Once I got started reading this (it took me a while – I had a book bottleneck), I couldn’t put it down. It was doubly great b/c I started it on the plane ride to New Orleans and read about half the book while I was there. The story is set in New Orleans, so I could relate to the many great references to the culture, society, and urban landscape (or decay, depending on how you view the French Quarter). Ignatious is one of the greatest characters I’ve ever met. What an ass! You hate him and are repulsed by him. And yet…you can’t stop reading. It’s like a train wreck or a a vulgar picture, you know it’s awful, but you have to watch it just a little bit longer. What a great book! This is the first Pulitzer Prize winning novel I’ve been able to finish and actually claim to like. Give it a read.

Such a beautiful album. Haunting melodies…very reflective of the story line. Eddie Vedder did a great job. His voice is perfect for the lonely, jaded tone of the music and lyrics.

I just didn’t. I thought I would. I’ll still see them when they come here. But it just seemed too disjointed, too chaotic…too “icky” and not enough “thumpy.”

Anyone who has spent more than 20 minutes with me in the past three weeks knows how much I love this album. I can’t get enough of it. I can’t stop talking about it. I have to say, I’m confusing MYSELF by loving this album so much. It’s weird b/c it’s a combination of musical elements that I’d never say I really like – bossanova beats, show tune-y vocals and piano, etc. And yet, they’re a beautiful, fresh, silly, sweet combination that I can’t get out of my head.

I enjoyed reading this. It should be titled “Sex and Society,” which is what the book is really about. There’s a sad and antiquated chapter on eugenics, which is too bad since the rest of Russell’s views were way ahead of his time. But a very interesting book on child-rearing and the role of sex, men, and women in society. A worthwhile read.

This book is not hard to read; Kozul is not an alarmist. But it is a call to action and a plea for awareness. It’s disturbing and it’s touching and it’s accusatory. If you’ve never been to a low-income housing project (like me), then you probably don’t understand why this book is important. I suspect that the majority of Americans fall under this category, since ghettos are not tourist destinations and most Americans are relieved from the duty of acknowledging that they exist. But the fact that we hide away these areas and the people that live in them, the fact that we isolate and quarantine the less-fortunate in this type of squalor, is indefensible. If you’re not appalled by how these people are forced to live, and by the circumstances that keep them there, then you need to read this.

I don’t KNOW why…I’m just going through a stage, I guess. But I slather butter or olive oil on a few slices and that’s been my dinner for a couple of weeks now. Yea, carbs! Boo, vitamins. Eh, I’ll take supplements.