Nov. 2002
A reasonably touching true story of a former student who returns to visit his old college professor every Tuesday in the year before a terminal disease brings an end to his life. This book was later made into a TV movie, which is just about right in terms of credit it merits. While I enjoyed reading it, most of its philosophical tenets were epiphanies only to the society's least enlightened.

Oct. 2002
E.B. White's impressions of life in New York city is beautiful and sometimes prophetic prose on a city that is in some ways larger than life. Charity, a co-worker and former NYC resident, loaned her copy of this book to me, but not before letting me know how much it meant to her.

Aug. 2002
Robert Beck, aka Iceberg Slim, wrote this autobiography in 1969 of his life as a pimp in the 30s and 40s. An staggering glimpse into the abusive and exploitative pimping world, the book also provides much of the basis for modern rap and hip hop (at least some of the harder stuff) in terms of slang and the "pimp game."

July 2002
This critically and commercially successful Tom Stoppard play opened in London in 1982 and has played as recently as 2001. It is a fantastically written contemporary work of love, betrayal and the expectations of each. A very good comedic read.

July 2002
Anne Lamott's book on the psychology of being a writer mostly repeated stuff I'd long since learned or intuitively known. There were some helpful passages, however ('shitty first drafts' being the best), but the most entertaining aspect of the book was her superb gift for metaphors and turns of phrase. I underlined many a sentence.