A Gate at the Stairs

A quiet Sunday morning.  Trees, a blue sky with a few clouds (my sister could tell you what kind), bright, the steady rurr of traffic.  A sleeping newborn.  Beethoven on Pandora.  Catching up on reviews of Lorrie Moore’s new book.

A few simple moments in a day set the tone for the whole week.

If you haven’t read the reviews or started the book, check out the following links:

• Jonathan Lethem’s review of A Gate at the Stairs
• Michiko Kakutani’s review
• And this
• A profile

And for the non-New York Times reviews:

• Out of Houston
• From the VQR blog
• Newsweek
• And an interview

I’m sure we could spend hours reading the reviews rather than the book, though.  So check out an excerpt here.

August Stories

I wasn’t able to read many short stories in August, either.  I’ve been working my way through Wells Tower’s collection, a few from One Story, and an old O. Henry Prize Stories collection.

• “Down Through the Valley” – Wells Tower
• “Interrupted Serenade” – James Hannaham
• “Zog-19: A Scientific Romance” – Pinckney Benedict
• “Revival Road” – Louise Erdrich

Reading in August

This was an eventful month, meaning not a lot of time or energy for reading.  I didn’t care much for either of the books this month.  Hopefully soon I can get back into a novel or two.

Belly Laughs: The Naked Truth about Pregnancy and Childbirth – Jenny McCarthy

I thought this book might be worth my time since the book I read last month by McCarthy was pretty good.  Wrong.  I suppose my humor differs from hers enough to not find the book all that funny or interesting.  I’d only recommend it for someone looking for light reading, if that.

On Becoming Baby Wise – Gary Ezzo, Robert Bucknam

This book isn’t bad, but it’s not great either.  They have similar philosophies to the ones in the Baby Whisperer book, so I sort of like what they suggest.  I can’t remember what I didn’t like exactly.  Flip through the book to see if it’s something you’d like.  It’s a take it or leave it kind of book.