Books & Such

Last month we were spending a good bit of time reading Night Train by Martin Amis. We had found a used copy of the book at The Strand, just as we were leaving. We had exact change--precise to the penny-- in our pocket and took it as a sign. The book was a British version with pounds instead of dollars printed on the back. Since the book was small and fit in our coat pocket, we read it alot on the subway and on the PATH. It was enjoyable but unremarkable.

Then during winter break, at a borders, we bought The Information, also by Martin Amis. All of this Amis stems from Pat and Heavy Water. We've been reading Heavy Water for a few months now, a lot of which was while we were on a toilet in Cambridge.

In either case, The Information was a brilliant bit about two authors, one who is so mediocre, he is reminiscent of ourselves. He of course is financially successful while the other author is a complete and utter failure [also, reminiscent of ourselves]. In either case, Richard who fancies himself literary, spends the entire novel trying to destroy his said friend's sucess [again, we are reminded of the way things may be in the future]. We are rather jealous of Mr. Amis as a result of reading The Information; we can only hope to create such successful failures as he has created in the book. It was a good book.

And finally, ensuring that we don't need to worry about a literary career that is financially defunct, we read The Bridges of Madison County. Why? The book was written in two weeks, was a bestseller, and was turned into a major motion picture. If we could write a book in two weeks we would, let alone a best seller. It was much like the movie.