Kill Two Birds & Get Stoned
by Kinky Friedman

Page 174:

"I do look like the typical Starbucks customer.  I probably even feel and think like the typical Starbucks customer.  The only two differences are that I hate myself for it and I write down all my self-loathing."

Spoken from the main character of Kinky's latest offering.  A character easy to fall in love with.  Why?  He's a chain smoking, coffee drinking, too-much-masturbating, blocked writer and recovering alcoholic.

This is a fun ride of a book.  Walker Snow, the writer mentioned above, falls quickly off the wagon and finds an interesting way to become unblocked.

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And then, there are times when I read books on the top 10 best sellers list.  Yes.  I'm intrigued by what's being consumed by the masses, so I like to read them and wince and re-affirm to myself that I have the talent to make it there one day and hopefully I can get a publisher behind me to make that happen.

But.

There are times when I read a book from the list and go, Wow, the masses are right on this one.  I'm talking about Da Vinci Code.  The book reads like a great film and I hope it's adapted to the screen one day.

Then there are times when I think I just need a good ass kicking b/c my wincing at best seller books probably is rooted in envy.

I've been thinking about this a lot lately.  There is not a lot of people who read.  I just got a part time job at TechTV and there's a few people I wanted to recommend Da Vinci Code to (since Da Vinci Code is kind of a vanilla type book and can easily cross the masses at a place of business, I don't think I can come right out and recommend Che Guevara's biography...I got to give it time....build them up to it) and the most common response I get is "I don't read". 

So, even if someone is only interested in reading John Grisham type stuff, hey, more power to them, at least they're reading.

It's really a disservice that people are doing to themselves by not reading.  Literature is a beautiful thing.  Mediocre literature is also good.  I don't expect to be wowed by every book I read.  I want to, but I know I can't.  When something does come up and wows me it's great.

So, I now say, read whatever you want, just read.

Where was I?  Oh yeah, another GREAT book I acquired this month:

Spiels of a d'un Minuteman
by Mike Watt

You know what, I change my mind, this is the official Literary Love pick for June 2003.  

This is a collectors item.  It's an inspiration.  It includes an essay and tour diary by Mike Watt as well as essays from Thurston Moore, Joe Carducci and Richard Meltzer.  But wait there's more, the amazing art work of Raymond Pettibon (punk album cover art extraordinaire) and lyrics of Mike Watt's work as a Minuteman.

On a side point, Minuteman D. Boone is buried in the same cemetery as Charles Bukowski in San Pedro, CA.  

This book is LIMITED EDITION, 2000 copies.  Go to L'oie de Cravan's web site to purchase it.

And, by all means my literary brothers and sisters, keep reading and enjoying the literary life.
 

Tony DuShane