The Reluctant Blogger

I'm not really a reluctant blogger, maybe just a lazy one. It is full-on summer here and we are chasing one another all over the place. Hopping from farmers' markets to pools to outdoor parties. Hopping in and out of swim diapers. Covering sunburned shoulders after long days at the beach. Falling asleep with the rocking waves and waking up with the seagulls and the clink of the mast. We are feeling a bit tired and more than a bit lucky. We are staring at one another, rubbing noses, kissing, and probably not taking enough pictures. We are trying new words and singing new songs and loving each other in new ways. We are watching lilies bloom and popping blueberries and chomping on corn. We are reluctant to stop all this for anything that isn't mandatory.

In the midst of this I read The Reluctant Fundamentalist, which came highly recommended by one of my readers here (how cool is that?). It was really a pleasure. It's quiet and thoughtful and surprisingly romantic. I would say it's one of the more surprising novels I've read in a good while. Like one of my favorites, The Things They Carried, this book led me over and over again to the idea of narrative structure, to the craft of storytelling, to why we give certain characters voice over others, to the power of that convention.

I am now doing something I thought I never would: reading Steig Larsson. After years of passing his novels (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played With Fire) at bestseller stands in airports, I was finally confronted by one face-to-face, and a free copy at that. My father just started in on them and, while he didn't offer any glowing reviews, he suggested I give them a spin. He also suggested I skip Dragon Tattoo and start with The Girl Who Played With Fire. So that's where I am right now, when I'm not immersed in all the things mentioned in the first paragraph of this entry. All I can say so far is that it's decidedly not a pleasure, and it's not about the writing, and it may be kind of a poor translation, but it just also may be a damn good story. And I'm kinda hooked. More later.

Thanks for reading!