August 2010 (part deux)

I read this last weekend in an hour or two. If you want to feel like you've caught up on some serious fiction and don't have a lot of time, this is very satisfying. One of the top 5 fiction books of the year for the New York Times Book Review critic's choice. These stories are a reflection of contemporary America...a country where often we are torn between wanting everything at the same time because we are told to want it. (The title is from a poem by Ammons quoted in the book's epigraph). And as one of the sympathetic deeply flawed characters feels: "The force with which he wanted it both ways made him grit his teeth. What kind of fool only wanted it one way?"

I think I'm going to take one of these home to relax with this weekend. Coloring is good for adults, I think (or maybe I'm just excusing my arrested development?). This kit sports crayons, 3 coloring books, a book of stickers, and a book of temporary tattoos. I may be sporting them this tomorrow!

I've been told repeatedly that I take the pre-school books too seriously...but Barry the Fish with Fingers has breaded fish sticks for fingers. Yes, that's funny. I guess that doesn't make him a cannibal, really, just a fish that's, that's, that's um I'm at a loss. What kind of message are we sending to our children about where their food comes from? Ok, I'm getting too wound up about this. It's actually an adorable, goofy book and kids will absolutely love it. For myself, despite the fact that it hasn't occurred to me to have a fish stick since I was 12, I feel quite certain that I will never eat another one for the rest of my life. Ew.