Friday, April 30, 2010

Books; part two

books

Remember how last Friday I said
I'd post more reading recommendations the following day?
Silly me.
I meant the following week.

Here we go.

Wonderful Tonight by Pattie Boyd.
This is a fun read.
Definitely a book that allows you to escape your own reality
if but for that one hour before bed.

Pattie has led an incredibly fascinating life.
You know the Eric Clapton song, Wonderful Tonight...
of course you do.
He wrote it for her.
just a little ditty while he was waiting for her to finish getting ready.
You know, no big deal.
Oh and before she was with him,
she was married to George Harrison, the beatle.
again, no big deal.
I like Eric Clapton.
He was once in a band with a drummer named Ginger.
Ginger was a lush.
That's how we came to even consider the name Ginger.
Beautiful, huh?
A drunk drummer.
Anyway. The Beatles... Eh.
Not a huge fan.
The Rolling Stones are more my style.
But oh my goodness, was the Beatle life
a crazy, ever evolving, fascinating life?
And she had front row streets.
And she gives you the meaty stuff.
I hate it when autobiographies are safe.
Safe equals BORING.
This book is not boring.
The End.

2. Catcher in The Rye by JD Salinger

Recently we had friends over for dinner.
I made flank steak with a lime marinade.
Billy Joel's recipe.
It. was. Gooood.
What does that have to do with the cost of tea in China?
Or the cost of tea and china.
Nothing.
I just wanted to give myself a shout out.
Great Marinade Alexis!
Hey thanks.
Anyway.
My friend's husband says over dinner
"You know what book I did not like at all? Catcher in the Rye."
Whaaaaaaaaa?!
Them are fighten words boy.
Then he goes on to say Holden is fake.
And he hates how he calls everyone phonies.
Meanwhile, I'm counting backwards from ten
because I dont want to go loco at my own dinner party.
I say in my slightly quieter, monotone voice
(the one I use when I dont want to come off as too strong)
Actually I completely disagree.
I get a wee bit attached to books,
so Holden Caulfield might as well be my brother
JD Salinger my dad.
that's how personally offended I was.
Then I decided due to the high probability of me
pulling a new jersey house-wife and flipping the table over
in the heat of debate, I better just squash it.
So he made his point,
I made mine and then quickly ended it with...
Let's agree to disagree.

My opinion was/is... I have never came across such a perfect
fictional protagonist as Holden Caulfield.
And I get him. I feel like I am him.
He gets pretty serious at times
but then he'll start talking about horsing around
and I am laughing out loud.
That's pretty awesome when a book makes you crack up.
And I know the phonies he's talking about.
And my heart bleeds when he talks about
being the catcher in the rye.
(my heart bleeds?)
I think I was a child in the rye...
And Holden caught me...
and stopped me from being a phoney.
No. Seriously.
I know it sounds melodramatic.
What can I say?

I'm not doing this book justice.
I just think it is perfection.
Will you read it and tell me how you feel about it?
Thanks.

Oh and PS...
Dear David (the Holden hater),
You're wrong.
But youre a kind and fun guy.
So we can still be friends.
Cordially, Alexis.

Please share with me your picks.
Thank you friends.
Have a lovely weekend.



5 comments:

Ashley Outnumbered said...

Added to the que!

I don't have books to suggest. :( It's been so long since I've been in the reading mode. I think I had to read so much dry material during college that I kind of went on a strike. A five year strike. Hahaha.

But with your help, I will be a good book reader again!

PS. You are on a blogging roll, and I'm LOVING it!

Alyssa said...

this is so great, thanks for the book recs. i've been trying to reclaim reading time for myself, too. my all-time favorite is: "the sun also rises", by hemingway. i LOVE the characters in that book and his to-the-point style. i just started "the swan thieves" which has promise! i'm sure you read "eat, pray, love" but I loved that too!

Alyssa said...

and by the way, catcher in the rye is FANTASTIC. that was an early fave of mine. i wish salinger had written more. i even dated a boy named holden. what an amazing name, right?!? i don't think i gave a damn about him, but was so caught up in the coolness of his name...

Niels and Susie Jensen said...

I was amused by your post last week bc I just finished The Help and had reserved Open at the library. We are on the same wavelengths or something.

I know we still have not officially met besides the obligatory handshake after sacrament meeting a few moths ago when me and my husband were saying hi to Casey. But I really like your style. Saw you guys for a second last Sunday but spaced coming over again. Next time, next time...

mel or kel said...

You make me laugh, and I now really want to read Catcher in the rye. Keep the recommendations coming.