Various midwestern libraries...

Do you like Stephen King? Me too, though I'm starting to think I'll never read any of his books. There is an increasing number of writers who, I’m sad to say, I just won’t get around to reading. Chuck Palahniuk, Hunter S. Thompson, Cormack McCarthy and especially Michael Chabon have been on my list for years, some of their books are even on my shelf, but I’ve yet to read a single word. I dream of a time when all I'll do is catch up on stuff I've been meaning to consume over the past few years, but it won't happen and that's frustrating, almost maddening. What’s interesting about the media is how it can provide such a great appreciation for authors without you having to reading their material. When Hunter S. Thompson died, Rolling Stone put out a pretty amazing tribute issue which I continue to go back and look at from time to time giving me a real admiration of his life and adventures, and he was always amazing when he was on Late Night.
Have I read any of his books? Nope. On the same note, I’ve probably checked The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay out from various midwestern libraries a half dozen times over the last couple of years, but I have yet to crack the cover.

Anyway, back to Stephen King and my point, I’ve read his stuff in Entertainment Weekly and I had a writing teacher in college who always talked about him (rumor is he spent time at the University of Iowa Writer’s Workshop) and I think he’s obviously great though I’ve never read his novels. The New York Times (which is free online is you take a moment to sign up) ran a really cool article recently which referenced a lot of good writers, whom I probably won't read, and talked about the changing landscape. It’s worth checking out when you have a moment, but the site will probably expire in a few days.

On a similar note, there are a lot of movies I would like to watch but will probably just never see like Jaws and The Godfather. I’m pretty sure I’ll never see 2001: A Space Odyssey. This belief was strengthened yesterday when I returned the DVD to the Chicago Public Library a day late having never even taken the disc out of my bag. It’s nice to be busy but a $2 fine is more of an insult than anything. That’s the first time I’ve ever walked out of a library pissed off at myself but probably not the last.

Any movies or books you don’t think you’ll ever see either due to time or because you just refuse? Type them in the comment section, maybe we have some of the same stuff on our lists.

More to come…