What I was reading in August

in

Books Read

Commonwealth, Ann Patchett
Today will be Different, Maria Semple
The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood
Take the Cannoli, Sarah Vowell

I took two days off work in August, but I was in New York and surrounded by love, and actually stopped working at 5 or 5:30, so it felt like more. I also read so much so quickly this month and was amazed by how much longer and fuller the time felt. Commonwealth was my 6:00am airport treat to myself, a reward for having made it through the craziest work period of the year, and I bought it expecting it to maybe keep me entertained if I was awake for any of the flight. Instead, two middle seats and Patchett's propulsive story kept me awake all through both flights, and was all I was thinking about when a stranger occupied my conversation for the hour and a half commute to my parents' home from the airport. The annoyance I felt while talking to this stranger wasn't related to the invasion of my space or the expectation for social skills and interest (which tend to be the dominant flavors of my annoyance when talking to strangers)–it was related to the interruption of my reading time. 

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