Books acquired: “Chronic City,” Jonathan Lethem; “Red,” Sammy Hagar; “A Pleasure to Burn” and “Switch on the Night,” Ray Bradbury; “Pale Gray for Guilt,” John D. MacDonald; “Slow Learner,” Thomas Pynchon; “Men and Cartoons,” Jonathan Lethem; “Tales of Mystery and Imagination,” Edgar Allan Poe; “An Education,” Nick Hornby.
Books read: “The Book of Philip K. Dick,” Philip K. Dick; “The Hand of Fu Manchu,” Sax Rohmer; “The Beasts of Tarzan,” Edgar Rick Burroughs; “All Yesterdays’ Parties: The Velvet Underground in Print 1966-1971,” Clinton Heylin, ed.; “The Drawn Blank Series,” Bob Dylan.
May was a five-book month for yours truly. (Alas, it was a nine-book month on the acquisitions front.)
I read the Philip Dick story collection because it contains “The Adjustment Team,” on which the recent, enjoyable movie “The Adjustment Bureau” was based. The Fu Manchu and Tarzan books are each the third in their respective series and were pleasantly pulpy. The Velvet Underground book compiles news and reviews of the band (one of my favorites) from the period when they were still functioning. The Dylan book is made up of color sketches by the musician and several very dull essays by others.
On the whole, an uninspiring month, with the Dick volume probably the best of the lot.
As for when and where the books were acquired, the first three came from various used bookstores the last decade (the details escape me), the VU was a remainder purchased at Moe’s in Berkeley four years ago and the Dylan was bought at Pomona’s Magic Door Books a few months ago.
June is shaping up as a light month. As I write this it’s the 9th and I haven’t finished anything since late May; I’m still in the early stages of two books after abandoning a third. Hope you’re doing better.
Anyone want to share what they’ve read or are currently reading?
