In my latest book, How to Become Your Own Book (2011, Blue Rooster Press),
I publish–for all the world to see–a list of the most important books and stories
of my life.
That’s right, there’s a list of books and stories that changed my life in some way, books that are unforgettable on some level.
Now, this list of books (I’ll publish it in next Tuesday’s blast/blog/tweet/facebook/linkedin) is not exactly what you might think an old bookie like me might reveal. It includes some titles that are not necessarily great, some that are disturbing, some that are naughty or funny or violent or off-beat. But they are all books that carry deep metaphor, deep meaning, deep ideas.
They are books not to be ignored.
So, that’s next week. Stay tuned.
Meanwhile, what am I reading this week? What books hold my attention and rearrange my brain this week?
As a bookie, I dabble in several titles simultaneously, depending on where I can catch a moment.
There are the Downstairs Books-in-progress: 3 On a Toothbrush by Jack Paar, Mark Twain’s first-of-three-volumes of his century-later autobiography (this is taking me a year to absorb), and Richard Feynman’s The Pleasure of Finding Things Out.
There are the Upstairs Bedroom/bathroom Books-in-progress: Robert Wagner’s autobiography, Robert Vaughn’s A Fortunate Life, H.G. Wells’ The Door in the Wall and Other Stories, an old Dilbert cartoon collection, and two 1935 issues of the Mexican magazine, Mujeres y Deportes.
There’s no pattern here that I can recognize. Some books are found by accident in estate boxes, some are specifically sought out, all are mind-bending in one way or another.
Each must keep my attention, or I’ll not finish—but I always do finish, out of respect for the authors, just the way I’d like the books I’ve written to be treated by gentle readers.
Tune in next week for The List. I’m looking forward to your reaction
© 2011 A.D. by Jim Reed