February 2011
11 posts
“The primary duty of literature is to tell us the truth about ourselves by telling us lies about people who never existed”
—Stephen King (via greeneyelashwishes)
2011 - Year of the Comfort Book
2011 is not the year of a book-a-week, nor is it the year of more than a book-a-week (for those people who think that I’m trying to be sneaky!). I’m not really sure what 2011 is, but what I do know is that now that I’m not racing through a truckload of new books all the time, I can finally slow down and revisit some of my old favorites again. And again, and again, and again. Oh, and again. And yes, if you’re wondering, reading the same book (i.e. Charing Cross Road) every week for all of February falls into that category.
You see, I’m a creature of habit; I like routine, I like repetition, and I like to stick with the things that have been good to me in the past. Much like how we are drawn to certain comfort foods that seem to elicit a sense of warmth and safety, I have certain comfort books that do the same (without turning me into a complete glutton).
Looking forward to revisiting these old friends in 2011:
- Marley & Me, John Grogan
- Thank You For Smoking, Christopher Buckley
- Ender’s Game, Orson Scott Card
- The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
- Chocolat, Joanne Harris
- The Namesake, Jhumpa Lahiri
- The Art of Racing in the Rain, Garth Stein
- Tuesdays with Morrie, Mitch Albom
- Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
- Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
- A Prayer for Owen Meany, John Irving
- 84, Charing Cross Road, Helene Hanff (… AND AGAIN!)
And then having some chicken noodle soup too!
Super Bowl Sunday
Sunday night. The Packers win the Super Bowl and Aaron Rodgers wins MVP. Cool, now what? Time to sneak in a quick read, that’s what. Spontaneous? Maybe. Reckless? You know it. But that’s the type of person I am. I grab life by the horns and go for it.
And Kite Runner, you were so worth my Sunday night. Puffy eyes the next day and all.
What can I say? Fortune favors the bold.
… I love this book!
Maybe I should be a librarian?
- Books make me incredibly happy.
- Its ridiculous.
- I get so giddy, walking into a library or bookstore.
- Like a child in a Toys ’R Us
- I wear glasses (sometimes)
- I like to wear my hair in a bun.
- I like to tell people to shut up.
Wednesday night poem
He Wishes For The Cloths Of Heaven
Had I the heavens’ embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half-light,
I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.
William Butler Yeats
“I use Little Women as a security blanket if I’m feeling down. I know its moralising tone is highly unfashionable nowadays, but I find it totally comforting. Do the right thing, even when you don’t want to. Cut off your hair, and give away your Christmas breakfast; try and be the better person and all will be well. Or, if that doesn’t work, do exactly what Jo does and hide in a garret with a book and a bag of apples.”
—
Jenny Colgan, comic
Source: The Telegraph’s The healing power of Jane Austen
