Ann Lamott, my favorite writer

If I was going to be stranded on a desert island, I would want to have the books of Ann Lamott with me. Well maybe not her fiction, I think it's lame but the other stuff is wonderful. Her most recent book is "Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith." Don't let the word "faith" fool you. This is not some slick evangelical, bible-toting woman. She is a Presbyterian, but she also is a recovering alcoholic and drug addict, a single mother of a boy named Sam, a blonde with dred-locks and a very funny person. Here's the first two sentences of her latest book. You be the judge.

"On my forty ninth birthday, I decided that all of life was hopeless and I would eat myself to death. Better to go out your own way than to endure slow death by scolding at the hands of the Bush Administration."

That got my attention. Hope it got yours too. My other favorite book of hers is "Operating Instructions." Basically she recalls the first year of her son's life and how helpless she felt dealing with all this new stuff. It is hilariously funny.

Reading is really important to me and discussing what I've read is important too. I started a book club when I first moved to Lincoln. Two years later we are still together eating, drinking wine, talking about books and laughing a lot. Wonderful women.