What books have you read lately?

Well, it's the Fourth of July and I just finished reading several short story collections.
1.) The Evil B.B. Chow by Steve Almond--I kept seeing his name everywhere, small lit mags, large lit mags, and read several stories on-line, so I decided it was time to check out a larger body of his work. I enjoyed this collection. Almond fuses pop culture references with story line.
2.) Picked up A Circle Is a Balloon and Compass Both by Ben Greenman and I liked this one, too. Favorite story: "Clutching and Glancing." Lots of clever play with words and the way the stories are lined up is a nice metaphor. Love as Art, Love as Music, Love as Place, etcetera.
3.) Finally finished The Tender Bar by J.R. Moehringer. It was okay. I thought it went on a bit too long on the love these guys, this place, and a little short on the redemptive phase. It was a little rambly, too, for my taste. I wouldn't not recommend it, though. Best-seller, though? Love that title. I better be careful on my karma quotient, hey?

So today is fireworks, barbecue, and tennis, swimming with the kids. Don't really care for holidays that fall in the middle of the work week. The day gets imbued with too much importance. Delaney is making parfait's with blueberries, rasberries, granola, and yogurt. Red, white, and blue. Jackey doesn't like blueberries or granola. So Del is eating her bb and granola.

Finishing up reading the latest lit mag Opium: Live Well Now. I'm enjoying it. Good humor. Strange, quirky stories, nice graphics (except where they interfere with readability of the story). Nice to get away from the stuffy, we are so important lit mags that I can never seem to get published in. Won't name any names. (That karma thing again).

Time to do a little writing and exercising. Have you done yours for today of either/or?