You’ll notice I didn’t mention the other 278 habits. No need to put you through that…I probably couldn’t name them all anyway…probably. I bring up this one, though, because unlike counting the coffeemaker, iron and animals numerous times, this one seems seems to be fun and helpful.
Blame it on hormones, medication, or the fact that I have two hands instead of one…but I now read two books at the same time.
To those that don’t know me personally this might sound intelligent and well rounded. To those that do, well…it’s just par for the obstacle course that is Your Hostess.
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It started back in the early fall. Someone had recommended Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home and I wanted to read Augusten Burroughs’ Running With Scissors instead of watching it as a movie. You probably recognize Bechdel from the comic strip Dykes To Watch Out For. Fun Home is an autobiography in the form of a comic. It chronicles the her childhood focusing on her complex relationship with her father. The book addresses themes of sexual orientation, gender roles, suicide and the role of literature in understanding oneself and one’s family. While I was throughly enjoying that book, I found Running With Scissors at the library. I sure you’ve seen the movie trailer if not the feature film…the book…I highly recommend. It tells the story of Burroughs’ bizarre childhood life after his mother, who sent him to live with her psychiatrist. Completely by accident I had hit on the perfect combination.
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I did it again. This time with an author…Dan Simmons. I read Terror and The Hollow Man at the same time. The first book tells the story of the trials and tribulations into the 1840s Franklin expedition and its doomed search for the Northwest Passage. The second book tells the story of Jeremy Bremen and his secret. All his life he’s been cursed with the ability to read minds. He knows the secret thoughts, fears, and desires of others as if they were his own, and now he’s running-from his mind, from his past, from himself-hoping to find peace in isolation.
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My next pair came to me this morning in the form of an interview with Patricia Cornwell about her new book, The Front. You know her…the murder mystery writer…Kay Scarpetta and her gay niece (hmmm). She always writes with such incredible detail, and I found out why this morning. I really believe she thinks she is Kay Scarpetta…and that’s OK with me. She had this strange look in her eyes the whole time Diane Sawyer was interviewing her. I was fascinated…and I think Diane was a little intimidated. Watching that interview made me realize how really good writers succeed. Part of them is always in their stories, literally and figuratively. So who to pair her with…
Then it hit me…
It was no contest really. Anne Rice. She’s the only author that I have all hard bound books. Why, because since I read her first book back in college, I’ve bought every book she’s written. And guess what…she’s got that strange look in her eyes when I see her interviewed…and I just remembered that her new book is out. Christ The Lord: Road To Cana.
Look, I know what your thinking, there’s no way these two are going to pair…in your world, but in mine they’re a match made in heaven and the morgue.
