No, I still haven't finished it. Two-thirds through, and I'm enjoying it but not enough not to interrupt it, not enough that it compels me above any other activity or book. A reason for my unenthrallment is squirmishness: I feel guilty for reading something that seems so prejudiced. Every race and culture is shown warts and all; Smith is an equal-opportunity mocker. And it is not racist to mention a truth of racism.
It's really funny in lots of places. Joyce and her self-righteousness showing her racism. Alsanai's malapropisms. "Post class aberration consideration period" for detention.
Ah yes. My not-having-finished-yet point is the title of the chapter I'm on, "More English than the English." I'm sure I had heard this sort of phrase before I tried to watch a four-hour Jimmy Stewart epic about "pioneering," read colonizing, the American West, whose title escapes me. I got a few minutes into it--just past the overture--when the narrator began to describe Stewart's character as "more Indian than the Indians." Y'know, because it was a decent culture and all, but it took Whitey to do it right and better than the lazy redskins. I turned it off without regrets. Anyway, that phrase now reminds me of that movie, and if I'm supposed to think of ethnicism upon reading it yeah I get that. But it makes me squirmy.
The mountains are slathered with white, the sky is blue with white polka clouds, the s are snapping, and it's in the high 50s. I sat outside in the the warmth of the sun with White Teeth and my lunch (spinach salad with chicken and cheese). Bliss.
For afters I had some Hershey's Mint Kisses, which are my primary weakness. Now that I have determined that chocolate with mint is superior to chocolate with peanut butter (years of serious study led to this conclusion), the next debate will be between chocolate with raspberry and chocolate with blueberry. Really, blueberry wins hands down, but raspberry has the advantage of availability.
I biked today, and even in the morning my thin Old Lyme sweatshirt was too much. I lost my long-sleeved t-shirt somewhere along the line and need to replace it. Perhaps at REI tonight; it's time for Shadowfax's 30-day tune-up. I have to find out whether I can wait for this check-up or must leave it. I didn't bike-commute yesterday but intend to for the rest of the week.
Still to do: