Pakistani Potluck

Day 254 of the "What are you reading, and why?" project, and Sue is reading the first Harry Potter book because she has never read one, nor seen any of the movies, and the 7th movie is about to come out, so she thought it was time.

I just watched the trailer to the film, and it scared me a little.  That guy's nose!  Or lack thereof.

My parents must be reading the new Granta, because it came in the mail a couple days ago.  The beautiful colorful cover to the Pakistan issue reminds me of a wonderful summer day several years ago when a young man walked onto our grassy volleyball court one Saturday afternoon, joining our motley crew of actors, artists, and dubious athletes in a friendly regular pickup game.  We invited him to the evening barbecue potluck, gave him address and directions, and he came, bringing the 3-hour video to his recent wedding in Pakistan.

And he put it in the VCR and invited us all to watch it!

He was so sweet, so excited, and so friendly.  As it was my home, I spent as much time as I could watching, and asking questions, and smiling and praising, and then I would wander to the kitchen at the back of the house, tending to people, on out the back door to the grill, et cetera.  I do think the video was on for all three hours of the party....

And people would wander in and out politely chatting and watching a few moments of the professionally filmed wedding video, bringing him food and drink.  It all worked out.

The Treasure

Day 221 of the "What are you reading, and why?" project, and Oprah Winfrey and a lot of other people are reading Freedom, by Jonathan Franzen, and I think you already know why.  It's the Oprah pick.

I appreciated The Corrections, and I see why people longed for a follow-up.  You care about the people!  You wish they wouldn't waste their lives.  But, hey, lots of us waste our lives.  That's why we care about these people!

Meanwhile, I am finally getting around to reading the Summer 2010 Granta, a literary treasure.  At least I am in the right year, and, yes, the right season, as fall has not quite struck, even if most of the ads in the journal are already outdated.  Excellent writing, as usual.  I always learn so much!  Stories about Khartoum, about Nigeria....

But I was blown away by "The Last Thing We Need," a short story by Claire Vaye Watkins, a story in letters, even!  I love reading fiction that makes me ache, that makes me want to connect to other people while I can, while we are alive together.

I wrote a poem today.  And tonight I will see a play, Woman in Mind, by Alan Ayckbourn.  I get to sit with my mom and dad.  Life is a treasure.

All Sex, All the Time

Day 124 of the "What are you reading, and why?" project. My dad is reading The Great Bridge: The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge, by David McCullough, because he enjoys learning the history and background politics of great events. Dad is particularly fascinated by the figure of Boss Tweed, finally getting caught in various shenanigans, and thereby helping to tell the larger story of this great engineering feat.

Sounds like a good family story, too, as the son takes over work begun by his father, Washington Roebling.

And Father's Day is coming up, you all!

My mother has finished her latest book, so she is reading Glimmer Train and Granta, two of the print magazines she subscribes to. Glimmer Train is all stories, all the time. Granta is an always fascinating literary magazine, each issue generally exploring a particular theme, and I am lucky enough this year to have received a gift subscription to it from my parents.

Yes, my mom is reading the sex issue. Is it all sex, all the time? I asked, using different words.

"Yes," was her answer, after a pause to calculate. "Some were remotely about sex."