#23: The Architecture of Happiness, Conspiracy Theories, & True Confessions.

The other day I was lamenting the fact that Nina and I haven't really discussed any books on the blog even though we're both avid readers. Fortunately, one of our favorite authors, Alain de Botton, has a new book out called The Architecture of Happiness.

Reading de Botton is sort of like having an erudite lover on the side. His writing is pithy and witty, and he frequently causes you to admire the humor and zest in things which theretofore had none. In the past, he's taken on Proust, romance, status anxiety, philosophy, and, most pertinently for us, travel.

I'm looking forward to his take on the sense of place and the emotional underpinnings behind the spaces we inhabit. You can read a bit of the first chapter if you're so inclined. Apparently (unbeknownst to us) several of his previous works have been turned into programs aired on PBS; this one has seen a similar adaptation (clips here).

Yesterday we received a very entertaining message from someone on our MySpace page. Mike is a blogger in St. Louis and was kind enough to alert us to a post he'd written which insinuated that our site may be a viral marketing hoax along the lines of the LonelyGirl15 phenomenon. It is our first conspiracy theory, which flattered and tickled Nina and I to no end. I wrote him a message explaining that we were, in fact, real people, and he was kind enough to let his readers know by posting a portion of that clarification. Still, I hope it's not the last time it happens, especially since that "contingent book deal" part sounds so enticing! Are you listening, publishers?

Is it the relative anonymity of the internet that makes people want to confess their secrets and share their stories? I guess I'm not one to talk, huh?

Also, how on earth did it take me so long to get into Jeans Team? They're so quintessentially Berlin in all the right ways:



And tell me their singer isn't a dead ringer for former Blur guitarist Graham Coxon.

xoxox
Danny