Weekend recap
One particularly pleasant (for me) recent development has been thegreatmissjj's fiance moving to the Rutgers area, so that I now get to see JJ (she who is Neil Gaiman's magical niece) in my very own neighborhood as well as NY.
Yesterday I went with her and her fiance to a get-together at one of his friend's, and today I invited her over for tea at 3 pm, and we ended up talking till 10 pm. I didn't really get any work done that I'd intended to do, but it was quite nice. And I put up some posters in my room meanwhile, so I consider that productive. ;) We talked about our various projects, and now I'm really excited to read her novel. Also, she's really useful as a critic and idea-giver.
Speaking of books, I finished The Graveyard Book and that was an enjoyable read. Perfect for reading a chapter at a time. I think I liked some of the latter chapters more than the earlier ones, as the pace of the stories picked up, and after I was finished I could really see why Neil said that it was the most likely of his books to see a sequel. The end of it also made me exclaim "But it's not fair!" It doesn't have a sad or bad ending, but it just isn't fair. This, I feel, is quite a good thing, as that "it's not fair!" reaction is the one I had to books in my childhood that have since stuck in my mind the most. Other books I liked when I read more, but it's the ones that made me feel unsettled or vaguely dissatisfied at the end that have proven to have the most staying power, to be the stories I couldn't shake loose. In Peter Pan, J. M. Barrie writes, "All [that a child] thinks he has a right to when he comes to you to be yours is fairness. After you have been unfair to him he will love you again, but will never afterwards be quite the same boy. No one ever gets over the first unfairness; no one except Peter." This is extremely true, I think, and in a nutshell I do think it describes what "growing up" really means--learning and accepting life's ultimate unfairness. This is why I think most American children's books are toothless and useless, because they safeguard and coddle their readership from any unpleasantness to the point of irrelevancy. And this is why I think it is of utmost importance for children's books to unsettle and dissatisfy if they are to be more than just a forgettable story. As such, I think it is very good that The Graveyard Book is a book about growing up that also helps one grow up.
Tomorrow I have my second bartending class. I had my first one on Saturday, and I forgot my favorite black hoodie there. This one is in a different location, we'll see how it goes. The first one was interesting, but the instructor gave way too many tips on working sleazy go-go joints. That's... not exactly where I am hoping to place. We'll see.
Yesterday I went with her and her fiance to a get-together at one of his friend's, and today I invited her over for tea at 3 pm, and we ended up talking till 10 pm. I didn't really get any work done that I'd intended to do, but it was quite nice. And I put up some posters in my room meanwhile, so I consider that productive. ;) We talked about our various projects, and now I'm really excited to read her novel. Also, she's really useful as a critic and idea-giver.
Speaking of books, I finished The Graveyard Book and that was an enjoyable read. Perfect for reading a chapter at a time. I think I liked some of the latter chapters more than the earlier ones, as the pace of the stories picked up, and after I was finished I could really see why Neil said that it was the most likely of his books to see a sequel. The end of it also made me exclaim "But it's not fair!" It doesn't have a sad or bad ending, but it just isn't fair. This, I feel, is quite a good thing, as that "it's not fair!" reaction is the one I had to books in my childhood that have since stuck in my mind the most. Other books I liked when I read more, but it's the ones that made me feel unsettled or vaguely dissatisfied at the end that have proven to have the most staying power, to be the stories I couldn't shake loose. In Peter Pan, J. M. Barrie writes, "All [that a child] thinks he has a right to when he comes to you to be yours is fairness. After you have been unfair to him he will love you again, but will never afterwards be quite the same boy. No one ever gets over the first unfairness; no one except Peter." This is extremely true, I think, and in a nutshell I do think it describes what "growing up" really means--learning and accepting life's ultimate unfairness. This is why I think most American children's books are toothless and useless, because they safeguard and coddle their readership from any unpleasantness to the point of irrelevancy. And this is why I think it is of utmost importance for children's books to unsettle and dissatisfy if they are to be more than just a forgettable story. As such, I think it is very good that The Graveyard Book is a book about growing up that also helps one grow up.
Tomorrow I have my second bartending class. I had my first one on Saturday, and I forgot my favorite black hoodie there. This one is in a different location, we'll see how it goes. The first one was interesting, but the instructor gave way too many tips on working sleazy go-go joints. That's... not exactly where I am hoping to place. We'll see.