Potter, Austen and Bourne

I did nothing today except dwell in the lives of others. I read Harry Potter (finished re-reading book 6 and began book 7), saw Becoming Jane at the movies (Fantastic! I am still sad about it and I want to re-read all the Austen books), and watched The Bourne Supremacy on TV (to prep for my viewing of the 3rd film later this month).

I have to say, it was NICE.

Not that my life is awful or anything. It isn't. In fact, it's been pretty good lately. But since I am in the midst of my longest official summer break since I was in college, I felt like indulging. And today, indulging meant watching others experiences. While eating a rice crispy treat.

Oh, I also bought my crappy books for the next stupid semester. This is something I've been dreading and carefully putting it off until nearly the last minute. I am not ready for it all to begin again. No way.

Wait...I bought my school books this morning...maybe that is why I then chose to spend the rest of the day in worlds that are not my own. Maybe I am trying to ignore my dread about the stress and work that lies ahead. Something about "ignorance being blissful" and denial comes to mind, but I will think about that some other day. Now, I must get back to Mr. Potter.

A 300 Page Paperback

I've been in a book club for about 4.5 years now. It's been so much fun, and I've read so many great books I wouldn't have read otherwise. Some of those books, in fact, I would now call favorites,

Tonight was my last official (in-person) book club meeting. I'm going to try and keep it up from the left coast via Skype (an internet conferiencing program). Hopefully it will work out, but I fear finding the time to keep up with the reading will be tough.

I have sort of been acting as the historian of the book club. My official responsibilities meant keeping a list of all the books we've read. Miss J asked that I post it somewhere online, so here it is. It's quite a list, and it spans all kinds of different authors, generations, experiences. In a sense I feel like I've lived each of these books. Sharing them with the other book club members has only added to the experience, and I'm thankful for it all.

(I am too lazy to italicize and link each title. Sorry. Search for it manually on Amazon if you're interested. The list begins with the book most recently read and goes backwards. Some books were fantastic. Others, not so much. If you have questions about which ones we liked and didn't, email me.)

The Namesake, Jhumpa Lahiri
A Blessed Event, John Reynolds Page
The Memory Keepers Daughter, Kim Edwards
Lamb, Christopher Moore
Paint it Black, Janet Fitch
100 Years of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
The Devil in the White City, Erik Larsen
Shantaram, Gregory David Roberts
On Beauty, Zadie Smith
The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini
The Dogs of Babel, Carolyn Parkhurst
The Magician's Nephew (Book 4, Chronicles of Narnia), C.S. Lewis
Identity, Milan Kundera
Scarlett Pimpernel, Baroness Orczy
Reading Lolita in Tehran, Azar Nafisi
The Known World, Edward P Jones
The Orchid Thief, Susan Orlean
The Instance of the Fingerpost, Iain Pears
The Time Traveler's Wife, Audrey Niffenegger
Love Monkey, Kyle Smith
Unless, Carol Sheilds
The Confessions Max Tivoli, Andrew Sean Greer
Sula, Toni Morrison
A Moveable Feast, Ernest Hemingway
The Five People You Meet in Heaven, Mitch Albom
The Things They Carried, Tim O'Connor
East of Eden, John Steinbeck
Bel Canto, Ann Patchett
The Curious Incident of the Dog at Midnight, Mark Haddon
Book of Illusions, Peter Auster
A Fine Balance, Rohinton Mistry
When They Were Orphans, Kazuo Ishiguro
Five Quarters of the Orange, Joanne Harris
Auntie Mame, Patrick Dennis
Crimson Petal and the White, Michel Faber
The Corrections, Jonathan Franzen
The Virgin Suicides, Jeffrey Eugenides
Sister of My Heart, Chitra Divakaruni
Man and Boy, Tony Parsons

Dueling Philosphies

I keep forgetting that it's Valentine's day. I guess I am just preoccupied with other thoughts. My day isn't full of love and pink, it is full of sore muscles and structure. Wake up, workout, go to work, go to school. The structure is punctuated with thoughts of food. I feel like eating lots of it, but I have only brought oatmeal and cliff bars and veggies with me. I am still dreaming of the fabulous Indian meal I had last night. I want more of it. I am also trying to decide if/when I should drop one of the classes I am taking. CMB convinced me to go tonight at least. We'll be doing venous punctures on mannequins. He says it's good practice, even if I will have to learn how later regardless. He has a point, but then, not going would be really nice too. My right arm still sports a large bruise where a nurse botched up a blood test last week. It hurts and it kind of turns me off to the idea of learning how to impose such bruises on other people. Well, it turns me off to the idea TODAY at least. In regards to this situation, I am stuck between the philosophy of "learn as much as you can, be the best you can be, NOW" and "why work hard today when you'll be working so hard later?" Hmm....which one to pick and run with....

Recommendations:

Mr.FOB is a super cool organization that introduces you to various ethnic foods. It takes you to the best places, provides insight into dishes not normally served here, and provides some knowledge as to the way the food should be eaten. I joined up for the Indian meal they hosted last night and was blown away at how good it was. I eat a lot of Indian food, both locally and during my time in England, and I never had any of these specific dishes. And the best part? Mr. FOB was created by a friend of mine and her fellow students attending business school right now. I love supporting the new, cool things my friends do!

I just finished reading The Memory Keeper's Daugher. It was really good. It wasn't a White Oleander, Bel Canto, Fall on Your Knees kind of good, but it was enjoyable and interesting. It deals with secrets and how they can affect the lives of everyone involved. It gave some relevant, good insight into the human psyche, and in many ways I identified with portions of the experience and with pieces of the emotion at play.