'Bout damn time.

Anne Lamott and Donald Miller came to Baylor last night. They sat on the stage in this big, beautiful room and answered questions about faith and writing and how the two converge. I love Anne. This is the second time we have been in the same room, and my favorite. The first time, in Chicago, I went to see her read from Plan B, her second book on faith and faith-like thoughts. Reading from a book is different from answering questions, and she is so neurotic and honest and strange.

Also, incredibly, there were protesters. What the cabbage? Anyone who has actually read Anne Lamott should know so much better than to protest. Which makes me think they hadn't actually read her, but were just a part of a campus pro-life club. Narrow.

Anne has just come out with a new novel, the third Rosie book. In it, apparently, Rosie is a teenager and hooked on drugs. No! Rosie!

Drew reminded me that I don't love Anne's fiction (which is a ridiculous thing to remind someone of when they are in the the throes of despair over the wrong choices of a character they think they love), which made me determined to reread it. I used to have several of her novels, though I have no idea where they've gone.

After the Q&A in the beautiful room we went to the Mayborn Museum to watch an exciting pre-screening of Blue Like Jazz: The Movie. Only, they didn't actually have to movie there so we just watched clips of Steve Taylor's lap top while Don Miller explained making a movie out of a book with no narrative. This was hilarious. And the movie looks better than it has any right to be. I hope it gets shown in your town. I hope you go see it.

Other things:
Yesterday, I got a package in the mail. My parents bought me a yogurt maker. This is AWESOME. I'm going to make all the yogurt! And then eat it all.

I watched the original Planet of the Apes movie for the first time last week.

I found a newer Mary Doria Russell novel in a half price books in Austin. I am a little more than half way through and I think it is astonishingly good. So very, very good. It is set during the latter part of World War II, and revolves around the Italian underground, which is beautiful. Before reading this I read The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, which is also about World War II and comic books. I need a book not about World War II after this, please.

A lot of the time I can't remember my own zip code. This can't be normal.