The final two books I read in 2010 were:

Crazy Heart by Thomas Cobb
The Whole Beast; Head to Tail Eating by Fergus Henderson

Crazy Heart was excellent and disarmingly depressing. I am set to watch the movie, was holding off until I read the book. Even though I knew Jeff Bridges plays Bad Blake in the movie, the whole time I read the book my mind pictured Guy Clark. I also pictured Lynn Collins as Jean instead of Maggie Gyllenhaal.

The Whole Beast, another cookbook/chef bio from the St John chef in London. Bourdain has raved about this chef/restaurant and apparently the first pressing of this book is a collector's item. This paperback version has a foreward by Bourdain.

So by my estimate, i beat my 3/month total by reading 40+ books in 2010. I did a worse job of keeping track, but looking back through the blog and scanning the shelf, I hit 41 or 42.


Currently reading:

Juliet Naked by Nick Hornby
A Return to Cooking by Eric Ripert & Michael Ruhlman (awesome so far)
The Shape of the Journey by Jim Harrison (this will take awhile, love it so far)

The Shape of the Journey

I found this first edition at Half Price Books for $9! It collects all of Harrison's astounding verse from 1965 - mid-1990's. I started last night and read through the first chapter. Harrison has a keen eye (of course he does, he lost an eye as a child) for describing a moment in time, usually nature, or relationships.

December is almost over *Updated*

Another long Absinthe!

Brief recap:

Saw the 13 Most Beautiful performance by Dean & Britta at the IMA for the Andy Warhol exhibit. Exhibit was cool too.

Went on a backpacking trip to the Linville Gorge in the Pisgah National Forest, near Asheville NC. Me, Adrian, John Veltri & BJ Livingston. We had a wonderful time. If you get the chance to go there, do it. We had quite an adventure.

Saw the reunited GBV again, this time at the Bluebird in Bloomington. They had definitely tightened up since the Vegas show. Have tickets to see them in Nashville on January 19th. Will likely hit Roberts Western Wear during the day, my favorite Nashville hangout!

With Jonny V saw Bobby Bare Jr at a house party in Beech Grove. 2 hours of pure fun. You name it, he played it. Did the great combo-cover of Sister Goldenhair/Where is My Mind! (America/Pixies) Bought vinyl from him outta the back of his car!

Books finished:
Shutter Island by Dennis LeHane
Point Omega by Don DeLillo (This book knocked me for a loop. Need to read again)
Elements of Cooking by Michael Ruhlman
The Whole Beast: Head to Tail Cooking by Fergus Henderson

Poetry Tomes:
Infinity Blues by Ryan Adams
Adult Head by Jeff Tweedy

In Process:
Crazy Heart by Thomas Cobb
The Food of a Younger Land by Mark Kurlansky

More to come.....

Desolation Row/Champaign, Illinois

Happened to catch Old 97's on Leno last week and they played this great song....

Best Coast

I've Been Busy

Thankfully RSS feeds make infrequent posters (posers?) from fading into the vast ether. Quick reading update and a pre-GBV show shout out. GBV @ the Bluebird in Bloomington tonight!

Finished:
Winter's Bone by Daniel Woodrell
First, Break All the Rules by Marcus Buckingham
The Death of Bunny Munro by Nick Cave

Started:
Shutter Island by Dennis LeHane
Addiction and Grace by Gerald May

I'm anxious to see the movie Winter's Bone which just came out on dvd. Also waiting to see this german film White Ribbon. I've read about it and it sounds fascinating.

Books

Finished The Summer He Didn't Die by Jim Harrison. Started Winter's Bones by Daniel Woodrell. Trying to finish First, Break all the Rules by Marcus Buckingham for a job satisfaction project at work. Re-reading Harrison's latest book of poems called In Search of Small Gods. It's brilliant. Also started reading a cookbook called The Food of Portugal by Jean Anderson.

Le Noise