the unbearable lightness of cake

Just when I thought my days of dorkiness were surely coming to a close, I find myself stumbling back into my severe bookworm tendencies. I've been devouring books left and right lately. However, in my defense, only one of these has been purchased so at least I'm not blowing money on my literary addiction like usual. (No, the rest weren't stolen, they were borrowed.) I also have a Borders frequent members card. The minute discounts, although essentially pointless, assuage my guilt just enough to keep me coming back. Currently I am reading I Was Told There'd Be Cake by Sloane Crosley. Ah, humorous memoirs! My new favorite genre. The quirky and slightly morbid first paragraph grabbed me and I couldn't resist sparing the $14 to take it with me. It consists of short stories, which is a perfect light read for the bus or down time at work.



There's nothing like the smell of a new book. It's subtle and clean, but unmistakable. When I smelled this one, as I do every time I buy one, I realized that no one else on this earth would understand unless he or she was a book junkie too.

The other book I'm reading at the moment is The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera. (Oh yes, folks. I'm reading two at the same time. And I have no idea why I do this or how I do this, but it works.) This one's been on my to-read list for a few years. I even may have rented it from the library with good intentions of reading it, but I just never got to it. However, a few weeks ago Marya was recommending reads to me from her own bookshelf and brought this one to my attention. Usually I take recommendations lightly, but Marya has similar tastes and doesn't waste her time with obnoxious chick lit so I figured I was safe. She also mentioned that it may be necessary, even with my decent vocabulary, to keep a dictionary at hand while reading. I enjoy a challenge and I always look to expand my vocabulary. Needless to say, I was intrigued.



Obviously it's not a light read. It's quite intense and, ironically enough, heavy. Or rather, I doubt that's truly ironic because I'm sure that the author was fully aware of the irony when providing that title. My attention span is usually shot by late night, so in all fairness to Milan Kundera and his creative energies, I usually read this one while relaxing down at Starbucks with a notebook in hand in order to write down any words that are foreign to me. Perhaps one day I'll reveal my vocabulary revelations to you in a conclusive blog.