in defense of Oprah, but not Jeffrey Eugenides. afterwards, some miscellany.

Middlesex, by Jeffrey Eugenides. (By the way, I'm at the computer that won't let me italicize, so pretend that all book titles are, for the rest of this post). It's the new Oprah's Book Club book - and before you roll your eyes at Oprah's Book Club, I would like to defend it. First of all, Oprah has gotten many, many, MANY more people to read something more than magazines (no offense to magazines readers of the world, of course). Second, she usually picks good books. White Oleander and Poisonwood Bible were both Oprah books, for example. So not only are more people reading, but more people are reading literature. Only good things can come from that. Not everything mainstream is silly.

Anyway, Middlesex. If you are considering it - read at your own risk. It's been a few years since I read it, but I remember that I liked it, inasmuch as it is an interesting and well-written book, and guaranteed not to fit into a Lifetime two hour block. But I remember it being gratuitously explicit a few times. It's probably the unintended consequence of being a well-written book; Mr. Eugenides enjoys a good descriptive paragraph. But it just got to be a bit much for me after a while. Opinions are like noses, and all that, but that's mine.

Now, the miscellany:

1. Two completely unrelated quotes from my week:

From Brian, to me last night, after it had started to storm and I was lamenting the possibility of another evening without power: "Your optimism is broken, do you know that?"

From me, to Brian, as I stumbled over my words on the phone: "Babyhood has addled my brain. I keep forgetting words like 'shoe.'"

2. A baby who was all partied out.



3. I love the Everyday Life as Lyric Poetry blog. I really really love it. If ever their real-life paths cross, Catherine McNiel would sit and eat lunch with Mikkee and Elizabeth and Carrie, and I would listen to them and enjoy myself immensely. They would love one another, these women would. Also - many of my blogging friends aren't parents, so you may not appreciate the courage it took for Catherine to talk about issues with nursing. Nursing is the third rail of parenting conversations; you touch it, you die. You cannot IMAGINE how heated this conversation can get. So. If you haven't read her blog lately, go now. She's much more articulate than I am today.

Happy Wednesday everyone.