Has anybody seen the new JIF Peanut Butter ad? Well, not only are choosey moms choosing JIF, choosy dads are now choosing JIF as well. This is certainly progress, however the ad really bugs me that the voiceover is a woman who has this smart alecky tone when she says: "Choosy moms, and dads, choose JIF." She accentuates the "and dads" in such a way that really annoys me, as if it's cute or something that a dad would be shopping for peanut butter. Why can't the ad just say "Choosy moms and dads choose JIF" without accentuating anything? Do they want to draw attention to the fact that this is a new addition to their slogan, which in turn brings attention to the fact that they've been reinforcing male stereotypes this whole time? Regardless, if a mom or dad were really choosy they'd buy natural peanut butter that's not full of hydrogenated oils.

Now Reading: My Year of Meats by Ruth Ozeki.

Just Finished:And Now You Can Go by Vendela Vida (Dave Eggers' wife). I wasn't crazy about the story as a whole, but I really liked the main character Ellis' voice, and I also liked the supporting characters, mainly her revolving cast of boyfriends.

Skimmed:The 9 Steps to Financial Freedom by Suze Orman. This book filled me with such financial fear (i'm paraphrasing: "If your debt is more than your salary, you are essentially bankrupt;" "If you can't pay off your credit card debt in full right now, you are in trouble.") that I marched into work the weekend after reading it and signed up for my company's 401(k). She scared me into doing it. Everything she said made complete sense, and I like her spiritual approach to money; ie Step 7 is "Being Open to Receive All That You Are Meant to Have."

In the wings: The Great Unraveling by Paul Krugman; Absolutely American by David Lipsky; Jarhead by Anthony Swofford; The Quality of Life Report by Meghan Daum; Her Husband by Diane Middlebrook; The Colossus of New York by Colson Whitehead; and A Mouthful of Air by Amy Koppleman.

I have to pick books to read based on the ease with which they can be read on a subway, since that is basically the only free time I have to read (if you can call "free time" time spent avoiding eye contact with the shaggy homeless person shaking a cup in your face, or time spent trying not to pass out from the suffocating B.O wafting out the armpit of the commuter holding the railing above you), so my choices end up being limited to lighter fare. I tried reading The Mill on the Floss on the subway; didn't work.