cause for worry

I've always thought of Lonely Planet as the best guide for low-maintenance and adventurous travel - so I was not happy to read that Lonely Planet lists one of the highlights of a visit to Nairobi, Kenya, as "the smug feeling of surviving a stay here!"

Raise your hands now

Anybody else tempted by the new Amazon Kindle?

movies

Lars and the Real Girl - This is the movie where Ryan Gosling buys a Real Doll (a life-like and life-size sex toy) and then parades around with it as though it were a real person. I went to see it because I figured it had to be good for a laugh or two, and I was really surprised to find that it's actually a really good movie. The premise is so patently laughable that it overcomes the very strict taboo against laughing at the handicapped; and so the inhabitants of the small town where Gosling lives can be both mocking and caring. His friends and neighbors aren't divided between the good people who treat him kindly, and the bad people who ridicule and talk behind his back. Laughter and disbelief are part of how they cope with the disruption to their community; nonetheless, everyone closes ranks and helps him cope. Of course, the audience experiences the same mix of hilarity and sharp sympathy. It's a very well-done movie.

The Darjeeling Limited - If you like Wes Anderson, you will probably like The Darjeeling Limited. If you don't like Wes Anderson, you probably won't like The Darjeeling Limited. The guy has a schtick, and it's a good one, and he doesn't depart from it here. I think it's my least favorite of his movies, but I'd still come back for more.

photos

Just a few pictures from the family weddings that bracketed the summer, now that summer is over. I don't want to post pictures of family without permission, so if any of my family members are reading this, drop me a line and I'll send you some photos.

Halloween

I wasn't out for long yesterday, but I did see a man dressed as a banana.

I passed him on my way to the gym, where I discovered - to my great delight - that all of the toned-to-perfection gay staff had put on teeny tiny togas to celebrate the holiday. Thank you, toned-to-perfection gay staff of Equinox, for playing the objectification card both ways, and thank you, Halloween, for making it possible.

I just met the most controversial woman in publishing

Ms. J. R.

She's very good-looking.

once sentence book reviews

Absurdistan, by Gary Schteyngart - This book is all surface, but what a surface it is: funny, deeply ironic, smart, topical, nimble. Still, I can't love a book without a beating heart.

West With the Night, Beryl Markham - A truly wonderful memoir by a female pilot and horse trainer in Africa, in the early and middle parts of the 20th century. Hemingway praised the book highly, and there is a similarity of style, although I think that Markham runs laps around Hemingway where content is concerned. A new heroine to add to my pantheon!

The Language Police, by Diane Ravitch - A book about censorship in public schools, especially of textbooks. Substantive, well-researched, both shocking and thought-provoking.

Book By Book, by Michael Dirda - Books about books and reading can only rise to a certain height, but this one is light and fun and will probably give you some good ideas.

The Surrender, by Toni Bentley - Toni Bentley thinks she's a badass because she likes anal sex, and she wants you to know about it.

The Land Was Everything, by Victor Davis Hansen - A eulogy for the family farmer; a book as noble and yet also as narrow-minded as its subject.

A Field of Darkness, by Cornelia Read - A very witty, character-driven mystery. The whodunit wasn't hard to spot, but the book is great.

The Mona Lisa Stratagem, by Harriet Rubin - A beautifully written, oracular "guide" to power and authority for older women. Unfortunately, it's most useful for women who think Colette's greatest accomplishment was seducing a 16 year old boy at 60, and want to follow in her footsteps.

Harry Potter 7, by J.K. Rowling - Bliss.

Thief, Queen of Attolia, King of Attolia, by Megan Whalen Turner - Satisfying young adult series, reminded me a bit of Lian Hern's Tales of the Otori or Poison Study.