Thursday, August 30, 2007
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Beginners
I finished Philosophy for Beginners today. I really like the for beginners books; they are like reading the Sunday funnies only you learn a lot. I am totally counting this book even though it is all pictures and only184 pages. A girl needs a break sometimes.
I feel like this project has gone to pot, probably because my number system is fucked, but I will pull it together. Every 10 or so books I will do a recap so we can all keep it honest. I am pooped today. The thrill is gone, but it is temporary.
I also finished The Fabulous Girl's Guide to Decorum. I like etiquette books even if I am not exactly the picture of class myself. (note frequent and nonsensical usage of f-word) Maybe that is the reason I like these books, like, how can one possibly avoid telling others to f-off or calling certain folks douches. It is beyond me at times. This book, however, is lame. I think it even went into to "fuck-buddy" etiquette...please. First rule of decorum is discretion, sheesh.
I feel like this project has gone to pot, probably because my number system is fucked, but I will pull it together. Every 10 or so books I will do a recap so we can all keep it honest. I am pooped today. The thrill is gone, but it is temporary.
I also finished The Fabulous Girl's Guide to Decorum. I like etiquette books even if I am not exactly the picture of class myself. (note frequent and nonsensical usage of f-word) Maybe that is the reason I like these books, like, how can one possibly avoid telling others to f-off or calling certain folks douches. It is beyond me at times. This book, however, is lame. I think it even went into to "fuck-buddy" etiquette...please. First rule of decorum is discretion, sheesh.
Monday, August 27, 2007
Island
If I were stranded on an island and could only read one person's writing over and over it would be Diane Ackerman. I am reading A Slender Thread. It is about her time as a crisis center volunteer and about the squirrels in her back yard. Her prose is so rich and full of poetry one minute and very sociological the next, delicious. And as far as the island thing, she has written about a million books, so I wouldn't run out for a long time.
School is back. I was able to read a ton today though because I have a huge break on Mondays. I think Monday will be my official catch-up if I am behind on reading day. This is the semester that Florida State isn't going to beat me. I am determined to do well and not be miserable.
School is back. I was able to read a ton today though because I have a huge break on Mondays. I think Monday will be my official catch-up if I am behind on reading day. This is the semester that Florida State isn't going to beat me. I am determined to do well and not be miserable.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Lazy
I have hardly read at all the last 2 days; I think it is because school is looming on Monday. Back to the shit. There is a part of me that is excited. The Fall semester is always awesome, it is the other semesters I hate. So tonight I am loading up my Ipod and making all kinds of promises to myself about how I will watch less TV, listen to more NPR and try to enjoy school.
I am reading just not in a very organized way.
I am reading just not in a very organized way.
Friday, August 24, 2007
Blackouts and Rice Pudding
I just finished How to Cook a Wolf by MFK Fisher. I love that lady.
If you are used to drinking, and can, it is pleasant to have whiskey or a good stable wine in your cupboard. A glass in your hand makes the ominous sky seem very high above you.- How to Cook a Wolf - MFK Fisher (How to deal with the blackouts)
I can't imagine blackouts, preserving fuel for cooking or getting excited over canned meat. I guess I am pretty lucky in that respect. This book was a lot about coping with less than fabulous ingredients to make life cozy; it is a worthy read, but the food is definitely dated. Sherry party, anyone?
I wasn't feeling too well this morning when I finished Fisher's book, but I was in that reading zone, so I just grabbed the closest book I could reach from my bed. It is Ken Follett's Triple. I am not sure if I will finish it or not, but I did really enjoy his Pillars of the Earth, the funny thing is that after reading about Sherry all morning, the characters in the book really went to an honest to goodness Sherry party. I thought that was serendipitous.
I plan on reading a lot today. The days are flying by, and before I know it I will be back to the daily grind. I may as well soak it in while I can. Oh my god, can I use more cliches in this closing? I am making myself sicker.
If you are used to drinking, and can, it is pleasant to have whiskey or a good stable wine in your cupboard. A glass in your hand makes the ominous sky seem very high above you.- How to Cook a Wolf - MFK Fisher (How to deal with the blackouts)
I can't imagine blackouts, preserving fuel for cooking or getting excited over canned meat. I guess I am pretty lucky in that respect. This book was a lot about coping with less than fabulous ingredients to make life cozy; it is a worthy read, but the food is definitely dated. Sherry party, anyone?
I wasn't feeling too well this morning when I finished Fisher's book, but I was in that reading zone, so I just grabbed the closest book I could reach from my bed. It is Ken Follett's Triple. I am not sure if I will finish it or not, but I did really enjoy his Pillars of the Earth, the funny thing is that after reading about Sherry all morning, the characters in the book really went to an honest to goodness Sherry party. I thought that was serendipitous.
I plan on reading a lot today. The days are flying by, and before I know it I will be back to the daily grind. I may as well soak it in while I can. Oh my god, can I use more cliches in this closing? I am making myself sicker.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Stuart
So Stuart: A Life Backwards by Alexander Masters isn't that good, or interesting. I don't necessarily suggest it, but there was something touching about it by the end. Stuart was a miserable bastard and he may have been one whether he had had his fucked up life or not, but you can't help but look at his little kid picture and wonder. It was very sad, I just don't think it was written well. It us a crying shame because I love the backwards idea.
Is this the way to characterize the chaotic: they are people for whom forgetting has become more important than remembering? Is this a trite observation? Of course a chaotic person like Stuart wants to forget. He's been raped by his brother, raped by his teachers, bullied by school friends, told he's evil by the social services , spent eight years of his life with his nose stuck in a bag of glue, three more with his veins impaled on the end of a syringe, tattooed FUCK in letters big enough for a road sign down his right arm, and thinks the police are hiding cameras in his kitchen ventilation grate. Who wouldn't want to forget a life like that? Stuart: A Life Backwards by Alexander Masters.
I am progressing here and there. I can't believe school starts in less than a week. I am trying to keep on top of reading while cleaning house. I will have no time for the next few months, so I should at least start with a clean slate.
I really want to walk to this groovy looking vintage shop today, but it is so hot, and I have residual Xanax from last night. (long story, minor health issues, not clubbing) I am afraid I will just get to the shop the feel like an overheated crackhead and turn around and leave. Maybe I will just chillax instead. Yes, I said chillax.
Is this the way to characterize the chaotic: they are people for whom forgetting has become more important than remembering? Is this a trite observation? Of course a chaotic person like Stuart wants to forget. He's been raped by his brother, raped by his teachers, bullied by school friends, told he's evil by the social services , spent eight years of his life with his nose stuck in a bag of glue, three more with his veins impaled on the end of a syringe, tattooed FUCK in letters big enough for a road sign down his right arm, and thinks the police are hiding cameras in his kitchen ventilation grate. Who wouldn't want to forget a life like that? Stuart: A Life Backwards by Alexander Masters.
I am progressing here and there. I can't believe school starts in less than a week. I am trying to keep on top of reading while cleaning house. I will have no time for the next few months, so I should at least start with a clean slate.
I really want to walk to this groovy looking vintage shop today, but it is so hot, and I have residual Xanax from last night. (long story, minor health issues, not clubbing) I am afraid I will just get to the shop the feel like an overheated crackhead and turn around and leave. Maybe I will just chillax instead. Yes, I said chillax.
Sunday, August 19, 2007
House
I finished The Empty House this morning. I don't care what you say, I loved it. I could read descriptions of the inside of English farmhouses all day and it doesn't matter what is going on inside of them.
Sunk into the folds of her coat,hands deep in its pockets, she looked about her and decided that never had she been in a room so welcoming, so secure. There were beams in the ceiling, with old iron hooks for smoking hams, and deep window sills crammed with flowering geraniums. There was a huge stove where the kettle simmered, and a caned chair with a cat curled in its seat,and there was a grain merchant's calendar and curtains of checked cotton and the smell of warm baking bread. The Empty House- Rosamund Pilcher
It is an obsession with me, I know. When I was a kid my parents had a junk/antique business, and I would save all the old cooking magazines and home decorating books and just gaze at them for hours. I was fascinated by people who cared about their environment and ate real food. In our house dinner came from a can and was served in front of episodes of the A-team or 20/20. My mom is still fascinated by the fact that she produced a daughter that thinks an ideal day is shopping for and then cooking an old fashioned meal. (that being anything that you can not make in a microwave.) She thinks I am some weirdo repressed throw-back to the olden times.
She was very excited though when I came across a recipe in MFK Fisher's How to Cook a Wolf that has been in our family for 3 generations. Granted there ARE can goods involved, but it WAS the war time, ya know. I think that when I found the recipe, it finally occurred to her that food wasn't a duty I was trying to perform, but that food does have emotional significance. I just want to provided my future generations with a little more substance to pass on. I don't want my legacy to be canned chili mixed with Velveeta = nachos. (as delicious as that may be.) I am by no means a food snob, but I think it is important to know the difference between real food and mystery concoctions though they both have their place in my world.
Sunk into the folds of her coat,hands deep in its pockets, she looked about her and decided that never had she been in a room so welcoming, so secure. There were beams in the ceiling, with old iron hooks for smoking hams, and deep window sills crammed with flowering geraniums. There was a huge stove where the kettle simmered, and a caned chair with a cat curled in its seat,and there was a grain merchant's calendar and curtains of checked cotton and the smell of warm baking bread. The Empty House- Rosamund Pilcher
It is an obsession with me, I know. When I was a kid my parents had a junk/antique business, and I would save all the old cooking magazines and home decorating books and just gaze at them for hours. I was fascinated by people who cared about their environment and ate real food. In our house dinner came from a can and was served in front of episodes of the A-team or 20/20. My mom is still fascinated by the fact that she produced a daughter that thinks an ideal day is shopping for and then cooking an old fashioned meal. (that being anything that you can not make in a microwave.) She thinks I am some weirdo repressed throw-back to the olden times.
She was very excited though when I came across a recipe in MFK Fisher's How to Cook a Wolf that has been in our family for 3 generations. Granted there ARE can goods involved, but it WAS the war time, ya know. I think that when I found the recipe, it finally occurred to her that food wasn't a duty I was trying to perform, but that food does have emotional significance. I just want to provided my future generations with a little more substance to pass on. I don't want my legacy to be canned chili mixed with Velveeta = nachos. (as delicious as that may be.) I am by no means a food snob, but I think it is important to know the difference between real food and mystery concoctions though they both have their place in my world.
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Books
Well, I am reading a lot, I just haven't been finishing anything. I am almost through Stuart: A Life Backwards. It is a biography about a homeless man, but it starts in current times and we work back to all the possible factors in his life that may have got him where he is. This book was written in my to-read book twice, so I had high hopes. It isn't bad, but I don't like it. Stuart doesn't conjure up much sympathy, and it is a shame because it is a very sad story. I do empathize with him, but he really just doesn't ever grow on you. It is also very English, so sometimes it is hard to understand the school and public assistance terms. School levels, the dole, hostel programs etc. In the end my favorite thing about this book is the title.
I love old houses. Ever since I was a little girl I have reoccurring dreams of houses; I am renovating, redecorating, moving in, moving out, gardening, getting ready for a party, I am always busy fixing up my home. It has been many different kinds of houses and even a couple apartments. So it stand to reason that any author that can recreate that feeling for me, I am going to eat them up. Rosamund Pilcher does that for me. Scottish girly romantic cheesy...say what you will, but that lady can make a cozy scene. Right now I am over half way through The Empty House, and I love it. Unusual cottage by the sea, cooking over the ancient fireplace, and being left to your own devices. Lovely.
I am reading several others too, but those are the ones keeping me occupied.
I love old houses. Ever since I was a little girl I have reoccurring dreams of houses; I am renovating, redecorating, moving in, moving out, gardening, getting ready for a party, I am always busy fixing up my home. It has been many different kinds of houses and even a couple apartments. So it stand to reason that any author that can recreate that feeling for me, I am going to eat them up. Rosamund Pilcher does that for me. Scottish girly romantic cheesy...say what you will, but that lady can make a cozy scene. Right now I am over half way through The Empty House, and I love it. Unusual cottage by the sea, cooking over the ancient fireplace, and being left to your own devices. Lovely.
I am reading several others too, but those are the ones keeping me occupied.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Argh
I had to put aside my first book. Caleb Carr's The Italian Secretary is just awful, but since I have read 224 pages, I will probably finish it at some point within the year. I have a tendency to push through books I hate; this is a habit I would like to be cured of. There are so many wonderful books out there, so why should I torture myself. I think it is mixed feelings of failure, and also I have loved Caleb Carr's other books. Sometimes I put so much faith in an author that I think maybe it is me, maybe there is something I just don't get.
So, on a positive note, I am really enjoying MFK Fisher's How to Cook a Wolf. It makes me want to pull together all the resources I can to make fabulous dinners for people in wartime. Fortunately, I will probably never have to use this knowledge, but I don't want it to be lost. It is so interesting. I recommend it to everyone interested in food, cooking or women.
So, on a positive note, I am really enjoying MFK Fisher's How to Cook a Wolf. It makes me want to pull together all the resources I can to make fabulous dinners for people in wartime. Fortunately, I will probably never have to use this knowledge, but I don't want it to be lost. It is so interesting. I recommend it to everyone interested in food, cooking or women.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Brain Melt
It is god awful hot. I has been this hot for days and days, but since most of my time is spent inside (except the 30 times a day I take my dog out) I don't care so much. But since I get a little nutsy when I am alone too much, on this vacation, I am making it a priority to get out. I don't drive, so I walk. So when I go far, I walk far. And thus, I actually feel ill from being in the heat too much today. I feel disgusting.
I did, however, visit my therapist. She approve of the book thing I am doing, I thought she wouldn't, so that is a relief. She even got all giddy and gave me some book suggestions, silly therapist.
I don't want to list all the books I am reading and what pages I am on. Let's suffice it to say. I am approaching the middle of about 5 books. I am like some ADD book monster. If you are desperate to know just what I am reading you can peek here. But in all honesty, once a book has a number, it is like I am obligated to finish it, and that wasn't working for me at all. I will give it a number at its finish until then I am allowed to put it down at will.
I did, however, visit my therapist. She approve of the book thing I am doing, I thought she wouldn't, so that is a relief. She even got all giddy and gave me some book suggestions, silly therapist.
I don't want to list all the books I am reading and what pages I am on. Let's suffice it to say. I am approaching the middle of about 5 books. I am like some ADD book monster. If you are desperate to know just what I am reading you can peek here. But in all honesty, once a book has a number, it is like I am obligated to finish it, and that wasn't working for me at all. I will give it a number at its finish until then I am allowed to put it down at will.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
ADD
I really do have book ADD right now. I am still trudging through the books I started, but I needed something different. I went to the library (I have been too ashamed after my delinquent $16 from Christmas break) and I browsed around for hours. I forgot how simple and wonderful it felt to walk down rows and rows of books and know I could take anyone of them home. When I was about 11, I used to ride my bike to the library, and like a true OCD kid, I would start at the first book on a shelf and read all the way to the last book on the shelf. I think this is why I read an abnormal amount of historical fiction. Evidently that was the shelf of choice that summer. Nowadays, I usual know exactly which books I want to read and which ones I don't, but it is nice sometimes to just let myself be drawn to the books. Hopefully I am inspired now.
Monday, August 13, 2007
More and more
I am not doing well. I guess I am making progress, but it isn't fun, inspiring progress. It is that exciting "can't put it down" excitement I was looking for. I am reading very sporadically. A chapter here in Caleb Carr's book (slow p 145), A chapter or two there in Stuart: A Life Backwards (it is good, and I am enjoying it but something is getting in the way. p 136), and I am supplementing them with a dose of the cheesy philosophy book. I am a sucker for these comic book dumbing down of scholarly stuff. But I just am not riveted, and I want to be. I think tonight I will just grab random books from my shelf and see if they are what I need right now.
I am definitely enjoying my time off from school. I am lounging around the house like a lazy cat.
I am definitely enjoying my time off from school. I am lounging around the house like a lazy cat.
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Sunday
I finished Sarah Vowell today. I really like her even though we may be polar opposites. I enjoy her best when she is talking about history and not so much about her family, but this book as a bunch of both.
The thing I love most about the goth club is how passive it is. Hardly anyone talks to anyone else. It is free of the normal social pressures to smile and interact and appear content. There's nothing of that getting-to-know-you pick up line crap. In fact, the mood in antithetical to pickups; it's more like stay away. No one cares if you dance. No one cares if you don't. As someone who often dreads strangers, the antisocial nature of this social situation makes me feel communal and part of something-one of us. Like, hey, I hate talking to you too! The mutual disgust is completely liberating.- Take the Cannoli- Sarah Vowell.
I am also on page 115 of The Italian Secretary. Let me just say, I loved The Alienist. I even liked Angel of Darkness a lot. I love Sherlock Holmes too. So why, oh why, do I not love this book? I am not ready to say that I don't like it, yet. I will just say it is slow moving and not very satisfying.
I haven't been reading as much as planned because I have had a very festive week with my boyfriends graduation and my birthday, but this week I will speed things up.
Due to the slow as molasses Caleb Carr book, I am adding 2 more books today to spice up my life a bit.
Book Project
Book 13- Philosophy for Beginners- Richard Osborne p.184
Book 14- Stuart: A Life Backwards- Alexander Masters p. 299
It is my birthday. I am 31. Ouch.
The thing I love most about the goth club is how passive it is. Hardly anyone talks to anyone else. It is free of the normal social pressures to smile and interact and appear content. There's nothing of that getting-to-know-you pick up line crap. In fact, the mood in antithetical to pickups; it's more like stay away. No one cares if you dance. No one cares if you don't. As someone who often dreads strangers, the antisocial nature of this social situation makes me feel communal and part of something-one of us. Like, hey, I hate talking to you too! The mutual disgust is completely liberating.- Take the Cannoli- Sarah Vowell.
I am also on page 115 of The Italian Secretary. Let me just say, I loved The Alienist. I even liked Angel of Darkness a lot. I love Sherlock Holmes too. So why, oh why, do I not love this book? I am not ready to say that I don't like it, yet. I will just say it is slow moving and not very satisfying.
I haven't been reading as much as planned because I have had a very festive week with my boyfriends graduation and my birthday, but this week I will speed things up.
Due to the slow as molasses Caleb Carr book, I am adding 2 more books today to spice up my life a bit.
Book Project
Book 13- Philosophy for Beginners- Richard Osborne p.184
Book 14- Stuart: A Life Backwards- Alexander Masters p. 299
It is my birthday. I am 31. Ouch.
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Moving Along
I finish Book 10 this morning, so I am making progress.
I was on the front porch, drowning a mouse in a bucket when this van pulled up, which was strange. -Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim- David Sedaris
Books 1-10 July 4-August 7
1. The Pilgrimmage- Paulo Coehlo
2. The Opposite of Fate- Amy Tan
3. Bookends- Jane Green
4. Raise High the Roof Beams, Carpenters, and Seymour and Introduction- J.D. Salinger
5. The Hours- Michael Cunningham
6. I'm a Stranger here Myself- Bill Bryson
7. And Then There Were None- Agatha Christie
8. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince- J.K. Rowling
9. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows- J.K. Rowling
10. Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim- David Sedaris
Book Project
Book 11- The Italian Secretary by Caleb Carr p 338
Book 12-Take the Cannoli- Sarah Vowell p 219
I was on the front porch, drowning a mouse in a bucket when this van pulled up, which was strange. -Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim- David Sedaris
Books 1-10 July 4-August 7
1. The Pilgrimmage- Paulo Coehlo
2. The Opposite of Fate- Amy Tan
3. Bookends- Jane Green
4. Raise High the Roof Beams, Carpenters, and Seymour and Introduction- J.D. Salinger
5. The Hours- Michael Cunningham
6. I'm a Stranger here Myself- Bill Bryson
7. And Then There Were None- Agatha Christie
8. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince- J.K. Rowling
9. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows- J.K. Rowling
10. Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim- David Sedaris
Book Project
Book 11- The Italian Secretary by Caleb Carr p 338
Book 12-Take the Cannoli- Sarah Vowell p 219
Monday, August 6, 2007
Get to Work
It is time to get serious about catching up and trying to get ahead now. I hope to make speedy progress through the next few books. Technically I am right on schedule, but with a financial aid battle looming ahead and then the busy fall semester, we are getting into panic attack season.
Every semester I play this game with the financial aid office. They say I am going to get loads of cash, then they say I am getting nothing. I get in turn excited, and devastated, fight and cry and yell, they tell me, okay okay, you will get a little tiny bit. I get relieved. Then the give me a ton of cash in tiny enough increments, that I still get behind in bills, so all the "extra' is used for late fees. I love college. Well, evidently this is the time when a ton is promised, but there is an 'issue" so I can't get it. They can't tell you anything on the phone, they can't answer email and in person, they say, well, you are all set....no holds showing up here. And when you get home, there is a big red sentence about a hold on your account. argh.
I did finish And Then There Were None last night. It was an easy good read, that took me weeks to finish for some reason. (Harry Potter distractions.)
Crime and its punishment has always fascinated me. I enjoying reading every kind of detective story and thriller. I have devised for my own private amusement the most ingenious ways of carrying out a murder. And Then There Were None- Agatha Christie
Book Project
Book 10-Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim.
Every semester I play this game with the financial aid office. They say I am going to get loads of cash, then they say I am getting nothing. I get in turn excited, and devastated, fight and cry and yell, they tell me, okay okay, you will get a little tiny bit. I get relieved. Then the give me a ton of cash in tiny enough increments, that I still get behind in bills, so all the "extra' is used for late fees. I love college. Well, evidently this is the time when a ton is promised, but there is an 'issue" so I can't get it. They can't tell you anything on the phone, they can't answer email and in person, they say, well, you are all set....no holds showing up here. And when you get home, there is a big red sentence about a hold on your account. argh.
I did finish And Then There Were None last night. It was an easy good read, that took me weeks to finish for some reason. (Harry Potter distractions.)
Crime and its punishment has always fascinated me. I enjoying reading every kind of detective story and thriller. I have devised for my own private amusement the most ingenious ways of carrying out a murder. And Then There Were None- Agatha Christie
Book Project
Book 10-Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim.
Saturday, August 4, 2007
Graduation
Sorry for the delay. My boyfriend graduated today and his very large, very loud family is in town. There has been a plethora of food, festivities and lots of arguing about what we are doing next. I am roughly in the middle of Agatha Christie, read 1 David Sedaris story and have thumbed through a few others. I am anxious to get started, but have to take care of family business first. I am going to get it together soon.
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Done
Okay, my Harry Potter distractions are over and I am ready continue. I am only going to say I am very satisfied with the conclusion of the series and I got my closure.
I am reading And Then There Were None now; I am on p. 32, it is good but it is kind of confusing because there are so many characters to keep track of. And as you know, that is one of my biggest pet peeves.
Tomorrow I have my last final. I am stoked about having a few weeks off, but I have to try and get something productive taken care of. I think maybe I will get rid of all my useless junk and start getting ahead on my subjects for the fall. I know that is super dorky, but you are talking to a person reading 100 books for fun. Do you expect anything different? Anyway, I am sick of hating school and I want to try to give a crap again. It is hard to though once you fall into that apathetic foggy zone.
Time to feed the dog.
I am reading And Then There Were None now; I am on p. 32, it is good but it is kind of confusing because there are so many characters to keep track of. And as you know, that is one of my biggest pet peeves.
Tomorrow I have my last final. I am stoked about having a few weeks off, but I have to try and get something productive taken care of. I think maybe I will get rid of all my useless junk and start getting ahead on my subjects for the fall. I know that is super dorky, but you are talking to a person reading 100 books for fun. Do you expect anything different? Anyway, I am sick of hating school and I want to try to give a crap again. It is hard to though once you fall into that apathetic foggy zone.
Time to feed the dog.
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