Quick jottings. . .

The day before an on-air fundraiser kicks off is busy, just because it's the day before an on-air fundraiser kicks off. For your information, those of us who are to be talking on the air  have been in warm-up drills for days, practicing what, exactly, we are going to say. We drill in pairs, working the people with whom we will work on-air, in the studio, talking into microphones, using shows that have already aired. It's a full-fledged simulation, just like NASA.

What we talkers have to get the hang of, again, is not to talk too long. The trick is to "pass-off" quickly, say what you have to say, and then shut up, not go on a harangue that, to us, may sound convincing and brilliant, but to everyone else sounds confused and boring. I can be terribly guilty of this. Feel free to let me know how I'm doing!

One quick question: What do you read for fun? I got curious about this because what I read for work is so often fun. I've just gone  from A.S. Byatt's The Children's Book (an NPR assignment) to Stieg Larsson's The Girl who Played with Fire (the second in a trilogy I reported on for NPR about a year ago). Both have been a pleasure in different ways. The Byatt was hard, engrossing reading; the Larsson is a less-exacting page-turner.

I have my next book, a novel by Paul Auster, sitting ready beside my side of the bed. The truth is I get nervous if I don't know where my next book is coming from, in much the same way I used to get nervous (many, many years ago) when I was about to run out of cigarettes.

I'm an omni-reader--fiction, non-fiction, good trash--I like it all! And I depend upon other readers for recommendations, so I guess I'm using this blog today as a personal plea. What are you reading? What have you just finished? What are you going to read next? If you have a minute, and the energy as well, please post or e-mail me and I'll post. I'm sure I'm not the only one of us who's always looking for the next book!

This cartoon is completely irrelevant to anything I've said. I just thought it was fun. It's from Salon.