Current Reads

I am always reading more than one book at a time, depending on my mood of the moment, so this is a run down of the current menu. I highly recommend anything by Larry McMurtry. On top of the pile - Pretty Boy Floyd by Larry McMurtry - I like this one. I recognize these people (they could be relatives, I have relatives in Quanah, Vernon, and Chilicothe) as I read the book, and that in itself is kind of scary. I'm almost done with this one.

Also on the bed, The New, New Journalism - interesting - about writing nonfiction, going undercover, lots of stories about people who write the stories, along with interviews. I'm somewhere close to half way through this one. And after reading the interview with Ted Conover, I got right on amazon.com to order Newjack. Conover went to work as a prison guard in New York's Sing Sing and worked there for almost a year gathering material for Newjack. Newjack will be follow the McMurtry. I'll let you know when I finish it, but I am expecting great things in this one.

Then right next to the bed, in the on deck circle, is James Lee Burke's In the Moon of Red Ponies. I love James Lee Burke, his descriptive writing is the best in the business. I even paid the enormous amount of $7 to read his online LA Times piece on Katrina and New Orleans. He has his own web site and will actually answer your questions. I am delighted and impressed.

In between - in the car - my waiting in line at the bank book - Blue Highways by William Least Heat Moon. I heard about this one late - everyone else in the world had read it I guess. I was driving from Arizona and listening to Booknotes on CSPAN when Heat Moon was being interview. I love it, but it is disturbing how much of America is disappearing before our eyes. So, any one have any suggestions? By Thanksgiving I will have devoured these and be ready for a new meal.

Since I have discovered the Used Book option on amazon.com, I can afford to read whatever I want. In case you don't know, it is quite a deal - sometimes for less than a dollar and postage (media mail rate) you can have just about anything but the current best sellers. I paid .18 + 1.75 for Jim Hightower's If God Had Meant for Us to Vote... Another author I recommend, smartest man in America. Have a great day and be careful out there!