I love books. They're fun, educational, and they sometimes contain bad language...Oooh, scandalous!
Recent articles claim that Sandra Bullock may play the lead in the adaptation of "The Abstinence Teacher," with Steve Carrell providing back-up. It's not that I'm super-excited for the movie or that I'm a fan of Bullock (personally, I think Laura Linney would be a better choice), but it puts Tom Perrotta back in the spotlight.
Perrotta (pictured) is one of my favorite novelists, someone who writes books that are simultaneously breezy and rife with social and moral complicatons. He offers no easy conclusions or cookie-cutter characters, but they're enjoyable, truthful and wickedly funny. He's a proof that you don't have to write dense, plodding fiction to reveal hard truths. You can have a little fun along the way. Curtis Sittenfeld did the same thing in "Prep," by the way.
Any of his books are fine choices, though I'm a fan of "Joe College," a rollicking come of age tale, and "Little Children," which is the rare suburban character study that doesn't feel rehashed or ironic.
Read in peace.
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