mawing on some great books and movies, for a change

ah. the sweet taste of a good film or a great book. lately i've been lucky enough to reserve some time (in the midst of a hectic work schedule) to gnaw on some thoughtful work; i walked into the barnes & noble the other day and said:

"I don't want to be let down, because the fiction I've read lately has been so good. Whaddya have?"

unfortunately the guy starting back at me with thick horn-rimmed glasses and a black lip ring answered completely cluelessly. "I can look up titles or authors, but I don't read fiction."

WHAT?! how is it that someone working a book store can NOT read fiction!? what has the world come to? also, what is a poser like this guy doing actually working in BOOKSTORE if he doesn't READ??

fortunately, there's the internet, and my literary-oriented family who spouts out book recommendations ever so often. Some fabulous books I've read recently include:

Everything is Illumited by Jonathan Safran Foer
Middlesex by Jennifer Eugenides
South of the Border, West of the Sun by Haruki Murakami
The World is Known by Edward P. Jones

Once you get a taste of good fiction, you really can't go back. I am so happy that I have once again returned to the days when I can actually read a great book or watch a great film. ah.