Barely Making a Dent: July 2018 Books

In which our narrator tries to read his way through the endless stacks of books that are slowly overtaking both his bookshelves and his life.

Recently, I had the great fortunate to spend some time hanging out in an actual, honest-to-goodness bookstore. Now, I used to do that all the time, but not so much in recent years. Again, I blame my kids—are you sensing a theme around here?

It was delightful, lazily browsing, from aisle to aisle. Letting the wanderlust of a book lover's soul guide me from one end of the store and back, over and over again. And, of course, I walked out with a new book. I had to!

A quick note on the header image: When Harry Met Sally opened twenty-nine years ago this month. In the summer of 1989, right before my freshman year of high school, a friend scored preview tickets, and invited me along. I've seen it countless times since, and it's as lovely and funny and touching now as it was then. And Billy Crystal creeping in the self-help section will always crack me up.

Now on to the attempts at barely making a dent. Here's what's what.

Currently reading

Lou Reed: A Life, by Anthony DeCurtis. This was a Christmas gift, and it's about damn time I dug into it. Reed is easily one of my top musical heroes—he taught me that life could indeed be saved by rock & roll—and his loss still cuts deep. That quote above—from another punk rock hero, Iggy Pop—says it all, really.

Recently read

There Are Worse Things I Could Do, by Adrienne Barbeau. Very few genre films actors mean more to me than Adrienne Barbeau. For a stretch growing up, she starred in one favorite film of mine after another: The Fog, Escape from New York, Swamp Thing, Creepshow, and on and on. She was also in the so-bad-it's-good B-movie with the greatest title in film history, Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death! She was also married to the Master of Horror* John Carpenter! She's an icon, no two ways about it. Her memoir is as fun, honest, and saucy as Barbeau herself. It's written in a wonderfully conversational style that feels like you're just hanging out, listening to the legendary actress musing about her career, relationships, and family. One of the better, and most fun, celebrity memoirs I've read in a very long time.

And, as added bonus, the cover photo is so hot the book is in danger of bursting into flames. It will make you blush. It will make everyone around you blush. Barbeau has always had that effect on people.

The House on Mango Street, by Sandra Cisneros.

“And no one could yell at you if they saw you out in the dark leaning against a car, leaning against somebody without someone thinking you are bad, without somebody saying it is wrong, without the whole world waiting for you to make a mistake when all you wanted, all you wanted, Sally, was to love and to love and to love and to love, and no one could call that crazy.”

If that excerpt doesn't touch you deep in your soul, then you might actually be dead. A classic of American literature. So excited to have finally made reading it a priority, after having it on my shelf for years now. I'll be reading more of Cisneros's work, you can count on that.

Pops: Fatherhood in Pieces, by Michael Chabon. My favorite contemporary writer. His latest, this slim, breezy collection of essays on fatherhood, was absolutely sublime. I read it in about a day, and immediately wanted to begin rereading. Chabon's insights, like always, are keen and touching. The essay about discovering his son's passion for something he himself could never really understand was deeply moving. He notes that it's a father's responsibility to follow his kids, wherever their paths lead, and for as long as they need him. I'm crying just thinking about it.

The Dead Zone, by Stephen King. Still working my way through the Master of Horror's* catalog, including a few classics I hadn't yet read, like this one. Even knowing the story and the cinematic adaptation, I was still pleasantly surprised by this book at nearly every turn. I was especially moved by King's portrait of a love between two people, Johnny and Sarah, that was cut short before it had a chance to blossom, and how neither of them ever stopped longing for each other. When people try to tell you that King is "just" a horror schlockmeister, you tell them to read The Dead Zone. And tell them to shut their mouths, while you're at it.

Recently acquired

Doctor Sleep, by Stephen King. Throwing another one on the King reading pile! Hopefully I can get to it before Mike Flanagan's film adaptation, starring Ewan McGregor, slated for a 2020 release. I have time, right? You'd think so, wouldn't you? Have you seen my stacks of books?!?

Al Pacino: Anatomy of an Actor, by Karina Longworth, and Nicole Kidman: Anatomy of an Actor, by Alexandre Tylski. Barnes and Noble had several of these Anatomy of an Actor series, from Phaidon Press, significantly marked down last time I visited the store, and of course I couldn't pass on these two. Pacino and Kidman are All-Timers for me. Can't wait to dig into these!

Eyes Wide Shut: A Screenplay, by Stanley Kubrick, Frederic Raphael, and Arthur Schnitzler. Speaking of Nicole Kidman, this surprise from a friend arrived in the mail a few weeks back. Includes the screenplay and the original 1926 short story on which Kubrick based the film. Over the years, Eyes Wide Shut has become one of my favorite Kubrick films, as well as one of my top Christmastime films.

* Carpenter and King: The two most important Masters of Horror in my lifetime.