Blog Addict

Lately, the only pleasure reading I've had time for are my blog subscriptions through my Google Reader. I've been building my subscription list for a couple years, starting with RSS feeds in my Outlook, moving to Bloglines (which may be coming back from the dead), and moving on to Google Reader. I would say that my subscriptions fall in three major categories: serious, wishful thinking, and guilty pleasure. I subscribe to a number of library feeds with the idea that I'm making myself a more informed future professional. Lately, I've started following a ton of design blogs. Z and I are buying a new house (fingers crossed that closing works out), and I have this idea that I'm really going to make the new place look great, and that I'll be able to do it according to my cheapskate tendencies. I also follow some cooking blogs because I like to tell myself that I'm going to start cooking more. It turns out that I'd rather read about cooking than actually cook. For the final category, I'm addicted to celebrity gossip and romance novels. Do you follow any blogs or websites?

Hoping I'm Proficient

I'm in the midst of my proficiency exam for library school. What this means is that I have two papers to write in two weeks to prove that I can be a competent member of the profession after I graduate. I'm one and half weeks into this biotch, and hoping for the best. The last few days will be a definite push to finish, since I procrastinate like crazy. Instead of spending every waking minute thinking about this test, I have spent the past week or so dreaming of post-school life. Here are just a few of the things I plan on doing in my future.

1. Decorate my house. Z and I have lived in our house for almost two years, and I still haven't figured out what to put on top of the cabinets, or finished unpacking all our boxes for that matter. Don't judge. When I have more time, I'll finally sift through my magazine clippings of great decorating ideas and gussy the joint up.

2. Tackle my reading list. It seems like I've been compiling a monster list of things to read every since I started higher ed back in 2003.

3. Learn to cook more exotic things. Not that there's anything wrong with tacos, spaghetti, and casserole, but seriously, I want to make more of an effort to try new recipes. In a perfect world, I want to attempt food that takes longer than 20 minutes to make. Nothing too gourmet, but new stuff.

4. Sew stuff. My mom gave me a sewing machine for Christmas a few years ago, and I haven't had any time to use it. Plus, my sister gave me a book of great sewing projects for home stuff (tying in with goal #1).

5. Get in ridiculous shape. Lately, working out hasn't been working out, if you know what I mean. I still run pretty regularly, but I want to be tone, darn it. This means I may have to brave the weight machines at the rec center . . .

I do realize that I will probably always be shy on time, and these may be pipe dreams. Anyone else have things you'd love to squeeze into your busy schedule?

Flannery O'Downer, I mean, O'Connor

Over the weekend, I finished Flannery O'Connor's short story collection, A Good Man is Hard to Find. I'd read two of the stories for a class I took several years ago, and thought I'd read some of her other stuff. Thank goodness this wasn't a novel, because I think I would have needed some kind of intervention. The stories are really good, don't get me wrong, but Ms. O'Connor is pretty dark. If someone doesn't die in the story, it's because they've been swindled or hosed by someone else.

I think my favorite story in the collection was the final one, "The Displaced Person," in part because there's a peacock, and the description is amazing:

The priest let his eyes wander toward the birds. They had reached the middle of the lawn. The cock stopped suddenly and curving his neck backwards, he raised his tail and spread it with a shimmering timbrous noise. Tiers of small pregnant suns floated in a green-gold haze over his head. The priest stood transfixed, his jaw slack. Mrs. McIntyre wondered where she had ever seen such an idiotic old man. "Christ will come like that!" he said in a loud gay voice and wiped his hand over his mouth and stood there, gaping.

Rainy Days

The weather this week has been kind of drizzly and glum, but still better than the May snow showers from last week. I actually like the rain--the only way it would be better is if I could stay home and veg out on the couch. Instead, I'm hard at work (don't think too hard about this statement. I can be hard at work and blogging at the same time!). The weather must be keeping the criminals at home, because it's been a little slow at the office. I've been spending the week expanding a reading list that's already unreasonably long.

I finished The English Patient this week by Michael Ondatjee. My review is posted on Goodreads, but it's a little lame. I keep thinking my reviews will get better, but so far, no dice. Anyway, the book was great. Lots of different points of view and perspectives on World War II. Also, some morphine addiction. Between Infinite Jest and this book, one would think that I'm into drugs. If you've seen "The Hurt Locker," I think you would like this book. There's a lot of bomb disarming that's pretty interesting. Now I'm on to Flannery O'Connor short stories, which I like, but they're a little depressing. I'll have to follow up with something that's more positive about human nature. Suggestions?

Nooooo!

Well, shoot. Amazon is moving the free downloads to a new list. Before I read the article, I was mad, but apparently, they're just splitting free downloads from the bestseller list. My main fear at this point is that publishers will not see the value in providing the free downloads as a promotion. What will all of us cheapskates do?

School's out for summer (at least until summer classes start)

I'm not technically done with class until the end of this week, but I'm done enough that I've been able to read a surprising amount of smut is a short amount of time. I hit the Kindle freebie jackpot last week when there were two historical romances on the bestseller list for $0.00. I read one on Saturday, and one on Sunday, and felt as if all was right in the world.

My major accomplishment is that I finally finished Infinite Jest. This has been a project almost a year in the making, and for those of you who have seen this beast, you know why. The book is almost a thousand pages long with 300 endnotes, but worth it. I have been reading it in fits and starts, mostly because it takes some time to get into, and I don't have a lot of time to spare with my oh-so-fun school reading. The book is about addicts, entertainment, and tennis (in a nutshell). It's no surprise that I have a hankering to take up tennis now. I've also found myself wondering how people give up controlled substances, because from the book, it sounds terrible and way hard. I can't even give up cookies, which is probably why they are the hardest substance I consume.

Next on the reading binge includes The English Patient, some kind of Christian-esque contemporary romance I've been reading on the treadmill, and whatever else comes my way.

Anyone else with big summer plans or summer books waiting to be read?

North and South review

Recently, I read North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell on onlineliterature.com (one of my favorite sites EVER). I enjoyed the book, but caught myself doing some major skimming. Gaskell wrote this for publication in a magazine, which may account for its length. Parts of the story drag on with LOTS of detail. Gaskell wraps up the story pretty quickly, and I found myself wishing she had edited out some of the description to focus more on the characters. Margaret and Mr. Thornton go from hating each other to loving each other too quickly, and more exploration of the relationship's development would have been nice. My reaction is probably related to the contemporary romances I read where the authors never mess around with too much description. Just another example of how smut has warped my brain :)

*This review is also posted to my Goodreads page.

Primetime, baby

DVR could very well be ruining my life. Now, I realize you may be thinking this is a little dramatic, but DVR has definitely changed my television viewing habits. What this all boils down to is that I have a mean addiction to American Idol this season. In the past, I watched the first auditions and maybe the finale, but this season, thanks to DVR, I have not missed an episode. It turns out that American Idol complements my morning bagel and cup of coffee quite nicely. Since I have to reserve my evenings for dreaded school reading (damn you metadata!), any show I want to watch has to be recorded and squeezed in at other times. Not that I'm complaining, mind you, because I do love fast forwarding through commercials. It's just that I'm a little embarrassed at some of my guilty-pleasure tv shows. Z and other assorted friends make fun of how much of my current event conversations stem from something that I saw on Regis and Kelly. The reason I'm publishing this to the world wide web is that my lingering belief that I'm not the only one with an embarrassing saved show list on my DVR. Who else wants to come clean?

I'm a Lazy Blogger

It's been so long since I posted that I've had a hard time mustering up the motivation to write something. Last weekend, I finished a novel on my Kindle that I liked so much that I will not be taking it off my Kindle for a while. I think part of the reason that I liked this novel so much was that I downloaded it for FREE (nothing makes my miser heart go pitter-patter like a free book). I think it may have only been free for a promotional period, because I was looking on Amazon the other day and noticed that it is selling for $8 or $9 now.

Crossroads Cafe by Deborah Smith follows Thomas and Cathryn as they deal with events that have changed their lives. Cathryn is a movie star known for her good looks, but a car wreck leaves her with serious burn scars. Thomas is an alcoholic who tries to cope with some lingering guilt after his wife and son die on 9/11. The two of them are brought together by the Crossroads Cafe, a diner in the North Carolina mountains (I know, I know, my plot summaries suck).

Anyway, the book is a little romantic, but more focused on dealing with personal demons. The dialogue is funny and the relationships feel genuine. Let's just say it's a slightly fluffy book worth reading. Typically, I read books on my Kindle when I'm working out, and this book was good enough that my walking cool-down was stretching from five minutes to fifteen, just so I could finish one more chapter. I'll add that I never have the same problem putting down my textbooks. Maybe Deborah Smith should start writing about information organization.

Time flies

The holiday break is pretty much over. I didn't get much of a break since I have to pretend to be an adult now and work, but Z had to start classes this morning. Technically, he had to work over the break too, so I suppose the good 'ole days of a month-long vacations are over.

Neither Z or I have finished the book for Lover Book Club, and since our one and only book club meeting was supposed to take place over the break, we may be out of luck. Both of us are close to finishing the book, (Lonesome Dove, FYI), but the final chapters are sad and I'm not ready to say goodbye to some of my favorite characters. After an expensive holiday season, it looks like the next book club selection will be some kind of financial planning book. Useful, yes, fun, no.

As for my New Year's cooking resolution, well, I still have some work to do. I have clipped some recipes from magazines and blown dust off cookbooks that I forgot I owned. I'm calling this "necessary preparation" before I actually start cooking. I also watched Julie & Julia, which I'm also considering prep for this adventure.

Any one else have some fun New Year's resolutions to share?