Towing Jehovah, by James Morrow. Sci fi with a religious focus (but you don’t have to BE religious to understand the references/jokes/etc.).
Sharp Objects, by Gillian Flynn. A murder mystery and psychological thriller-type novel, but very much literature rather than “just genre fiction” as some would pejoratively say (probably including me).
Even if not for all the fabulous reviews it (The Zero) is getting, for the fact that he posted this hilarious quote on the Powell’s guest author blog:
To me, golf is like karaoke: the only thing more pathetic than being bad at it is being good at it.
That paragraph also started with this hilarity: I once broke my collarbone in a golf tournament. Technically, I suppose, the injury was more of a gin-drinking accident than a golf accident, but it still says a lot about my relationship to the game that it’s my fondest golf memory.
Thought maybe seeing BNL for the fourth time would be repetitious. No such thing! It was brilliant, lots of fun, they seem to get better every time around. Ed was really rocking out on the guitar tonight and the sound was great despite being in a huge arena with half of it blocked off/empty. They sang some of my old faves (Brian Wilson, Call & Answer, The Old Apartment) as well as lots of new stuff, some of which I liked so much better live than on the album mixes. Great concert.
Mike Doughty, on the other hand, as their opener seemed very lost. Don’t know if it was the space or the night or the crowd or what, but he made very odd song choices, did some weird band jamming, and had the most awkward stage banter I’ve ever heard from him. Third time seeing him; previously in smaller venues and as the headliner, he has been awesome. This time not so much. I kept turning to Rachel and saying “How bizarre. What’s with him tonight?”
Side notes to self:
a) there is no heat in the Allstate Arena. do not go there in the winter.
b) hellooooooo what are you doing buying tickets to Allstate when you have no car? it’s basically going to see a concert at O’Hare except the train stop isn’t RIGHT AT IT and the whole bus/train/bus commute is neither fast nor fun particularly on the way home.