Pieces

I haven't finished "How to Talk About Books You Haven't Read," but I fully intend to, very soon. I didn't really think that was good subway reading, so I started a book my mom sent me called "An Episode of Sparrows," and I made it through the beginning, but I got distracted by Kurt Vonnegut. I'm not sure why, but I felt compelled to start "The Sirens of Titan" when I found a raggedy copy at The Strand, credited to Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. I guess he dropped the junior later, because this copy was printed in 1977. I suppose it qualifies as vintage, but I had to do a little repair work. The back cover of the mass-market paperback was gone, and the back page fell off. Considering it contained the last few paragraphs of the book, I figured I'd better tape it back on. Living in my purse, the back page wasn't exactly protected, so I have remedied the situation by putting a whole layer of clear mailing tape on the front and back covers. I basically ghetto-laminated it. It's pretty charming. On the new back cover is a little order form for KV boxed sets for about $8 each. I'm always tempted to mail those things in ... this one to Pinebrook, N.J. But how is it really that "handy" of a coupon if you have to send in the last paragraph of the book, too, which is on the back of it? Somebody didn't think that through very well.

Today, the anniversary of my second week at Barnes & Noble, I learned that mass-market paperbacks are so cheaply produced that the ones that don't sell aren't returned to the publisher. They're literally destroyed -- stripped of the cover and (hopefully/supposedly) recycled. Quite sad. However, the condition of my "Sirens" proves that they really aren't made to last, anyway. Also at work, though yesterday, I submitted a staff recommendation of "Love is a Mix Tape," even though I haven't read it. So, I better get on it. I do want to read it! I need to start a list of the books I want to read. Chuck Klosterman, David Sedaris, and a new one called "Daphne," which I knew before reading the subtitle was a mystery involving the author of "Rebecca." I know there are more -- I'll start keeping a good list. I also thought I might start keeping up with the books I see people reading on the subway, just out of curiosity. Today I saw a lady reading "The Bitch" by Deja King, and another reading a giant, red Catherine Coulter hardback.

Anyway, I am really digging "The Sirens of Titan." I don't usually read sci-fi, but somehow when it's Vonnegut, it's different. My roommate asked me what the book was about, and all I could do was mutter something about the future and space travel. Oh, well. At least there are no real aliens in it. The Martians are actually Earthlings who relocated to Mars. Then Mars gets blown up, of course, by Earth. It's fantastic. And there are some "aliens," I guess, but it's not alien invasion or creepy MIB monsters. I just finished reading the description of harmoniums, the life forms that live on Mercury, and it was beautiful. These thin, diamond-shaped organisms feed on the music their planet produces, and they use their bodies to create kaleidescope patterns. How awesome is that?

In other news, I have an informational interview at Random House next week, and I realized I'd have more room for music on my iPod if I gave in and converted everything to m4a. So I did, and I uploaded a crap-ton of Tori Amos tonight, along with REO Speedwagon, Korn and Jimmy Buffett.

between the sacred silence and sleep ...

My mind and my computer are both on overdrive today. I have been uploading more CDs to my iPod. It's nice to have a distraction from thinking about how I didn't get the job I really wanted this week. However, I did get hired at Barnes & Noble, which will be awesome even if it doesn't pay well.

So my iPod is almost perfect. It's only 8G, so I can't fit exactly everything I want, but I feel like the mix is quite representative of me. Following, a list of artists included:

ABBA
Alice in Chains
Amy Winehouse (2)
Audioslave
Beastie Boys
Beck (7)
Cake (4)
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
Dave Matthews Band (2)
David Bowie
David Cook
Deerhunter
DMX
The Dresden Dolls (3)
Duffy
The Eagles of Death Metal (2)
Elton John
Eminem (4)
En Vogue
Faith No More (2)
Fatboy Slim
Feist
Fiona Apple (3)
George Michael
Girl Talk (3)
The Glass Ocean
Jem
Journey
The Killers
KT Tunstall
Limp Bizkit
Live (2)
Madonna
Natalie Imbruglia
Outkast (2)
Peaches (3)
Pearl Jam
Pink Floyd
Q-Tip
Queens of the Stone Age
The Raconteurs
Red Hot Chili Peppers (2)
Sean Paul
She Wants Revenge
Stevie Wonder
Stone Temple Pilots
Sublime
System of a Down (5)
Tenacious D
The Toadies (2)
Tori Amos (3)
Violent Femmes
The White Stripes (2)

So there isn't nearly enough Tori Amos, White Stripes, Violent Femmes or STP, and Weezer and Jimmy Buffet got the shaft. But once the thing finishes syncing, I'll see how much room is left.

I did manage to finish "Eat, Pray, Love" the other day. Finally! And I got a bit of a start on "How to Talk About Books You Haven't Read." I realized Elizabeth Gilbert didn't stump me in the vocab department, really. She included a lot of foreign words but always provided an explanation. I realized this when I ran across the word "mendacity" [tendency to lie] in the new book. But I will make a note of the last sentence I starred: "[S]ome vital transformation is happening in my life, and this transformation needs time and room in order to finish its process undisturbed. ... I'm the cake that just came out of the oven, and it still needs some time to cool before it can be frosted. I don't want to cheat myself out of this precious time. I don't want to lose control of my life again."

There are quite a few intriguing passages in "How to Talk." Basically the book posits that you don't have to read books to know books. I believe that, because there are many books I know but haven't read. It's good to have some validation. The author, Pierre Bayard, is a professor who deals frequently with people who claim to have read Proust-type greats, but who are really only faking it. But they sort of have to, because any one person can consume only a tiny ("infinitesimal") fraction of all the books on earth.

"Our relation to books is a shadowy space haunted by the ghosts of memory, and the real value of books lies in their ability to conjure these specters."

" ... it is his love of books--of all books--that incites him to remain prudently on their periphery, for fear that too pronounced an interest in one of them might cause him to neglect the others."

While that sounds a bit ridiculous, it's actually true. As he explains, knowing a book is not about knowing the pages inside, it's about being able to place that book in its "location" among other books. You have to know the book culture, the relevance.

"To a cultivated or curious person, even the slightest glance at a book's title or cover calls up a series of images and impressions quick to coalesce into an initial opinion, facilitated by the whole set of books represented in the culture at large."

I love this book. The writer of the foreword admits he didn't really even need to read this book in order to talk about it, but of course, he's glad he did. And I think it will be helpful for me in a lot of ways, confirming how I already thought about books, but putting an explanation to it. It will be good for working in publishing, and at the bookstore, where I'll be starting soon. I have missed touching all the books. I know, I'm a freak.