What I’m (Not) Reading Now
But I will! Soon! Sure! You bet!
I’d like this to be about all the books I’ve read lately, or listened to, as the case may be. But I’ve been a bad, bad reader, what with podcasts to listen to and social media rabbit holes to fall down. So I’m going to list the books I should have read, and will read, sometime, soonish, you bet. Currently gracing my Audible “Not Started” list1 are:
Everybody Behaves Badly: The True Story Behind Hemingway’s Masterpiece The Sun Also Rises by Lesley M. M. Blume. For my lit major cred.
Hits, Flops, and Other Illusions: My Fortysomething Years in Hollywood by Ed Zwick. Hoping for some thirtysomething memories.
Letterman: The Last Giant of Late Night by Jason Zinoman. Been a fan since he was a not-so-giant of daytime TV.
May You Live in Interesting Times: A Memoir by Laraine Newman. The new movie on the start of SNL has me feeling nostalgic.
The Third Gilmore Girl: A Memoir by Kelly Bishop. I never actually watched Gilmore Girls, so I’m not sure why this caught my eye. For the Dirty Dancing and Chorus Line of it all, maybe.
The Friday Afternoon Club: A Family Memoir by Griffin Dunne. Just saw him on Only Murders in the Building, and hey, he has a book out!
Big in Sweden: A Novel by Sally Franson. This was one of Catherine’s Library Finds of the Week … but I’m mostly in it because Meg Ryan will be reading it to me.
All the Beauty in the World: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Me by Patrick Bringley. Another of Catherine’s Library Finds that I purchased while we were recording.
Life's Work: A Memoir by David Milch. Hoping for some John from Cincinnati explanation.
A Long Time Ago, in a Cutting Room Far, Far Away: My Fifty Years Editing Hollywood Hits - Star Wars, Carrie, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Mission: Impossible, and More by Paul Hirsch. Gonna learn me something about film editing.
The Book: A Cover-To-Cover Exploration of the Most Powerful Object of Our Time by Keith Houston. An audio book about physical books; gotta love the irony.
The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece: A Novel by Tom Hanks. Gonna listen to this after the one narrated by Meg Ryan and then go watch You’ve Got Mail again.
Travels by Michael Crichton. It’s not like I’m going to listen to one of his dinosaur books. This seems safe.
The Duke and I by Julia Quinn; Bridgertons , Book 1. Bought this after I watched the first season of Bridgerton and still have not actually read it. Maybe by the time they’ve finished with the last one.
The Triumph of Seeds: How Grains, Nuts, Kernels, Pulses & Pips Conquered the Plant Kingdom and Shaped Human History by Thor Hanson. Could have sworn I listened to this one, but maybe I have it confused with the book I listened to about moss.
What’s on your list or your shelf or your shopping cart that you’re really going to read soon, for sure, definitely? And what have you read that I should buy with some of these Audible credits burning a hole in my pocket?
This week on the Parenting Roundabout Podcast
We’re feeling a little wearied by this season of Only Murders in the Building, alas. So many guest stars! So many bits! So much Parody of Show Business! So many jokes about how out of it old people are. I keep meaning to go back and watch the first season to see if my comparisons are fair; after all, Sting was briefly a suspect, so it’s not like they were above stunt casting. I just feel like it was more in service of the mystery, rather than the mystery being in service of the schtick.
But yeah, I’m the enemy of fun.
What’s making me feel old this week
My mail is full of invitations to Social Security workshops. My email is full of AARP come-ons. And Facebook is feeding me ads for special shoes for “elderly women,” underwear that accommodates leaks, and a product that gathers your paperwork together for your next of kin. Younger than springtime am I.
Links are for reference only, but Amazon requires me to tell you they’ll give me a teensy little kickback if you click one and buy something. No pressure.
I almost always have one paper book and one audiobook going at the same time!