Miscellany

I'm not reading anything.  I'm 3/4 of the way through Nabokov's Pnin, about which I think, "Meh.  Why was I so crazy about Nabokov when I was young?"  It's stalled.  Next is a re-read of Nicholson Baker's The Mezzanine.  After that I will probably have more reading time.  I think I'll read Empire Falls, just because it's here and I think it will satisfy.  I'm taking suggestions.

I'm driving a 1998 Jetta.  It's perfectly adequate.  Better on gas than my Passat, without any of the luxurious details.  I find the thing I miss the most about my Passat is not the heated leather seats or even the sunroof, but rather the reading on the dashboard that told me what the outside temperature was.  I look at my dashboard a dozen times a day wondering how warm it is outside, and am disappointed every time when it's not there for me.  I never even noticed that I cared about that information when I had it.

We have found a used mast, that we think we will buy next weekend.  It will be in New Bedford for the North American Champs.  There is an elaborate support network helping us: our friend Boogie will inspect the mast and negotiate price, our friend VooDoo will transport the mast back after the regatta is over.  Friends of friends will advise and assist in various ways.  We're taking a hacksaw to our old mast one of these days.  We'll probably make it into a flagpole.  Wouldn't it be fun to have a flagpole in the yard?  I think so. 

Lila the dog is good, happier and more relaxed than she's been yet.  We go to the dog park several times a week, and we run, and sometimes she comes to practice with me.  I confess that I still tell her that she's my favorite living dog.  Belle is still my favorite dog.  Maybe that will change, someday, but I still miss Belle, almost every day. 

Comments

[will]

Pnin is not as good as Pale Fire or Lolita.

I highly recommend Transparent Things.

Also try, Nathianel West's Miss Lonelyhearts.

[Lisa]

Empire Falls is good but it's not as laugh out loud funny as Nobody's Fool or Straight Man. (Have you seen the movie version of Nobody's Fool? Paul Neuman and while it's not 100% true to the book, it's really good.)

If you're looking for witty yet not too involved, try Laurie Notaro. I've snorted wine out of my nose reading her books. The Idiot Girls Guide To Adventure, The Autobiography Of A Fat Bride, You Thought I Would Be Prettier.

Wally Lamb never fails to get me lost for days in a book. I'm not a huge fan of fiction but the man can string a sentence together very nicely.

Water for Elephants