The Book List

There’s that section over there on people’s [MySpace] profiles, that “Books” section. All mine says is “Yes, please.” That’s what I say when I want all of something. I’d rather be be tossed around to the point of shaken baby syndrome than reveal my personal beliefs regarding the greatest books of all time.

I’m built of books, man. Telling you what I read is like revealing a state secret, and ya’ll know how I feel about secrets. I like ’em in the box, where they belong.

But I’m giddy. I’m sitting here with a wedge of Fontina cheese, a Wusthof paring knife and $116 worth of booty from Barnes & Noble. So, I’ll share some of the books I bought. Not all, but some:

The Elements of Style, by William Strunk and E.B. White.
Anyone who went through the English program at Merrimack High is probably shuddering right now. I read it, re-read it, owned it and lost it. I needed another copy. You know I’ll be picking up “The Writing Life,” when I’m done.

Seducing the Demon; Writing for My Life, by Erica Jong.
See my blog, “Lightening, Ms. Jong and Mr. Muse.” Ms. Jong gets me. I wanna talk to her.

Inferno, written by Dante Alighieri and translated by Anthony Esolen.
I should mention here that most of my book collection is still in self-storage in Chicago, along with everything else that I value. I need to get that stuff, really. I was just going to buy the same translation of Inferno that I have in storage, but from a quick flip-through, I can tell I like this new one more.

The Oxford Dictionary of Allusions.
Because I need it.

Laughable Loves, by Milan Kundera.
I have read every novel written by this man, except this one. I’m very excited.

100 Love Sonnets, written by Pablo Neruda and translated by Stephen Tapscott.
It looks like a good collection and the original Spanish text is side-by-side with the translation. I don’t speak Spanish, but I like looking at it. It makes me feel better when I can see the writer’s original words. Same with the Dante translation I picked up – the Italian text is on the facing pages. Oh, and the book jacket is pink (yay!).

And finally
The Penguin Roget’s College Thesaurus in Dictionary Form.
Out of all the thesauri (???) I have perused over the past few months, I liked this one the most. Previous to this, I have not owned a dictionary or a thesaurus since college. All I keep on me is the Associated Press style manual. Is it wacky that I have a crush on my new thesaurus?

Anyhow . . . I have eaten about six bites of cheese while writing this and feel fairly ill, since I’ve been ixnay on the dairy-ay for awhile. It was yummy, though.

Here’s what I need from you folks: book recommendations. Left to my own devices, I will read fiction, poetry and autobiography. Oh, and every cooking, fashion and music magazine (except Cosmo) currently in publication. I need to branch out. I hate sci-fi, but I would love to check out some solid recommendations from just about any other genre.

I would especially love to hear from my subscribers who’ve never commented . . . let me see your gorgeous faces, loves. Edit: This list is never “closed.” Doesn’t matter how many months have passed since I posted this, always feel free to add recommendations. Thanks.