I'm running so far behind on my reading list it's pathetic. I just cracked open Jarhead, local author Anthony Swofford's autobiography on his days as a Gulf War marine. Anyone with the slightest bit of interest in the book read it over a year ago when he was making the rounds on various talk shows. Apparently, this thing is quite a sensation. I finally decided to pick up a copy after watching the friend of a Safeway clerk quote passages as he bagged my groceries. Everyone in the world has read this thing but me.

With any luck, I'll have it finished by the time the movie adaptation is released. Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey McGuire both reportedly vied for the lead role but, according to this, Donnie Darko himself has snagged it. Jake Gyllenhaal will star with Jamie Fox set to play Sgt. Siek. The theatrical release date has been set for September 30th, 2005.

On a related/unrelated note: This essay, published on Roger Ebert's site last week, claims that the almost impenetrable sci-fi flick was all about incest.