Anna Mitchael

Anna Mitchael is the author of Copygirl which Publishers Weekly says is "wickedly funny and smartly sweet." She also recently published the Kindle Single Rooster Stories: Farm-Raised Tales of Life, Love and Motherhood. Her rooster, Kenny, gave it two spurs up.

Recently I asked Mitchael about what she was reading. Her reply:

What I wish I would read

There is a book on my nightstand that brings out all kinds of good intentions. But when push comes to shove, the big lights go off and the night light comes on, when I am waiting for that gentle shove into the grand canyon of sleep, apparently the last thing I want to open is....

A Woman’s Book of Yoga by Machelle M. Seibel

There is every reason to believe this book is fabulous. It was recommended to me by a wise, wonderful yoga master who can touch the top of her head with her big toe and also says ‘zen’ in a way that makes you feel good, and not like punching her in the face.

Maybe you are looking for a book to read about yoga? If so, please choose this one. That might heal my bad karma for skipping it… not to mention the bad karma for thinking about punching all those innocent (and zen!) people.

What I read a little of (almost) every day:

Dave Barry’s Greatest Hits

My purse started small. A little box for my phone, some lip gloss, the usuals. But over the years it has somehow exploded evolved into what can only be described as a bottomless pit. In fact my purse has become so large I’ve learned most people classify it as a bag. So when I see signs that say ‘Check your bag here’ I have to stop and show them my purse, otherwise they will chase me through the store, yelling at me like I’m a delinquent who might ‘accidentally’ start dropping non-purchased items into my ‘purse.’ So, last time I visited BookPeople in Austin I saw a sign like this at the entry so obediently I stopped. The guy working the bag cubbyhole system took one look at my diaper animal cracker loose leaf paper catastrophe purse and said, ‘Why don’t you just keep it with you today. But do you have any books in there that we might sell?’

So I reached in and the book I had with me was my much-loved, million-times-read, copy of Dave Barry’s Greatest Hits. The guy took one look at the copy in my hand and said, ‘You should know we would never sell a book in that condition in this store.’

I took my purse into the store with me but now I realize I should have left the book behind for that guy. He needed a good laugh. And apparently I could use a new copy.

What I just finished:

This Running Life by Dr. George Sheehan

Spoiler Alert: This book says it is about running. But more than that, it’s about living. I don’t recommend it to runners who want to figure out how to hit the finish line faster. I recommend it to people (and yes, to those people who only run when chased) who are interested in completing the larger life race with purpose, precision and—when possible—joy.

“I am filled with what Joan Didion called “that low dread” of having to go out and better myself. I move through days filled with failure of the body and the mind and the spirit—still trusting I am going on in the right direction, hoping that the real me is infinitely better than the acceptable me I am leaving behind. We are always in the process of becoming. We have a commitment strongly spent or weakly kept, as Robert Frost said, to the work or career of person in progress.”

What I just started:

Delancey, A Memoir by Molly Wizenburg

Most of my free time on the internet is spent reading food blogs. I would never have the patience to tweak and tweak and tweak a recipe 1000 times to get it perfect. And so I am really interested in the minds of people who do. Molly Wizenburg’s blog Orangette is one of the food blogs I enjoy plus she is also from Oklahoma, where I spent a good portion of my growing up years, and I like to support the homies.

Visit Anna Mitchael's website.

--Marshal Zeringue