Click and Read and Listen

It was Oliver that pointed to the billboard that you see above and noted the grafitti on it. What the hell? the three of us thought, quite rightfully. Even the Special Olympics isn't immune to slur, evidently. Because it's all too much sometimes, why don't we talk about books or things that we're listening to? Have you heard about Serial? It's a podcast produced by Ira Glass of This American Life, and it's utterly addictive. My eons and aeons in the car on the Ventura Highway have never been more enjoyable. It helps, too, when the skies are a brilliant blue, a near-full moon rises and the clouds are a bank of fluff.

Even Beverly Hills, that absurd suburb of luxury cars, plastic surgery, boutiques and paparazzi looks downright cheerful if you're listening to a murder mystery in your sexy Mazda.

Yes, that's Santa and his raindeer flying right over Wilshire Blvd. Or do you like this shot better?

I haven't been too entertaining over the last few days, and if I've offended anyone with my rants -- well -- I won't apologize because it's nothing personal. I'm just trying -- albeit in a very public way -- to work through a lot of conflict, both external and internal.

What are you reading? I'm immersed in Tana French's Into the Woods, recommended to me by the great writer Brittany of Vesuvius at Home fame and fortune. If you haven't read her blog or book, you have no idea what you're missing. Despite my aversion to the detective/mystery genre, I so respect Brittany that I dutifully downloaded the Tana French, and you know what? I really, really like it. That doesn't mean you should now tell me to try those Swedish detective series. I tried Henning Menkell and couldn't stomach it. Don't get me started on those bestsellers that were made into movies, about rape and murder or being skinned. I know, I know, I know. They're very well written. Hated them. I read my fair share of Agatha Christie as a teenager and a bit of P.D. James, but to tell you the truth, it's only one slot above science fiction and fantasy, my least favorite of all genres. This might be a bit negative, but here are five genres that I can't abide:

1. Anything by Dan Brown (it just depresses me that such schlock even exists)
2. Lite Fiction/Airport Bestseller/Those dreadful soft core porn books about S&M
3. Mystery/Detective
4. Fantasy  (except The Hobbit and The Fellowship of the Rings the books, NOT the movies)
5. Science Fiction

Anyhoo. 

Here are the top five books that I've ever read that I can come up with on the fly to balance things out:

1. Middlemarch
2. The Brothers Karamazov
3. The English Patient
4. To the Lighthouse
5. A Little Princess

So, between the murder mystery podcast and the Tana French detective novel, I'm really branching out of my comfort zone --

Here's a poem about a different kind of violence. Click and read and listen.

Man in Space

BY BILLY COLLINS