What I’ve Been Reading — August 2005

This month you’ll notice a name change, as well as a shorter format. In a fit of confusion, someone actually asked me to contribute to their magazine: a new Sioux Falls glossy named Pulse, a men’s magazine, so I’m told. Because of this, you’ll see a pared down, much easier to read “Polysyllabic Spree,” and in fact, there will no longer be a “Polysyllabic Spree” – I figured I’d better not steal the name if I’ve already stolen the idea.

If you have any ideas on what to name this column in the future, let me know. Until then, it’s “What I’ve Been Reading.”

Originality was never a strong suit.

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Books bought/borrowed:
A Short History of Progress – Ronald Wright
How Soccer Explains the World (an Unlikely Theory of Globalization) – Franklin Foer
Leaning into the Wind (Women Write from the Heart of the West) – Linda Hasseltrom (editor)
Cod – Mark Kurlansky
How to be Idle – Tom Hodgkinson (checked out)
Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules – David Sedaris (editor) (checked out)

Books read:
The Book of the Film of the Story of My Life – William Brandt
How Soccer Explains the World (an Unlikely Theory of Globalization) – Franklin Foer
How to be Idle – Tom Hodgkinson (unfinished)
Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules – David Sedaris (editor) (unfinished)
A Short History of Progress – Ronald Wright

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Vacations can be hell on a person’s reading habits.

There have been times too numerous to count where I’ve tried to take a leisurely vacation – a few days camping here, or a trip to the “big city” there – and discovered that picking up a book (and, even harder, actually reading it) is a act of futility. There’s just too much going on, regardless of how leisurely the vacation is.

Now I found myself dealing with the idea of a week long vacation. An entire week! Sure, I could read when I went to bed. I thought maybe I could even read in the car. No dice.

Instead, I toured South Dakota, Wyoming, and eastern Idaho. I visited my kin, and wrestled with some unfortunate issues of mortality. I played tourist and concerned visitor. I did everything, it seemed, but actually read.

Perhaps I’m making myself sound too much like a martyr – I did finish a few books during this time, and I bought a few as well. Well, by “a few” I mean four, all of which I could have purchased anywhere else – though the act of buying books on vacation makes each one seem like a souvenir. Along with A Short History of Progress and How Soccer Explains The World I picked up Cod (to complete the one-word one-subject history set: Salt/Cod/Rats/Tea) and Leaning into the Wind (to help further our feelings of “Old West belonging”).

Laying in bed at night in Idaho I finally got around to finishing The Book of the Film of the Story of My Life – an interesting little novel from William Brandt. I had undertaken this book two months ago on a camping trip and was excited to delve into something simple, something clever. Instead, the library called and bombarded me with 14-day loan library books, books that I couldn’t just forget about lest I be thrown back into the queue.

So I put it off. New books showed up, and old books reminded me of their existence, and I left The Book on my shelf until, in a fit of tidiness, I felt I’d better clean up my loose ends, reading-wise.