Friday, May 15, 2009

Things I Like About America--#28 finished

I really enjoyed this book or actually a collection of short stories/narratives by Poe Ballantine.  Last year I read his book God Clobbers Us All and liked it a lot.  So much that I kept it and won't even post it on PBS even though it is a WL book or was at one point.  Even though I liked God Clobbers...I have to say Things I Like About America was better.  To hear about his traveling/wandering from place to place in search of something only he knows is kind of interesting.  I also think the fact that now he is a published writer and somewhat successful or at least I hope so adds to the kind of amazing feeling you get when you hear what he endured through.

Everyone has those thoughts at some point in their life where they would like to travel and see the real America, not the Applebees and hotels by the interstate but the real downtowns and factories and greasy spoons, etc.  Poe Ballantine seems to have made it his mission to do this, of course it sounds like the first 10 maybe 20 years of doing this was in a kind of alcohol/drug induce haze as well.  I am now interested to know how he is currently and if a settled life at all agrees with him.  I know he has a followup novel out to God Clobbers.. and I think he has another narrative book out as well.  I have both on my WL at PBS also.  Although I am also thinking that actually buying the book might be good as well since he would actually get royalties in that instance, but my cheap self is winning at this point.

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