Reading

I spent a few lazy hours this morning reading my latest book, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke. I'm not exactly a sci-fi/fantasy geek, but I do like some of the genre. Truth be told, I'll read just about anything. The book is along the lines of Harry Potter, Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, etc. -- except a little bit more adult and moves a little slower. But I have faith that the author is just setting everything up in the first quarter of the book and things will soon all fall into place. This is the type of book where the author kinda creates an entire universe (like in Lord of the Rings) with all sorts of random footnotes and annotations.

So far, I like the book, but I just wish it would hurry up and get on with it. It's a little creepy because it has to do with magicians, but so far, the main characters are good (as opposed to evil) magicians. I could easily see Hollywood getting a whiff of this book and turning it into a movie.

I guess I just needed a change from my last book, "Personal History", an autobiography by Katherine Graham (former head of a media empire including the Washington Post, Newsweek, and various television stations). This is also a recommended read, although I found it interesting as a former reporter so I'm not sure if anyone else would be interested. I think it was on the NYT bestseller list for awhile when it was first released though. Here's a woman who led a very privileged life and hobnobbed with some of the most famous and powerful people of her time -- Kissinger, Kennedy, Truman Capote, Warren Buffett. She truly led a fascinating life. She talks about what it was like to be a powerful woman during a time when there were few women leaders. And while she remained devoted to her husband (who partly owed his position of power to her family's influence), the guy was an A1 jerk.

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I just wrote a paragraph on my systmatic way of reading the Sunday New York Times. When I reread it, I realized that I came off as a little obsessive/compulsive. So I erased it.

Anyway, the point I really wanted to make was that I would buy the Sunday Times for the magazine alone. Almost every article in this magazine is well-written and interesting. For journalists who write magazine articles, it is the creme-de-la-creme. Well... maybe it shares that spot with The New Yorker.

This week's cover story was on "microbesity and infectobesity". Basically, scientists are looking for other causes of obesity besides personal habits/dispositions (laziness, lack of motivation) and genetic causes (fat genes). Some scientists have found proof that microbes that live in your body (billions naturally colonize your body) may cause obesity in some people. Others are exploring the possibility that viruses could cause obesity. Interesting stuff.

Immediately after reading this article, I watched an episode of "Celebrity Fit Club" on MTV to dumb down my brain. It was a good balance.

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Lately, I've been missing my family. I can't wait for the holidays when we're reunited again under the same roof. I miss my dad and his drawn-out story-telling techniques. I miss how my mom cracks up at her own stories. I can't wait to see lil' GMK stumble around my parent's house like a little drunkard. And of course, I can't wait to have a "slumber party" with my sisters, piling into one bed and giggling in the dark. These days we have a new tradition of letting GMK pile in with us in the early morning. We create human borders so she doesn't tumble off the bed as she navigates the mountains of blanket and bodies (and whiffs of morning breath) created by her mom and aunties...