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Media and other stuff Sherman is currently enjoying

Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life - a memoir by Amy Krouse Rosenthal - This is one of the best reads I've had in years. It's funny and sad in extraordinary ways. I especially loved how often she descried the bizarre incidences that have occurred in her life - chance encounters, scary reminders, and just plain unexplainable crap. She doesn't express a belief in magic, or even necessarily in God, but instead presents a sober and hilarious study of these minor half miracles. And, I've got to say it again - it's hilarious. I laughed so hard on the airplane that people asked me what I was reading. -posted 6.8.05

Mary Gauthier - I read a story about her life and music in a recent issue of No Depression magazine. I was hooked and bought her CDs. One song in particular, "I Drink," is one of the best country alcoholic binge blues songs ever written. And then, at the Nancy Griffith concert here in Seattle not too long ago, Mary Gauthier was the surprise opening act. She came walking out alone with her guitar, and I shouted, Mary Gauthier! My wife asked, who? And I said, she has this amazing song called "I Drink," which she then sang, and live the song was both funnier and sadder than I thought. In a just world, Gauthier would be a platinum seller. -posted 6.8.05

Louise Mathias's Lark Apprentice - I ran across one of her poems on the Web and liked it, so I bought the book. One of her favorite words is "lush." How can you not like that. -posted 3.3.05

Beth Ann Fennelly's Open House - I previously lauded her book Tender Hooks, but her first book, Open House, is amazing. The long poem in the middle is astounding and inspiring. Who knew you could write an epic poem about the color of your panties. Well, that's not all that it's about; it's about everything. Fennelly is officially one of my top ten poets. -posted 3.3.05

Diary of A Country Priest - Criterion Edition - This film is a gorgeous study of Christian faith and doubt that puts today's callow Christianity to shame. And I only wish Falwell, Roberts, and Dobson were this interesting and compassionate. -posted 3.3.05

Project Runway - The winner, Jay McCarroll, really irritated me at first. But after learning more of his biography I fell madly in love with him. If he ever designs clothes for men, I'll be wearing them. -posted 3.3.05

Ann Patchett's Truth & Beauty - I avoided this book in hard cover because I thought it sounded too precious, but I read the paperback on a flight between DC and Seattle, and discovered that I was wrong. Completely wrong. It's a clear, loving, and painful portrait of friendship between two writers. It's a great book. And now I’ve just discovered that Patchett, as a judge for the 2004 O. Henry Awards, has selected my story “What you Pawn I Will Redeem,” as her favorite among the prize winners. So hey, my new favorite writer likes my writing, too. That makes me happy. -posted 1.19.05

Beth Ann Fennelly's Tender Hooks: Poems - It is so difficult to write poems about your own kids, but Fennelly does it very well. I hate poems about the magical nature of parenthood. It is magic, but it is also blue-collar labor. So Fennelly's poems are all blue-collar magic. I've been writing a lot of poems about my children and wife, and this book is serving as a guide for writing well. I met Beth Ann and her husband, Tom Franklin, a great fiction writer, in Paris this last fall, and they’re like a literary superhero duo, fighting crime and unmixing metaphors. -posted 1.19.05

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