OK, from my book extractions, I've assembled this little group of books that I still love very much, but as i said, I've read many many MANY times and can read no more; or I loved them but know I'll not read them again and have to make room on the self for new favorites. So if you'd like one, let me know and I'll mail it to you, because I'd rather a friend enjoy these books than someone at a public library or the Goodwill. As a warining, Mr. Elwood Pudding suddenly belived himself to be a model and demanded to showcase some of the titles. I had to let him, so some of these are pictures of books + cat.
The Little House: An Architectural Seduction
Don't be fooled by bad photography, this book is actually blue and is quite small, it's lovely for a tiny shelf or carrying in a purse. Originally published as "La Petite Mansion" in French in 1879, this is a translation. The premise of this quick little story is that this French guy is going to woo a very proper lady into love by the sheer beauty of his home's architecture. Basically, it's him showing her room after room and each is more beautiful than the last until she's so overcome he'll hopefully have his way with her. Does it work? Don't ask me, lazy, you have to read it!! What makes this little book so especially awesome it that it's full of fold out pages of architectural illustrations, floor plans and maps of the grounds.
Geek Love
This book rules, it has conjoined twins in it. It's about a man who creates himself a family of freaks by subjecting his totally willing wife to chemicals and radiation while she's pregnant, and they have an albino dwarf, a flipper baby, the conjoined twins, and so on. The most of the book is about the kids growing up and running the circus and they're eventual and sad demise. It has great characters and is written vibrantly.
After Dark
This book takes place in Tokyo and is written in a sort of surreal style comparitive to the flow and strange choppiness / juxtapositions of a David Lynch movie. To say the least, it's gorgeous. The story follows 2 sisters, one staying up all night in a dinner encountering weird characters over the course of the night, and her beautiful model sister, who's been asleep for 2 months straight. This is by the same author as the Wind Up Bird Chronicle.
Now is the Hour
This book is a coming of age story of a teenage boy in rural Kansas during the 60's. It's so pretty, I love the author's style. It's about his relationship with very conservative Catholic parents, his older sister, his first girlfriend, and then meeting the love of his life, who's a much older Native American half-crazy man. The whole story is explaining radical changes in his life that lead to him leaving the farm for San Fransico to start a freer life. If you're not down with the gay, this book is not for you, because there is plenty of gay in there. I loved this book, it captures so well the intense love and frustration a teenager goes through with their parents as they are breaking away from childhood.
The Philosophy of Andy Warhol
He's so crazy, it's pretty much what the title says. Want to spend a while in his crazy mind? I did, it' cracked me up, I was laughin' big-time. Why is "THE" in all caps?
Lolita
This is very well the most lyrical beautifully prosed book I've ever read. If you don't know the story of Lolita, shame on you. It's about a dirty old man who falls in love with a little girl, and the whole thing is beautiful agony and pain and ruin. I get new messages every time I read it, and new feelings about the story the older I get.
Einsteins Dreams
I LOVE this book! Sigh... it's a fiction about when Einstein was writting the Theory of Relativity, he had dreams every night about worlds with different kinds of time. Each chapter is describing the kind of time in that world, it reads really quickly and pleasurably. For instance, in one world there are 2 kinds of people, those who live by the body clock and those who live by the mechanical clock. In another world, you live longer the higher up you live, so people build houses way up in the mountains on stilts as high as they can possibly get. In another world people live multiple lives, one for each possible choice that could be made in a decision.
That's it so far, this has sort of inspired me to do some synopsis of books I'm not getting rid of, just for the heck of it. Oh well, time to make dinner.
Bonus points and a special treat to whoever can identify David Michael's mom in this picture.
I bought this book yesterday at Barnes & Nobel on my lunchbreak : Exit Wounds. Here's a synopsis:
Yay again for the MAIL!
It was a splendid time, with lots of dancing, and a really good group sing/dance to the weezer song Surf Wax America. I had a wonderful night with Christine and Amanda, and we reminiced about Lompoc High.
Near the end of the evening, David Michael turned into a sports newscaster, inspired by his suit tie and slicked back hair part, and went about asking "the hard-hitting questions" alternating with a Jehovah's WItness type bible salesman persona. What a great night, my feets are killing me.
They have a lovely happy hour menu and I had scruptious fish tacos and white sangria.
After the hour of happy, we trecked all up and down and around the Walt Disney Concert Hall looking for a Barry McGee exhibit opening Anthony fortold of. When we finally found it, we were tantalized by his grafitting sculptures and crazy bright patterned wall installations. It was colorful and lovely. All hipsters were out in full force, and I could only take it for so long though, boys ought not wear such tight pants.
In more lovely news, I finally made it in to the Mood Designer Fabrics store on La Cienega and Pico - right where Pearl is. I was agog at the lovely fabric prints within, and bought some yards of this one here, I plan to make a skirt or top or handbag, or maybe a matchy matchy skirt and handbag! Wouldn't that just make you want to slap me?
Last night Christine invited me to join her at Largo to see John Brion perform. He plays there every Friday and the shows sell out almost immediately, so it was really exciting that she got a reservation. To learn about the genius that his Jon Brion check him out here, he's worked with a million people and created music for I Heart Huckabees, Magnoila and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. The show was spectacular, he moves from the drums, the piano keyborad and guitars, recording loops of each instrument and playing the loop back while playing the next instrument until he's built this very complex song, and then plays another istrument over it all while singing. I've never seen such creativity pour out of one person. He had 11 different kinds of guitars on stage, and moved through them picking whatever he needed for the next song. And he had no set list, he just took requests screamed from the crowd, and when they asked for a song he sort of knew but didn't know that well, he'd just sort of figure it out, on ALL instruments. Amazing, and even more than that, everything he played was potent with creativity and full emotion. I was really blown away. At the end, Fiona Apple came out and sang to 4-5 songs, and that really made the night spectacular.
We paid $15 to get into this little place and saw the most amazing show with a Fiona Apple appearance, and we were sitting 5 feet from her. She has a truly beautiful voice, and it's so warm and rich and alive when it's happening right there spontaneously in front of you. She is so tiny, and such big, sweet, bold sounds come out of her. I was so glad I go to go and hear and see all that incredible talent.
Then we discovered these guys on the balcony below us. They were gargantuan snow beasts - the poofiest poofs I've ever seen. I took their pictures and they barked at me.
Before walking down to the Promenade for dinner we examined the contents of the night dresser drawer, and in addition to the Holy Bible we found a copy of the Teachings of the Buddha. Only in California we decided. But more shocking, this large toenail that I've circled in red! Gross!!!!!
