Wednesday, December 07, 2005

Cupcake Says, Read This Book!




I received a very nice email from MuppetLover this morning saying that she was looking for some new books to read so she clicked on my Blogger profile and chose some of the ones I had listed as my favorite books and has been very pleased with the selection. Then she suggested that I have a regular column on the blog where I recommend books that I am reading. I would love to have something in the sidebar so you could track what I am reading, but alas, my web skills are no where near that advanced. Wow, this email is sounding pretty self-agrandizing, but since MuppetLover has asked, I figure I'd let you all know what's on my nightstand right now.

I've just started Mike Stanton's The Prince of Providence which tells the true story of the rise and fall of charasmatic crook and Mayor of Providence, Buddy Cianci. As a Rhode Islander, this book is pretty much required reading. I still remember where I was when the Buddy verdict was announced. If you enjoy biographies, particulary those that revolve around strong, tragic figures or enjoy tales of political corruption, or if you're wondering just how corrupt and mobbed up is the littlest state in the Union, this is, by all accounts, the book to read.

I'm also looking forward to starting Rohinton Mistry's Family Matters, which followed his critically acclaimed A Fine Balance. I remember reading A Fine Balance in Vienna on the reccomendation of SmartyPants and it is a gorgeous book. Later, Oprah went on to choose it for her book club proving that I am two steps ahead of Oprah and leading creedence to MuppetLover's claim, "You are my own personal Oprah!".

Speaking of Oprah, it reminds me of a quote last night I read in New York Magazine. Someone asked Quincy Jones if he thought Oprah should run for President. He said, no, because she is wa more influential where she is now and he cited that a recent poll showed that 68% of people surveyed would vote for Oprah if she ran for the highest office in the land. "Hell, " said Jones "Oprah is President". True dat, Q, true dat. It is Oprah's world, we all just live in it.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

you're a native rhode islander (don't deny it) and you're only now reading the POP???

Well, at least you'll finish it before Hollywood ruins it!

IA said...

I use AllConsuming for my books sidebar. It's very easy to set up.

Anonymous said...

Yes, I also read and a enjoyed a book that was on your list (The Secret History).
Cianci's verdict: I was on the Hill in a sandwich shop trying to stretch out my lunch hour as long as possible before I went back to the law firm where I temped (spelling?) for a week. However, because I'm not Italian I think I failed to fully appreciate the significance of that moment and location. Sometimes its weird being a non-Italian Rhode Islander. But at least I'm Irish.

jesse said...

A Fine Balance was incredible, eh? I loved the delicate, sometimes jarring mix of the horrifying and the hopeful.

Anonymous said...

and, yeah, i'd vote for oprah