Another reason to drink a Guinness today

Thanks to a couple of Facebook status updates, I was reminded that today is Bloomsday so put on your eye patch & go for a really really long walk. There had been some talk of a party to celebrate, but that never really got off the ground; however, if anyone wants to stop by tonight, drink a few Guinness, & maybe read a passage from Ulysses, that might be a great idea. I haven't read it in a few years, but I suppose I should give it a quick once over this afternoon.

In other book news, I need to report that since I finished The Time Traveler's Wife, I've knocked off a few other books on the list:
Three Bags Full: it's a great little story about a heard of sheep whose shepherd would read to them every day which made them really smart. When they find him murdered by the barn, they decide to solve the mystery themselves. It's sounds ridiculous, but it's really good but funny references to classic mysteries & animal tales like Animal Farm. This is also a fitting book for today because it takes place in Ireland & 1 of the sheep is hooked on Guinness.
If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things: This is a fantastic novel. I think I may teach it this fall. it was nominated for the Booker, but for some reason didn't make the short-list. It's about a young woman in Nottingham (or maybe London... it's not clear) who witnesses a boy get hit by a car & then 3 years later gets knocked up during a 1 night stand. It flashes back and forth between the day of the accident & her pregnancy... & you all need to read it.
The Secret of Morel: A cool novella by Adolfo Bioy Casares from 1941 about a fugitive on an deserted island where all sorts of crazy shit starts happening. It's yet another cool book I learned about via the Lostpedia book list.

After that, I diverged from the list & picked p a copy of The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón. He's going to be @ Nicola's next week, & I'd heard so much about the book that I figured I'd take a look... it's sweet! It's like Borges meets Eco w/ a little Paul Auster thrown in for good measure. A kid finds an old book which turns out to be the last copy of anything by the author because some dude has been traveling around Europe setting all of his books on fire. At the moment, the kid has just been approached by the book burning dude. It's cool... read it.