Middlesex

I just finished reading this book a couple of days ago. Yes, it's the latest Oprah book. This year I've been making a big effort to take books out of the library instead of buying them all the time in an attempt to save at least some money. And it's been working out nicely...I put the books I want to read on hold at the library, pick them up, read them, return them. What's interesting about this system is that I'm reading stuff that I wouldn't necessarily pick up at the bookstore. I sometimes pass books in the bookstore, pick them up, read the back, say "Nah" for some reason and keep moving. But the library allows me to try these books out even if I'm not sure about them because they are free. Such is the case with Middlesex. I'm certain I've thumbed through it once or twice in the bookstore, but for one reason or another, never picked it up. But reading it was such an enjoyable experience, I'm so glad I did pick it up.

The language is gorgeous, the narrartor is enjoyable to follow around and the story is definetely interesting. If pressed for a one sentence description, you'd have to say that the story was about a hermaphrodite, a "boy" who was born with undescended testicles and raised as a girl, but the book is about so much more than that. The narrarator traces her condition back three generations, using the mixing of genes to tell the stories of her grandparents and parents....it's genius. Just wanted to say how much I enjoyed spending time in this novel.

Playing the Market is like...easy and stuff

Okay so I found a new hobby. There's this site called Mediapredict.com. It's a mock stock market for books, music groups, movies and television shows that may or may not get published, may or may not get a record deal, may or may not flop at the box office, you get the idea. So you buy shares of these projects, based on what percentage chance you think they have at succeeding. You get 5K worth of play dollars, and I'm up about 2 grand overall. You can hang on to your "stocks" as long as you like, and buy and sell as you please. It's pretty interesting to see if your predictions come true, and eventually if a band or book does get a contract, you stock soars. If not, worth nothing. Try it out! Maybe you'll buy what I have and my stock will go up!

www.mediapredict.com