More Ramblings

As I rambled the other day, I felt like I needed to start a new book because the ones I was reading were long (Don Quixote), a struggle (Castle of Crossed Destinies), or a diary (James Lees-Milne) good for only short bursts of attention. I thought I should finish Castle before beginning a new book, but just couldn't do it. So last night I read one story in Castle and pondered on what book I should begin. I wanted something very different than what I was reading. It came down to three books: About Grace by Anthony Doerr, Hippolyte's Island by Barbara Hodgson and Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore. About Grace didn't last long because it is a cold and snowy book, part of it takes place in Alaska. With the snow falling outside I needed something warmer. I read the first page of Hippolyte and the first page of Lamb, and while Hippolyte was promising, I decided to go with the complete irreverance of Lamb. I am glad I did. This book is funny--it has a bit of a Monty Python feel to it. One of the funniest scenes so far was Jesus', Joshua to friends and family, and Biff's escapade to circumcise the statue of Apollo that the Greek owner of a house Biff's father was building had brought onto the site. Needless to say, the circumcision went awry and Apollo lost a little more than his foreskin. I'll be reading this week's Montaigne essay today and very likely more of Lamb. Stay tuned.