Today I am starting The Broom of the System. I was going to go with Eggers book, but it was checked out and the library had a copy of Broom that was easy to find. I already like it more than Infinite Jest, this could very likely be due to its prominence of a female character, more on that later.

I just cannot get over it, a place that lets me have books FOR FREE! I love the library.

I think you'll find that The Broom of the System is fantastic. I liked it when I read it; I liked it even more the second time through. That gentleman knows how to write.

More postings please :)

What? One post every two or three months isn't enough for you? Greedy, greedy Jenn....

You are finally reading some good literature :-)

But Salman Rushdie is a British citizen... I'm still just reading western fiction written in English, right?

Point taken... BTW, I have (YES I HAVE) started reading "The Broom of the System". I started reading it on the train home last night and didn't really put it down until my Mum called (actually, I kind of read it while I was talking to her, too). I'm about 100 pages into it and I'm loving it! Dave (you), Dave (the author of this book), and I share a similar sense of humor :-) Thank you for getting the book for me, I needed a bite-sized paperback to get me started, Infinite Jest was a little intimidating.

"an actual coal oven" my favorite part hands down.

Sofija: I realize looking at your post and the few previous that I've become something of a Broom of the System merchant... I want everybody everywhere to read it!

I'm not surprised that you're enjoying it, I knew that it was right up your alley.

Jenn: Thanks! Sometimes, when I write something, I giggle while I'm writing it. That line was one of those times.

Dave, I would not have had you pegged as a Netrual Milk Hotel fan, sorry for doubting.

I think "Aeroplane Over the Sea" is probably my favorite album of the 90's. At least top ten.

I've been listening to Aeroplane a lot lately. I continue to find new things that I love about each of the songs, but it's how the whole thing comes together that makes it such an amazing album. Remove any one of the songs and it becomes incomplete, there are so few albums that one can say that about. Almost every album I've ever heard has some song that could be removed and the album would be stronger or just as good. Its completeness is what really takes Aeroplane into the realm of greatness.

Every time I remember to respond to these recent comments, it's my lunch break at work. And the internet filter here blocks quicktopic as "Chat/Instant Messaging." So I'm doing this through the e-mail reply. Here's hoping! (it means I better get it right the first time... no editing will be available.)

First of all: Jeff! Congratulations on your recent wedding! How was the honeymoon? Where are you living? What is the average air/speed velocity of an unladen European swallow?

Re: Neutral Milk Hotel

I'm not sure I would have pegged myself as a fan either. It's safe to say that my music tastes have shifted in the past few years. Maybe not wildly, and I certainly haven't written off the music I liked before (with the possible exception of, like, Ms. Saigon)... I suppose "widened" is better than "shifted."

I first listened to "Aeroplane" in the summer of 2003. I was sort of digging it, sort of digging it, and then "Oh Comely" happened and life hasn't been the same since. That stretch of "Oh, Comely/Ghost/Untitled (Funeral March)/Two-Headed Boy Part 2" is just beyond belief good.
Like you said, Jenn, every single time I listen to the album I find more and more to love about it. It's sort of like "The Big Lebowski" or "The Blues Brothers" in that respect-- it just keeps getting better and better. And it's perfectly constructed.

Their other album doesn't approach the perfection, but it's still pretty effing good (and has my single favorite NMH song on it). I also have their EP and three live concert recordings... it's safe to say that Jeff Mangum is on my list of people that I'd love to meet, only I don't know what the hell I'd say to him. You know? If I ran into Matt Damon, or something, I could say "I liked the script for Good Will Hunting. Oh, and you were the bomb in Bourne Supremacy!" But what would I say to Mangum?

It's unfortunate that he hasn't performed in a while. I wonder what he's doing with himself. He said that "Aeroplane" was based on a
series of "urgent dreams" that he had. I love the idea of dreams being urgent. I hope I have urgent dreams someday.

I'm reading Winnie the Pooh. The BBC conducted "The Big Read" not long ago to find the best 20 books of all time. Shamefully, Tolkein won. Nothing to do with the recent release of the trilogy I'm sure... Douglas Adams made it to the top, 4th in fact with Winnie coming in 7th. I suppose one shouldn't be surprised at the result in a poll where Harry Potter came in 5th, 22nd, 23rd AND 24th!
You're all welcome in East Kent this week for the RAMSGATE BOAT SHOW!!!!

SOFIJA JOVIC JAVI SE na gordana@cytanet.com.cy
Trazim te svuda!

I don't speak Serbian!