that some people consider him a Real Writer. I heard about it on the internet. Anyway, the book was horrible and depressing and about pain and death and Jewish humor, and there's only so much of any of those categories that I can take. But tomorrow! Redemption. And probably more heaving bosoms.

In a totally unrelated, but very sweet story, CNN is currently running a story about how Stevie Wonder gave one of his keyboards to a Haitian violinist who survived the earthquake in Port-Au-Prince. The guys was injured in about twenty different and horrific ways; both his hands were hurt, one of his legs is being held together with metal pins--he's a big mess. But he said that he wanted a keyboard because he missed his music and wasn't able to play the violin because his hands had been so badly damaged. So Stevie Wonder sent him one of his own keyboards. I just wanted to share that because now I feel bad for not really liking any of Stevie Wonder's songs. Oh well. Just because I'm tired of hearing "Isn't She Lovely" doesn't mean that Stevie Wonder's not a great guy. The full CNN interview is here, if you want to watch it.