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September 24, 2006
Brunch and Books
In accordance with tradition, Kitten and I usually have brunch together every Sunday (well, perhaps a meal at 2pm shouldn't be called brunch, but that's what we call it). Today was somewhat different as her ex was in town for a week and she invited him along. Ostensible reason was to see me (I was friends with him long before knowing her), but I imagine she was looking forward to it as well. Since her ex and mine are also friends, I asked him to join us for an "ex double date".
All in all, we spent an enjoyable afternoon catching up on things while deftly avoiding certain topics. A bit weird, given the fact that we had all gone on real double dates before, but the boys were charming and helped us carry groceries home afterward.
Of course I know all of you don't really care about my personal life, so I will ramble on about some books I'm reading instead.
First, I'm finishing off White Man's Burden, a book on development by William Easterly. He is a maverick of sorts, perhaps more than a little bitter, but with extremely insightful observations on why aid programs seem to fail so magnificently. This book seems to be a follow-up to his previous work, The Elusive Quest for Growth, but with more detail. Some of the main themes/arguments can be found in a recent NYR article on aid and development.
I'm also reading a meandering history book called Salonica, City of Ghosts. A memoir of the city and its Greek, Christian, Jewish and Muslim past.
I'd write more but my attention span is short and Mission Impossible 2 is on. Tom Cruise was so much cooler before he fired his publicist and went crazy. Pity.
Posted by eerie at September 24, 2006 09:11 PM
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Comments
your personal life was more interesting than the books.
i ran into an ex (and a subordinate) that i hadn't seen in six months a couple of days ago. needless to say, i now realize the reasons for not dating in the office.
Posted by: drdougfir ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://eerie.aqoul.com/nav-commenters.gif)
at September 24, 2006 11:55 PM
Ditto.
Good lord - can't you try to find something a bit more trashy or salacious?!
Posted by: secretdubai at September 25, 2006 02:07 PM
Well, I did buy this today...but I doubt it counts.
Actually, Kitten recently lent me a few of her romance novels, including this one about vampires and stuff.
It is exactly what one might expect from the genre, so I won't try to describe it.
(romance novels can be useful if one has spent too much time reading about genocide and war)
Posted by: eerie at September 25, 2006 02:36 PM
now if only there were romance/genocide/war novels!
I can see the book's back cover now...
"...a passionate romance set against the backdrop of genocide and war with a good bit of wanking thrown in for good measure..." - Aqoul.com
"... who reads this decrepit tripe?" - Lounsbury
Posted by: drdougfir at September 25, 2006 02:39 PM
Well, it's quite clear that romance novels weren't written for girls like me.
In fact, the one appealing character in the above romance trilogy (well-dressed, spoke 7 languages, owned a 19th century mansion in New England) got killed off around chapter 2 of the first novel.
I should write a review or something.
Posted by: eerie at September 25, 2006 02:56 PM
Camus non-fiction, eh?
Hopefully that's the 'less brutal' volume.
The translation I have of Sisyphus makes the German philosophers out to be models of clarity by comparison.
Posted by: blue92 at September 27, 2006 12:31 AM
