Sometimes I think that I should try Moby Dick. Then I remember that I barely got through a short story by Melville without my head exploding. And then I decide I should read some more Dumas instead.

Crooked Little Vein, on the other hand, is hilarious. Re your whitefont -- I think it starts with that because it gets so, so much worse later. Heh.

I think it starts with that because it gets so, so much worse later. Heh.

Heh. And yikes!

Simon is *all about* the WTF-y detail that you're glad you know way later on...I think I see the attraction from his part. Corwood, I know. I think being nervous and wanting to make an impression on this person, who quite frankly, changed my life, would lead me to do something stupid, like make my first non-virtual remark to him something like "My mom says, if you're such a genius, why do you look so disheveled on television. She gave James Taylor a pass, but he's, like, lucky to be here. You know? You're not color-blind, are you?" (My mother *does* say that, but the smart money says that's not the best open ever. And I think this makes my mom a fake, ball-breaking MIL) But maybe I'd get this:

SIMON: You've got spunk.
ME(verklempt) Thank you, sir.

SIMON : Jesus, I fuckin' hate spunk. ETA: Ok, all y'all, um, Dick-heads, I'll give it a shot by the end of the year...you've read it here, first. If ain't nobody burned it, looking for Moby's ID and shit. I hear the dude *doesn't even* speak English.

I'm 191st on the list in Seattle. :) What can I say? We're a literate town, that likes to use the online catalog.

Yeah, I'm something like 165 for the third Dragon Tattoo book.

I actually have Suzanne Collins as a saved search so I can obsessively check the catalog because I do not want to have to wait for that one.

It's neat trying to figure out what makes an infodump tangent a slog vs a fascinating digression - in Les Miserables I love the Paris sewer system chapter but have yet to get through Waterloo.

I was just talking with someone this week about how they wanted to read Les Mis but it was so intimidating because of its length. The first thing I said was, well, you can skip the whole Waterloo section.

Anathem was one of my favorite books of the last decade,

I need to re-read that. And read some more Stephenson. Anathem was the first thing of his that I read -- any recommendations as to what I should tackle next? Snow Crash or Cryptonomicon ?

Un-Stephenson-y, I just yesterday found out that Anne Lamott has a new book out, which is a sequel to Crooked Little Heart . I ordered it at 3:00 p.m. yesterday from Amazon, and it was delivered at 12:30 today. I did NOT select one-day shipping. It was a weird Zappos moment. But -- new book, woot!!!

I'd say Snow Crash to get the flavor of his early work.

I vote Snow Crash 'cause I loved it tons. Cryptonomicon was good but I liked Snow Crash better. Although if you liked Anathem, you might like Cryptonomicon better. It's win-win frankly. I didn't like The Diamond Age as much but it was the 4th or 5th Stephenson book I'd read in a row and it could have just been fatigue.

Dawn! Did you read Skulduggery yet???

I didn't like The Diamond Age as much but it was the 4th or 5th Stephenson book I'd read in a row and it could have just been fatigue.

It was probably because The Diamond Age is unbelievably boring.

NO!!!! The youngest has left it in his locker at SCHOOL! I told him if he didn't bring it home today, he was going to be grounded (I was only half kidding - almost 14 year old boys are a trial!). It's killing me. I am rereading Good Omens for the millionth time instead.