too much reading?

is there such a thing? no. however, i am reading a lot of books, one right after another, these days.

so i recommend Divisadero by Michael Ondaatje. it's a strangely plotted book that is beautifully, poetically written. the kind of book that i find myself marking passages in and coming back to later to re-read. then read them aloud to my husband. and then to my fellow english teachers. and then again to myself. there is a great line about Victor Hugo except i can't quote it because i have lent the book to a friend.

in a different vein, i am reading The Monsters, which is about Mary Shelley and Percy, and Lord Byron and Claire and Polidori who were all in Geneva together on a dark and stormy night which gave birth to Frankenstein. and lots of other stuff too. i have not read much (or anything) about the Romantics - a missed part of my education - so i am enthralled with these hedonists and free-thinkers and especially Byron as the first rock star/celebrity.

music recommendation: get on itunes and type in "even better than the real things." be sure to make "things" a plural. it turns out to be 3 albums that come out of an Irish radio station. they invite Irish folk-ish singers on the show to sing pop songs but in their own style. there is a britney spears song that is just an absolutely beautiful song when sung by Glen Hansard (currently become famous in the movie Once).

enough recommendations. back to reading!