Reading in 2009 (so far):

These are titles I have read in 2009. I do not include syllabus readings, and I only include a "return" to a book if many moons have passed since I turned its pages. If you would like a long list like this I advise the following: 1) select relatively short books 2) stop paying for cable 3) live in a "nowheresville" area where you won't get any reception without cable and will find little else to do in your leisure time 4) fail to renew your magazine subscriptions but 5) have a baby who falls alseep early so reading becomes an effective quiet evening pursuit.

Netherland by Joseph O'Neill
Camera by Jean-Philippe Toussaint
The Alcoholic by Jonathan Ames (literary graphic novel)
The Left Bank Gang by Jason (literary graphic novel; first name only, yes)
Walter Benjamin at the Dairy Queen by Larry McMurtry
Dog Eats Dog by Iain Levison
Television by Jean-Philippe Toussaint
The Bathroom by Jean-Philippe Toussaint
The Motel Life by Willy Vlautin
The Eaves of Heaven by Andrew X. Pham
Making Love by Jean-Philippe Toussaint
Monsieur by Jean-Philippe Toussaint
Pop Apocalypse by Lee Konstantinou
Everyman by Philip Roth
Riding Toward Everywhere by William Vollmann
The Fever by Wallace Shawn
Death of a Salesman Arthur Miller (a first for me)
Zuckerman Unbound by Philip Roth
The Extra Man by Jonathan Ames
The Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon (a university selection for freshman summer reading)
Wake Up, Sir! by Jonathan Ames
Cosmospolis by Don Delillo (first new Delillo for me in quite some time; good not great but great in some sections)
The Writer as Migrant by Ha Jin
How To Rob an Armored Car by Iain Levison
Man in the Dark (first new Auster for me in quite some time; so-so)
Nowhere Man by Aleksandar Hemon (first Hemon for me; good stuff so far)

I will update this list when I add to it.

K Thanks Dr. Yahweh He's A Country Boy

K apologizes for failing to properly rotate his photographs but offers the view from the back porch in Clemson, South Carolina.

Hebrew dawgs or dannon?

For greater Memorial Day pleasure, grill or fry a Hebrew National beef frank sliced vertically down the middle and serve with Dijon mustard on a toasted premium-brand Hearty White or Oatmeal bread. For the calorie conscious, substitute non-fat plain yogurt for the dog, two tablespoons of granola for the bread, and a teaspoon of honey for the Dijon.

As you were, soldier.

Dan Fante interview posted at whenfallsthecoliseum.com

Dan Fante's fiction is soaked in vodka and chased down with mad dog, but he dried out to write it: http://whenfallsthecoliseum.com/2009/05/21/an-interview-with-author-dan-fante/#more-1025New. Look for his new Bruno Dante novel, 86'd, this fall.

The follow up visitation

47 minutes into our meeting, the aforementioned one between the doctor and K, we saw fit to assume the condition is most likely a case of carpal tunnel syndrome. If the condition were meat no doubt we could imagine flesh cooked medium rare in a mild sauce which we might top with a thin layer of that tasty delicacy, generalized anxiety.

But for now: "Blood Work. A stress test including EKG. Avoid all strenuous forms of existence. Exercise can kill. Participation in life discouraged until further notice. I have my liability and your life in mind."

When I insinuate we are glazed, I imply we are glazed over the ham of course.

"The best way to enjoy the shakes is to pretend it's someone else's hand."
--Don Delillo, either a paraphrase or exact quotation from White Noise

it's that time of year...

In honor of, but in no particular order, Italo Svevo, Woody Allen, George Constanza (who says character doesn't count?), Jean-Philippe Toussaint, and at least in theory, "ya'll," I submit myself to the medical authorities in 53 minutes. Doctor's Appointment soon.