What do anarchy, cross-Canada hikes and Mars have in common?

Nothing. Except that's what I've been reading about. :-) I guess I'm way overdue here. Just because I haven't been blogging doesn't mean I haven't been reading. In fact, I've been so enthusiastic about reading lately that I'm doing the "try-to-keep-my-eyes-open-for-just-one-more-page" thing every night (but really only managing to stay up until 9:30).

Back to Ham on Rye. If you like reading about looking up girls' skirts, fighting on the school yard, and dealing with severe cases of acne, well I have the book for you! Not much in this one that I could relate to, especially considering I've never been an adolescent boy. Nonetheless, it forced me to give a thought or two to the concept of anarchy. I've always understood the political meaning of anarchy, but I'm now starting to see anarchy everywhere. The two books by Bukowski that I've read are prime examples. The main character, Henry Chinaski, just doesn't care about anyone or anything. He's entirely disjointed from any community or group in society; he refuses to live by rules, his or otherwise. And I can't relate to that. It does nothing for me. So, I'll cross this one off my list and retire it to the shelf to collect dust.
(Confession: I still have *no* idea what the title means.)





After Ham on Rye I needed something totally different. I reached for a Pierre Berton I bought not too long ago, My Country. It's a collection of interesting stories from Canada's history. I decided to read one in between each book. The first one was about a race (on foot) across the country back in 1921. "Four men and one woman walked a distance of 3,650 miles from the Atlantic to the Pacific in a race that has never been copied or equalled." Did you know about this?? I sure didn't. And to think I used to call Canadian history boring - I take it back! It took them about 135ish days. Pretty remarkable. It was quite refreshing after struggling through pages and pages about acne treatments during the 1930s in my previous read. I'm especially looking forward to Chapter 9: The Franklin Mystery! (I can see you rolling your eyes at my inexplicable polar obsession...)

And so, after tackling something new, I decided to go back and rescue one of those poor books that only got half-read.....my first choice was easy - Packing for Mars by Mary Roach. (For those of you who have heard my gross rants about cadavers, this is the same *hilarious* author.) This time she's looking at space and space travel. I remember giving up on this one when I got to the chapter about sending dogs into space - a not-for-Cheryl (NFC) topic. In the (what I've now discovered to be) typical Mary Roach style, there's a chapter on going the bathroom and one on sex. My brain is filled with interesting space facts and other random tidbits thanks to her tangential footnotes. For example, because there really isn't any 'gravity' under water, dolphins usually need a third participant to, let's say, direct traffic and help the other two get the "job" done, if you know what I mean! Kinky.

Look forward to some of the best space facts in the next instalment. TTFN

Book the 1st...

Ham on Rye by Charles Bukowski
Fiction
Book #1
Estimated reading time: 2 weeks
Estimated time spent on shelf: about 3 weeks (it's a new one, not much dust yet!)

So I'm sitting here listening to some classic rock and drinking a glass of wine....and thinking it's about time I got going on my blog! I was busy this past week trying to book the flights for (what I've now just dubbed) European Trifecta 2012 and dealing with the fancy new online component of my class. (Notice there's no mention of the thesis...ack!) But now it's back to the important stuff...

I officially started my quest last week after my first post. I did spend some time perusing the shelves, wondering where to begin. After a suggestion from a friend, I decided to go with Ham on Rye. I had never heard about this book, or Charles Bukowski for that matter, until recently. Apparently Bukowski is one of the big writers of the 20th century [source needed - ha!], a fact which sure made me feel dumb for not having heard of him. Anyway, I picked up two of his books a while back: Ham on Rye and Post Office. I tied into Post Office right away. It was a quick read and actually pretty funny. It's a random story all about some dude and his life as a post office employee (and the stupid stunts he pulls). Considering my previous Bukowski experience went well, I thought Ham on Rye would be a good place to start (I'll leave the phonebook-sized Russian history saga for next month). And I must admit that once I found out my boy James Franco is writing a screenplay of it, I had to check it out.

As I was browsing the shelves last week I came across a little gem I was given. It's a lovely bookmark with a picture of two horses rubbing noses *puke*. The caption reads: "Love knows no bounds." Further examination of said bookmark revealed additional laughable treats, such as the tiny metal horseshoe attached to the fancy black tassel, the choking hazard warning, and the price tag. Seems as though my dear friend paid a whopping $3.49 for this inspirational treasure. I've just decided that Chief and Shua (the names of the two horses, according to the back of the bookmark) of the historical herd Sulphur Springs shall keep my company on my journey.

Now I'm off to contemplate whether my skimming of Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad counts as "reading", or if I have to force myself through that beaut again. TTFN