Books

I love to read. When I was a kid, I had my head in a book a lot. I would read in my bedroom. I would read in the kitchen. I would read in the car. I would read on the couch in front of the TV. My brother, Ira, hated it when I would read when he was trying to watch TV. In fact, we still joke today about this one time, when he was so mad, that he said, "why don't you just go read in the bathroom...it's better lighting anyway." I'd read on the toilet too, but I also liked bugging my older brother. Since he was always bigger and stronger than me, it was my best weapon: irritation.

Frederic takes after me in many ways, including his love for reading. I think he's even more obsessed with it than I was. He's always got his head in a book, or so it seems. Sometimes, he'll sit and read for hours. A couple of weeks ago, he began reading the Harry Potter series. We were going to read it together, but he got sick of waiting for me. So he just started. He finished the first one in four days, the second one just as fast. He's already on the fourth. I'm kind of envious because he's got me interested in giving them a try, but he's so far ahead of me.

I still own two books from my childhood: Tikki Tikki Tembo, and Fat Cat. I love these books. Unfortunately, they are falling apart. Fat Cat is already out of the spine, and the other has small rips and tears in it. The kids like the stories too. We once saw a musical version of Tikki. I was certain that they would screw it up, but they didn't. When I read the story, I sometimes sing the tune I learned. I've given the book to my godson, as well. I've read it to him once, and I understand it's one of his favorites.

I'm sitting in the Schaumburg Library, not reading. Frederic attends a Pokemon class here on Thursdays, and while I have every intention of cracking a book when I come, I have yet to do that. Last week, I wrote my blog, and read some piled up versions of Daily Variety I received while I was out of town. Today, I'm writing my blog (duh), and, while I brought a couple of books I am currently reading, I may not get to them.

In honor of of my love of books, and in honor of my pending 40th birthday (97 days), here are my top 40 authors, not necessarily in order...are any of them yours?

1. Charles Bukowski
2. Larry Brown
3. David Sedaris
4. Raymond Carver
5. Stephen Dixon
6. Andre Dubus
7. Stuart Dybek
8. Ernest Heminway
9. David Michael Kaplan
10. Tracy Letts
11. Alice McDermott
12. Haruki Murakami
13. Tim O'Brien
14. Miles Harvey
15. Flannery O'Connor
16. J.D. Salinger
17. Kevin Smith
18. William Carlos Williams
19. Truman Capote
20. Tracy Kidder
21. James Joyce
22. Dr. Seuss
23. Carl Klaus
24. Gregory Martin
25. S.L. Wisenberg
26. S.E. Hinton
27. Matt Wood
28. Steve Jordan
29. Jeff Burd
30. Maureen Searcy
31. Colleen Kozubowski
32. Ron Carlson
33. John Fante
34. Alice Sebold
35. James Frey
36. Ann Pachett
37. James McBride
38. Tobias Wolff
39. F. Scott Fitzgerald
40. Jim Norton