Blogs

          Before I tell you why I chose this photo of Kurdish Jews, I'd like to make a general apology to all (including my mom) for, once again, failing to make it through an entire year with perfect attendance.

          Just once, I thought, I'd be able to check-off a full year of goals met (i.e., write 52 blogs in a single year).

          But the flu felled me and my once-in-a-lifetime opportunity was thrown away with the Kleenex.

          Which isn't to say I didn't read last week.

          A.S. Byatt's long-awaited new novel, "The Children's Book," enriched each bed-ridden day immensely. 

          But back to the business at hand: the photo at top.

          Today's photo gives me a chance to kill two birds with one stone, thus conserving my recently-rediscovered energy.

          The photo refers to Ariel Sabar's new book "My Father's Paradise: A Son's Search for his Family's Past" - a first-rate, immigrant's tale that sits near the top of my reading list for 2009. 

      Luckily for you, Sabar will be talking about his book today at 7:30 p.m. at the Capitola Book Cafe.

          Luckily for me, I wrote about the book for the Sentinel recently. You can read the story at their website. It's titled "Stranger in a Strange Land" and ran on October 28th.

           Oh yeah - one more thing: the flu made me realize there's only so much blogging a person can do without being paid for it. So, in the spirit of better health, I've decided to no longer append a list of literary events at the end of each blog....well, not unless someone pays me for it.

          See ya' at the next H1N1 Clinic!