Peter Carey

I do love reading Peter Carey. The Australian fiction writer has published eleven novels and three volumes of short stories, and to a one they are all compulsively readable. Unlike so many "giant" contemporary writers whose careers begins with passion and lose inspiration as they gain renown, Carey remains a writer with an amazing ear for language and an instinctive sense of what makes human relationships so strange and fascinating. His stories are sharp, funny and ingenious, and his characters are perverse, unpredictable and very human.

Carey’s newest book is called “The Chemistry of Tears” and is billed as mystery focusing on the life of "a mysterious, visionary clockmaker." I bet it's great. He reads from and signs his new novel at Elliot Bay Book Co. on May 24. Tickets are free and available at the door.

The Sound, the Fury, the Color

According to history, William Faulkner originally wanted wanted to publish his masterpiece The Sound and the Fury using colored inks to signify the many different times in which action takes place. But he eventually concluded 'I don’t reckon … it’ll ever be printed that way.' Some 80 years later, the geniuses at the Folio Society have done it. Available for a limited time at just $295. More here .

The Big Dig

If you're looking for me tomorrow afternoon, I'll be at the Big Dig Record Show on Capitol Hill, 'cause you know I need more records. This is a well planned annual event with 20 music dealers from around the region converging on the Vermillion Gallery and Bar for a few hours. It's a well stocked one-day record store, open to all ages, with a full bar and DJ's all day. From 3-8 pm, and admission is just $3. See you there!

Buzz

According to a recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine, coffee extends your life. Drink six or more cups per day, and you have a 10 percent lower risk of death if you’re a man, 15 percent lower if you’re a woman. Or so the study, based on self-reported coffee consumption, claims.

Excellent news. If this study is to be believed, I am functionally immortal. Now if you'll excuse me it's time for my 11th cup of the day.

Sabotage

With work and life and an incredible dose of warm sunny weather, I've been M.I.A. from this bloggie world. For all that, nothing in the recent past has been as impactful on Gurldoggie's existential condition as the death of Beastie Boy MCA. Like me, you've been reading plenty about him and his life, and probably cranking up your share of Beastie music. Portland film maker James Winters has taken his pain to the next step and crafted a loving tribute to the man and the band. Winters got with his wife, two kids, and his nephew to produce this terrific send off. What better (and cuter) way to pay tribute than to dress up kids and have them reenact Sabotage, one of the Beastie's best music videos?