The End of the Line?

I'm usually an avid promoter of reading the book before watching the movie. However, in the case of The Golden Compass, I admit...I sway the other way. I picked up the book earlier this break, tried to get into it, made it to about page five, and put it down. If I'd been about 13, it might have turned out differently.

I love children's books. It's sad that I'll probably never really get into another one. Harry Potter seems to have been the end of the line.

Even worse than an aversion to children's books - I no longer get into most books so easily. I feel like I'm more critical than most readers. Instead of falling in love with books on best seller lists...I lean more towards fact, rather than fiction...realistic books over fanciful ones. I love Russian literature, classic novels, and most things historical; they're the only ones I can't seem to fault. That's so depressing.

"Meek young men grow up in libraries, believing it their duty to accept the views which Cicero, which Locke, and which Bacon have given, forgetful that Cicero, Locke, and Bacon were only young men in libraries when they wrote those books."
--Ralph Waldo Emerson

Three Weeks

I have approximately three weeks left until the first day of second semester. Don't worry though...I've already had two syllabi e-mailed to me...and of course, both were complete with about 50 pages of reading each.

I love my life. I love my life. I love my life. Repetition is the key to believing.

I sound like a self-help book. Disturbing.

goals for the next three weeks:
1. make a New Year's resolution
2. refrain from texting any nasty text messages, as a response to those of disgusting, slimy people
3. stop going for run/walks...and instead, solely stick to runs
4. get a new license
5. finish the ever-dreaded Christmas shopping
6. read up on all of the Democratic candidates...I can't be considered an informed Democrat if I look like an idiot during the caucus...all because I was too stubborn to look beyond my favorite four.
7. stop wearing my favorite yellow, summer-ish purse
8. decide whether or not I'm running Dam to Dam
9. finish essays for D.C. internship
10. purchase the ridiculously over-priced text books that are not in the slightest bit worth their high price...and get an early start on the already assigned readings
11. put together new Panhel binder/PR plan
12. price, get approved, and finally send off those inane magnets
13. make new sorority wall calendar for the house...seeing as I haven't made a new one since October
14. figure out work schedule
15. learn how to make chili
16. actually follow through with my list

The Headmaster's Wife

I finished Jane Haddam's The Headmaster's Wife this morning. The book was a prime example of a bad editing job. It really goes show...pieces with grammatically correct text tower over the rest. I was distracted the whole way through with misused words, incorrect tenses, and never-ending run-ons. Upon hitting the first one, I tried telling myself I was just being picky. That was pure optimism; I was oh so wrong.

Setting Haddam's absolutely appalling 'red-marker' skills aside, the book wasn't half bad. The writing was catchy, holding my attention up until Part Four. It was a perfect, flaky read...quite possibly written intentionally for those of us who have a lot of time on our hands - definitely a good read for winter break.

The ending, unfortunately, was thoroughly predictable. As much as I love compiling clues and piecing them together, actually being right is disappointing; I think I saw it coming when Haddam first introduced the 'bad-guy.'

I'd give it a shaky thumb...right in the middle.

Cellar Door

The phrase cellar door, according to J. R. R. Tolkien, is the most aesthetically pleasing to the human ear. It is a phrase which contains the perfect number of open syllables, consonant clusters, vowels, stops, and starts. Projecting one of the most "intrinsically" beautiful sounds, the phrase is, by far, above the rest in both writing and speech.