No More Christmas
So I must return to work tomorrow. This brings a sadness upon me. I haven’t done a huge amount with my fortnight off, but I suppose that was the idea. I’m not sure I’m ready to deal with other people- to talk to them, look at them… It sounds frightful. I’ve had a very restful break – a break not just from work but from all the stuff that happened before Christmas. It’s always hard to tell if we’re genuinely rested – I tend to sleep abominably in the run up to going back to work but with luck I’ll knock myself out on a cat or something. I have seen most of my family for at least a little while and have had much time with just my other half and our adorable cat.
Also, the joy of ‘lounge pants’ has been conferred upon me. They are Superman-styled and fuzzy; it’s like wearing an inside-out cat. They also attract Merly, so I have a furry purry lap. She’s been quite exhausted by the amount of lying down, sitting and stroking she’s received this Christmas – we have had a grand time.
There are no Christian superstitions that matter to me one jot, so it’s always disappointing to be taking down the festive decorations at the beginning of January. Thankfully it is now clear that our winter Lego diorama is a seasonal rather than Christmas setting, so that can stay. I usually keep at least one set of fairy lights through the year too. I like the pretty sparkles.
This Week
It is going to be a rather hectic week, so it’s possible I won’t even notice being back at work! Monday night is an evening of peace (and probably more Boardwalk Empire), but on Tuesday I see my improv for confidence client again (time to check on homework), Wednesday is Pub Poetry Nottingham, Thursday is Gorilla Burger, Friday is Pub Poetry Burton and on Saturday it’s a good friend’s birthday. That’s the way to do a first week back at work!
Somewhere in all of that I hope to squeeze some writing time… I’ve almost (finally) finished the next chapter of The Desert Crystals which has had a shameful absence these past few months. I’ve also photographed my Christmas Lego fun and just need to add some wordses and pictures and make them available to the loving eyes of the internet.
♥ Last Week’s Scribbles
Film Review: Frozen (2013) – I loved it, despite my fears about the awful trailer.
Lego Blog: Star Wars Advent Calendar 2013 – a good, if a bit repetitive advent calendar made up for by the minifigs.
TV: The Mentalist
The catching up has continued and we watched all the episodes of The Mentalist that we’d missed in one exciting rush. That’s brought us to the mid-season finale (?) where (*spoilers*) Patrick Jane finally slays Red John. It was all rather satisfying, showing us Jane’s characteristic arrogance, good cheer and shockingly manipulative behaviour in full effect. It seemed a bit odd that the rest of the main cast were sidelined for most of the last two episodes, handcuffed in a car.
I’m also very much hoping they haven’t really killed off Bret Stiles, the charismatic cult leader of Visualise. It’s been a great recurring role for Malcolm McDowell as well as a fun jab at the Scientologists and other loons. I’m not sure where the show has left to go now that Red John is (apparently) dead… but this is only the halfway mark of the season, and I’m pretty sure there’s a season 6 after this too. Yay?
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqm6Vn998A4&w=420&h=315]
Books
The Fat Years by Chan Koonchung
I’ve managed to get halfway through this thriller that was banned in China, but I’ve abandoned it. It’s very rare that I give up on a book but this one just feels as if it has nothing going for it. In principle it should be thrilling – lies and deception in China, government secrets and cover ups – a whole missing month and a change to the entire country’s mindset. But somehow it’s slow and tedious and it’s a genuine effort to get through a page of boring naive characters.
It may just be me, or maybe the translation but it feels leaden and completely lacks tension or intrigue – the things almost every review I can find of it tells me I should expect. I was reluctant to give up, but I needed to read something that would grip me. Maybe I’ll continue it one day.
Let The Right One In by John Ajvide Lindquist
This was what I picked up to read after giving up on The Fat Years and in terms of tension, writing and interest is its polar opposite. I’m cheerfully plowing through pages of horrible characters, killers in the woods and really really creepy children. It seems like a winner to me. I haven’t seen the film, and though I’ve heard it’s good (the original at any rate) the book is certainly excellent.
Events and Excitement
Wednesday 8th January 2014
Pub Poetry – Open Mic Comic Lit
An evening of poetry karaoke – bring your stories, poems and songs just so long as they’re funny.
The Canalhouse
Canal Street
Nottingham
8.00pm – FREE
https://www.facebook.com/events/333865666752917/
Thursday 9th January 2014
Gorilla Burger: improv comedy carnage
Jam show – a chance for anyone to get on stage, and a superb opportunity to get an idea of what Nottingham improv is all about.
The Corner
8 Stoney Street
(off Broad Street)
Nottingham
7.30pm – £4
https://www.facebook.com/events/780799861945613/
Friday 10th January 2014
Pub Poetry – Open Mic Comic Lit
An evening of poetry karaoke – bring your stories, poems and songs just so long as they’re funny.
The Old Cottage Tavern
Byrkley Street
Burton on Trent
7.30pm – FREE
0 thoughts on “We Have A Problem With Books”
I’m with you on all counts.
This is an amazing post and one that I feel I could have written, minus the humor, readability, and references to A levels. Interestingly, we also have very similar reading tastes and opinions. While I haven’t read everything that you have, I agree with all you said about those I did read. The only place we diverge is that I live in an apartment and had I not decided long ago to get rid of some books when the sheer volume of them reached a critical mass I would surely be dead, crushed under a huge pile of heavy tomes. Although I do miss certain editions I once had, overall it has worked out pretty well for me.
A couple of notes. The Doctor Who book was likely Planet of the Spiders (a less inspired title I can not imagine) and while you’re right about the later Hitchhiker books, the sequence at Milliways in the 2nd book is my favorite part of the “trilogy.”
And lastly, I also still have my copy of the Hardy Boys Survival manual and once tried to make a survival kit like they describe in the book. However, I much prefer an earlier Hardy Boys spinoff, The Hardy Boys Detective Manual, in hardcover, which came out a few years earlier, and had so many great detecting tips. all sadly useless now in the internet era.
We clearly are the finest of people! I have recently declined the opportunity to take all the books I left at my Dad’s house when I left home. It was difficult, but partly from not having seen them for years I managed to get it down from 400 or so to a mere hundredish. I don’t know where I’m going to put them…
Ah yes, that sounds exactly as terrifying a title as I recall. I seem to remember that the cover of Planet of The Spiders was too horrible for me to even want to touch. You make a good point about Milliways. It’s possible I’m conflating several of the THGGTTG books into one.
Ah! I had no idea they did more manuals. I don’t know where I got the Survival Manual, but I suspect it was a marvellous second hand bookshop in Burton on Trent that had a charming Dachshund named Carl who would bark until stroked.