I had a book buying bonanza the other day with a forgotten-about Amazon giftcard. Last night, I poured myself a cold beer in a frozen mug and lay on my bed with books and magazines all around me. I then proceeded to watch three episodes in a row of the new season of Call the Midwife. Have ya'll watched that show? It's fantastic -- and the perfect antidote to a day spent in Placentia as well as my recent binge of the last season of House of Cards which, though compelling, is repellent enough that I felt almost dirty when I finished it. After Call the Midwife, I read some more of Life After Life (which I'm still enjoying, overjoyed to learn that I can indeed get through a gigantic novel).
So here's what's on my bedside table, along with the beer:
Begley's new biography of John Updike, Updike (I'm not a big biography reader -- I think the last one I read was probably about the poet Anne Sexton -- but am looking forward to this one)
Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell (an uncharacteristic YA purchase -- I generally can't abide YA -- that I made on the recommendation of one of my favorite bloggers, The Diamond in the Window)
Gabriel Garcia Marquez' short stories Strange Pilgrims (that I bought on the recommendation of another amazing blogger who is also a butcher. Stay tuned, because I have An Idea that has to do with a salon and food and cake and books and me as a moderator who makes a bit of money).
Chinesy: The New Way to Read Chinese by Shaolan (Have I ever told you that I studied Chinese for two years in college? At the time, I had the insane idea that I would learn the language and read the poetry of Tu Fu and Li Po. HA! HA! HA! I learned about four hundred characters and have since forgotten them. In fact, the only thing I remember is the expression Ni hao ma? I don't think I've ever told you, either, that I got myself a job teaching English in Taiwan for the year after I graduated but was convinced by The Boy I Loved to blow that off and stay in Chapel Hill while he finished his master's degree. HA! HA! HA! Some of you know how that all turned out!).
Yes, we all have pasts, don't we?
Anywho.
Reader, what is on your bedside table, including drinking beverages?
Lamp, small fan, doily, wrist brace, glass of water, Kindle, "real" book I'm currently reading, phone charger and at night, the phone.
ReplyDeleteAnd it's a small ass table.
Pens, small notebook, three remotes, lamp, "Tinkers," which I've been meaning to read for ages but can't seem to start, "Palmerino," beautiful writing but for some reason just the opposite of Tinkers, hard to finish, Ursula LeGuin's "The Wave in the Mind," and a regular companion, like a Bible, "The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson," plus not one, not two, but THREE bottles of lotion with THREE scents I do not like one bit, as well as my new pair of glasses that don't work and some outdated Xanax. I love this salon idea you have. If I were closer, I'd definitely come.
ReplyDeleteLamp, Kindle, buncha paper books, including one about ravens and Texaco by Chamoiseau, one deck of Tarot cards, a water from last night, and alarm clock. Oh, and a box of tissues since it's suddenly allergy season. And one thingie of lotion. And a small bottle of clonazepam. I think that's it.
ReplyDeleteLaurie Colwin's "Happy all the Time". I read it and loved it 30 years ago and now can't remember a word of it. But loving it again
ReplyDeleteKindle with the novel Americanah just begun. Lamp. Photo frames. Jewelry box. Candles in wooden spindles. Imitation Faberge egg. Chinese mirror tin. Manuscript and pen. No spirited beverages sadly.
ReplyDeleteStack of books -- am on a Lee Smith kick now...jewelry, framed photos, dog hair, coconut oil. No alcohol for my sober heart but there's often a cooling cup of coffee or tea.
ReplyDeleteI cannot wait to read that Updike bio!
ReplyDeleteEleanor and Park has been recommended to me as well, by the librarians I work with. I haven't read it yet but when we do, let's compare notes! Maybe we'll finally agree on a book! :)
ReplyDeleteha! i have elanor and park on MY nightstand too!!
ReplyDeleteOh dear, I really hope that you like it. On my nightstand is the heavy, groaning copy of Les Miserables. I can't explain why I'm reading it, and I am not loving it, but on I trudge.
ReplyDeleteOkay, so actually on my nightstand are May We Be Forgiven, The Position (Meg Wolitzer), Play It As It Lays, The Untethered Soul, and How to be A Woman by Caitlin Moran. I'm taking Meg back, I've tried Forgiven before and not finished. I'm going to the library today for a whole new set, including The Orphan Master's Son, Americanah, and Dorothy Parker. I also have three Burt's Bees lipbalms, gray nail polish, a turquoise necklace, a pink Guadalupe candle, and a painted rock from my daughter. So much depends upon a white Ikea nightstand.
ReplyDeleteI love that you binged on books and had a cold beer! And there's nothing better than finding a gift card you forgot about. I have a $20 credit to my favorite indie bookstore in town that I'm savoring the idea of for a while before I go use it. Twenty bucks is so little for books that I know I'll spend four times that once I step inside the store. Anywhoo, my nightstand has a lamp, a small alarm clock that I've had for twenty years or more, my iPad (complete with Kindle app on which I'm currently reading "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez, "If I Loved You, I Would Tell You This" by Robin Black and "The Museum of Extraordinary Things" by Alice Hoffman - that one's giving me fits - having a hard time staying interested). The table also sports bell hooks' "All About Love" and an anthology of student writing someone gave me from Oregon as well as the program from the girls' recent talent show and the most recent Sun Magazine.
ReplyDeleteI had to drop House of Cards after the first season - too dark for me. LLLOOOVVVEEE Call the Midwife! I think they handled the episode with the young girl with Down syndrome very well - I was nervous!
ReplyDelete