Wine and Books

Another week passes, with the usual failures: no gym time, too much wine, not enough tasks accomplished. Another week of unseasonably warm weather. Another week of uncertainty, but hey--that's actually nothing new.

In my life, the only things that are certain are death, taxes, wine, and books. Guess which one I am focusing on today?

After a slow reading month in January, I am finally starting to pick up some speed with my books. Here's what's been on my radar this last week...from the top:

The Fever, by Meg Abbott: One of the great things about this book is that it's versatile--teens and adults both can read this. It touches on a lot of the usual teen issues of sex and drugs and cliques and crushes, but the reader sees things through the point of view of adults, too. It explores the story of several teenage girls who, one by one, begin exhibiting mysterious symptoms of an illness that no one can diagnose. Is it the icky murky lake on the outskirts of town, emitting toxic sludge? A reaction to the mass HPV vaccine? Or something witchy and sinister? It took me a little while to get into this, but once I did, it was a page-turner and a fascinating glimpse into current teen culture. 

Texts from Jane Eyre: And Other Conversations with Your Favorite Literary Characters

Now, A. This was just fun, and B. I think it might qualify as fanfic. 

Texts from Circe and Agamemnon had me guffawing, but here's one of my personal favorites, from Little Women:

Beth: amy?
Amy: yes?
Beth: amy im dying tonight
Amy: oh beth
Amy: no
Beth: yes im definitely dying
Beth: oh its terrible how much im dying just now
Amy: but
Amy: what exactly are you dying of
Beth: this sewing needle...it's so very heavy
Amy: well
Amy: put it down
Beth: the window
Beth: it's so
Beth: so bright
Amy: the window is killing you?
Beth: it's so terribly full of glass
Amy: I see
Beth: theres just glass all over it
Beth: i just don't know how you stand it

Yes Please, by Amy Poehler
This book...It's been on my radar for a while now. And I'm trying to get a head start on some of Paper and Glam's book club selections. And these two things melded together in a happy coincidence, and so I am reading this. I haven't gotten too far into it, so can only say this: yes, Ms. Poehler has achieved (literally) fame and fortune, so what has she got to complain about? Well, guess what? She's Amy Poehler before she is AMY POEHLER, which means she struggles with the same things (divorce, not having done enough, fear of failure) that we do, but on a different level and with maybe more to lose. I know I am gonna like this book.

Infinite Jest, by David Foster Wallace
No progress. Enough said.

Pioneer Girl: The Annotated Autobiography by Laura Ingalls Wilder
This ain't yo mama's Laura Ingalls Wilder. Nonetheless, I've been on the waitlist for this book for months! It's the original memoir upon which the (much more fictionalized) Little House series is based. I'm sure it's not a surprise that many of the details of Ingalls Wilder's life were left out, and that a lot of the stuff in the books is "fiction based on fact." Still, the raw memoirs make for wonderful, cozy, inspiring reading, and are a celebration of the American spirit, the history of our country, and hearth and home.