I Finally Get My Fix
At 5:00 pm I walked from Cummings to 57th Street Books on a mission to find the drug* I'd been craving for six months. At first I couldn't find it--not at the front table--nor on the Mystery shelves--I was about to ask an employee--when I turned around and realized I had passed the cardboard display thing.
With trembling hands I held the book, waiting in line for what seemed like an unreasonably long time--three people in front of me. Erg. Finally I swiped my card and grabbed the bag, trying to act calm. I had it! Score!
But first. Dinner. My blood pressure was low from the anticipation; I needed nourishment. So I strolled down Woodlawn Avenue to the Midway, meandered through part of the Winter Garden, crossed the Midway around University, and finally entered Burton-Judson. After a quick wash-up, I entered the dining hall and scrounged up a dinner of sorts, then sat down and chatted aimlessly with friends and other housemates. It is unseemly to indulge one's vices at the house table.
I left the dining hall at about 6:20 and crossed the Midway once more, believing that I had a club meeting that night. As I did not know which room in Cobb to enter, I perched on a picnic table and began reading. Oh, yeah. This was good stuff.
6:35 rolled around and I realized that the meeting must have been pre-empted in favor of our barbeque tomorrow (12-2, Bartlett Quad, free); I decided to head to Ida Noyes to read. It was Senior Night at the Pub, and I have a fondness for cider. Unfortunately, due to some byzantine regulations, the University cannot serve free alcohol at The Pub to undergraduates, or something like that. So I scored some free wine from the Graduate Council (who were having a reception in the cloisters; a flash of my 21+ ID got me two ounces of sauvingnon blanc) and sat down to read. Around 7:45 I realized that I really didn't care to go to the Pub at all, even for the free food, and headed back to Breckinridge, where I curled up in the lounge and feasted on words.
I was done at ten minutes to nine.
So how was it?
I'm still trying to figure that out. I was disappointed by the lack of Pendergast, but I suppose it was inevitable as he was in solitary confinement for most of the book, and one rarely gets his point of view unless he's working on some thorny mental problem. But the writing is excellent, the plot solid, and the characters--yes, even Viola--vividly drawn. And the humor! Let's just say that I hadn't expected Preston and Child to make fun of their own Absurd Romance Situation. As for the future for everyone? Well, I need to retire this user icon :)
All in all, a satisfying experience.
*The only reason I'm giving the Amazon link and not the Seminary Co-Op link is because the Seminary Co-Op sucks at summaries for non-academic titles. But if you're a member, you should really buy it from them, because they're a small community-owned business and I have shares. Which have so far paid me no dividends.
With trembling hands I held the book, waiting in line for what seemed like an unreasonably long time--three people in front of me. Erg. Finally I swiped my card and grabbed the bag, trying to act calm. I had it! Score!
But first. Dinner. My blood pressure was low from the anticipation; I needed nourishment. So I strolled down Woodlawn Avenue to the Midway, meandered through part of the Winter Garden, crossed the Midway around University, and finally entered Burton-Judson. After a quick wash-up, I entered the dining hall and scrounged up a dinner of sorts, then sat down and chatted aimlessly with friends and other housemates. It is unseemly to indulge one's vices at the house table.
I left the dining hall at about 6:20 and crossed the Midway once more, believing that I had a club meeting that night. As I did not know which room in Cobb to enter, I perched on a picnic table and began reading. Oh, yeah. This was good stuff.
6:35 rolled around and I realized that the meeting must have been pre-empted in favor of our barbeque tomorrow (12-2, Bartlett Quad, free); I decided to head to Ida Noyes to read. It was Senior Night at the Pub, and I have a fondness for cider. Unfortunately, due to some byzantine regulations, the University cannot serve free alcohol at The Pub to undergraduates, or something like that. So I scored some free wine from the Graduate Council (who were having a reception in the cloisters; a flash of my 21+ ID got me two ounces of sauvingnon blanc) and sat down to read. Around 7:45 I realized that I really didn't care to go to the Pub at all, even for the free food, and headed back to Breckinridge, where I curled up in the lounge and feasted on words.
I was done at ten minutes to nine.
So how was it?
I'm still trying to figure that out. I was disappointed by the lack of Pendergast, but I suppose it was inevitable as he was in solitary confinement for most of the book, and one rarely gets his point of view unless he's working on some thorny mental problem. But the writing is excellent, the plot solid, and the characters--yes, even Viola--vividly drawn. And the humor! Let's just say that I hadn't expected Preston and Child to make fun of their own Absurd Romance Situation. As for the future for everyone? Well, I need to retire this user icon :)
All in all, a satisfying experience.
*The only reason I'm giving the Amazon link and not the Seminary Co-Op link is because the Seminary Co-Op sucks at summaries for non-academic titles. But if you're a member, you should really buy it from them, because they're a small community-owned business and I have shares. Which have so far paid me no dividends.