Various Musings on a few weeks' reading material

I got tired of reading, and frankly, before the Jonathan Ames book that I just finished last night, I can't remember what I read. I probably didn't read much of anything the past few weeks. I did carry around this wonderful book of poems called Wideawake Field for a while. This was something that I did read. But given that it was filled with poems, it didn't take too long to read. It was surprisingly good--poignant, subtle, and occasionally sad.

Then, last Sunday, I started a book of stories/essays/columns by Jonathan Ames. It was hilarious. I read his book Wake Up Sir a few years ago and this one was just as funny and revealed some of the inspirations for the novel. When I borrowed the book from my sister, she recommended that the funniest pieces were "The Mangina" and another one that I can't recall at the moment. I found it difficult to determine which pieces were funniest, because they were all over-the-top.

Since beginning to write this post, I have attempted to start a few more books. I was not too successful in reading The Archivist by Martha Cooley. There was something strange about the way the author treated time. I was not particularly keen on the way the story jumped from past to present quite chaotically. The story is also about the relationship between an older man and a younger woman which I often find to be an unsavory subject.

Then this weekend, I picked up The Runaway by Alice Munro and had much better success in reading a large portion of the book. Actually, I spent the majority of yesterday afternoon on my bed reading said book, and I did find it rather pleasant in an odd sort of way. I did enjoy Open Secrets better, but I always like the close examinations Munro has of individuals and the progression of history in families, and small towns.