So, apparently there has been a flurry of activity amongst this network of bloggers that I am at once an integral part (I appear on some sidebars and they on mine) and a total outsider. They are extreme bloggers, filled with the passion of self-expression, posting at a rate that puts Mandounette to shame as both a blogger and a reader. I disappear for a few days and find dozens of new and thoughtful posts, so rich that I can no longer keep up with my 15 minute end of the day blog reading cooldown. But there has been this contagion of book lists spreading through these friendly blogs.

I would post my own list, but with my commute spent weaving in and out of Vespas and cars instead of cuddled in a corner of the 8 line, my reading time has been significantly decreased. But I want in on this list thing. So, here is my list. Slightly different. I don't expect anyone to read them. I may not even read them. I am reading Birds of America by Lorrie Moore (a ctina and David Sedaris recommendation) as I impatiently await the new Harry Potter, and, if things go my way, my down time will be spent with a pile of Lithunian authors and tour books before I set sail for Vilnius.

But here is my list variation.

Top 5 Books Found in the Garbage on Rue Oberkampf Today

• Early Asimov, a collection of his early short stories


• Also Asimov, Fantastic Voyage


• Molière, L'Ecole des femmes


• Rousseau, Discours sur l'origine et les fondements de l'inégalité parmi les hommes (Discourse on the Origin of Inequality)


• Wells, The Time Machine

They are dusty. The Rousseau looks like it has chicken pox. I had to wrestle a model for The Time Machine (apparently she was a geek model). A greedy young man nearly kicked an old lady as he threw himself head first into one of the bins. There is nothing like free litterature to bring out the animal in everyone.