14 January 2010

Sure, Books, Why Not?

On the subway I was piecing together all the books I've read since my newest reading phase began. It had been a long time since I'd felt like reading anything. I started a few books, only to throw them across the room by page 20. I had to wait for the impulse, and finally, after four years or so, it came back! I like to read again!

Here is what I've read since that happened:
The French Lieutenant's Woman
Babyhood by Paul Reiser
The Unbearable Lightness of Being
hmm, something's missing that would go right here Aha, it was The Santaland Diaries
The World According to Garp (first re-read).

Do you like those books? I did. However, I had heard way too many good things about The Unbearable Lightness of Being before I read it and was thus underwhelmed. The story is good and the structure is amazing, but how many stories have I already read about infidelity and thoughtfulness? One million.

Which brings me to my next point: I'm writing a novel. About infidelity. Ta-da! Wow, what a joke. Here's my impression of me starting a novel:

Le Noveliste

Becky leans back in her chair facing a manual typewriter. There are crumpled balls of paper everywhere, even inside the refrigerator (which we will discover later). She has only one shoe on.

Becky: (reading) "Joe, I want to be married." ARGH!

She releases the page from the typewriter and crumples it up. It lands on the top of her head. A clock face then shows us that seven hours have passed between then and now.

Becky: (reading) "Sometimes, you just want to have an affair. Like, with someone! Oh, you get it. First you're married, then you have an affair! Please enjoy my novel, which is what you are reading right now. It's my first one! Can you believe it? I am having a blast so far. OK, back to the adulterers. For starters, they were adults." Yep, yep, yep, yes. Yes. I have done it!

Becky stands up too quickly and loses her balance. Her only shoe escapes her foot, knocking over a water glass, which soaks the typewriter and its page. She moonwalks to the fridge, tosses a beer in the trash, and pops open a crumpled piece of paper. She begins to drink.

fin.

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