A Week of Reading: part 4: More obsessions

"What do we burn apart from witches?"

"More witches!" - Monty Python and the Holy Grail

"What do we obsess about besides books?"

"More books!" - adaptation 

Obsessions are like books – I never shy away from adding just a few more to the pile! Recent obsessions include the wild wit of Terry Pratchett and I’m sad to be reaching the end of two Discworld arcs: Death and the Witches. (If you need an entryway or map into Discworld, check this out!) I’m currently finishing up Thief of Time and Carpe Jugulum and am excited to check out new arcs like Tiffany Aching and Vetinari. I’m also working on Good Omens in preparation for its television debut. 

Also new to my list of obsessions is the work of Stephen King. Prior to this fall, my encounters with King were quite limited. I love The Stand and I enjoyed the first Gunslinger book – but abandoned the Dark Tower books that followed it. I very much disliked Bag of Bones (it got stuck in my head and freaked me out) and that’s about it.

My recent obsession started with the book The Outsider which I kept encountering on “you-must-read-this” lists online. I finally gave it a go and fell in love with Ralph Anderson and Holly Gibney (and Lovey Bolton, too!) Once I discovered that Holly was part of another series, I raced through Mr. Mercedes, Finders Keepers (the weakest of the lot; I think it was supposed to have other characters and he sort of shoe-horned it into the series) and End of Watch. I’ve since completed Salem’s Lot – which managed to be both scary (sometimes) and utterly hokey (sometimes) which made it perfect for me because I don’t like to be too scared! [On that note: Pet Sematary is tied with House of Leaves for the scariest book I have ever read and I can’t wait to revisit them on a dark October night.] 

Currently, I’m ­re-reading Mr. Mercedes because I liked it so much along with Needful Things. Sometimes I worry myself a bit. I was honestly rooting for Leland Gaunt there for awhile… right up until he ate that rat. I’m not sure what this says about my psyche, but I don’t think it can be positive.

The nice thing about “discovering” King (or, at least, discovering my enjoyment of him) is that there’s plenty out there to enjoy; The Outsider is even set to become an HBO series (so excited!). 

And last in the list of recent obsessions – but certainly not least – is slain politician Robert Kennedy. I can’t remember what initially set me investigating the Kennedys – maybe Tom Hanks’ 1960s documentary for CNN? Whatever the source, I dove in and fell in love with Death of a President… but it turns out that JFK isn’t my man. Nope. I have a much stronger connection with/ affinity for (if such a thing is possible) Bobby and I wish we had someone like him today to root for and be inspired by. The current climate is so hate-filled. I knew racism, homophobia, and misogyny existed in my country but it seems that the current climate is not only allowing these things to flourish but encouraging them – even fueling them. 

[As my own possible antidote, I’m working on a spring class about “the literature of assassination.” If I can pull it off, I’ll be introducing students to the texts surrounding Medgar Evers, Malcolm X, MLK Jr., JFK, RFK… and why these lives (and deaths) are so important. The trick is keeping student interest and finding books that are small enough to cover in class.]

So, Bobby has become a sort of hero of mine. I even started toying with a story about him called “Mantle of Splendor.” And once I latch on to something (or someone) I have to read about it. I listened to the wonderful RFK: Journey to Justice (highly recommend; it’s only $7 on Google Play) and now I’m on to A Lie too Big to Fail – which looks a little conspiracy-theory laden, but Bobby himself started to believe in them after awhile, as do his kids. On the more directly historical side, I’m reading Bobby Kennedy: The Making of a Liberal Icon and pairing it with a fictional work about his funeral train: Trainof Small Mercies.