My other car is a Bookmobile.

I've got a nasty cold today and there's nothing I would rather be doing than reading under the covers between long, delicious naps. Unfortunately, sometimes one must do things like go to one's place of employment, so cuddling with my pillow is not on the agenda. But if I were home, here's what I would be reading:

Adam Langer, ELLINGTON BOULEVARD: A NOVEL IN A-FLAT. I just got this much-anticipated-by-me third novel from the library, less than a month after I heard Langer read from it here in New York, and I'm about halfway through. Like Langer's first two books, it's a tale of several interconnected people linked by a place, specifically a second-floor apartment in Manhattan which is being sold out from under its long-time renter. This is his first novel set in New York, and I've already recognized several places (and people, almost!) in it.

Sara Paretsky, BURN MARKS. Speaking of evoking a place, my mom recommended this thriller to me because it is set in Chicago in the 1980s, when my mom used to work there. I don't read a lot of that genre, but I'm willing to give it a shot because she recommended it and has been devouring the whole detective series. I was almost born in Chicago, in fact, but that's a different story.

Charles Bock, BEAUTIFUL CHILDREN. Hey, remember the free book I posted about a few days ago? Some 15,000 people downloaded a copy of BEAUTIFUL CHILDREN from the author's site last week, according to The Millions. That seems low to me, especially considering that over a million people downloaded Suze Orman's new book which was available on Oprah's website. (The power of The Oprah is with us.) Still, the author is happy; he told USA Today, "The more people reading my book, the happier I am."

Coming up this week: The scandalous Filmbook I alluded to last week, plus lost childhoods in two directions and a look at my humble branch library.