merely talk

So I'm thinking I should start to worry about the good ole blog. It seems to be less and less about my life and more of a knitting/reading blog. I guess it's the basic evolution of such things. My life lately has mostly consisted of knitting, reading, going to school and going to work...so I guess it makes sense that that's what I write about.

Anyway, here's a hat I knit. The yarn was bought on a whim, and the hat made out of necessity, since I lost the one I made last year. I still have a lot of the yarn left and I just loved the subtlety of the colours. My winter coat is big, long and pink and as such, I feel all of my accessories should tone it down as much as possible.

As for the reading, I thank all who gave me suggestions of books to read. All are now on hold at the library. I've been reading like crazy for the last few weeks, and the giant pile of books by my bed has lessoned some what. Of course I have the bad habit of bringing two books home for every book I return. But whatever.

Anyway I've decided to make this blog entry an interactive experience. I would love if both my readers would do me a favour. What is your favourite three books of the moment? I would say favourites of all time, but I know how often my tastes change, and I am often paralyzed by indecision when asked to name my favourite anything.

But if I can do this, I think y'all can too.

So mine are (these are just off the top of my head, and I guarantee, I'll want to change them as soon as I press the publish button, but c'est la vie):

1) Unless by Carol Shields
2) Enchantment by Orson Scott Card
3) Persuasion by Jane Austin.

Okay, your turn.

So...

I finished the first book on the list. I admit putting this one on there was a bit of a cheat. It's one I've been pretty desperate to read, and would have read quickly regardless of a New Years resolution. And the whole point of the list was to force me to read books I don't necessarily want to read, but feel I should read. But whatever, I choose to view the reading of Lucky by Alice Sebold as a way of easing my way into reading all these books. And what a fantastic start I must say.

Now the book isn't an easy one to read. Don't get me wrong, it's not her writing style that makes it difficult, but the content. This book is a true story of Miss. Sebold's rape and beating one night while she was a freshman at university and the subsequent events that unfolded. It actually reminded me quite a bit of her book The Lovely Bones, which she wrote afterwards, because it shows how this one moment in time, changed not only her life, but those around her. From her friends who could no longer relate to her, to her family who didn't know how to treat her.

The book chronicles her life up to 15 years after the rape and tells of the trial of her rapist and the subsequent drinking and drug abuse she dabbled in.

All in all a difficult and engrossing read. I barely slept the night I started this book, because I was so enthralled. It's been awhile since a book has inspired me to spend my day exhausted.

So 1 down, 11 to go. I hope the rest are as good as this one.

* just a note, I'm always surprised what words blogger spell check doesn't recognize. It won't recognize "blog" for goodness sake. But to tell me "rapist" is not a word seems strange, it's almost like the spell checker believes that if it doesn't acknowledge something, it doesn't exist. I think I'd like to live in the spell checkers world.

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In other news, school has officially restarted. YAY!

I had one crappy class on Monday, which I have now dropped, but all three of the classes I had yesterday were lots of fun. Which makes me happy and excited about the year. And so far I only have one, optional, essay. Huzzah!

Of course it could still ALL GO WRONG. I have my night class tonight, and who knows it could either make or break the semester. And unlike my Monday class, I must take it. ACK! But I have hope. I've only heard good things about the prof, the subject matter sounds interesting (animal intelligence...oooohhh!) and I actually like three hour classes. We will see...and I will keep you my dear reader up to date.

I went to see this freaky and awesome movie tonight at the metro. It was called Mirrormask and comes from the nutter mind of one Neil Gaimen. It was partly animated, partly not and totally grand.

The tale, in brief, is of a young girl who is a pretty funky artist, who one night awakens in her art work instead of her bed and must travel throughout the two cities she created to find a way to make it back into her real world. It was one of the most stunningly beautiful movies I'd ever seen and I have a feeling that even if I watched it a million times I still would see something new with each viewing. In the background there was so much going on, fish flying through the air, cat like creatures with wings, swirls of colour and a lot of play between darkness and light.

So if you get the chance to see this small film you should go. I recommend it and my recommendations are usually very good, unless you're a customer at my store and you annoy me. Then I'll tell you to read the Da Vinci Code.

Alright kids, as many of you know I spend many a hour a week tolling away at a bookstore for mere scraps. It's fun work though, mostly because I'm surrounded by a large quantity of one of my favourite inventions. The printed word really is an amazing device. It's amazing what words can evoke and even the most crappily written book (ie The Da Vinci Code) can inspire people's imagination. I've always felt that books make us better people, just by expanding our world view for a few hours. It's nice, the whole walking in another's shoes, can easily be accomplished through the work of a good book.

Since I've started working at the bookstore I've noticed the amount I've been reading has also increased. Perhaps it's because I have less of a social life here in Edmonton than I did last year in Vancouver, or perhaps it's because of the easy access provided by my store and library. Or it could just be that the timing is right. The last few months I've read some great books: Rats Saw God by Rob Thomas (of Veronica Mars fame, not Matchbox 20), In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, Slaughterhouse Five, Kurt Vonnegut, The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold, The Good Vibrations Guide to Sex (oops....how did that one make it in there....) and Unless by Carol Shields (which may be one of my favourite books of all time) to name just a few. It's been a lot of fun, and even though I've read some clunkers (Love Creeps by Amanda Filipacchi, and I must be the only person who doesn't really like the Lemony Snicket books) it's been worth it. My mind has been blown.

So as a third, most likely achievable, New Years resolution, I have picked out 12 books I wish to read by the end of the year. This is not to mean that I'll only be reading 12 books in the year, hardly, I have three books on the go right now (Good Omens, The Roaring Girl, and The Professor and the Madman...all AWESOME!), but that by the end of the year I will have read all 12 of them. Some are books I've just been meaning to read for years, but just haven't gotten too yet, some are books I think I should read for my continued education and some are on there just for the hell of it. I don't think any of them are going to be particularily easy to read. There's no Nick Hornby on her or Coupland, both of who I can read in a day, but I think they are all acheivable for me at this time of my life. Overall I think it's a pretty complete list, with a good showing of classics, non-fictions and those pesky Canadians. My progress will be reported on the blog.

So the list in absolutely no order whats-so-ever:

1.) Lucky by Alice Sebold (I absolutely loved her book The Lovely Bones as mentioned above, and this one is a true story about some nasty stuff she went through in Uni.)

2.) Vanity Fair by William Thackary (Been meaning to read this for years...and afterwards I can watch the movie and complain about how it wasn't true to the book.)

3.) The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton (Okay I know I HATED Ethan Frome by her, but that was less to do with her writing style and more to do with the plot. I feel I should giver her another chance, you dig?)

4.) Music for Chameleons by Truman Capote (He had my heart with Lola a great short story I read in school. I may have to read the Complete Short Stories instead though, mostly because the public library doesn't have this book.)

5.) Anything by Dorothy Parker, most likely a collection of Short Stories. (I really wanted to read the Portable Dorothy Parker but neither the Public or University Library has it. Sigh.)

6.) Pale Fire by Nabakov (It was recommended and it sounds cool, and all the hipster boys are always coming into the store requesting him...and I can no longer impress them with my Heller or Vonnegut recommendations.)

7.) Penelopied by Margie Atwood (I'm a sucky for historical retellings from women's points of view.)

8.) Book of Mercy by Leonard Cohen (You love his music, now read his book!)

9.) The Wars by Timothy Findley (I've taken this out of the library twice and yet to get to it before it's due, I swear by Dec 31st 2006 I will have read it!)

10.) The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner (We had a really beautiful copy of this book before Christmas, but it was sold before I got a chance to read it. So on to the list it goes.)

11.) The Second Sex by Simone De Bouvoir (One of the originals, I feel I must read her.)

12.) Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald (I am a great lover of The Great Gatsby and I've been meaning to move on to his other books for 7 years now, don't you think it's about time I did that?)

I wanted to put Freakonomics and A Million Little Pieces on this list but since I am numbers 109 and 576 respectively in the holds line for these books, I doubt I'll get them this year. (Well maybe Freakonomics, but definitely not A Million Little Pieces.)


So there she is . Wish me luck, or alternatively if anyone has read any of these let me know what you think of 'em.

Toodles!

After many a hour furiously knitting, I finished Amy's birthday present with hours to go. Go me!

So I've returned to the land of winter. My trip was delightfully uneventful. I got to relax and sleep and see some awesome people. So big hugs to Amanda, Anna, and Katty for venturing BC Ferries to come chill with me.

Overall it was a great way to end the year, and get ready for the fresh start that comes with a brand new year.

Speaking of the New Year, I've got myself a few resolutions figured out. The first one is my usual New Years resolution, to lose weight and eat better. The second one is to be nicer to people around me. To really try to be a better person. We'll see how that one goes. I honestly think dieting is going to be easier than being nice. But I guess that's the point of resolutions. They shouldn't be easy, and they should make a positive difference in your life. And now that mine are posted for everyone to see, I guess I'll have to stick to them.

Happy 2006 everyone. I have great hope for this year. I hope it's awesome for everyone.