What I'm reading

I knocked out Flesh and Bone by Jefferson Bass and Dan Brown's Deception Point very quickly (good book!). I haven't picked up Beauty Confidential again yet, even though I keep looking right at it on my bookcase.

Instead, I want more fiction (weird!).

I bought Cruel and Unusual by Patricia Cornwell and The Interpretation of Murder by Jed Rubenfeld. The latter is a fantasy about Freud being called in to help with a murder investigation while visiting New York. I liked The Devil in the White City, so I though I would try this one.

What I'm Reading

I think that thanks to reporting what I'm reading in my blog, I miraculously completed three books in rapid succession. And surprisingly, my Reading Attention Deficit Disorder (RADD - I just made that up) didn't cause me to pick up any other books, read a few pages and never touch them again, as is my usual habit.

Done:
Digital Fortress, What is My Dog Thinking?, Forensic Science: A Geek's Guide

Here's my new list:
Deception Point: more Dan Brown

Flesh and Bone by Jefferson Bass (the famed Dr. Bill Bass from the Univ of Tennessee's Body Farm) and writing partner Jon Jefferson. Dr. Bass wrote the nonfiction works Death's Acre and Beyond the Body Farm, which I've read, of course. The only books that really hold my attention are books about death science. And what's creepy is I've always had that interest! In fact, if I had stayed in science - I was pre-med in college - I think I would have naturally drifted toward working in forensic science. But now it's just a weird hobby.

And finally for the frou-frou girl in me:
(there has to be a beauty or fashion book somewhere in here!)

Beauty Confidential by Nadine Haobsh
I started reading this around Christmas time, but I put it away and haven't looked at it since. It was very good. I'm going to finish it.

I'm going to tackle Flesh and Bone first.

Tina Fey: Cover Girl

I'm not a big periodical reader, but I bought two magazines this week solely because Tina Fey was on the cover. She's on the covers of Entertainment Weekly and Marie Claire this month, promoting her movie Baby Mama (which Steve Martin is also in, so I will probably see it).

I'm finding that Tina is somewhat of a hero of mine. I saw her at Second City in 1996, and she looked nothing like she does now. I loved her on the news on SNL (even though the rest of the show was always questionable), and if you read my blog regularly, I believe that her show 30 Rock is God's absurdist gift to the world.

The moral of the story here is that magazines have certain celebrity covers who "sell" to certain segments of the population. And in recent memory, no celeb cover has "sold" me until Tina Fey was on two covers this month.

Hmmmm.....

I wonder what my demographic would be then. Intellectual white women in their 30's who like free associative and absurd humor??

Whatever Tina Fey is selling, I am buying. Like a moth to a flame, baby.

From the Marie Claire blog:
Like us, she's funny on purpose and only fabulous by accident.

My Feet, the Pope & other esoterica

It's beautiful today. My feet are freshly pedicured (pretty red toenails) and ready to take on the world in some sexy shoes. I was excited to wear my favorite sparkly lime green platform flip-flops on a little walk through the grass with my dog today. Bailey has spring fever, and only going outside with me seems to help it, much to my chagrin. I have work to do!!!

Pope Benedict XVI is in the U.S. right now. This is very exciting. I grew up Catholic (went to Catholic elementary school and to a Jesuit college - John Carroll), but now I don't know what I am exactly. Maybe I'm the catch-all phrase "spiritual." But having the Pope here and seeing the excitement of the people greeting him was a really good thing. It seems to be a reassurance that there is still good left in the world. I had tremendous respect for John Paul II, despite my misgivings about a lot of the Catholic doctrine. Perhaps it was from my grandparents, who revered him. First, it was because they are devout Catholics, but they also took great pride in him because he was the first (and still only) Polish pope. So there was a special connection there. Gram always referred to him as "our" pope. I don't think Benedict XVI will ever be "ours." He's German.

I respect Benedict XVI because he is a renowned scholar. From college, I have learned to respect those who study religion, because I have seen that they do so from a "world" view, not just from the point of view of their own religious persuasion. He seems to understand the importance of inter-religion dialogue. Everyone thinks their views are correct, but all that really matters is that you're a good person, right?

So as a casual onlooker - not a religious person - I actually like seeing the Pope treated like a rock star in our country.

On a completely different page, I'm so glad Jen Toohey enjoyed our shopping adventure yesterday. I loved hearing her talk about it on the radio!!!

I'm starting to volunteer at the Art Museum soon! I'm really excited about this as my degree is in Art History. And while I never planned to make art my life's work, I use a lot of the principles I learned studying art in my image and style business all the time. I definitely developed my eye for color and pattern (I have always been inspired by Matisse, Dufy and Miro) from my art background. I miss the museum terribly since it has been closed for renovations. It seems like forever already. I used to just take a day whenever I was feeling stressed and stroll leisurely through the galleries. Starting with contemporary, I would move backward through time, and ultimately end up in the African gallery. I collect African tourist art. I have a special affinity for it (despite disliking the African, Pre-Columbian & Oceanic art course I took in college).

And finally...
My friend Raven is starting a wrestling school down in Georgia, and I just wanted to wish him luck. His classes start on May 6th. I hope it's a success!

And....
I finished one of the three books I promised to complete! If you ever want to know what your dog is thinking, just ask me! I'm now a dog behavior expert after reading one book! Yep!!

Or should I say "Yip?"

What I'm Reading

In a conscious effort to read more, I am going to start documenting what I am reading in my blog. It's not that I don't read. I read bits and sections of dozens of books - constantly - but I rarely complete one book at a time. And when I actually do finish a book, it might be over a couple of years that I pick the same one up several times and read different segments.

So here's what I'm reading now:

Digital Fortress by Dan Brown
I am not the biggest fan of fiction, but I love his work. And not just because The DaVinci Code was trendy at one time. His work is easy to read, incredibly well thought out, and interesting to someone like me. (I'll gladly admit that Angels and Demons and DaVinci were extra-intriguing to this B.A. in Art History.)

What is My Dog Thinking? by Gwen Bailey (Ironically MY kooky dog's name is Bailey. I assume no relation to the author - hee hee.)

Forensic Science: A Geek's Guide by Steven Morris
Gotta have my forensics. I could never be a real-life detective or scientist (despite my minor in biology and dissecting way more creatures than this animal-lover and vegetarian would ever care to admit), so I play pretend CSI!

Now since I put this out in the blogosphere, maybe I'll finish a third...or dare I say, two-thirds of the books I am currently undertaking.

A girl can hope, can't she?