May 18, 2017, Thursday afternoon/evening -- Reading Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney and Cory Doctorow

On a sunny Thursday afternoon/evening in the Mission District

They are reading The Nest, by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney and Walkaway, by Cory Doctorow. They bought them at a real live bookstore (!!). He chose his book because on the cover it is recommended by William Gibson. I asked my "favorite book/favorite author" question and like most people, he was stumped its weight. He doesn't really have a favorite author or book -- it depends on his mood and he cycles through work books and escapist literature. Right now, he likes Neal Stephenson. Something he read recently that was good was A Spy Among Friends, by Ben Macintyre. She tried to read it but couldn't get through it - lots of who is who? and backstabbing. Something else good he read was Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman, who is an economist. It's about how decisions are made.

For her, she was on the phone for most of the time we were talking, but she said that a good book that stands out for her is Little Bee, by Chris Cleave, which she read about 5 years ago. It's about a Nigerian Asylum-seeker.

The real live bookstore where they got their books was Christopher's Books in Potrero Hill.

May 11, 2017, Thursday evening -- Reading Robert Fernandez

At a bar in North Beach

She is reading Pink Reef, by Robert Fernandez. She heard about him at a poetry workshop. After hearing one of his poems, she wanted to read more. After this, she said she's going to City Lights to see if she can get his other books. He's pretty young, she said. He was born in 1980. One of his influences is Frank Ocean, an R&B artist she loves.
Her favorite author is Eileen Myles, who I looked up online while writing this blog entry. She has won several awards and written 19 books of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. It's good to have a favorite author who's prolific!

May 4, 2017, Thursday morning -- Reading Jerome Bixby

In the Financial District

He is reading Mirror, Mirror, by Jerome Bixby, who wrote episodes for the original Star Strek.

He read a short story collection by the author and then found this.

Another author he's been reading lately is Ned Beauman. Last year he read The Teleportation Accident and from the first page he loved it. Now he's "going after" Beauman's other books.

April 27, 2017, Wednesday evening -- Reading Haruki Murakami

In the Mission District

He is reading What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, by Haruki Murakami. This is his 15th book this year that he's read, which is a record for him. Before he read something by Murakami he thought of reading as a chore. Now, he reads lots of different authors. He likes to switch it up and read fiction, then nonfiction, then maybe a design book, so he doesn't rush into another story too quick. Fiction is his favorite. Other authors he's read recently have been César Aira, Simone de Beauvoir, and Kobo Abe.

April 26, 2017, Tuesday evening -- Reading Kenzaburo Oe

In the Mission District

She is reading Death by Water, a novel by Kenzaburo Oe. Lately she's been exploring history from a non-Eurocentric viewpoint.

She has lots of favorite authors, including Marcel Proust and Percival Everett.