Navel Gazing 3.0

1. Veronica Mars. You saw the trailer, right? And the movie poster? If you haven't (and if you care) stop reading now and go HERE to watch. My hopes are high and this trailer has done little to diminish them. I can't wait to see how it all plays out on the big screen, but for now I'm just so glad to get a glimpse of my old friends. Mac! Piz! Dick! Wallace! And yes, of course, Logan. 
Logan + Veronica = 4ever. 

2. Outlander on Starz. If you're a fan of the Gabaldon time travel series you already know what I'm talking about. As with VMars (see #1), I'm really hoping they don't eff this up, because it's JAMIE and CLAIRE (see here). The trailer looks promising and there appears to be some natural chemistry between the two leads, which should bode well if certain (ahem) scenes are included (please, let them be included). 

3. Making friends. I have amazing friends - smart, funny, compassionate people who I'm incredibly grateful to have in my life. And most of my friends love to read, so I get to talk books to my heart's content. But I don't  know a lot of writers and lately I've been feeling a bit lonely on this side of the reader/writer divide. So, last week I put on my big girl pants and asked the lovely and talented Amy Good if, you know, she um, *scuffs toe in the dirt* wanted to be my writer friend? To my relief, she graciously agreed and has already been a great source of support in many ways. 

4. Reading many books at once. I used to be monoliterary* I only ever read one book at a time and what I started, I had to finish. Even if I hated it. Even if it took me months to slog through, because damn it, those were the rules. Thankfully, I've been able to be less rigid about reading. This is, in part, the result of having a child (so little time to read, why waste it on something I'm not enjoying?), and in part thanks to my dear friend, Sonia, who has a very Zen approach to reading. "It's just not the right time for that book," she told me once. "Doesn't mean you won't ever read it, just not right now". I was surprised (and pleased) to notice last week that I was reading FIVE books at once. And it's working out fine. Some nights I'm in the mood for one over the other, and sometimes I read a little bit from several. How about you? Are you a book multitasker or monoliterary? 

5. Audiobooks. One of my jobs requires a commute, which is about an hour drive each way. I went through a period where I did nothing but listen to This American Life podcasts, which were great. But thanks to my local library, I've now been downloading and listening to audiobooks on my iPhone while  I drive and it's fantastic (and free). Not only have I read quite a few titles that I might not have had time to read otherwise, but I've fallen in love with several narrators along the way (looking at you, Will Patton). However, I realized I seem to think of audiobooks as cheating, as if I haven't really read the books I've listened to, even thought the experience is very similar. So similar that I sometimes have trouble recalling whether I physically read or listened to a particularly story, although the details are still there. What do you think? Do audiobooks count as reading? 

*totally made up word - reading one book at a time.