Lazy Summer Reading

So, I have been having some issues with goal setting lately. Namely, that I am making all sorts of ambitious plans and never following through with any of them. This seems to be permeating into other areas of my life. Example: when was the last time I finished reading a book? I think it was Christmas, when I found out why ‘he just wasn’t that into me.’

This is simply unacceptable.

Part of the problem has been in my choice of books. As the weather gets warmer, my brain gets mushier. Who wants to read about Love in the Time of Cholera when it’s 30 degrees out? Ondaatje is just too cerebral to compete with the hot sun and pina coladas. And the Pillars of the Earth will still be there in the Fall.

Still, my inattention and inability to finish a book is troublesome to me. It may not be too big a deal now, but before you know it, I'll consider the stack of 'Archie' comics by my bed challenging.

So I renewed my Chapter’s discount card (and P.S. If you tell them you’re a teacher, the renewal costs less) picked some campy fun books, turned off my TV and dove on in.

First off, Smile When You’re Lying: Confessions of a Rogue Travel Writer.

Everyone knows that you absolutely *can* judge a book by its cover, so already, this one gets five stars from yours truly.




I found this book *highly* entertaining. It is well-written, funny and irreverent. Right up my alley. If you’re not all that interested in the Travel Industry then just read the first section of the book where he finally gets the chance to tell all of his greatest travel stories in print. I haven't laughed that long, hard and loud in a really long time. Hilarious! One thumb up!

Coincidentally, I stmbled upon a sister book called Do Travel Writers Go To Hell: A Swashbuckling Tale of High Adventures, Questionable Ethics & Professional Hedonism.



Not as well written, but by virtue of its great title alone--who doesn't want to be a professional hedonist?--this book is fitting the bill of easy summer reading.

P.S. July 22/08: So, this book has proven to be somewhat disappointing, and I am having a hard time finishing it. Not even enough to flatter my short attention span. However, I have decided that I am permanently stealing the phrase "professional hedonist" and claiming it as my very own. Let's all just pretend that I coined it.

Lastly, prompted by a friend’s recommendation and an upcoming trip to Vegas where hot sun, alcohol and poolside reading can only be good for one type of book, I picked up:
Working Stiff: The Misadventures of an Accidental Sexpert.



Yep, that’s sounds like Vegas alright.

At twenty-one, the author came to the United States in pursuit of true love. After eighteen months of couch-surfing and heartbreak, he stumbled into a job as New York's most intrepid sex columnist, despite having little experience in either sex or writing.

I mean, c'mon. How is that even fair?