So this isn't necessarily book-related. Well, actually, it isn't at all book-related, but it is life-bettering related, and that's all that matters.

Last night I had an ice cream cupcake. Yes, an ice cream cake in cupcake form. Delicious. Everything I wanted and more. Don't formulate any delusions that it's easy to eat though. It is just as problematic as it sounds. The best way to eat it (though I didn't realize this until I'd made an unfortunate mess), I think, is to eat the ice cream and frosting out of the chocolate cup, and then eat the cup. We have more, so I might decide to try that way tonight.

Almost done with The Amazing Adventure of Kavalier and Clay. Then I'll probably move on to The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest. I have a ton of library books right now, so I need to read faster.

For some reason, it seems as though everything I own gets wet at some point. It's like a rite of passage for all my possessions. So, naturally, during my (vehicular) trek to and from New York for an interview earlier this week, my water bottle popped open and emptied itself into my bag. Mercifully, the library book I had in there escaped the deluge. My lovely new copy of People of the Book, however, was not so lucky. It isn't ruined or anything, but if it had been a library book, I definitely would have had to buy a new copy for the library. I've decided that it adds character...

During the drive, I managed to finish reading The Bell Jar. Usually reading in the car makes me nauseous, but this time it was fine. I must say, I really enjoyed The Bell Jar. I've seen it described as comparable to Catcher in the Rye in the whole coming-of-age thing, and I kind of see what people mean. There were times when I really did feel a connection to Esther.

I also just finished reading The Weed that Strings the Hangman's Bag, the second book in the Flavia de Luce series. I'm usually not a huge fan of mysteries, but I guess when solved by a precocious 11-year old chemist, they capture my interest. There's one more book out right now, so I plan on getting to that one in the near future.

I just started The Anthologist. I don't really know what to think about it yet. The concept is very interesting, but it's very stream-of-consciousness and not something I expected. Given my aversion to leave a book unfinished, I plan on sticking with it.

The other day I finished The Elegance of the Hedgehog, and yesterday I finished The Girl Who Played With Fire. Both were great books.  

The Elegance of the Hedgehog wasn't really what I was expecting. Then again, I'm not sure exactly what I did expect. In any case, it mixed together the tales of a precocious 12-year old girl and a middle-aged concierge working to preserve a facade of simplicity. It was fun and the characters were generally likable. Those are really my main things when it comes to books. Do I enjoy reading them, and do I like the characters? In The Elegance of the Hedgehog, you like the characters you're supposed to like, and dislike the characters you're supposed to dislike. It's pretty straightforward, but if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

The Girl Who Played With Fire met the expectations I set based on my impression of the first book in the series. It was intriguing and, at times, surprising. Once again, I would begin reading and eventually look over at the clock and realize it was 3 in the morning. All the same, I still found it difficult to put it down. Once you get into The Girl Who Played With Fire, it's hard to stop. You simply want to know what's going to happen. I will say, I found the ending a bit abrupt. I'm left with a feeling of "OK... but now what?" Since there's another book to go, maybe I'll find out.

Now I've moved on to The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, Vanity Fair, and The Bell Jar. I'll update when I have more to say about them.

On an entirely different note, I did a little experiment today and ended up with a delicious smoothie: frozen raspberries, 1 small apple (w/ skin for the antioxidants!), and a splash of limeade. Yum!


And now back to watching the Tony awards (I taped it)!

On the edge

You know how people say that a behavior becomes a problem once you start hiding it from others? Well, I may have finally reached that point with books.

I've been looking for jobs since graduation (no such luck, but if you're hiring, let me know!) and went to the library. I did have books to pick up as well, but I ended up with quite a few extras. Since I'm currently reading around 4 books and just got 2 (oh wait, just got another one for review, so 3) books in the mail, I decided that maybe my family shouldn't see all the books I got at the library. They are hidden (albeit not very well, but putting them on an already out-of-control pile of books is pretty decent camouflage, right?), and now I have to wonder about my book addiction.

Well, at least it doesn't cause me bodily harm (except some achy arm/hand muscles from holding lots of books) or risk my life. Also, when I get them from the library, I'm not spending exorbitant amounts of money.

OK. I just talked myself into denial of my "problem." We're good.

A Room-y Review

I just finished Room by Emma Donoghue. When I started reading it, the word ‘creepy’ most frequently came to mind. Room is a terrific book, but it’s also incredibly unsettling at times. Given the general storyline, that isn’t especially surprising, but that doesn’t necessarily change anything.

Room is the story of Jack and Ma who live together in an 11 x 11 foot room. For Jack, Room is all he knows — his entire world — and everything else is just TV, not real. Only he and Ma and Old Nick, the ‘ogre’ who comes in the night to take the trash and bring the groceries, are real. Then Jack turns five and learns that things Outside are “real for real” and that there’s a whole world outside of Room.

As I mentioned, it’s incredibly unsettling at times. Even so, Room is a great read. Maybe just not when you’re in the mood for something light and fun.