Making it Up As I Go

I finished Crackpot: The Obsessions of John Waters, and I officially adore the man. While I will never see Pink Flamingos or some of his other work, I think he as a person is really interesting. It’s interesting to see where some of his ideas come from, and the gems in his life that he’s since translated into his movies. To just dismiss him as a kook is missing whole sides of him. (How many sides does he have? I don’t know. ) He’s done some really varied things in his life, and that adds to his depth and range. I want to read more of his writing, he has a style that I really like. Plus I love the fact that in his Independent Spirit Award speech he told stars that they should pay for their own award show outfits, that free clothes should be for the poor, and that they should take the amount of the free clothes were wearing and donate it to the homeless. !!! He wins.
I picked up Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne because I was at the airport and I’d just finished Crackpot so I had nothing to read. In my experience, airport bookstores are either fabulous or full of junk (junk being books I don’t want to read) , and this one definitly fell in the latter category. It was all romance novels or political commentary. But that was actually probably a good thing, in that I picked up Around the World in 80 Days, and I probably wouldn’t have otherwise. How have I never read this book before?? It was so fun! Adventure, drama, great locations, and great humor. I actually laughed out loud a couple times.
Tying into my overall theme of this blog- the connections between books that depend on the order you read them- if I hadn’t read Way of the Peaceful Warrior recently before this one, I don’t know that I would have noticed that Phileas Fogg basically has a Zen approach to his journey. In the book he’s referred to as cold and distanced because he doesn’t react when bad things happen, but he could also be seen as just not wasting energy on things he can’t change. Passepartout is the complete opposite, freaking out over every little thing, and as a result, causing more problems and more delays. Interesting.
Anyway, I need to read more Jules Verne.
I just started Dorothy Parker in her Own Words, a sort of autobiography made up of things Parker wrote or said about her life in her various writings. So far there’s nothing new, but I enjoy Dorothy Parker as a person, so I don’t really mind reading the same things again.

Current total: 88
Just Finished : Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne
Currently Reading: Dorothy Parker in her Own Words ed. by Barry Day