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…and taking a break from reading By Vicki Gundrum (Nov 25, 2005) I'm trying to take a break from reading but it's not going very well. My plan was to not start a new book, to give my eyes a rest, to make progress with some nonreading projects, to free up time to devote to housekeeping and other duties I'm fond of procrastinating. Here's what I've managed in my efforts to not read: I've finished a novel. I chose a book I thought wouldn't have wide community appeal, and therefore wouldn't be good material for a book review. I was hoping I'd stop a little way into the book-because I don't need to read it for a book review, because I don't want to "waste" reading time on something I won't review. But in the meantime of waiting to stop reading it, I read the novel. (Passing On, by Penelope Lively, is a moving story of family relationships, lived in a real-life kind of way.) I've updated my Amazon.com recommendations list. This is fun. Go to www.Amazon.com and react to the recommendations-chosen especially for you by smart software-based on your past purchases, plus your own interest ratings of previous recommendations. Once the software learns enough about your buying habits-for me that means books, music, electronics-then you have dozens of recommendations to read. It's a fascinating way to learn more about yourself. (I wonder how many recommendations it will ultimately list, as I scroll down the listings and then click the "to view more" button at the bottom of each screen page. I've viewed 170 so far.) I've studied a Spanish language notice about criteria for giving blood in Mexico. It's quite strict: no giving blood if you have a cold sore or weigh under 110 pounds (in the US, the weight limit is 100 pounds). No giving blood if you have taken medications within 48 hours. An exception is made for Pepto Bismol-you must wait 9 days after taking Pepto Bismol before donating blood. What's in Pepto Bismol? It's always so pink and benign seeming. In my effort to avoid picking up a book I've actually read some email spam-a clear sign of a serious reading addiction. Which reminds me of the book The Midnight Disease, by Alice Weaver Flaherty. It's about the disorder of compulsive writing-and reading and drawing. I knew about Vincent Van Gogh's compulsion to paint (he created over 800 oil paintings and 700 drawings), but I never thought about these other compulsions. When I learned of a book (no doubt by reading a book review) that discussed a compulsion to read, I had to rush out and buy it. I couldn't even wait for the paperback to come out. Of course I read it cover-to-cover. Furthermore, I've been typing into the Bablefish language translator on www.altavista.com . I wanted to see what/if I can communicate in written Spanish with the aid of the translation software. I was encouraged when Mexico Immigration accepted my self-composed letter requesting FM3 visa procedural services. I created the letter by combining letter format and courtesy phrasings copied from a letter written by a native Spanish speaker, and adding the Bablefish-translated simple, short present-tense sentences that spoke to the heart of the matter-but only after thinking about how Mexicans who have learned English as a second-language construct their verbal sentences. For example, a Mexican friend who told me about this Mexico immigration letter requirement, used these words: "Vicki, you need to write a letter in which you tell them that you wish to make your home in San Miguel." So, I typed into the translator: "I wish to make my home in San Miguel," and then copy/pasted the Spanish translation of the sentence into my immigration letter. You can have lots of fun not reading by writing/translating/reading using this website. (Another good language translation site is: www.freetranslation.com .) And while you're at a computer, try reading your Google search history. For example, today I entered The Midnight Disease, the book I mentioned above. I'd forgotten the author's name, so searched on the title to learn it. The real fun of the search was reading my previous Google searches that begin with "T"-as Google displayed my past searches that began with T, presumably to help me efficiently repeat a past search, if I so desired. Here are today's Ts: talk show podcast, Teri Garr, The Girls of St. Trinians, The Grey Album, The Sweet Hereafter, The Tattered Cover Bookstore, The Vines, The Vines Cancelled Tour, The Warfield San Francisco, typhoid fever. It's also fast fun to occasionally click the down arrow just to the right of the text box into which you enter URLs. That shows a list of your recent web visits. If you enjoy this kind of information candy, then you should explore your "History" folder. If you're a parent, you might want to use these search/website visit history strategies to learn what your kids are doing online. My sister checked her son's search history one day, which progressed something like this: penguins, toucans, monkeys, mating monkeys, elephants, mating elephants, giant elephant penis, giant…. Then my sister learned about privacy settings, where you can block certain websites. I think they ended up buying a sophisticated software for blocking sites based on key "sexy" words. Not all your not-reading reading fun has to involve the internet though. I've also been reading recipes. For the time you are actually reading a mouth-watering recipe you are thoroughly enjoying the experience. It's only after you stop reading that you feel hungry, dissatisfied, stuck with a craving. All you need to do to keep up the feel-good anticipation moment is to read another recipe. (This is what life is like for certain drug addicts. They are happy when anticipating the drug plus doing it. Everything after that is hell.) And my favorite not-reading reading activity is reading the celebrity playlists on iTunes. Go to www.iTunes.com and click on the "celebrity playlists" button. You'll get a list of celebrities-many in the music business-and you can select and read individuals' music playlists. Want to know what Jennifer Gardner of the TV-show Alias listens to? Just set the playlist display option to "alphabetical" (the default setting is "by release date") and then page until you find Jennifer Gardner. Now I'm sure she's on the list because she's so hot. It might be fun to see what she listens to, but please don't buy songs just because she likes them. If you really want music-buying advice, stick to the musicians' and record producers' lists. Some good celebrity playlist reading from a recent browse: Gus Van Zant (indie movie director): I liked his list for the way he talks about songs, which reminds me how I talk about songs: Start with a personal nostalgic reference and follow with as much factual information as you can recall without doing any research. Bebel Gilberto (recording star, daughter of the great bossa nova innovator Joao Gilberto): I love Brazilian popular music, and she listens to a wide range of music, from Bjork to (of course) Caetano Veloso. God bless her for mentioning both Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" and Stevie Wonder's "You Are the Sunshine of My Life." Elvis Costello (musician, songwriter, producer of music that mixes or embraces a world of styles): He is one of my musical heroes. His playlist comments include these lyrics (written in 1917, possibly by Charles Ives) from a recording of "They Are There!" made by the San Francisco Orchestra and Thomas Hampson, directed by Michael Tilson Thomas: "Then let all the people rise, And stand together in brave, kind humanity Most wars are made by small stupid selfish bossing groups While the people have no say." Mariah Carey (pop music diva): We all know her singing from her radio hits, so what does she listen to? Check it out for yourself. She has an amazing 8-octave range. (If you're like me and most other humans, you have a 1-octave range after a shower warm-up, and you have problems hitting your high notes.) Ludacris (bad-boy rapper who writes like dis: "Watch out for the medallion, my diamonds are reckless/Feels like a midget is hanging from my necklace."): His is a dangerous playlist. Penn Jillette (of Penn & Teller, the big one who speaks): I'm amazed to see on his list both George Carlin's "Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television" (I was in the audience in Milwaukee that day in the 70s when Carlin was pulled off the stage and arrested for saying them-the case went to the Supreme Court) and Half-Japanese's "Firecracker Firecracker" (a band I used to hear at "Bottom of the Hill" in San Francisco; I have one of their T-shirts). Robert Rodriguez (a true auteur filmmaker, with his "Mariachi Trilogy"-the last in the trilogy, "Once Upon a Time in Mexico," was filmed in San Miguel. He's also famous among kids and parents for the wonderful "Spy Kids" movies.): He includes two songs from Chingon's "Mexican Spaghetti Western" album. Kanye West (rapper, music producer): He was last year's freshest voice in hip-hop, and before megastardom as a rapper, he was a long-time, well-respected hip-hop music producer-so of course I want to know who he likes. Interestingly, he includes on his playlist "black people's favorite white songs." Blue Man Group (multimedia artist performance group/percussionists): If you've ever seen one of their shows, you'd check out their playlist, too. Sly and Robbie (drummer Lowell "Sly" Dunbar and bass player Robert Shakespeare-reggae innovators and drum-'n-bass duo/producers): They have put together a list of wonderfully listenable musical influences. "Me and Mrs. Jones" on their list is one of my all-time favorite songs. Deep Dish (Grammy award-winning DJ duo, House style): This is a fun list with hits you'd hear on an oldies station plus cool new sounds. They are not music snobs. Fab 5 Freddy (old-school hip-hop artist who was there at the beginning): The list is a history lesson in hip-hop. Get science, white boys and girls. Maroon 5 (young, popular R&B/rock band and 2005 Grammy winners): Their list of musical influences shows what goes into the making of a great contemporary band. They listen to old stuff. Carole King (70s singer/songwriter extraordinaire): I might forgive her if she proved herself to be "stuck in the 70s" but she isn't. She's even got a song on her list by Gorillaz, hip-hop artists with good new music (but they lamely feature cartoon characters in the CD cover art and music videos-I want to see these dudes). Weird Al Yankovitz (novelty songster who parodies the greats)-He notes lots of nostalgic winners, plus I love his silly playlist comments. Aww…I've checked and there is no song list by George Pelecanos. He's one of my favorite crime/noir writers, in part because his characters are always listening to music, whether in a diner during a meeting with an informant or on the car radio as they tool around the hard-life neighborhoods of Washington, DC. But I found a list of his songs he has along on his 2005 book tour: www.georgepelecanos.com . And, if you start buying song downloads-which means you won't have the CDs and printed lyrics-then you're going to want to know about www.archive.org and www.sing365.com You can read artists' song lyrics there. I think I'm not done with my break from reading. My eyeballs are still sore. Next up will be a review of an audio book. If I had a doctor, it just might be the prescription. Vicki Gundrum reads and edits books-and lots of word-based ephemera-in her San Miguel apartment. You can reach her at Vicki.Gundrum@excite.com |