Mommy (me!) is (am? do? be?) Reading

The nice thing about being laid up seems to be getting some reading done…

• The Virgin Cure, by Ami McKay – I was nervous about this because it’s a second novel, a follow-up to the wonderful The Birth House.  There was no need to fear – it’s a rollicking, grimly fascinating exploration of the seamy underbelly of late 18-th century New York City… from a writer in Nova Scotia. (the “cure” refers to the mistaken, foolish and often-desperate belief, held by all strata of society, that relations with an unspoiled young woman would cure syphilis)
• The Dirty Life, by Kristin Kimball – yet another read in the garden-memoir genre that brought you Amy Stewart’s From the Ground Up, Novella Carpenter’s Farm City, Keith Stuart’s It’s a Long Road to a Tomato and who could forget Josh Kilmer-Purcell’s The Bucolic Plague. (admission:  I loved the book but can never remember the title, and every time I think of it, I have to Google “gay men farming,” which I am ashamed to admit does the trick nicely every time) 

(from the title, Ted was certain this book would be more exciting than it was, even though the cover PICTURE depicts a smiling woman holding a chicken… so I don’t know exactly WHAT he expected.)

• Me, Myself and Bob by Phil Vischer – one of my new Kobo books, and I thought it would be just the story of the author’s faith and maybe a little backstory about his kids’ shows (VeggieTales), but there’s actually a lot of the techy-geekery in here that I love… he’s talking about using SoftImage on an Alias workstation, and I know exactly what all those things are and more.  Also, as part of the backstory, his mother told him he couldn’t make Jesus a vegetable… which ruled out doing any version of the Gospels.  That explains why they’ve come out with so many lovely, high-quality stories from the Tanach (Jewish Bible) instead!  (the book also explains why veggies, but I won’t spoil it for you…)

We’ll see if I keep at it now that I’m feeling a bit stronger, physically, and able to run around a little bit more, or (as the case may be) sit at the computer for longer stretches without screaming out in agony due to a rampant UTI.  Antibiotics good… big black-and-yellow stripey ones… mmm… antibiotics!  (to my credit, or whatever, I held out for 5 days before realizing I probably wasn’t going to cure it on my own with a regimen of more sensible bedtimes…)