A Lost Week

I was hell bent on finishing Cynthia Ozick's novel in one sitting this week when two things happened to stop me in my tracks. Of course, the first thing was the headline in the paper on Monday morning that had me questioning my self image as an anti-death penalty fanatic. I want to feel guilty about my lack of empathy for Mr. Bin Laden, truly I do, but my friend Andrea has always told me that I'm a strategic thinker and that part of my personality emerged as my immediate reaction was, President Obama's approval ratings will improve drastically.

I haven't talked politics in a while - just books. It seems that, after the mid-term elections, I was in such a funk, such a deep depression about the state of our country, the rise of the conservative fringe, and the election of Florida governor Rick Scott, that I just didn't know what to say. I drowned myself in literature.

This week I've had to do the same. When I'm not reading every newspaper I can get my hands on, I'm reading my latest gift from Library Journal which also arrived on Monday. The 400 and some page novel, the latest from Russell Banks, has a one week turnaround and is consuming my every spare minute.It appears to be a thought-provoking treatise on the nature of crime and punishment. How appropos is that?

Halfway through The Weird Sisters which I'm listening to in my car. (so don't be offended when I decline car pooling) Will give you my thoughts when the review of Mr. Banks' novel is on its way to New York.