Here's a picture of the cottage that we stayed at while away on vacation. I needed to get away from the city, and in terms of music and literature, I had a very productive time. I read two books while away, Love Monkey by Kyle Smith, and A Million Pieces by James Frey. Love Monkey was the perfect cottage read, light, easy and it didn't really make me think. It's in the same vein as High Fidelity and follows the love life, or lack there of..., Tom Farrell, a 32 year old writer for a tabloid, cleverly titled, Tabloid. Farrell is your typical manboy, too into his music and himself to hold down a steady girlfriend, and when he finally finds the one he wants, she's taken. Smith has been described as the boy verison of the girl who wrote the Bridget Jones series, books for men about relationships.
A Million Pieces in a dramatic memoir of a 23 year old in rehab trying to concur his drug and alchohol addiction. I've been obsessively into memoirs this past year (I have inhaled all of Auguesten Burroughs and David Sedaris' books), and this one is by far my favourite. Unlike Burrough's Dry, Frey's A Million Pieces put me in Frey's fucked up shoes, I felt like an addict trying to kick my vices. His storytellying is suberb.

Rocking the iPod for the last four days:
Xiu Xiu - La Forest (Chromewaves has news about another show in Toronto in September!!!)
Wolf Parade - Wolf Parade EP (Pitchfork finally reviewed it today)
Sufjan Stevens - Illionois (9.2!!!)