This morning has been one of those days where things just seem to work out or be fun. I had to go to the bank and run some errands. I went and processed a bunch of billls...you hate paying them right, but doesn't it feel good once they are paid? I had a great feeling of elation this morning after depositing some cheques and then paying off some bills. I came across a small outdoor market and got some heirloom tomatoes from a local organic farm. Heavenly choirs aloft. And I decided to impulsively pop into the library where I got some stuff written about Antony And Cleopatra as one of my bookclubs is just heading into Act 4. I got a couple of great books, a compendium of academic criticsm edited by Harold Bloom. I've read it before, about 10 years ago, but it's all about Antony and Cleopatra so I thought it would be fun again. And just to keep up an image of being a pretentious git I saw an Umberto Eco book on language. There ya go fancypants. At my local library the staff has arranged a bunch of new releases. I hate this part. I always am waiting in line to check out my books and land up finding one or two other books in this recent release section. So I got a book about the art of conversation. I am quite famous for putting my foot in my mouth and having opinions that piss people off...ha ha ha, so I thought I will do some homework and try to improve my conversation skills. One of my greatest pleasures in life is spending time with my friends and shooting the shit, so I look forward to reading this book. Here is the cover which caught my eye...and when I got home I found this quick review at Amazon...Oh and I also stopped for a bowl of soup to look at these books. Then i went to the grocery store picked up a few things, some cabbage, some yoghurt, some onions, some fruit, and some fem hy. I managed to avoid chocolate. Sugar gives you cramps ladies. What resolve because of course, I am craving chocolate. The heat wave has returned so maybe I won't even need a hotwater bottle this month, ha! How's that for squeezing lemons into lemonade take that Pollyanna! And now you know my whole life story.

From Publishers Weekly
A fiction writer and former editor at the New Yorker and Random House, Menaker (The Treatment) regards conversation as a human art of great importance produced by all people everywhere. His witty approach is evident almost immediately, as he speculates on the creation of human language, moving on to the general rules of conversation, London coffeehouses as a forum for ideas, greetings, and name-droppers: They wrap the pig of name-dropping in a blanket of casualness, or even criticalness, and seem to actually believe you won't taste the inner wiener. At the book's core is a conversation between Menaker and an anonymous female writer. Taped in a Brooklyn restaurant, this lengthy transcript is analyzed in detail to show how the participants take risks, seek a common ground, interject humor, and discover perceptive insights about each other. Interview tactics and prepared remarks are covered, along with e-mail embarrassments, dating stratagems, sarcastic barbs, compliments, and interruptions. However, what makes a lasting impression is the parade of anecdotes about life in the corridors of the New Yorker and Random House, leaving the reader yearning for a full-scale Menaker memoir. (Jan.)
p.s. the shopping bag in above picture with a "murder of crows" is orange leather and a wonderful gift from my sister. Shout out.She gave my daughter one in green leather. Kewl!