<Digging in his pocket, plnnr pulls out two pennies> Here’s my two cents:
Like you I thought that maybe I had missed out by not reading many of the “classics” of world literature. My solution - I went to a book store and bought an anthology and read through that. The works were by the writers widely regarded as the “greats” and it gave me a flavor of each of their styles. If someone in particular appealed to me I went to the library and started reading more of their work. If someone didn’t really appeal to me I figured that I had at least been exposed to their work. If you feel like you absolutely have to read Moby Dick, just because its supposed to be a classic of Western literature, you probably aren’t going to enjoy it as much as if you weren’t doing it out of a sense of responsibility. To find new writers I’ll go the the “New Fiction” section of the library and play “Writer’s Roulette.” I pick a book purely by random and stand there and read the first few pages. If I like it, I check it out and read it. If the book I pick is by someone I’ve already read, I put that book back and pick again.
People I’ve been reading heavily during the past year include Gore Dival (both his fiction and United States, his collected essays) and H. L. Mencken. Both have a very jaundiced view of humanity (Vidal much less so than Mencken)but both also have a wonderful way with language.
As to your other musings - I think well-tanned feet, with a good pedicure, in a pair of nice thong sandals, are one of the joys of summer. Add a toe ring and I’m liable to…well, I don’t know what I’m liable to do. But it isn’t a fetish or anything. I figure if a woman has enough self-awareness to take good care of her feet she’s got to be into keeping all the other pieces and parts of herself in top shape, too (including her brain - maybe she reads Mencken?). Besides, a well-placed kiss on a woman’s instep is a sure fire way to get the ball rolling.
Just got my first tattoo in the small of my back. It isn’t my daughter’s name, but my zodiac sign.
I’ll never look at Elmer Fudd the same way again. I wonder if he has tanned feet, a good pedicure, and a toe ring?
Can’t add anything about the music musings - I did just buy a remastered CD of Count Basie’s “April in Paris” that will knock your socks off. Nothing swings like a big 15 piece band.
Have a great summer, Sue. And don’t forget to throw in a little Sidney Sheldon for reading by the pool. Nothing says summer like some suntan lotion, a cold drink, and a trashy novel.
Here’s a couple more pennies, I think I went over .02.
