Tobias Carroll
In keeping with the previous two editions of Indexing, it should surprise no one to learn that I’ve been reading…even more George R.R. Martin.  Just short of 2,000 pages of this week’s reading consisted of his A Feast for Crows and A Dance With Dragons; more neatly-plotted, morally ambiguous, large-scale storytelling, with just a hint 0f pulp throughout. I found the series addictive, and I’ve officially joined the group of readers eagerly awaiting the sixth book in the series.

Much of my current reading relates to an upcoming review, which I’ll have more details on soon. I also finished Jim Hanas’s collection Why They Cried, which abounded with the mixture of well-drawn characters and mild surrealism that hits my proverbial sweet spot. Hoping to delve into the reissued edition of Gary Lutz’s I Looked Alive and the omnibus of Nathaniel West’s A Cool Million and The Dream Life of Balso Snell.

Jason Diamond

I picked up Lutz’s I Looked Alive also.  Hoping I can get to that sooner than later.

I also finished up The Chairs are Where The People Go.  I previously said the book was something I’d imagine Demetri Martin would write if he’d chosen to get into the self-help business — but this could also be called “The Tao of the McSweeney’s sect.”  Some folks who read this might comment that it is of a cutesy or twee nature, but I’d disagree.  This is a book of thoughts, that when you really get down to it, are actually pretty dead on, and brilliant.  I’d love to hear other thoughts on this one.

The magic of Spotify has led me to discover albums I would have probably never listened to.  It has been years since I’ve gone on a music hunting safari like this.  I used to spend hours in record stores asking the people behind the counter to let me check out album after album.  Now I can listen to them out on Spotify, then walk to the record store and purchase the record.  (No matter how free something is, it always sounds better on vinyl.)

This week I spent a good amount of time listening to If’n by post-Minutemen band fIREHOSE, which led me to dig up my CD copy of Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1.  There really isn’t any connection, but it seemed like a nice transition.

I also spent a lot of time on Some Easy Magic by Fungi Girls.  Easily one of the best albums of the year.