love is a book on tape

I've been reading a lot more lately, partially because of the excellent Full Present Capture (FPC) of Christmas and my birthday, and partially because when I was home for the holidays and had nothing better to do, I remembered how much I liked getting lost in a good book.

Here's what's been read and what's on the nightstand:

You Don't Love Me Yet by Jonathan Lethem. I already told you about it.

Playground by Jennifer Saginor. Memoir about a girl who grew up in the Playboy Mansion, because her dad was Hugh Hefner's personal drug doc. Ultimately repetitive and sad (just like her coke-filled parties), but boy what a crazy life. Hard to believe she survived all the drugs and guns and Columbian mafiosa at age 15-18.

Ten Days in the Hills by Jane Smiley. I'd never read anything by Smiley, because all the books seemed to be about horses or hills or touchy feely lives in the wilderness. But this one's about a bunch of people that are either related or tangentially related hanging out in the Hollywood Hills right when the Iraq War starts. It's got some interesting insight into parent-child relationships, aging ("I think upon retirement you ought to have to apply to continue to exist," one character says), and sexual dynamics (although I do find the older characters' brazen way of talking about sex discomforting, which might be because it reminds me of my parents talking about sex or maybe it's a way that that generation thinks, and therefore writes, about sex, which is different than mine). More than anything, it's about storytelling, since most of the time they all sit around and tell stories, many of which are pretty damn interesting.

Eat the Document by Dana Spiotta. Kathleen said it's good, so I'm sure it is. About '70s radicals living in the '90s, which sounds like a great topic.

The Brothers K by David James Duncan. My dad loaned this to me, and I started it but for some reason got sidetracked. It's about religion and baseball, the first of which usually bores me and the second of which can be hard to write about. But it's also about Vietnam and families, so I'm going to go back to it.

Graceland by Chris Abani. A Thaddeus choice from the book swap. Elvis impersonator in Africa, which sounds promising.

Heat by Bill Buford. Essays about food from this New Yorker writer. I loved his piece on the egg chefs of Vegas. Will give you the munchies.

Love Is a Mix Tape by Rob Sheffield. Rolling Stone writer remembers his deceased wife and the '90s mix tapes that wooed her.

What Is the What by Dave Eggers. Really nice cover.

Here's the new comic strip: