Going out to dinner tonight with a friend of mine from high school. Haven’t seen him in decades although we’ve exchanged emails. It’s made me all nostalgic and maudlin. High school was a profoundly significant time for me, where I established the rudimentary basis of my personality and value systems. In many key and essential ways, I haven’t changed since then–my most closely-held beliefs and ideals are the same. It was also a time of extreme emotional upheaval and turmoil with extreme lows, balanced by times where I grew into myself, learned who I was and who I wanted to become.
Writing Stuff
I voted in the Quills. If you haven’t, you should too. It’s a new national book award that includes readers in the award process. I wish there’d been more genre options, but I think it’s great to have anything which honors strong writing and good books. Go Vote!
I’m getting the nostalgia for high school – well nostalgia’s not the proper word since even the thought of being back in high school gives me the shakes. But my 15 year reunion is in a couple weeks and I can’t make it, but that doesn’t stop me from checking the evite and the page on reunions.com to see where the people are. Most of them are married with kids and boring jobs.
There’s some 45 dollar book coming out on the Cult of the Fox in Asian literature and folklore.
Cult of Fox book – oooo!
$45 price tag – ugh!
Sigh. I miss having tons of disposable income. Actually, I miss having an income . . .
Who’d you vote for?
Hm. Well, for those catagories where I’ve read any of the books nominated, I’ve only read one of them. Well, I guess that makes voting easy. In case you’re curious, here are the ones I’ve read and would recommend:
Children’s chapter book/Middle grade: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror: Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell
Business (God, I can’t believe I’ve read something in this catagory): Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything
Humor: The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Presents America: A Citizen’s Guide to Democracy Inaction
Sports (yes, yes, I know): Three Nights in August: Strategy, Heartache, and Joy; Inside the Mind of a Manager
Book of the Year: Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything
I’m as shocked as you are that the business book won my vote. Though, it really needs to be classified differently. It’s hard to say that a book that makes a very strong argument that the three causes for the lowering of the crime rate over the last decade were the good economy of the late 90s, increased numbers of police, and the legalization of abortion is a “business” book. It’s a very interesting read, and one that I highly recommend.
PJI