Monday, July 24, 2006

BOOKS: The Chamber Plot Thickens

So, on June 8th of this year, I wrote an entry entitled "What's in Your Loo-brary?" in which I itemized the various books I keep in my bathroom.

Fast-forward to yesterday, when I happened across a piece in The New York Times Sunday Book Review. Entitled "Chamber Plots," it's an essay by Henry Alford that's all about, you guessed it, bathroom reading.

Coincidence?
No sour grapes here, though. One man's copycatting is another woman's homage.

Alford's piece makes for an interesting read, as he chronicles the history of powder-room literature (going as far back as the ancient Romans), and speculates as to why we like to read in the bathroom (to distract us from the urge to hurl our poo around, apparently). He also visits the bathrooms of nine willing interviewees, in order to find out what they keep on the back of the loo, and why.

But the highlight of Alford's piece, for me, was when he discovered one of his own books "retired" in someone's can. Yowch.

3 comments:

landismom said...

Yeah, he owes you one big-time.

Tammy said...

Well, I like to do my part to help the little people. Heh.

Anonymous said...

I like to think you would have fact-checked the spelling of "Far Side" creator Gary LARSON's name. But, you know. It's only the paper of record.