Rediscovering Those Paper-Filled Things on My Shelves

I feel I’ve gotten too lax on the “Books” part of “Books and Bad TV,” and watching classic films doesn’t count. As much as I want to make the excuse that watching TV is related to my writing because I blog about it, I haven’t lost my mental acuity so fully that I don’t realize that reading is more important to my writing than Top Chef. And so, I‘ve resumed reading one book and started a new book tonight.

Shakespeare Wrote For Money by Nick Hornby – In this collection of monthly columns he wrote for The Believer magazine, Hornby lists the books he’s bought that month and then writes about the ones he read. Not surprising to anyone who loves books, the list of what he bought rarely matches perfectly with the list of what he read. Lucky for us, and perhaps a big reason behind Hornby writing this column, is that he’s a voracious reader. Hornby himself describes it as reading “neurotically...to ward off boredom, and the fear of our own ignorance, and our impending deaths.” Anyone familiar with Hornby’s style from his novels and short stories will recognize the flowing sentences, sometimes long and hard to parse, but always striking a unique balance between sounding casual and academic. And another signature Hornby style is that it’s funny, very funny. It’s a great read and features a wide assortment of nonfiction and fiction recommendations, including Hornby’s unexpected discovery that he enjoys the strong literary fiction in today’s YA market. Because Hornby selects writers he likes and others that are new to him, the discovery is genuine. Plus, like me, you may wind up with an even lengthier list of books you hope to read. On a side note: the Introduction by Sarah Vowell is hilarious.

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller – I’m not sure what inspired me to choose this book off my shelf (for better or worse, there are dozens of book on my shelves that I haven’t gotten around to reading), but I’m glad I picked it. The edition I have is from 1963 (according to the copyright page, it was the seventh printing of the book in just six months since its first publication). It’s a very old copy that smells like an old library book, which I adore, and the pages have been separating from the spine as I read each one. The fact that the book is falling apart at my fingertips seems fitting to the satirical story within about bombardiers trying to stay alive while stationed near Italy during WWII. I had heard much about the book (and the subsequent movie), as have most people, and knew that it was the source of the meaning of "a catch-22." But I don’t think I expected it to be so funny. In literature, you call it satire, but in today’s words, I’d call it snarky in the best possible sense. I’ve only read a few chapters so far, but I’m looking forward to the rest.

Finally, I’ve been inspired by Hornby’s article to start listing what I’ve read and seen. It’s as much for my own edification as it is a way to show others that I do more than watch Real Housewives. (Yes, I’m vain nerd. Or am I nerdly vain?) Anyway, here’s what I’ve been reading and watching this past week.

Books I’m reading:
Shakespeare Wrote for Money – Nick Hornby
Catch-22 – Joseph Heller

TV shows I watched:
Downton Abbey
Sherlock
New Girl
Real Housewives of Beverly Hills (2 episodes)
Couples Therapy (2 episodes)
Vanderpump Rules (2 episodes)
Project Runway: Under the Gunn
Winter Olympics

Movies I watched:
Field of Dreams (1989) – Not my first time, but got sucked in. Thanks, TCM.
Despicable Me 2 (2013) – Cute, but not as fresh as the first.
The Making of a Lady (TV movie – 2012) – Linus Roache, a.k.a. Law & Order’s Executive A.D.A. Michael Cutter, is British??