So I kind of had a relapse this weekend. Encouraged by the wonderful weather—60 degrees, in November!—I dragged my generally unmotivated self to the gym, which meant going to Union Square, which meant being near...Barnes & Noble.
I only spent $50 ($51 if we're being picky, though with $7.89 in member savings!), so it could have been worse, and I walked away with a good mix of new books: Marilynne Robinson's "Gilead," which has never interested me on its own but the resounding praise makes me willing to take the risk; David Rakoff's "Half Empty," which I've written about on this blog; and "Between the Bridge and the River," a debut novel from Craig Ferguson. Yes, that Craig Ferguson, of kilt-wearing, late-night-television-show-hosting fame. All in all, a good trip, as I made off with an award-winner, something on my Wishlist and a book I didn't know existed but has all the markings of a good find. As you can see, I'm more than adept at justifying my completely unnecessary literary purchases. After all, I've had years of practice.
Since I bought it in hardcover (even more difficult to rationalize), and because "Devil in the White City" was such a dense book, I'm taking the easy road this week and plowing through the whopping 220 pages of "Half Empty." In a bit of karmic retribution though, I saw "127 Hours" last night, which (outside of arm-chopping) is very much about learning to appreciate life and take nothing for granted. Needless to say, reading a book that essentially praises the tenets of negative thinking is proving a little tricky in my post-James-Franco glow (though Rakoff's argument has nuances). It's TBD whether I'll spend this weekend ogling at nature or crying into a pint of ice cream.
I'll keep you posted.
I loved Gilead.
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