Wednesday, January 3, 2007

LD vs. Tama Janowitz

Every time I check out one of her books, I bring it back unread. This time is no different. I had A Certain Age and The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon. Both are due back Monday, and since I'll be away this weekend, I can only read one. I started A Certain Age last night. Then I realized, I'd essentially read it already, when it was called The House of Mirth and it was by Edith Wharton.

Maybe I'm cold, but I didn't feel much sympathy for Lily Bart. She could've ended her troubles at virtually any time, by smearing her friend's money-stealing ass-grabbing husband all over Gilded Age New York. She was really her own worst enemy. And Florence of A Certain Age was shaping up to be the same way. So I pulled out my bookmark and started Kavalier and Clay. I hope I chose wisely. So far, I think I did.

I Heart Jen Sorensen!

For my birthday (6 months ago!) I received a book of Jen Sorenson's cartoons, Slowpoke America Gone Bonkers. Our conservative friends out there in Internetland will find them infuriating, but for liberals, that's one more reason to enjoy them!

Cartoons are surprisingly hard to write about without sounding like my nursery school carpool buddy, as he told my mother every detail of the Star Wars cassettes he had ("And then, Luke Skywalker pulled out his lightsaber, and then he said 'You killed my father' and then Darth Vader said 'I am your father' and then they fought..."). So I will refer my readers to workingforchange.org where you can see fresh Jen Sorenson every Monday, fresh Tom Tomorrow every Tuesday, and read other liberal columnists like Ellen Goodman and Molly Ivins as they appear.

Speaking of which, does anyone know what happened to Molly Ivins? I haven't seen a column from her for quite a while. I know that she had breast cancer a while back, and I'm hoping she's just on vacation and not sick. Molly Ivins is one of my favorites -- I've been reading her ever since I was in middle school.