on the bathroom wall
It's amazing, how quickly this summer has passed. All I really have to show for my four months off from school are a very deep tan and a somewhat fattened bank account. I suppose spending so many useless hours operating rides at an amusement park runs the clock down.
I am desperate to be done work. Three more shifts and then a loooong (and much deserved, if I am to be very honest - work has done me in completely) family vacation in the North Carolina mountains. Which, yay. I need some poolside reading time right about now.
And speaking of reading - oh, I'm the queen of segues, aren't I clever - ...
Book #20
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
Summary: Richard is drawn into the mysterious world of five fellow students when he joins an exclusive Classics class at his new Vermont college.
My Thoughts: Totally and completely absorbing, but only past the halfway mark. This is a book that was extremely popular when it first came out - one of those “wunderkind” type novels, I believe. It is very similar to Special Topics in Calamity Physics, though it’s been around much longer. It’s not quite as quirky but it is very intelligent. References to ancient Greek writers and obscure theorists abound. The characters are interesting, but we never learn much about them - Tartt lets them remain smoke and shadow, I suppose for the beautiful effect it produces.
Book #21
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
Summary: The seventh and final book in the Harry Potter series. Do you need more of a summary than that?
My Thoughts: Loved it. There’s nothing more I can really say without getting very, very fangirl. It kept me guessing even though a lot of “surprising revelations” weren’t so surprising after all. It was satisfying - Rowling delivered on a lot of things that I felt had been promised, in previous books. Aside from giggling a little bit at the sheer fluffiness of the epilogue, I loved nearly every page of this book. And now I’m just sad it’s over.
Book #22
Volkswagen Blues by Jacques Poulin
Summary: A writer goes on a road trip in search of his missing brother.
My Thoughts: My summaries get more and more half-assed with every book I finish. I’m sick of trying to sum up funny, strange, beautiful novels in one sentence, and Volkswagen Blues really qualifies for every one of those adjectives. A slim book, it nevertheless took me a while to read, as every chapter provokes introspection and admiration. A great road-trip novel combined with wise thoughts about the colonization of North America, the American frontier myth, and family ties.
Book #23
The Nanny Diaries by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus
Summary: A New York City nanny gets a job working for the highly demanding X family watching four-year-old Grayer.
My Thoughts: I read this very quickly - it is absorbing and quite funny in places. However, I can’t call it an outright comedy as I was actually disturbed by the level of parental neglect poor Grayer endured. I think the writers tried to play it for laughs when really it was appalling and sad most of the time. Still, a highly enjoyable novel.
I've been pretty slow at reading, actually, this summer. I think the reason I never make my reading goal for the year is because I do a lot of re-reads and don't count them on the eventual list. In the past two weeks, for example, I've re-read some Harry Potters as well as two Ann Patchett books.
In any case, I'm nearly finished The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova (disappointing so far) and I have a slew of books waiting, as I went book shopping and borrowing this weekend.
It's so lovely to have two days off in a row. I'm dreading my last three shifts. Although I find that I've become so immersed in the little soap opera world of my amusement park colleagues, I think about work almost obsessively when I'm away. I think it's because I spend so many hours there - we work very long shifts, ten to twelve hours - and do so much repetitive work - pressing the same set of buttons over and over, for example, or making the same "safety first" speech sixty times an hour. Getting back to school and intellectual work will almost be a relief.
I am desperate to be done work. Three more shifts and then a loooong (and much deserved, if I am to be very honest - work has done me in completely) family vacation in the North Carolina mountains. Which, yay. I need some poolside reading time right about now.
And speaking of reading - oh, I'm the queen of segues, aren't I clever - ...
Book #20
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
Summary: Richard is drawn into the mysterious world of five fellow students when he joins an exclusive Classics class at his new Vermont college.
My Thoughts: Totally and completely absorbing, but only past the halfway mark. This is a book that was extremely popular when it first came out - one of those “wunderkind” type novels, I believe. It is very similar to Special Topics in Calamity Physics, though it’s been around much longer. It’s not quite as quirky but it is very intelligent. References to ancient Greek writers and obscure theorists abound. The characters are interesting, but we never learn much about them - Tartt lets them remain smoke and shadow, I suppose for the beautiful effect it produces.
Book #21
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
Summary: The seventh and final book in the Harry Potter series. Do you need more of a summary than that?
My Thoughts: Loved it. There’s nothing more I can really say without getting very, very fangirl. It kept me guessing even though a lot of “surprising revelations” weren’t so surprising after all. It was satisfying - Rowling delivered on a lot of things that I felt had been promised, in previous books. Aside from giggling a little bit at the sheer fluffiness of the epilogue, I loved nearly every page of this book. And now I’m just sad it’s over.
Book #22
Volkswagen Blues by Jacques Poulin
Summary: A writer goes on a road trip in search of his missing brother.
My Thoughts: My summaries get more and more half-assed with every book I finish. I’m sick of trying to sum up funny, strange, beautiful novels in one sentence, and Volkswagen Blues really qualifies for every one of those adjectives. A slim book, it nevertheless took me a while to read, as every chapter provokes introspection and admiration. A great road-trip novel combined with wise thoughts about the colonization of North America, the American frontier myth, and family ties.
Book #23
The Nanny Diaries by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus
Summary: A New York City nanny gets a job working for the highly demanding X family watching four-year-old Grayer.
My Thoughts: I read this very quickly - it is absorbing and quite funny in places. However, I can’t call it an outright comedy as I was actually disturbed by the level of parental neglect poor Grayer endured. I think the writers tried to play it for laughs when really it was appalling and sad most of the time. Still, a highly enjoyable novel.
I've been pretty slow at reading, actually, this summer. I think the reason I never make my reading goal for the year is because I do a lot of re-reads and don't count them on the eventual list. In the past two weeks, for example, I've re-read some Harry Potters as well as two Ann Patchett books.
In any case, I'm nearly finished The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova (disappointing so far) and I have a slew of books waiting, as I went book shopping and borrowing this weekend.
It's so lovely to have two days off in a row. I'm dreading my last three shifts. Although I find that I've become so immersed in the little soap opera world of my amusement park colleagues, I think about work almost obsessively when I'm away. I think it's because I spend so many hours there - we work very long shifts, ten to twelve hours - and do so much repetitive work - pressing the same set of buttons over and over, for example, or making the same "safety first" speech sixty times an hour. Getting back to school and intellectual work will almost be a relief.