Reading, Writing, Ranting

I've always taken great pleasure in books, and find that reading tends to feed and inspire my interest in writing. Browsing through bookstores and libraries relaxes me, as long as my kids aren't with me. Some simple requirements of the books I tend to gravitate towards:

1) Currently, I need to be able to hold the book comfortably in one hand. Much of my reading is done while feeding my infant son. I have been putting off reading Don DeLillo's Underworld for quite some time for this very reason. I'm still not sure how I managed to read David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest when my first son was a baby.

2) It must absolutely not mention lipstick in the title or be marketed in any way as "Chick Lit". Sorry, Oprah, this means you. Also, if there is a Hollywood starlet on the cover, I won't buy it.

3) The subject matter cannot be related to bunnies. I'm sorry to say I've never finished Richard Adams' Watership Down because bunnies make me very sleepy.

4) I prefer paperback novels with a matte finish. We all have our peculiarities.

So what am I reading these days?

1) Herzog by Saul Bellow. All that letter writing sort of reminds me of blogging.

2) Work as a Spiritual Practice by Lewis Richmond. Although I generally enjoy my work as orchestral flautist and teacher (exception: getting splashed with fake blood while performing in the pit orchestra for Mozart's opera Don Giovanni last month), this book is nice to leaf through when I feel trapped being a stay-at-home-mom or when I am stressing out about the orchestra.

3) Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling. This one I am reading aloud to Joshua. I was actually surprised by how much he's interested in it, considering the fact that there are no pictures (and he's nearly three). He'll sit and listen for a good half hour, several times a day. I think his attention span has something to do with the fact that we don't watch a lot of television. Oh yes, and it's a good story.