EASTER WOWS!!
I cooked turkey! Again! It was awesome! Again! It was just me, Martin and Pete who were home for supper (well... early supper, but still) but there are lots of leftovers. The turkey will continue to be delicious for days.
I had made two goals in recent LJ posts; one was to read lots of books, and one was to learn Japanese. I have read lots of books... but my Japanese has slacked. And that's all right, though, because I plan to formally take a Japanese class at some point during my school career. But as far as books go, here is what I've read so far.
The Outlandish Companion - Diana Gabaldon
JPod - Douglas Coupland
Generation X - Douglas Coupland
A Man Without A Country - Kurt Vonnegut
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll, annotated by Martin Gardner
Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There - Lewis Carroll, annotated by Martin Gardner
Maurice - E. M. Forster
All Families are Psychotic - Douglas Coupland
The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul - Douglas Adams
That's been two weeks... well, 15 days... that's a book every 1.6 days or so. I think. So I'm doing all right. I like everything I've read, pretty much; as you can see, I'm working my way through Douglas Coupland. Generation X is what he's the most famous for, but of all the books of his I've read (I've read a few before this binge, too), it's the one I like the least. I don't think he'd quite found his style yet when he wrote it, considering it was his first novel, and because so many of his books hinge on what is supposed to be modern technology, Generation X now seems a little dated.
I'm also trying to read some Vonnegut and Adams; they come heavily endorsed by Martin and Pete. Adams was the dude who wrote The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, which I haven't read yet, but I will, and Vonnegut is just... I don't know. The one I read was the most recent of his, and apparently it's quite different from the other things he's written, but I'll try it out.
I also enjoyed the Alice books; you hear references to them all the time, and you never know it! Did you know that Lewis Carroll invented the word "chortle"? Because I totally didn't. And that quotation that aspiring high-school drama kids always use, the "I'm going to do six impossible things before breakfast" one? Yeah, that was from the White Queen (or was it the Red Queen... well, one of them) in Through The Looking Glass. And, "The time has come, the walrus said, to talk of many things..." comes in the middle of a poem! Anyways, they were both fascinating reads. Especially with the footnotes; I don't think I'd have gotten nearly as much out of them if they hadn't been annotated in so much detail.
I plan to read more E. M. Forster; he wrote in the early 20th century, so the style is rather dated, and sometimes it's difficult to read because of that, but the stories are really engaging. I don't know if there are going to be any more Gabaldon books any time soon... but... I'm a big fan... so if there are, I'll be reading them.
Anyways, I have a few more books on my list to read, but does anyone have any recommendations?
Also, MISHA: I'm going to email you, but if you're reading this, my internet was dead for most of yesterday, which means my phone was dead, because it's an internet phone. That is why I didn't call you back. I assume you're doing Easter-ly things right now, it being Easter, so I'll try you again tomorrow.
And that's all I got.
EDIT: Go here. Lovely article on so many musical/psychological things.
I had made two goals in recent LJ posts; one was to read lots of books, and one was to learn Japanese. I have read lots of books... but my Japanese has slacked. And that's all right, though, because I plan to formally take a Japanese class at some point during my school career. But as far as books go, here is what I've read so far.
The Outlandish Companion - Diana Gabaldon
JPod - Douglas Coupland
Generation X - Douglas Coupland
A Man Without A Country - Kurt Vonnegut
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll, annotated by Martin Gardner
Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There - Lewis Carroll, annotated by Martin Gardner
Maurice - E. M. Forster
All Families are Psychotic - Douglas Coupland
The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul - Douglas Adams
That's been two weeks... well, 15 days... that's a book every 1.6 days or so. I think. So I'm doing all right. I like everything I've read, pretty much; as you can see, I'm working my way through Douglas Coupland. Generation X is what he's the most famous for, but of all the books of his I've read (I've read a few before this binge, too), it's the one I like the least. I don't think he'd quite found his style yet when he wrote it, considering it was his first novel, and because so many of his books hinge on what is supposed to be modern technology, Generation X now seems a little dated.
I'm also trying to read some Vonnegut and Adams; they come heavily endorsed by Martin and Pete. Adams was the dude who wrote The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, which I haven't read yet, but I will, and Vonnegut is just... I don't know. The one I read was the most recent of his, and apparently it's quite different from the other things he's written, but I'll try it out.
I also enjoyed the Alice books; you hear references to them all the time, and you never know it! Did you know that Lewis Carroll invented the word "chortle"? Because I totally didn't. And that quotation that aspiring high-school drama kids always use, the "I'm going to do six impossible things before breakfast" one? Yeah, that was from the White Queen (or was it the Red Queen... well, one of them) in Through The Looking Glass. And, "The time has come, the walrus said, to talk of many things..." comes in the middle of a poem! Anyways, they were both fascinating reads. Especially with the footnotes; I don't think I'd have gotten nearly as much out of them if they hadn't been annotated in so much detail.
I plan to read more E. M. Forster; he wrote in the early 20th century, so the style is rather dated, and sometimes it's difficult to read because of that, but the stories are really engaging. I don't know if there are going to be any more Gabaldon books any time soon... but... I'm a big fan... so if there are, I'll be reading them.
Anyways, I have a few more books on my list to read, but does anyone have any recommendations?
Also, MISHA: I'm going to email you, but if you're reading this, my internet was dead for most of yesterday, which means my phone was dead, because it's an internet phone. That is why I didn't call you back. I assume you're doing Easter-ly things right now, it being Easter, so I'll try you again tomorrow.
And that's all I got.
EDIT: Go here. Lovely article on so many musical/psychological things.