Another Friday, another great bunch of books from...

Friday, August 10, 2012

Another Friday, another great bunch of books from my fellow Picadorians.

Greetings Friday Reads Club!

The clouds are hovering over the Flatiron building but our staff picks for this week are looking terrific.

Gabrielle just finished an amazing parody of a Choose Your Own Adventure book called Love is Not Constantly Wondering If You Are Making the Biggest Mistake of Your Life written by an anonymous author in Portland, OR and started City Boy: My Life in New York by Edmund White.

In true Portland style, the book was originally self-published but after a rave review in Slate the author’s friend who runs a small press was enlisted to help out with the third printing. It’s the story of the author’s years long relationship with an alcoholic girlfriend. His dedication to an authentic Choose Your Own Adventure layout is amazing. I hope it becomes a cult classic.

I just started Edmund White’s memoir, City Boy: My Life in New York During the 1960s and ’70s. I saw him in conversation with Ann Beattie last year at McNally Jackson and thought it was one of the best events I’d been to. Ever since then I’ve been meaning to read his work. This time period and White’s perspective (gay and literary) makes this one hard to put down. Can’t wait to head to a coffee shop with it later.

Elianna is falling deep into the world of Cormac McCarthy’s BLOOD MERIDIAN and when she needs a change of pace from gouged eyeballs and scalping, she’s been perusing the NEW YORK Magazine Sex Issue and learning all about throuples.

Daniel just started CLOUD ATLAS by David Mitchell and is trying to finish it before Tom Hanks and Halle Berry get to it.

Darin is looking forward to reading Peter Carey’s latest, THE CHEMISTRY OF TEARS.

James is reading Ian Hamilton’s THE WILD BEASTS OF WUHAN, the 2nd Ava Lee thriller we’ll publish in 2013.

Turns out Ava is a fan of Gong Li (and Zhang Yimou). While on a flight from Newark to Hong Kong she takes in both To Live and Raise the Red Lantern. A little heavy for a long flight (I tend more toward Rob Schneider movies when I’m stuck on a plane), but she’s got great taste.

Elizabeth is reading submissions, sushi menus, and the latest issue of One Story.

PJ just read the first story in SMUT by Alan Bennett. In it, a widower has some perverse fun with her two teenaged lodgers, and comes out of her shell via some patient/doctor role play.

Have a great weekend!