A few of my favorite things

This is my mandatory introduction post. I'm a 20-year-old college student studying comparative history of ideas and classical languages (I know, right). I live mostly in Seattle but sometimes in Berkeley, CA. This blog is not meant to be any scholarly or impartial analysis of books I read. Instead it is a place to vent my opinions about books and book-y stuff.

That being said, I thought I'd begin on a good note and post a few of my favorite books.

First, Banana Yoshimoto is one of the best and most underrated authors of all time, and Kitchen is one of her best works. Though it was a hit in Japan, here in the US it hasn't been as successful. Unfortunately the cover doesn't fit the book; the story itself is pretty existential. It's not easy to summarize, but it's about a young woman who loses her entire family and goes to live with an acquaintance of hers while her life is in turmoil. And, uh, she is drawn to kitchens. You know what? Just read it.

Another favorite of mine is Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City. The series has its ups and downs, and the recently-published Michael Tolliver Lives was definitely a down, but the first book is fun and breezy and a great way to spend the afternoon. It began as a serial in the San Francisco Chronicle and has some references to contemporary events and a good deal of thinly-veiled celebrities show up in its pages. I wouldn't say this was any kind of deep literature, but it's a favorite nevertheless. (Plus, look how pretty the covers on the new editions are!)

The last book I'm going to post today is my inspiration for this blog, The Polysyllabic Spree by Nick Hornby. Actually, this is a series of three books, which are compilations of Hornby's book reviews for The Believer magazine. Each month he has a "Books Bought" and "Books Read" list. His commentary is hilarious, as well as his futile attempts to read all the books he buys.

Until next time, cheerio!