Lyudmelia blew smoke rings at the kitchen table. As she exhaled, she squinted at the mismatched aluminum chairs. They had been meant for company. Mom had given her and Maceo money for them when they were first married.
The Happy Marriage by Tahar Ben Jelloun
I have made a goal this year to read more literature written in countries outside the English speaking world. Tahar Ben Jelloun was born and raised in Morocco, then began to live and write in Paris after attending The Sorbonne. He is bilingual in Arabic and French but writes in French because to him Arabic “is a sacred language, given by God in the shape of the Koran, it is intimidating—one feels very small in front of this language.”
Brian Koppelman’s Moment
At the start of every week I always look forward to who Brian Koppelman has interviewed on his podcast The Moment. Lately he’s been killing it. I came upon BK when Marc Maron interviewed him. Podcasting has taken the world by storm, and if you’re like me it is a great source of insightful interviews with creative people you might not ever get access to. Check out: WTF, The Moment with Brian Koppelman, You Must Remember This just to name a few. Oh, and don’t get me started on the brilliance of the Bret Easton Ellis Podcast. I’m not sold on How To Be Amazing with Michael Ian Black, but it is growing on me.