Now Reading...

I went lookin' for one of those "Now Reading" widgets to put in my sidebar... and I RILLY wanted the one Andy has.  Nothing else would do, frankly, but... Andy tells me ya gotta be an "Amazon Associate" to display his widget.  Unh-unh.  Not me.  As I told Mr. Havens... I don't wanna be anyone's associate, unless it's that blonde barfly I see from time to time -- the one with the big... blue eyes.

But we digress.  We just ordered and downloaded what you see on the right  (another minor digression: Amazon is just so blindingly FAST with the order-download-openitupandreadit thing!).   I've always admired Hitchens on a number of levels and the man is a joy both to watch and to read.  Some quick and dirty reviews:

"As contemptuous, digressive, righteous, and riotously funny as the rest of the author's incessant output, this memoir is an effective coming-of-age story, regardless of what one may think of the resulting adult . . . Hitchens paints a credible and even affecting self-portrait." (The New Yorker )

"In this frank, often wickedly funny account, Hitchens traces his evolution as a fiercely independent thinker and enemy of people who are convinced of their absolute certainty ... Revealing and riveting." (Kirkus Review )

"The most erudite and astute political and social commentator of this era has written a memoir that not only give the reader a view of the man behind the words but also a perceptive look at society over the past decades. Hitchens fascinates with the life he has lived and observed and, as always, relates his story with precision and consideration." (Nicola's Books Bill Cusamano )

"Hitch is as Hitch does, and he's not apologizing to anyone." (Time Out New York Drew Toal )

"[H]e has so many great quotes and quotables . . . that one cannot read his latest masterpiece for having to stop, find a pencil and page stickers in order to underline and signify his many remarks, each greater than the other." (wowOwow.com Liz Smith )

As for the quotables... you could mebbe expect a few from this book in future.  One of the things I dearly love about the Kindle is the ability to bookmark and save passages.  You may have noticed, Gentle Reader.  And now it's out to sit under the awning with book, beer, and cigar.

Update, later that same day:  My vocabulary will be expanded by an order of magnitude (well, that's sorta hyperbolic) after I complete this book.  I had yet to use the Kindle's dictionary function in the previous four books I've read on it; yet I went there not once, not twice, but five times while reading the preface and half of the first chapter.  To say Mr. Hitchens is erudite would be an understatement of epic proportions.  This is not a bad thing, Gentle Reader.  No... it's more a testament to the power of the English language in the hands of a master craftsman.  I'm just slightly in awe.