March, 2009 Reading

The year 2009 seems to be going by like a rocket (the Ray Bradbury or Star Wars or Star Trek kind that cover distances faster than light)...maybe I've fallen into a worm hole and just come out in mid March, 2009. Certainly seems that way lately.

Through a tiny bit of personal and professional "interesting" times, and also while fighting off a deep addiction to Facebook in general and the Facebook Zynga games such as Football and Mafia Wars in particular, I've still managed to read quite a bit of late. Much thanks to my dear friends at my local Barnes and Noble for allowing me and various family members to haunt the premises and spend way too much money on large numbers of books. I keep telling myself that I'm doing my part to "stimulate" the economy...

A quick list of books read, all or in part, in no particular order, since the fall of 2008:

The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky

The Code of the Woosters, by P. G. Wodehouse

Flashman at the Charge, by George MacDonald Fraser

Lonely Werewolf Girl, by Martin Millar

Suzy, Led Zeppelin and Me, by Martin Millar

The Age of Reagan: A History 1974 - 2008, by Sean Wilentz

Spoon River Anthology, by Edgar Lee Masters

Jeeves and the Tie that Binds, by P. G. Wodehouse

The Catcher in the Rye, by J. D. Salinger

The Secret of Sinharat, by Leigh Brackett

I'm presently finishing up an estimated 5th or 6th time rereading of Flashman at the Charge ( I shamelessly admit I love Flashman) and a similarly upteenth rereading of "How Right You Are Jeeves" by P. G. Wodehouse ( I freely admit to love for Jeeves and his employer Bertie Wooster as well). Along with those I'm reading Fritz Leiber's novel about his fantasy heroes Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, "The Swords of Lankhmar" for my Goodreads Group Pulp Magazine Authors and Literature Fans, which is also a Facebook group. Join us if you're so inclined. For March, 2009 we're reading Leiber's great novel of how the tall and short heroes (or anti-heroes) battle the rats of Lankhmar...

After discussing that novel and reviewing the current reads I'm planning of tackling The Complete Stories, by Flannery O'Connor along with The Dead Father's Club, by Matt Haig. I have no idea when I'll be able to get around to all the political biography and history I have waiting on the shelf, such as Nothing to Fear: FDR's Inner Circle and the Hundred Days That Created Modern America by Adam Cohen or those books that friends have recommended such as Christopher Moore's "Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal" (thanks Jennifer and Michelle) or "The Shack" by William P. Young (thanks Joy, Ms. Etienne and Carri) but I'll post reviews as soon as possible.

Best to everyone, over and out for the time being...