In My Mailbox (17)

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren.

I'm doing an IMM this week because, well, I can. I get to tell everyone about the awesome new crap I bought and that's always fun for me. It solves my buyer's remorse. Plus I get to talk about Mark "Mother F*ckin" Twain.

I've been craving short stories like crazy recently. A local non-chain bookstore had the following titles on sale this week: Crimes in Southern Indiana, Lying in Bed, and Mending: New and Selected Stories. I think it's because I sat down and went over a few favorites from Salinger's Nine Stories that prompted my need to drive across town and purchase them.

Up next I have Jonathan Frazen's How to Be Alone: Essays. Yes, Franzen is a jerk, but he's a good writer. I look forward to sitting down and reading these next weekend.

Up next is MARK "MOTHER F*CKIN'" TWAIN. I remember wanting to buy a copy of Punch, Brothers, Punch: The Comic Mark Twain Reader when it first came out, but I didn't have the money. Low and behold I'm strolling through Half-Priced Books and there is is for $2.99.

For those of you who are not aware: Mark Twain is one of my favorite writers. He's a master satirist and I put him on the same level as Jonathan Swift. The collection includes short stories, letters he wrote, and various other articles. 

I think my obsession with Twain started when I saw an episode of The Next Generation as a kid. In it Picard & Co travel back in time and meet him. I recently rewatched those two episodes on Netflix and the actor who played Twain did such a fantastic job that anyone else who has portrayed him on screen hasn't come close to this performance. 

Also, there's this scene that has always stuck with me:

Say what you want, but Mark "Mother F*ckin'" Twain continues to be relevant today. I even heard there's some new movies coming out based on his books... like that hasn't been done before.

Lastly, I got This Lullaby, which is the only Sarah Dessen novel I do not have. I thought I got it last time, but apparently I didn't. So I made a special trip back to Half-Priced just to get this one.