Ink Mon Jun 18 2007

Bathroom Books

By Alice Maggio

Do you keep reading material in the bathroom? If so, what?

Kerry / June 20, 2007 3:23 PM

My fiance and I have a collection of "actor poetry" in the bathroom. Our favorite is The Complete Poetic Works of Michael Madsen, vol. I: 1995 - 2005. We also have Leonard Nimoy and hope to add Val Kilmer's Jack's Gandhi Poems Old & New, but it's been over a year since we saw anything about it online, and now I can't seem to find anything...mysterious. We'd also love to add Ally Sheedy and Charlie Sheen, writing under the noms de plume Pam Kennedy and Mel McLean respectively.

Alice / June 20, 2007 4:53 PM

That is awesome. I never thought of having a "special collection" housed in the bathroom. And actor poetry is perfect. I've always been somewhat anti-books-in-the-bathroom, but I love your take on it.

Jim / June 20, 2007 6:01 PM

Somehow, our apartment came across a Rolling Stone subscription. So we keep that, along with the Encyclopedia of Literary Terms beside the sink.

This helps us to keep in touch with what's sexy and cool, but also how to properly understand gallows humor and its origins.

Kerry / June 21, 2007 1:44 PM

Thanks Alice! As a fellow librarian, I'm sure my fiance will appreciate the peer recognition. ;-)

Also, excellent multi-tasking, Jim. No wasted opportunities in your household.

mike / June 22, 2007 2:13 PM

Yes, almost always... often times it's the past issue or two of National Geographic. Because, frankly, it's oddly satisfying to look at neat pictures while in the can, and also, I rarely have the willpower to force myself to read an entire NG article otherwise.

Further to the willpower issue, I'll sometimes plant whatever book I'm reading that is giving me the most trouble continuing... such as this one: The Rising Sun: The Decline and Fall of the Japanese Empire, 1936-1945... it's a doozy. Well-written and interesting, but still.

cheers

whiteman / June 24, 2007 1:23 AM

Calvin and Hobbes.

Andrew / June 25, 2007 1:43 AM

That's where our magazines go. There's a little rectangular bucket next to the toilet in which they reside until they're gone through and tossed or filed.