What I've been reading.

The Rider (De Renner), by Tim Krabbé. By the Dutch author of The Vanishing. The semi-fictionalized story of a 150k bike race in 1978, this book absolutely captures the truth about cycling. Plus it's very short. Highly recommended.

How Fiction Works, by James Wood. This certainly takes the right approach; ends up being more convincing in the details sometimes than presenting any overarching explanations. That's probably as it should be.

What I've been reading

The Dud Avocado, Elaine Dundy. American girl abroad in Paris in the
1950s has a riotous time. The voice is a treasure of the upbeat.
Highly recommended, especially for fans of the delightfully
dissipated.

What I've been reading.

Winter's Tale, by Mark Helprin. This is a book I would like to spend a year with. Tremendously imaginative - sort of a steampunk New York. The writing was a little too florid at times, but overall the exaggerations seemed like the best way to capture New York.

Michael Moritz, Heroic Saver of Babies

I am too proud of him not to note that my brother-in-law, Dr. Michael Moritz, saved this baby's life. He alone among the doctors who had treated this baby -- for two months at another hospital! -- realized that the baby was being poisoned. He called child protective services and ordered a 24-hour watch by the baby's bedside, which is how the mother was caught.

--Jeanne

But Who's Your Daddy?

Everyone Out.

Git aht.

Walking Pittsburgh.

Top speed: 43 m.p.h.

The Pittsburgh Illegal Soapbox Society. You may see them around town, early one Sunday morning. (Found via Disgruntled Off Road Cyclists.)

For love of a choo-choo.

The boys and the subway.

What I've been reading.

Richard Ford, Independence Day. An ordinary few days before the Fourth, in 1988 (though the novel was published in 1996), of a man named Frank Bascombe - former sportswriter, now a real estate agent in Haddam, New Jersey, divorced from his wife Ann who lives in Connecticut, remarried, with their two children. Frank wants to spend a couple of days of quality time with his troubled son. Ford is incredibly observant, and every page is filled with detail - again, quotidian, I guess, but endlessly fascinating. One of best novels I've read in the last few years. Recommended for fans of Frog and Toad.