Wednesday, July 20, 2011

keep it short and funny


Image from here.

Needless to say, life is busy with the kids (especially the young ones), and my business, and our house, and whatever else that's making me feel this suffocating pressure all over me. sigh. I freak out sometimes. The thing that is seriously saving me lately is reading. I'm not a TV person. I don't know a damn thing about "Lost" or whatever else America is so riveted on. I used to be a book person somewhat. But after I became a mama, I didn't feel like I have enough time to get into a book. Finally, 6 years later, I'm rediscovering short stories and essays. Suddenly, I'm unearthing these tiny moments in my day (while nursing Solomon, while rocking Makai, while the kids are playing in the backyard and there's too much sun in the garden to pull weeds....) to pick up a book. I don't have to remember the last thing I read, I don't even have to give it my full attention. I'm choosing funny stuff, because that's all I need out of my literature these days. It's like my television, a little playtime, a deep breath. Right now I have three books scattered about the house ready to instantly provide my with eight minutes of peace. They are all hilarious or at least intriguing and clever.

Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sadaris is a book of autobiographical essays that reads kinda like a novel. I laugh out loud so much I can't read it while trying to nurse Sol to sleep.

Wild Ducks Flying Backwards is a collection of shorts stories, poems, essays, and reviews by Tom Robbins. Robbins is a whimsical little shit and I love how I don't really know what the hell he's talking about until suddenly I know exactly what he's talking about. In the past I've enjoyed his novels Even Cowgirls get the Blues, Still Life with Woodpecker, and Jitterbug Perfume.

No One Belongs Here More Than You is a book of quirky and awkwardly beautiful stories on love and fantasy and our need for acceptance. Also, Miranda July is amazing in general.

2 comments:

  1. i love reading what other people are reading, if that makes any sense. off to the library i go. ;)
    i used to be one of those people that (i suppose because of insecurities), i felt i had to read "smart" books. but now, as a mother and wife and a generally happier person, they exhaust me. now i just want a good book, whatever that happens to be at the moment.

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  2. i'm pretty sure our family would befriend your family in a heartbeat if we lived closer. I've attached myself to the young adult genre- it gives me a quick read, a coming of age story, and a kid perspective all in one. Aces.

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