Books and Baby Names

First, a short rant. People, what is with sticking a "y" or two in every single baby name? Seriously, the letter "i" isn't good enough anymore? Too old fashioned? I've been checking a hospital baby roll today, waiting for the appearance of a colleague's baby, and every time I check it, I'm annoyed by all the names with random "y"s. Here's just a short list of the ugly "y" names from the last few days of babies:

Lyncoln
Aryannah
Aryiana
Aaliyah
Darryn

And there is one poor little baby girl whose name is Peterline. The worst part? Her father's name is Peter. I know, it's not a "y" name, but that poor, poor child.

So I'm not finished yet with Acedia and Me, but it's not really been a very good before you go to bed kind of book. It's more of a middle of the day book, and I don't really have much time to read in the middle of the day. So I'm thinking I might save it for the plane at Thanksgiving.

I did read Bound by Sally Gunning and really enjoyed it. It wasn't the best-written book I've ever read, but it was a page turner. It's about indentured servitude, and little did I know Toni Morrison also recently wrote A Mercy, on the same topic. I'm on the wait list at the library for that one.

Right now I'm reading The God of War, which I heard about on NPR. I'm probably about halfway through, and am really enjoying it. I've realized over the past years that I usually pick books with female narrators, but this is an exception. The main character is a young man, I believe somewhere around 6th grade. He has a brother who has some sort of developmental disability, and a permissive mother. I'm not finished with it, but it's promising.

My holds list at the library still includes Jhumpa Lahiri's newest collection of short stories, Unaccustomed Earth. I'm hoping I might also have it for the Thanksgiving plane ride. 3 and half hours from MSP to SJC gives you a lot of reading time. Which reminds me, is anyone else coveting a Kindle? I first saw it on Lois Lowry's blog, and I love it. So many books in one small space! This would make packing for vacation so much easier and lighter. I would never again be over the pound limit on my luggage because I had to bring 5 or 6 books for the week. I'm sure there are flaws and it might be better to wait for 2.0, but wow, it's awesome.

Oh, and one more thing I'm enjoying--JJ Heller. I downloaded her album for free, I think from Jeff's blog, and I love it too.