As I predicted yesterday, my day today has been much happier. :)
Yesterday got progressively better as the day wore on as well... and it ended in me getting offered a job! Yay! We'll wait and see whether or not it works out. I'm expecting a phone call in a few days or so.
Today, I stopped by the library to pick up a few books that I had placed on hold.
I discovered something of great beauty on BarnesandNoble.com a few days ago. It's a 199 volume collection of classic novels, short stories, poems and other prose by history's greatest writers for the discounted price of $980.00
Now, to a fanatic reader like myself, this is mouthwatering. However, I simply do not have the funds to spend one thousand dollars on 199 books. So what I decided to do, and very brilliantly I thought, I decided to go through the list of all 199 volumes and read the ones that I've never read before. Why not?
So, after logging on to my local library's website, I got to clicking. What I didn't keep track of, however, was how many books I was placing on hold at one time. I figured this out the hard way today as it has been my second trip into the library this week to pick up new books....
Anyways, the first trip in earlier this week I picked up two books. Well, one novel, and one tome. I mean really, how could someone write for 900 pages? Anna Karenina hasn't disappointed me yet, though. I hope the next 800 pages entertain me as much as the first 100 have, but I digress. So upon receiving another phonecall, I head to the library today to pick up what i'm expecting to be one or two more books in addition to the two I already have.
What do I see when I get there? Not two more books, no, but instead six pink paper slips with my name printed on them in typewriter font are staring at me, rubber-banded to six books sitting on the shelf, waiting to be picked up by someone, someone like me. Six.
Six new books from the library. Six plus two equals eight.
Eight books to read in three weeks. And, sadly, I have a very strong feeling that I'll be receiving another phonecall in a few days to alert me to the presence of several more books waiting for me on hold at my dear local library.... for I know that I've got a few more titles 'on hold'.
I've decided to take things a bit easier now..... and to keep better track of how many titles I'm adding to my queue. ;-)
On the other hand, I am very excited about the titles currently in my possession.
Here's my list so far:
Anna Karenina- Leo Tolstoy
To Kill a Mockingbird- Harper Lee
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Other Jazz Age Stories- F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Age of Innocence- Edith Wharton
Les Miserables- Victor Hugo
The Beatiful and Damned- F. Scott Fitzgerald
Jane Eyre- Charlotte Bronte
Dead Souls- Nikolai Gogol
in addition to my regular stack which includes Mere Christianity, Collected Short Stories and Poems of Edgar Allen Poe, My Life in France and Blame It On the Brain.
It would appear to some that I have bitten off more than I can chew. It would appear that way to me, too. Nevertheless, I shall persevere. I will win this battle! Onward!
I finished Catcher in the Rye last week. I plan to buy my own copy as soon as humanly possible. It was a fantastic book- one that I will definitely read again. I wrote down quote after quote in my notebook, as I could not bring myself to deface public property by underlining in the library copy, and have looked over the quotes several times and found myself laughing.
Holden Caulfield is such a timeless character. I loved his horrid cynicism and deprecating sarcasm as much as the next person does, but what I also love about him is the depth of his character... His fears and his desires all sort of melt into one giant mix of loneliness and irony that brings you, surprisingly, to identify with him. The book also gives the support to the statement, "Depressed people see the world in a clearer light", by causing you to realize that in Holden's depression, he does have a profound sense of clarity about him. J.D. Salinger did an amazing job with Holden. The entire book is just Holden telling you a story about how he left school early on Christmas Break and hid out in New York for a few days before going home. There wasn't even that much of a plot, really... It wasn't about the story, it was about letting us into Holden's mind and heart.He was such an oddball sort of character, I couldn't help but think that if a movie version had been made, it should have been made in the 80s, and Anthony Michael Hall should have played Holden. He really reminded me of AMH's character in Sixteen Candles, "The Geek".
Not to mention there were some amazing literary treasures in its pages, as well.
"I'm the most terrific liar you ever saw in your life. It's awful." Is possibly one of the greatest starts to a chapter ever. And another of my favorite phrases that just sends shivers up and down my spine, "All I need's an audience. I'm an exhibitionist."
I'm really hoping that all of these new books I'm reading will have a similar effect on me and earn themselves a special place in my heart. One of the greatest accomplishments I can think of is to be well-read, and its people who possess a vast knowledge of literary history that I admire the most. I hope to be one of those people someday, myself.
And then, once I know more about them, I will be willing to spend one thousand dollars on a 199 volume set of books.
.....Or if I get a bunch of money for graduation and save up the rest.
You know, that'd work too. :)
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