Steinbeck, the DNC, and waiting tables

The Grapes of Wrath is a fantastic book, but, for some reason, I just can't bring myself to get through it during the week. I've moved it to the 3-day weekend agenda and I'm sure that I'll be able to finish it with time to spare. So far, all I can say is that John Steinbeck is a good writer. Please note this is the understatement of the century. There's something so gratifying about reading a good book. It's kind of like watching the Olympics. I'm bearing witness to something I could never do, to something I couldn't even begin to tell you how to do. I have no idea how Steinbeck does what he does, but I'm glad I'm literate and can therefore enjoy it with the rest of us.

On top of that, I'm maxed out on politics with the DNC every night on top of Obamanomics. So I'm putting that aside until the convention is done. I'm working 12-hour days, so my nights need to be full of escapist reading. So what am I reading?

The answer is Waiter Rant, the story of a 30 year-old man who, through the oft unfortunate trials of life, went from a priestly aspirant to a waiter. Yup, a waiter. What once began as a transitional phase ended up as a career choice and after creating a hysterical blog, he was eventually approached with a book deal. And rightfully so, as he can write quite well and his tales from the other side of the corkscrew are both varied and well-presented. I've clicked through a bunch of his entries on Waiter Rant (the entries on the blog are isolated incidents, while the book is a more continuous narrative), and have yet to find an entry that hasn't made me snort out loud. The whole thing is non-fiction (a fact which you need to continuously repeat in the most ridiculous situations) and so far it's well-paced and definitely entertaining. I mean, part of me loves it because of my previous employment at this establishment. However, I really think it's an objectively fun read and a great way to escape your job, especially if you're going through a rough time like me.