I Don't Know Exactly How Long The

I Turned Forty, And Im Finally Going To Get Married And Maybe Have A Kid.

I Have Admired Melissa Pritchard's Writing For Several Years Now For Its Wisdom, Its Humble Elegance, And Its Earthy Comedy.

Cool Is Spent. Cool Is Empty. Cool Is Ex Post Facto. When Advertisers And Pundits Hoard A Word, You Know It's Time To Retire From It. To Move On. I Want To Suggest, Therefore, That We Begin To Avoid Cool Now. Cool Is A Trick To Get You To Buy Garments Made By Sweatshop Laborers In Third World Countries. Cool Is The Triumph Of The Will. Cool Enables You To Step Over Bodies. Cool Enables You To Look The Other Way. Cool Makes You Functional, Eager For Routine Distraction, Passive, Doped, Stupid.

The Great Recession Is Not Imaginary, And The Effects Loom Large. There Was An Article In The Nyt About The Galloping Death Rate Among White Men In Middle Age. Higher Than Among Any Other Demographic, Etc. Mostly Death By Drugs, Alcohol, Or Suicide. Many Of Them Rural. My Feeling Is That It's Many People Who Haven't Been Able To Get Back Into The Work Force. Reg Morse Is An Example Of The Problem.

I Believe In The Absolute And Unlimited Liberty Of Reading. I Believe In Wandering Through The Stacks And Picking Out The First Thing That Strikes Me. I Believe In Choosing Books Based On The Dust Jacket.