The (Mid)August Reading List

One of the best things I've ever read isn't a book at all. Rather, it's a journal post by Neil Gaiman and it includes the greatest line ever written: George R.R. Martin is not your bitch. Okay, fine, feel free to argue that other authors have tossed out a few better one liners, e.g. "It was the best of times; it was the worst of times," or "Happy families are all alike, every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." But personally, no other line has spoken to me more as an author, which is why I quote it all the damn time. Honestly, I get frustrated when readers complain about my not writing enough... or enough of what they want. You'd be shocked at the vitriol in some of the mail I've received about If You Were Here. There's a small faction who are completely incensed at my having penned a novel instead of another memoir. But here's the thing - Fletch and I have worked so hard to create a normal, secure life. We've made the kind of decisions that specifically insure that crazy shit happens a whole lot less often. For example, we bought a house where we wouldn't have run-ins with our neighbors because I don't actually enjoy having run-ins with our neighbors. (Of course, Fletch does. But fortunately, lawn maintenance has become his ad hoc nemesis, so it's all good.) Point? Our lives are calm (ergo boring) by design. Another drawback is that in...