Thursday, March 10, 2005

More of a Halloween thing really, but...

I'm hoping this is Flash, so it's not just another broadband-only thing and either way you'll need sound, but this is great.

Spent much of yesterday packing up stuff from my nan's bungalow, as she's gone into a care home (a nice one, just behind her old house, which, most importantly, doesn't smell like a care home ). I get custody of the books until we work out what to do with them, and took the opportunity to start reading T.E. Lawrence's 'The Seven Pillars of Wisdom' and Mr. Unknown First Name, Second Name Homer's 'The Odyssesy'. Both of which I have always meant to read. Anyway, I got a page into both (one at a time, I wasn't trying to read them simultaneously) and realized I was making the 'buhuhhhh' noise, and thinking about how to kill more stuff in World of Warcraft, so I stopped.

I hate not being able to get into proper, grown-up books. And it can't be the subject matter: deserts, WW1 and... probably Pillars, with Wisdom in them (roleplaying games do tend to give one a rather literal interpretation of life) in one, monsters, sea battles and sewing in other, and you can't ask for more than that. I just find them terribly flat to read, and dammit, I demand entertainment. Although I did also get a huge bag of filter coffee from my nan's as well, so maybe I'll regroup later on.

Yes, arguably, I should give each one more than a page before putting them on the pile of Books That Are Good For Me as opposed to Books I Will Actually Read. But it's also a mood-based thing. Plenty of books have sat around on my shelves, barely touched until one day I think: aha! maybe it's time to give Book X a go.

In the meantime, I'm going to watch semi-animated anti-folk pop videos and try and work out if I fancy the singer or not:

Regina Spektor - Us

Having watched it about seven times, I think I possibly do. Regina has a very endearing wink. Also, how many times a day do you have an excuse to say 'Regina'?

NB: That reminds me of working in Waterstone's when the Vagina Monologues came out, and lots of nice middle-class ladies wanted to buy a copy, but were a bit embarrassed about asking where in the bookshop it would be, so asked for the 'Fuh'-gina Monologues instead, because then it wouldn't sound rude. A less well-mannered and polite bookseller than myself would have made them spell it, but that seemed rather unsporting.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm more of a fan of the Iliad myself (Classics graduate) - the Odyssey is okay but it doesn't has the ass-kicking of the Iliad. Just give Book 2 a miss - it's a catalogue of all the 1000 ships that got launched for a pretty face *shudders at memory* ;)
Grown up books are your friends :)

BiScUiTs said...

That's so odd, I was thinking of adding a Book of the Week section to my blog, (you know like all good newspapers do apparently, in my attempt to create a media empire) but then I realised I haven't read any books for ages. So then I decided on reviewing magazines. But then I realised the only magazines I read are the Radio Times, and ones I borrow from my sister. I'm down to pizza leaflets now.

James Henry said...

That's what it says - "WW1". You look a bit mad now, PP.

I was really hoping the pillars wouldn't turn out to be metaphorical, and that he falls off his bike in the desert, and bangs his head on a bit of stone, and the POW! Wisdom! Whereas in fact he fell off his bike in England and it was more SPAT! Dead!

Unless I got that bit wrong as well.

James Henry said...

Also, I meant SPLAT! Not SPAT, which is just a fight over something trivial, like me and PP have over the insertion of Bolero in 'Want One', which he thinks is silly, but I know to be, in fact, genius.

Fizzy good said...

Anna Karenina is always a good one.

I just like to point out that I've read it, actually.