A Few of My Favorite Things

Just in time for the long holiday weekend, there's a nice little piece in the Washington Post about one's favorite gift books. I've actually never thought about such a qualification before, so I'll need some time before I include my own favorite gift books.

One that I know will be there, however, is John Irving's The World According to Garp. If you read my other recent post about favorite books, you know that I hold that tale dear to my heart. But how I first discovered the book is a different story. I don't know if I'd seen the movie or not. But a high school friend and I exchanged items: she got my tape of Pink Floyd's Umma Gumma, and I took home Garp. I don't think it was meant to be a permanent exchange (though I eventually bought the Umma Gumma CD to replace what had been passed along), so I read the book right away despite having the usual array of high school classes.

I loved the characters, and I eventually rented the VHS (way back in the 1980s and even into the 1990s, there were things called video tapes, kids...) of the movie and fell in love with that too.

Anyway, I'll need to think about favorite gift books. But while I do, I invite you all to share your favorites. You don't need to share five; any number will do. Just say what it is and, if you'd like, why you love it. Or email it to elephantsbookshelf@gmail.com if you'd prefer to stay anonymous online.

I'm Almost Ready to Start Procrastinating...

Anyone who knows me is aware that I'm a fan of John Irving. Earlier this week, I began rereading one of my favorite books, The World According to Garp, which I haven't read in at least fifteen years (though I've seen the movie several times since then). Understandably, I recall the movie better than the book. But this is one of those rare situations where I enjoy both -- perhaps equally.

So I had to laugh when I found this article in Slate. Apparently, the online publication is doing an homage to procrastination. As any fan of Garp knows, his first novel was called Procrastination. (And I'd completely forgotten that it was a highly symbollic piece set in Vienna and based on the time Garp lived there with his mother.) Again, this is T.S. Garp I'm talking about -- the character -- rather than Irving, whose first novel was Setting Free the Bears. To be honest, the Slate article is fairly boring. Even skimming it was tedious. But if you're looking for relatively unknown writers who've written about writer's block and procrastination (and who isn't!), then it's worth giving it a look see.

But I'd recommend you first pick up your copy of Garp and remember that life is wonderful, albeit occasionally odd, and the only justification for putting off that great American novel you're writing is to gather a bit more experience from which to write. Be careful with the baby sitter.