When it comes to reading I tend to idol back and forth between Austen-era novels and early 20th century American literature.And, with wonderful sites like Librivox and Project Gutenberg I've been able to double and sometimes triple my consumption of literature lately -- the vast majority of the time working out.
It's perfect, literature free from copyright is generally very old -- and, well I like old stuff...serendipity.
I've been downloading a lot of short stories as I find they are perfect for long runs. The plot develops quickly keeping your interest during that dire and sometimes very painful first mile. Then you are hooked and you have to continue to run in order to hear the end of story!
(You might say -- why not just stop and listen to the story. Understand, I have two small children and once you stop running, you become fair game for a never-ending line of questions and other needs, e.g., tissue, snack, water, a dropped book, etc. You would think that alone would be motivation enough to keep running.)
I just finished listening to a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald called Bernice Bobs Her Hair. It takes place as almost all Fitzgerald pieces do, during the roaring 20's. It's the story of Bernice who comes to visit with her cousin Marjorie. Bernice is considered a bore by her cousin as well as all the other younger members of society who fill their nights with parties and dancing.
Marjorie is not the friendliest host and essentially talks trash about Bernice which Bernice overhears. Bernice confronts her and Marjorie does not back down. In the end Bernice takes her cousin's fashion and socializing advice and becomes almost immediately popular. The opening line which Marjorie gives her to catch boys attention is more of less, "I'm thinking about bobbing my hair, what do you think?"
Bernice wins all the boys over, including Warren who has always dotted on Marjorie. This sets Marjorie on a warpath. She presses Bernice publicly stating she doesn't think Bernice ever intended to bob her hair, basically saying she is all talk.
I won't ruin the end in case you want to read/listen to it. I really like Fitzgerald's shrewdness when it comes to taking apart "proper" society. Like he shows in The Great Gatsby, he understands how social circles seem to work -- and dysfunction.
