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January 6, 2005

SUVs, XM Radio and Bookish Thoughts

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Yesterday they were calling for snow here last night. This triggered a flurry of emails in my box cancelling every event in town last night due to weather. This always humors me since I live in a town where 90% of the people drive SUVs. I guess they drive them because of the cargo space instead of road handling. A couple of years ago one of my friends was debating whether to buy an SUV or a minivan. Her line was a classic --- "I have my master's degree and now I am debating whether to drive a bus or a truck." By the way, mere flakes of snow arrived, but hey, we were prepared!

We did put our SUV through the paces last week driving on the beach on the Outer Banks. The beach was empty so the boys got to drive. Note that when you are nine it is VERY cool to go to school and tell people that you drove on the beach in a whole different way than it is to do the same when you are legal to drive.

Bookish news....check out USA Today today for my comments about Jon Stewart's AMERICA. I looked through this book quickly when it first came into the office, but Tuesday I spent time reading it. I love smart and witty and this book is both. It also dissects politics for the game that it is. As you know I keep politics and my political views off these pages, but this book goes beyond politics and strikes a real chord about our culture.

While we were away celebrating the holiday Joseph Finder's PARANOIA arrived in bookstores in paperback. For all of you who wait for a book to release in paperback to read it, go to the store NOW and get this one. Want to know more about it? Then pop up Finder's page on Bookreporter.com. And heads up --- his next one called COMPANY MAN hits stores on April 12th. Mark your calendars. You are going to love this one. More on it in the weeks to come.

I currently am reading TOWELHEAD by Alicia Erian, which will be in stores on April 1st. It's a very intriguing --- and also disturbing --- novel about a teenage girl who is living with her Lebanese father in Houston. She is struggling with her awakening sexuality while living in a home grounded in old-world values. She is rudderless on what is right and what is wrong, but instead is working through each day with her teen instincts guiding her. I have a pile of "required" reading that is set to topple onto me, but this book keeps tugging at me to read another page...or a chapter...or two.

One more thought for the day. My new car has XM satellite radio. It's very cool to drive listening to cable news while in the car even as I realize that the same stories are replaying again and again. Drive time interest seems to last about 10 minutes and when you have a 60-minute commute you need to switch around or you will be able to recite Colin Powell's interview with Brian Williams in its entirety like the Declaration of Independence. Also, you have to remember that once you listen to the New York traffic and weather channel ONCE you CAN switch off of it. The other day I listed to them droning for 10 minutes and then realized....it's not changing! What was I waiting for? The accident to MOVE?