Chi-town
In a few hours, I will be heading to the airport to fly to Chicago for a literacy conference. I won’t be a part of the conference, but rather helping sell books at an exhibit there. I did this back in November in Providence and it was a lot of fun.
I haven’t been in a plane in quite some time (can’t remember the last time), and so I have that anxiety that comes when air travel is not a habit. I am trying not to pack too much. For a few hours yesterday, I resigned myself to the fact that I couldn’t bring my camera. But, I decided to fuck it and bring it, because I really feel lost without it.
I just finished a book by John Robison, which was actually a gift I had given to Matthew for Christmas. I borrowed it from him after he quickly finished it post-Christmas. John Robison is the brother of Augusten Burroughs and lives in Amherst. He grew up in Shutesbury, just around the corner from where I work right now. The book is his first and it is about his life with Asperger’s. It’s a quick and engaging read; I highly recommend it. If you do get it, consider the hardcover edition. The paperback edition that I purchased removed expletives so that younger people could read it and learn about Asperger’s, or just growing up different (and all the bullying that comes with it).
Now I am between books and don’t know which one to start. I’m thinking that I’d like to switch to fiction, so I am considering Andre Dubus III’s latest The Garden of Last Days, which I received as a gift. I also received two nonfiction books that are en vogue right now–Omnivore’s Dilemma and In Defense of Food. I heard about them at JBo’s tea party in December and put them on my Amazon list.
I also got Obama’s The Audacity of Hope, but I have already decided against reading it next. Something about reading Obama while in Chicago seems awfully cheesy.
I think I’ve settled on Ande Dubus III. I don’t know anything about the book. A perfect escape.
I won’t have any computer access for a few days as far as I know. Back on Friday night.
blogging, books, current affairs, photography, travel, western mass, workplace | kristen January 14, 2009
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By David Long, January 14, 2009 @ 10:14 am
My strongest recommendation for the Pollan books. If you want a quick intro to the thesis, here’s a concise Times editorial / moral tale he wrote a bit back, which curiously ties all of the above ‘next book’ choices together:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/12/magazine/12policy-t.html?em
Cautionary note, there’s a lot in Pollan about Jeffersonian-style ‘yeoman farming’ kinda stuff – which is most interesting if you’re open to the idea of growing some of your own food.
Oddly, a bunch of my work colleagues are at that conference (my research job which pays for my Ph.D. is a NCLB literacy project).
By Brittnie, January 14, 2009 @ 11:28 am
Have fun! Sell those books!
By Maggie, January 14, 2009 @ 11:49 am
Hi Kristin! I recommend you skip In Defense of Food. Was mostly a rehashing of the content of Omnivore’s Dilemma, and not nearly as interesting.
I also recommend Atavan/Lorazepam for the plane. Just takes the edge off, ever so much, and leaves you coherent enough to function four hours later.
By kristen, January 17, 2009 @ 5:35 pm
I think my anxiety was mostly about getting checked in and everything, not about actually flying.
By Bruce, May 19, 2010 @ 9:37 am
I think my anxiety was mostly about getting checked in and everything, not about actually flying.