August 21: Beechnuts and Truffles, Perfect Nights, Books for Perfect Nights

"Well, I'm sort of sedentary myself, I guess," said the pig.  "I have to hang around here whether I want to or not.  You know where I'd really like to be this evening?"

"Where?"

"In a forest looking for beechnuts and truffles and delectable roots, pushing leaves aside with my wonderful strong nose, searching and sniffing along the ground, smelling, smelling, smelling . . ."

Wilbur's idea of a perfect night is pretty simple.  All it takes is a forest and some nuts, roots, and fungi.  And a pig snout.  That is pig paradise.  Certainly, the rest of the animals in Zuckerman's barn would have different perfect nights.  The sheep's perfect night would probably involve a lot of pasture full of clover and alfalfa.  Templeton would need a garbage dump full of rancid chicken and maybe some moldy bread.

Yes, perfect nights are relative.  My son's idea of a perfect night would involve ice cream and computer games.  My daughter would probably need an iPhone and some YouTube videos.  My idea of a perfect night would involve an 80 degree night, a five-mile run, and then a really good book.

At the moment, my night is not going to be perfect.  I am going to clean my bathroom and clean some clutter off my kitchen table.  Then I may read the current book in my book bag, Frog Music by Emma Donoghue.  I am not ready to review the novel yet.  Give me another week.  But, since today is book bag Thursday, I have decided to list a few books on my list for my perfect night:

• Barolo by Matthew Gavin Frank (haven't read it yet, can't wait)
• Pot Farm by Matthew Gavin Frank (ditto)
• Any poetry collection by Sharon Olds (yes, I've read them all already, but who cares?)
• Dickens by Peter Ackroyd (an almost one-thousand page biography of Charles Dickens, what's not to like?)
• Any book by John Irving (Garp being at the top of this list, followed by The Hotel New Hampshire)
• Early Stephen King (Carrie, The Shining, anything pre-drug-addicted, pre-alcoholic Stephen King)

So, there you go.  A glimpse at my beechnut and truffles.  Of course, I wouldn't turn down a pizza and a bottle of wine to go along with my book.  And that list of books is not inclusive.  I did love Stephen King's 11/22/63, but the last couple of Irving books didn't really float my balloon.

Saint Marty isn't going to have a perfect night tonight.  But, his daughter is going to help him clean, and tomorrow is Friday.  That counts as a reasonably lovely evening.

Don't knock it 'til you try it