Too Much Lethem? No such thing.
Roughly 2 years ago I crossed the great divide into Brooklyn, happily forsaking the trappings of an East Village existence for cheaper rent and more space. In the midst of transferring nearly fifty boxes of books, via a dozen or so runs from Alphabet City to Greenpoint in a rented mini-van, I came to realize that I have a serious character flaw- procrastination.
A large percentage of the books I hauled over the mighty Williamsburg Bridge had gone unread, and untouched for at least 2 years. It was a shameful discovery. I had every intention of reading them all, but hadn't for a myriad reasons that were mostly bullshit. I vowed to change my ways, and I actually did for a pretty significant period of time. I was reading about 2 novels a week for quite a while, and then I dropped off. Again, the reasons are more bullshit than truth so I'll spare you.
What does all of this have to do with Jonathan Lethem? Very little I suppose. But, Motherless Brooklyn was one of the titles I actually managed to read before I became a Brooklynite, and it's characters and places moved through my little brain every time I crossed the Williamsburg Bridge on the fateful day I became a Brooklyn dweller. It's a terrific piece of Fiction, and an excellent introduction to Lethem.
Fast forward to yesterday.
I finished Fortress of Solitude, and was immediately sad that it was over, but I had been putting off reading it for months because... because I'm a goddamn procrastinator, that's why. Also because the last Lethem book I read was Girl In Landscape which kind of left me cold, compared to Motherless, and I was worried that I'd be let down. Well, that, and the fact that I'm a terrible procrastinator. Now I'm pissed that I waited so long to read Fortress, especially considering that I had a copy well before its initial on sale date. What can I say? I'm a dolt.
Now, if you don't mind, it's high time I started tearing into those unread books.
A large percentage of the books I hauled over the mighty Williamsburg Bridge had gone unread, and untouched for at least 2 years. It was a shameful discovery. I had every intention of reading them all, but hadn't for a myriad reasons that were mostly bullshit. I vowed to change my ways, and I actually did for a pretty significant period of time. I was reading about 2 novels a week for quite a while, and then I dropped off. Again, the reasons are more bullshit than truth so I'll spare you.
What does all of this have to do with Jonathan Lethem? Very little I suppose. But, Motherless Brooklyn was one of the titles I actually managed to read before I became a Brooklynite, and it's characters and places moved through my little brain every time I crossed the Williamsburg Bridge on the fateful day I became a Brooklyn dweller. It's a terrific piece of Fiction, and an excellent introduction to Lethem.
Fast forward to yesterday.
I finished Fortress of Solitude, and was immediately sad that it was over, but I had been putting off reading it for months because... because I'm a goddamn procrastinator, that's why. Also because the last Lethem book I read was Girl In Landscape which kind of left me cold, compared to Motherless, and I was worried that I'd be let down. Well, that, and the fact that I'm a terrible procrastinator. Now I'm pissed that I waited so long to read Fortress, especially considering that I had a copy well before its initial on sale date. What can I say? I'm a dolt.
Now, if you don't mind, it's high time I started tearing into those unread books.
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