Bored to Death?

After I conquer Sarah Vowell, I think I'll take on Jonathan Ames.  Unfortunately, the library only has one of his novels.  I guess I'll have to spend some hard-earned Best Buy money at the bookstore, because after watching Bored to Death I need to read his books.  The appearance by the aforementioned Ms. Vowell in the season finale pretty much solidified that fact.  


I was directed to this great Newsweek list about political sex scandals (my favorite type of scandal, obviously) from Rachel Maddow's twitter.  When I found out Jonathan Ames was also a contributor, I was even more excited.  My thursday night/tipsy excitement led me to this revelation that I must read all of his books which in turn led me to his Wikipedia entry.  It states, "While at the New York Press his columns were often recollections of his childhood neuroses and his unusual experiences, written in the gritty tradition of Charles Bukowski."  For some reason, this sentence immediately made me think of this blog that I never write in.  I thought, I wish I could be more honest in my writing, maybe then I would write more.  I thought of all the childhood neuroses I had and all unusual experiences I have been through but would never think to publish for the world to see.  I thought about all the columns my dad wrote in his newspaper days, especially the ones about me.  Why can't I do that?


But I can do that.  I can write about all my seemingly crazy thoughts and the strange habits that no one knows about if I just do it.  And though I work hard to maintain some privacy on the internet, there is a part of me that wants to write about all those things because I love to write, I love to entertain, and I know I have some great stories.  


Jonathan Ames' Wikipedia then led me to the page for Bored to Death, because damn, I love that show.  I got to thinking more about the characters and the plot.  For those of you who have not seen the show, it is about a writer named Jonathan Ames (played by Jason Schwartzman) who moonlights as a(n unlicensed) private detective.  So Jonathan Ames, this author who I am obsessed with despite not reading any of his books yet, wrote a TV show about a character with his name who is also a writer.  But Jonathan Ames the TV character also leads a double life as a P.I. that Jonathan Ames, the real person, does not.  He did not create a character that was a carbon copy of himself, he merely used his name and a few real-life experiences to weave into the plot.


The beauty of Ames' writing isn't in his honesty, but instead in how creatively he can weave those real-life experiences into an entertaining story.  It has been a long, long time since I've done any creative writing (it's true, I love research and policy), but if I want to be honest in my writing maybe I should just get creative. 


I think The Partly Cloudy Patriot will have to wait.  If Jonathan Ames can inspire me to write here after nearly two months I should actually read one of his novels.  Maybe I'll get even more inspired.  Looks like I'm headed to the library tomorrow.