Friday, January 16, 2009

my humble beginnings

Although everyone seems to think that I'm a huge foodie and literary snob (generally an elitist), I have to protest that I come from humble beginnings. Frankly, eating out every day frustrates me. I'm perfectly happy consuming a fried egg on toast and a salad for dinner. My days revolve around burritos, sandwiches, and similarly uninspiring cuisine served from dinky gray trucks with varying degrees of hygiene and overcrowded cafes. If I wasn't so lazy and had some actual skills, I would definitely cook for myself.

In other news, I am still wading through Lolita, which made it into my top 5 but requires a certain mood and an adequate chunk of time and patience to read. This 300 page book is deceptively thin (maybe not my annotated edition) but incredibly rich, crammed with literary references and possibly the best English writing I have ever read (Ian McEwan comes in at a distant second). The experience of reading Lolita is like eating a wonderfully rich and cloying dessert. I want to savor every bite, but not eat it all at once in case I overdose and feel violently ill.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

"The experience of reading Lolita is like eating a wonderfully rich and cloying dessert. I want to savor every bite, but not eat it all at once in case I overdose and feel violently ill."

I can't agree with you more.. love the way you describe the Lolita experience.