Scott Douglas’ Terse Bloviation

• Leaf blowers
• Snow blowers
• Texting drivers
• Shouters in restaurants
• Knowingly deceptive political advertisers
• Environmentalists with a ton of kids
• Smokers who use the ground as an ashtray

#5: Mycophilia: Revelations From the Weird World of Mushrooms, by Eugenia Bone

Unfortunately, this will probably be it for awhile, as I have a book to write by May. Which reminds me of this story:

The first book I wrote was Bill Rodgers Lifetime Running Plan. I got behind and had to go into isolation for the last month to get it done. When I finished, I placed a personal ad in the Boston Phoenix to try to get my social life going again. On a first date I said, “Man, is it nice just to go out. I’ve been holed up the last month finishing a book.”

She said, “What were you reading?”

We wound up not getting married.

#4: The Tempest by William Shakespeare

Does this count as a book? Probably not, but to bolster my case, I supplemented Shakespeare by reading the relevant chapters on the play in Harold Bloom’s Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human and Harold Goddard’s The Meaning of Shakespeare, Vol. 2.

Instant Love by Jami Attenberg

#2. Lost Memory of Skin, by Russell Banks

That’s the beginning of almost every answer I give in this lengthy podcast with Jay Johnson. Some of the answers improve after that. Meanwhile, my voice deteriorates noticeably over the hour; that’s about as much talking as I usually do in a day.

With that promo, how can you not be tempted to listen?

Toward the end of last year I started wondering how many books I finish in a year, so for lack of a more convenient place to keep a list I’ll keep up with, I’ve decided to do so here.

I recently joined the first book club of my life, and have the sense that doing so will, oddly, result in fewer books finished, because I’ll always be focused on getting one done for the monthly meeting and maybe then want to take a break from what might come to feel like assigned reading. (I don’t recall reading a lot of books other than textbooks during the school year in college, for instance.) Anyway…

#1: Why Read Moby-Dick, by Nathaniel Philbrick.

I’m out of copies of The Little Red Book of Running, so have removed the buy-from-me post that used to live below. Thanks to everyone who ordered directly from me. This little start-up called Amazon still has some they’d be happy to sell you.

Read about running’s shaman.