A Blast from the Literary Past

On the daily coffee pilgramage, Seema, Jen and I got talking about our favorite books while growing up (Seema can't remember any of hers: apparently we can blame this on the fact that she is brown. However, she did eventually come up with Bridge to Terabithia, possibly the most depressing childrens' book ever written). Jen described hers, which I can't remember as I have never read it, but has to do with Unicorns in another land.

This brought me to mine, which was Lizard Music by Daniel Pinkwater. If you have never read this book (as I suspect most of you have not), then I suggest trying to get your mitts on it. Reading this book helps provide a little insight into my generation, who grew up ensconced in Free Love, Macrame, and Children's books written by Pot-heads. I mean, this is a book about a kid who loves Walter Cronkite and who finds an invisible island inhabited by giant lizards that jam late at night on this kid's television. How much acid was this guy on?

What a great book. What makes me sad is that it would probably never fly in this day and age, as any editor would read it and promptly realize that the writer was on crack. There is no way that he came up with this shit sober. And since stoned authors don't make for good book signings at Chapters or Barnes and Noble, no publishing company would likely touch this manuscript with a 10 foot pole.

Sometimes I'm glad that I grew up in the time that I did. Before all this political correctedness.