January's Book of the Month

I love books. They're fun, educational, and you can learn all sorts of cool words. Like "kitten."

Anyway, I'm about to wrap up a Dyalogue with everyone's favorite movie buddy R. Kurt Osenlund on narration in movies. I think it's a pretty good one, even though Kurt is probably about to explode over my disdain for "Up in the Air".

In our spirited exchange, I mentioned Philip Roth several times. It came to my attenion that I should call some attention to probably the greatest living American novelist. Here's the weird thing: as he gets older, his writing is still dynamic and insightful and energetic. He's a modern-day miracle.

Please don't watch his adaptations. "Elegy" was sleepy (I didn't read "They Dying Animal") and "The Human Stain" was absurd thanks to its preposterous casting. Just read any of these books from America's crankiest novelist:

1.) The Human Stain

2.) Portnoy's Complaint

3.) American Pastoral

4.) Portnoy's Complaint

5.) The Plot Against America

6.) Patrimony (his outstanding memoir about his father's failing health)

Happy reading to everyone.