Daniel Handler & Me + Sharks

Daniel Handler and I are clearly potential best friends already engaged in a secret two person book club. This book club, so far, has read and loved Mary Robison's ONE DOA ONE ON THE WAY and Joshua Beckman's TAKE IT. You can read about Handler's love for TAKE IT, here.

I just started reading this galley of a book called EYE OF THE WHALE by Douglas Carlton Abrams. The first scenes of the book are a remarkable account of a woman snorkeling in Carribean waters who while recording the songs of whales happens to witness the birth of one and while attempting to jumpstart the breathing of the calf, is caught in a shark feeding frenzy set off by the expulsion of massive whale afterbirth. She is not bothered because she knows reef sharks aren't really a threat to humans but then she sees a tiger shark and the guy she is with, who is in a boat, starts to freak out and she gets bumped (a sure sign of a shark attack) and then miraculously the male whale blows the shark out of the water with his blowhole, thereby saving the lady. Ummmm, it may be the best thing I've ever read. I'm terrified (never stepped foot in an ocean) and fascinated (I check the global shark attack file, weekly-why don't these fishermen in South Africa learn their lesson and stay out of the damn water?!) by sharks and can be lulled into submissive fascination at even the mention of the fish.

bye.