A headache’s been bugging since Friday afternoon so after skipping the Friday gig I had to skip the Saturday one as well. Maybe it’s the on coming thunder storms. Maybe it’s just one of those things. I haven’t had a three day migraine for probably six months now so a three day (and counting) uncomfortable head shouldn’t be too much to complain about.
Finished reading Mikael Niemi‘s Popular Music the other day and it now has a soft spot in my heart. Set in the northern Swedish town of Pajala, near the border with Finland, it’s a sweet story of a few boys hearing rock’n’roll music in the 60s, starting a band, little town shenanigans, and growing in to teenagehood. The novel is peppered with occasional Finnish words so as I read I beamed inwardly knowing what they all meant. Small incidences with snow and ice, dealing with people, food habits, they all triggered memories of the few years I spent in Finland. The adventures from the imagination of young boys is described so sweetly. Aah I’m all soppy for the book. An absolute gem in my eyes.
On Sunday I made myself go out for a wander to stock up on food and look at all the people with arms full of Christmas shopping. I popped in to Kinokuniya and came out with three books. I was looking up Jim Dodge remembering having enjoyed Fup a few years ago and found Not Fade Away – did my ex-housemate say it was a good one? I couldn’t remember but I put it under my arm anyway and an author I read around the same time popped in to my head – Jonathan Coe. I wondered if the follow-up to The Rotters’ Club was out and sure enough The Closed Circle found it’s way under my arm as well. Then I had a look in a notebook I carry around and my latest scribble was John Fowles’ The Collector that a few people on sct had mentioned so I piled that under my arm as well and trundled on home. I’ve made a small (20 pages or so) dent in to The Collector but the pain in the head’s not helping.
Yesterday afternoon I’d been back in Sydney for a year. I meant to write about all I’d done in that time but my head was hurting. And it’s time to sleep now and try and rid the pain.
(Have I mentioned my head’s hurting or did I decide it wasn’t worth angsting over?)
I think I read a few reviews of Popular Music when it came out – sounded really interesting. Another one for the too-long list.
I just got my freebie book off Nick Royle – he’d run out of London books of short stories, so sent me the New York one instead. It’s got a Jonathan Coe story in it – I haven’t read him before but have heard good things. It also has Charlie Higson, who is always good for a laugh and, for a comedian, a very good writer.
oh man, i hear you on the migrane front. i really, really, REALLY hope it’s better soon.