Intervention time?

I lack any semblance of self-control. I went to the library today (not my usual day, but that's a separate issue) and may have gone a little insane.

I took out 13 books. Now that in and of itself is a bit ridiculous. So when you take into account the fact that I already had around 6 books checked out, I think it's time to come up with a new adjective.

So yea....

I do have a theory though. You know how they say you shouldn't go to the grocery store when you're hungry? I think maybe there's something similar at work with me at the library. I went there right after spending a while online looking at books and reading about books, and then off I went to the library and immediately saw like 5 books that I had been thinking about. 

I have so many books and I'm kind of ridiculously excited. I should probably get some other stuff done before I get lost in my new finds though... *sigh* my life is so difficult.

The internet is my enabler

It also convinces me that I'm not the only crazy person out there.

Someone on goodreads posted this and after reading it I just had to share it: 75 Signs You're a Bibliophile.

I don't necessarily agree with all of them, but it's amusing nonetheless.

Number 27 is particularly hilarious to me since last semester I shared my room with a large, black cockroach who I immediately christened Gregor. People made fun of me, so it's kind of reassuring that I'm not actually the only one.

On another note, I finished Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. It was amusing, but that's really all I can say. I acknowledge that not everyone loves Jane Austen and not every Austen fan loves Pride and Prejudice, but I do love it and P&P&Zombies was just... weird. So that wasn't a real review. Sorry.

I also finished The Time Traveler's Wife. In the beginning it was not at all what I was expecting, but I kept reading (like I had a choice. everyone knows about my must-finish-book-compulsion, right?) and I'm really glad that I did. Once I got into it, the book just kept drawing me further and further into the story. I really cared, which is always a good thing in a book. The Time Traveler's Wife was interesting and touching and heartbreaking and inspiring and a bunch of other adjectives commonly used to describe really good books. I'd definitely recommend it.

Among everything under the sun, right now I'm reading Sense & Sensibility, Lunar Park, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, and probably a few other books whose names currently escape me. I also went to the library yesterday and picked up another 5 books. Yes, I know I have a problem....

Proof that I'm a Crazy Person (among other things)

I just saw a commercial for Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore and cackled like… well, like a crazy person, for about 5 minutes. I’m still not sure what was actually so funny, but I was laughing for quite some time and I couldn’t stop.

In other news, I’ve finished some books since last we met.

A few days ago I finished Bret Easton Ellis’s first book, Less Than Zero. This is the book he wrote while he was still in college. It was published when he was 20. Perhaps it’s the manifestation of bitterness due to the fact that he was published by 20 and I’ve done nothing with my life and have no plans for my future (this is the main subject of my bi-weekly freak-out), but I found something… lacking. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good book and I’d encourage others to read it, but it did feel a little bit like he was trying too hard to be laid back. In Less Than Zero Clay is sort of like a modern-day (or 80’s day?) Holden Caufield. Or maybe Less Than Zero is like a modern/80’s-day Catcher in the Rye. Something like that. It is what it is. I guess that’s all I can say for now. I just started reading Lunar Park, which is another book by Bret Easton Ellis, but from a later period in his career (The Informers, which I read first is actually a sort of collection of short stories, many of which he wrote before Less Than Zero). I’m barely into it, so I guess I’ll let you know once I have a better grasp on what I think.

Oh dear lord, it happened again. I need to stop watching channels where they advertise for the same movies over and over again. Where was I…?

Catching up on books. Right.

Earlier this month I read The Angel’s Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. I really enjoyed reading this book. It was great; filled with intrigue and interesting characters and all that good stuff. I would definitely recommend it. That being said, be prepared for some frustration. Throughout the book the reader accumulates a great deal of questions and not all of them get answered. Honestly, I think I ended up more confused after finishing the book than at any other time while reading. The confusion I experienced didn’t detract from my personal reading experience, but I can see how it would for some people, so I guess I recommend it for most people, but keep the lack of answers in mind?

I’ve been more into non-fiction recently than in the past and in my blogging hiatus I also finished A History of Celibacy by Elizabeth Abbott. Don’t give me that look, I was intrigued. Abbott examines celibacy throughout history and across the globe. It’s really interesting how people have chosen celibacy for such a wide variety of reasons, and yet there are many common threads through history and in many different cultures and religions. It was well-written and I found it interesting. I guess I recommend it if you’re into that kind of thing.

Yesterday I finished The Complete Maus by Art Spiegelman. This book has been on my list forever, so I was glad to finally get to it. It wasn’t really what I expected, but I enjoyed reading it. Well, ‘enjoyed’ might not be exactly the right word since the book is about the Holocaust, but I think you know what I mean. Spiegelman shares his father’s story, but he intertwines it with scenes from his own life as he tries to compile his father’s memories while dealing with his wandering attention and constant complaints. The combination of his father’s story with the more current interpersonal struggles between family members is something that I didn’t initially expect, but kind of made it stand apart from other Holocaust accounts in a way that its classification as a graphic novel doesn’t. The Complete Maus shows the horrors of what millions went through during the Holocaust, but it also shows the after-effects. Many of his father’s characteristics that Spiegelman find so frustrating seem to result from the horrors he experienced during the Third Reich. The Complete Maus is not just a survivor’s account of the horrors of the past, it is also an account of present (and possibly future?) pain associated with surviving and, to some degree, not having to survive.

OK, that’s all for now. I’m off to read some more and then sleep so I can get up bright and early to go to my math class… bleh.

Ooops...

So the part of me that is on top of everything remembered that today was the last day to submit my "visiting student' application for the summer math class that I need to take to fulfill my quantitative requirement.

Too bad the part of me that's a complete mess forgo that the class starts this Monday. Now I need to wait for them to confirm everything so that I can register. I also need to work out some sort of payment plan and possibly take out a loan because the class is more expensive than I thought and I am broke. Did I mention that it's going to take 24 business hours? Yea. I'm reeeeeeal good at this.

I guess I'll just go to the class on Monday and say that I did my stuff on Friday, so it probably just hasn't shown up yet.

Ugh. Stupid math requirements.

In other news, my life might be substantially easier next semester/year than originally anticipated, but more on that later.

Back to reading/watching Say Yes to the Dress (don't judge me).

Update

I feel as though I'm neglecting the blog.

It's a new and exciting form of guilt.

Anyway, I'm reading a bunch of stuff and you'll get reviews/ramblings sooner or later. Tomorrow is Friday, which means I have nothing that I am required to do. And so I shall sleep and read. Ideally I would attempt to organize my room and my books, but I've decided to be realistic and acknowledge that if I even get dressed tomorrow, I'll probably only leave the house for food or, possibly, to go to the library to get even more books (yes, I know I have a problem and no, I don't intend to do anything about it).

So there you go. That's my update. As you were...

Save New Moon (no, this has nothing to do with Twilight)!

I was just stalking the other blogs I read and it looks like New Moon needs help. It's a magazine that helps empower young girls and all that. I read it as a pre-teen and really liked it. So buy a membership for the pre-teen girls in your life or donate or whatever, or just help get the word out. For a decent part of my adolescence, I eagerly awaited each new copy of New Moon. It's a great magazine with a great ideal and message. Let's keep it going. Save New Moon!

Guess what, I read another book!

I finished People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks earlier today when I got up at the ass-crack of the middle of the morning to watch the Argentina vs. Germany game that started at 10:30 and not 9:30 like the other games and holy crap 4-0!

Sorry. Got distracted.

So. People of the Book. I really enjoyed this one. First of all, it’s basically a book about people who love books. My kind of people, my kind of book. The overarching story is that of the Sarajevo Haggadah and Brooks weaves an intricate web of stories throughout the history of this book and the people with whom it came in contact. People of the Book is a little bit mystery, a little bit historical fiction, and a lot bit something else that I can’t exactly place.

There was so much I wanted to say about this book because I really enjoyed it, but now I don’t know how to say it in a manner that is even mildly coherent. The bottom line is: this book was great. I loved the characters and the different stories. The mystery of the anomalies and the personal stories of all the characters that came in contact with the Haggadah as it changed hands and traveled around the world pulled me in. I devoured People of the Book and now all I want to do is read more books like it. So yea, needless to say, I highly recommend it. Read it. Now.