Today begins a new periodic feature in which I list for your viewing pleasure books that I have recently acquired. This is mostly so I can show off my love for book acquisition, but also because I don't feel like writing about anything else right now. Also, please note that this practice is shamelessly stolen from Nick Hornby's Believer column.
Books Acquired Recently (and where from)
Contemporary Fiction: 50 Short Stories Since 1970. Ed. Lex Williford and Michael Martone. Borders. (Quite good so far; I may actually assign it to one of my classes.)
The Naked and the Dead. Norman Mailer. Borders.
In Cold Blood. Truman Capote. Borders.
Incidentally, two topics I considered writing about were:
1. the writer Janet Kauffman (because she has a story in the above-mentioned anthology, "Patriotic"), who is one of my favorites, but more for her beautifully-crafted work than its thought-provoking-ness;
2. Christopher Hitchens' recent Slate column about why the British military should not have withdrawn Prince Harry from Afghanistan (http://www.slate.com/id/2186186?GT1=3800). Hitchens is either brilliant or a complete idiot, depending on what he's writing about. When he writes about politics, he's usually an idiot (e.g., he loves the Iraq war), but in this column he is spot on.
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