Wednesday, June 23, 2004

Yesterday, Pt I: Bill Clinton's Autobiography

You would think that staying at home would encourage more current blog posting, but you'd be wrong. That would require that SBC dsl not cutting out for hours at a time.

Yesterday morning I was the last person standing in the long line at Cody's to get a copy of a Bill Clinton's new autobiography, My Life. I doubt I'll get a chance to read it for quite a while, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to possibly see him next week. This thread at Atrios seems to sum up the kind of discussion it's stimulating among liberals. Michiko Kakutani's New York Times review should keep those who dislike the man happy. It was vitriolic enough to make my friend Tyler question the neutrality of the Times in justifiably puzzled tones late last night. I never read Kakutani's reviews because positive or negative, I've never found one really helpful. I appreciate the place criticism has to play in the literary world, but first I need reviews. So I referred him to the McSweeney's explanation. My weak guess, from flipping through the tome, is that I'll agree with none of the reviewers. The kinds of little stories, random examples, and bits of policy that seem like they bore everyone else are exactly the kind of thing I want to read.