What Tony is reading

I haven’t read anything for a month. I think attempting to read After the Plague nearly twice in a row burned me out. I will reread it again soon, I guess. My work deadlines have kept me busy--and I don’t count editing books as “reading.” I have also been revising my novel again. Creating a novel is not the same as reading a novel. I know that sounds obvious, but for me writing is intertwined with understanding the experience of reading what you write, which is not quite the same as reading and being conscious of my experience as reading. The world needs editors.

Instead of reading I burned an eclectic selection of music onto a CD a month ago and listened to it every night as I fell asleep. Normally, listening to music before I fall asleep wakes me up--a lot--but my brain has been in some kind of different mode lately. The CD has Rick James, Prokofiev, John Lennon, Blondie, Miles Davis, Elvis Costello, and a couple of lesser known artists.

Then a few night ago I started reading again. I’m reading The Namesake because the movie is out and I thought it might be nice to read it and then see how it ended up on the screen. I’ve only gotten through the first two chapters, but I am enjoying it immensely. I’m liking it better than The Interpreter of Maladies. Anyway, The Namesake is a wonderful book. It has made me laugh out loud--which I was not expecting. And Jhumpa Lahiri possesses one of the quintessential American voices of our time. Maybe I should read her twice in a row instead of T. C. Boyle.