The Compass fo Pleasure by David J. Linden

I was listening to NPR one day and Linden just happened to be on. He was talking about neuropsychology/biology. I was sucked right in. I know that it probably seems a little out of character for me but I LOVE neuroscience. The human brain is so fascinating because it dictates so much of our lives (really, all of it) and yet we know so very little about it. I knew I had to read this book when I heard the subtitle:

How Our Brains Make Fatty Foods, Orgasm, Exercise, Marijuana, Generosity, Vodka, Learning, and Gambling Feel So Good

When I ordered the book in, one of my coworkers pointed out that it sounded exactly like something that was written for me. Levin talks a lot about pleasure and how it pertains to addiction in this book. I never really think about addiction or study it. I am closely related to an alcoholic and addiction has always just seemed like a disease to me and that's that. Some of us are more prone to it and that's probably genetic and all that means is that there's a good chance that I will end up an alcoholic or a foodaholic because it is "in my genes."

Well, that's true. Our pleasure centers are genetic. The studies were fascinating (and also a little freaky to someone who does not generally dabble in science). It was cool to see how things give us the same sort of pleasure, from orgasm to food to cocaine. We really are some fascinating beings.

For now I am comforted by the fact that I get pleasure from so many things. I kind of think that makes it less likely for me to be an addict. I could have a drink right now or I could read this Faulkner I have sitting next to me. I do wonder, though... Does anybody really get pleasure from working out? LOL.

Twitter Wit by Nick Douglas

Unless you live under a rock, you've heard of Twitter. (And if you do and you haven't, who am I to judge? Your rock is apparently just a little denser than mine.) I remember when Twitter started being a big deal. There was a news story about how people were tweeting at inappropriate times, like during jury duty. I think it's pretty funny because, well, now it's almost expected for people to tweet always and about anything. NPR was talking about the republican debates a couple of weeks ago and ended the segment with the candidates and reporters tweets.

I have a Twitter but I hardly use it. Mostly, I am friends with Lord Voldemort and the Death Star, Bridget Jones and Mike Birbiglia. I like the humor that can be found on Twitter. That's why I enjoyed this book. It was filled with tweets that had been deemed hilarious and some of them really, really were. I wish that I had an example to give you but I already returned the book!

If you are looking for an idea of what foes on on Twitter or just want some humorous little tidbits, this book is worth giving a try.

Gaurding the Moon by Francesca Lia Block

I am not a mother.

Trust me, it's not by fault. Life just kind of got in the way. Actually, when I was younger I didn't want children. I got older. My ovaries started to nag me. I was in a very long engagement which I was sure would end in marriage and children and it didn't. Then I dated a boy for a while who was pretty much still a child. Then I got it together. I bought a house and met the love of my life and now I am not in such a hurry. Now it does not seem to matter how many of my friends are married and have kids because I'm just rolling with it.

Then I read something like this.

I love FLB. We know it. I am currently trying to work through all of her books. This is a beautiful book as well but it is nonfiction. It is the biography of her first year as a mother. And for a person without children it was horrifying. Am I going to be that afraid? She spends so much of her time worrying that it's easy to miss all of the happiness that is there too.

I know that this isn't a great review. I know that I don't have a lot to say about this one. It really was a good book but I would suggest it for mothers, preferably ones who have already lived through having a child.

Nymph by Francesca Lia Block

I walked out of the break room at work and held up this small, slim volume. "It's book 77 and I'm done with it!"

"What is it?" the children's librarian asked.

I blushed furiously. "Um, it's a dirty book."

And it is! Nymph is Block's collection of erotic short stories, most tying in together. I'm glad this was my second time reading this one because I plowed right through with no attention to where I was. I'm also glad that the sticker from the sending library covered most of the cover. I read it in the car and at work. I read it at home and left it out on the table during a party. I could not have handled explaining my choice.

The first time I read this, honestly, it made me hot. lol. That's awkward to admit on my oh-so-literary blog. The second read it wasn't so much of a problem. Part of that is probably that I am trying to plow through this last 25 books. The stories are still very Francesca Lia Block-ish. There are mermaids. There is magic. There is love. These are really dirty stories about love. Sorry, erotic stories about love.

If you feel like testing the waters, go for it.

So Many Books, So Little Time by Sara Nelson

Have we discussed the fact that I love books about books? One of the things that I like about them is that they make me feel a little less along. Look, I know that I love books a lot more than most people. By that mean that I love books more than I love most people and I love books more than most people do. (That would be a random movie reference. Gold star!) Seriously, though, I do love books. I can describe my previous two and current one relationships by the boy's feelings about reading. One thought reading was a waste of time. The next thought the fact that I read was cool and read comic books. This one will spend a Sunday on the couch reading with me, pausing to share a thought or observation.

A lot of the books I have read about books have been written in such a way that I can read each chapter like an article. This one is no different. Each chapter represents a week of the year. Nelson's resolution is to read a book a week for the whole year of 2002. This is really not a big feat for her. She is a chronic reader with beautiful and loaded bookshelves to prove it. She sets out to read a lot of things that she has been meaning to get to but also to let herself read what she wants when she wants it.

Nelson is always honest. She won't tell you that he finished a book when she didn't and, much like Hornby, life gets in the way of her reading and she admits that too. She will tell you if she loved a book but will just as easily tell you that she doesn't like a best seller. She suffers from the same issues I do: too many books, too much hype, and avoids bestsellers. What happens is the same thing that I have felt a number of times. The book Nelson needs seems to find her when she needs it.

Me? I needed this book when I finally got around the reading it. This was book 75 for the year and I had started losing hope. I may not make it this year but I've read a lot more than last year. Plus, now I feel motivated to make my goal again. Nelson's insights got me fired up for another burst of reading. Since then, I've made it through book 76 and part way through book 77.

Primevera by Francesca Lia Block

This is the "companion novel" to Ecstasia. I'm not sure. You know, this isn't the type of book that I usually read but I do love FLB's writing. These just are not my favorites of her works. Ecstasia was dark but this is even darker, more violent. It struck me this morning that what I was reading was almost horror.

After the band arrives in the desert and together create a paradise, Primevera is born. She is Calliope and Dionisio's child and she has the ability to simply sing flowers into being. However, as she grows this power becomes suffocating and she wants nothing more than to visit Elysia, the carnival city her parents escaped from. When a stranger appears with the gift of a motorcycle, Primevera is able to make her escape from the suffocating flowers, her smothering parents, and her intense desire for Paul.

On Primevera's journey, she see's many sad things but she also makes a number of friends. There is a boy whose mother was half bird but has gone missing. There is a girl who looks like her, Arcadie who is Lily and the Doctor's child. There are a number of "mutants" trapped by a cold, hating man.

Like I said, this is a dark and sometimes violent book. It took me a while to get into it but this morning I read the second half. I enjoyed it, I suppose. It had the ability to keep me on the edge of my seat for a while. It's worth a try if you don't mind the sadness.

Stephen King's The Stand: American Nightmares

Finally, I got it. I wish that I would have gotten it sooner because I would have blown through this book when it came for me three weeks ago. If you recall, I was slightly disappointed with the first in this series of graphic novels. It didn't feel right. I'm not sure what changed. Part of it, I think, is that I started watching the movie which is very different than the book and that made the graphic novel seem much more like the book.

This is how reading a graphic novel should be. While I was waiting for the computer at work to get on with something, I opened the book and read. In just a few moments I would be sucked into the story. In all fairness, the author does spend more time with each character instead of bouncing around every other page as in the first one. Also, I think that Flagg starts to look like I've always seen him: A sinister Chuck Noris.

I'm glad I gave the second book a chance. I've already ordered the third.