Tuesday 14 May 2013

Bout of Books: DAY TWO

Bout of Books
Oh. My. Gosh. You guys, it's very nearly 9pm and I HAVE JUST FINISHED LES MISERABLES. This is genuinely a life event that deserves attention, and yeah. WOAH. That was a lot of pages, you guys. I think I'm still kind of in shock that I've finished it, really, but there's definitely a tiiiny bit of a weight lifted off my shoulders right now.

Obviously I'm going to review it with the proper attention it deserves at some point, but for now I'll just say... There were times when I was completely and utterly frustrated by it and wanted to just RIP IT IN HALF, but at this point? I'm going to say I would read it again- especially now that I know with confidence which bits I can happily skip. (Seriously, you have to skip bits. You just... Yeah.)

SO. That's one Bout of Books goal down! And don't let the fact that I'm going WILD on the internet right now make you think I'm not going to keep reading, because I totally am! After I finish this post, in fact, I'm going to unplug from the internet and read me some Harry Potter (which I forgot to include on my pile! But Friday IS Harry Potter day, and I need a post, dammit!) but I'm just basking in the glow of having finished a FUCKING MASSIVE book. Oh yes. It's very glowy.

In other news, I went shopping this morning and then to work this afternoon, so I've really only had this evening to read- a pattern that looks like it's going to carry on for all the rest of this week, despite the fact that I normally basically do nothing apart from work afternoons in the week. This... is very typical. But, whatever, I will carry on and just read in the evenings and it will still be awesome. Oh yes.

9pm Update
Pages Read: 235
Books Read From: 2
Books Finished: 1!!! Yesssssss!
Snacks: I did actually have this oreo cornetto thing that was awesome this evening. Mmmm...
Blogs visited: Um. Ask again tomorrow?

24 comments:

  1. *confetti canon and also glitter*

    YOU CONQUERED THE FRENCH WHALE. HURRAY!

    I read Les Miserable ON A WHIM when I was maybe 16. I distinctly remember being utterly immersed in it, mostly while lying on a blanket in the backyard sunning myself. But now that I'm grown and see how giant it is, I sort of distrust that my teenage self finished it. Meh...let's just assume I did.

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    1. ON A WHIM, you say?! Well, that's clearly insane! I trust that you finished it though!! I don't necessarily trust that you read every word... But yeah. But hey, why not read it again?! (DON'T read it again. Well... I want to. But not for many, many years...

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  2. MASSIVE CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!
    The day I strike Les Mis off my classics club list will be a happy one indeed :)

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    1. It feels SO GOOD. Seriously. I have no idea what I'm going to say about it, but dammit, I finished it, and that's enough for now! Also, YOU CAN DO EEEEEET! Just... Give yourself some time. Oh yes.

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  3. That's awesome! I feel like I should bake you a cake to celebrate, I've given up on it...four times now I think? So go you!!

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    1. I want that cake now, Bex. Gimmeeeee! And... You didn't keep, like, STARTING it, did you? Because that's just foolishness. You just need to keep on going with it, no matter how much time has passed since you last read it!

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  4. Wow, dude. Yeah, finishing anything by Hugo is pretty much a massive achievement. So GOOD JOB INDEED.

    In other news, I've read about 30 pages of HP so far this week. Oops.

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    1. THANK YOU! I feel pretty special, I have to say. We just won't talk about the parts I skipped, because that would be unsporting!

      Well. I hadn't read ANY when I wrote this, but I'm maybe 100 pages in now? Which is cool. Also weird because I normally read ALL OF THE SECTION on Saturday, so yeah. Feels preeeeetty weird. But YOU CAN DO IIIIIIT! Anything can happen now, because I have finished Les Mis. All bets are off!

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  5. Haha, congratulations! You can read whatever you damn well like now, completely guilt free!

    Also, you're a step ahead of me - when I finished it, my only thought was "Well, at least I never have to read THAT again!" :p I liked it, but... EFFORT.

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    1. Wooooooooo! Readinnnnng!

      Oh man- I don't think I'm going to read it again for a VERY LONG TIME, but I definitely can see myself reading it again IN LIFE. Especially with the skipping of many bits. Also the penultimate chapter I might just read over and over again because it was REALLY good.

      *whispers* I still prefer the musical though...

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  6. Props to you for finishing that. I felt that way recently about Count of Monte Cristo. I love looking at it on my shelf and thinking, "I finished that beast."

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    1. Isn't it the best?! Just the sheer SIZE of them means that when you look at them you're like 'daaaaaamn, I'm good!' Now it's like I can read ANYTHING! :)

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  7. Wait, an oreo cornetto? Like an oreo icecream? That sounds delicious.

    And ummm, Les Mis! Congratulations lady, that's quite the milestone.

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    1. Yessssss, they're SO good! It's like an oreo-esque cone (that still tastes mostly of wafer, but a bit of oreo) and ice cream with little oreo flecks in it, and also little chunks of oreo. It was AMAZING.

      I DID ITTTTTT! Thank you. Ugh, it's so RELIEVING :)

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  8. CONGRATULATIONS! You should totally get some party poppers or something, this deserves celebrating! Or you could maybe just run round your living room with your shirt over your head singing 'We are the Champions' or something... y'know, whatever seems appropriate. :D

    Here's to a bunch more evenings of kick-ass reading - and enjoy Harry now you can relaaaaax knowing the Titan has been subdued!

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    1. I... Basically just laid down for a bit and processed and then went to watch telly? Telly is a good reward, right?! (Actually, I also ordered a present or two [definitely two] from amazon. I GET PRESENTS FOR FINISHING BOOKS NOW, APPARENTLY!)

      Yesssssss to those evenings! And I've even read some this morning! MADNESS!

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  9. Wooooooooooooo yay Laura!!! Major kudos for finishing that giant ass book. I have it on my shelf and think "Hmm maybe I should start Les Mis" and then I pick it up and really realize how huge it is and I decide maybe later.

    So yeah. Yay you! And yay for Harry Potter. I think I might go ahead and read that today.

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    1. Haha, thank youuuuu! It is a pretty giant ass book, I can't lie. And it took FOREVER. But the sense of accomplishment is kind of awesome :)

      I read ALL THE HARRY POTTER today! And by 'all', I obviously mean, just the chapters we were supposed to because I'm disturbingly good at rule following.

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  10. Wow!! I'm really impressed! I have only watched the movie (older, not the new one)... I admit I'm intimidated by the length of the book, and how I can't usually make it through classics for some reason.

    Anyway, you should totally celebrate accomplishing that huge feat—congrats! :)

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    1. Oooh, is that the one with Liam Neeson? I half watched that one evening, but I couldn't deal with how annoying it was. The musical is sooooo good though, and I'd recommend that above the book, really!

      Thank you! I've totally bought a reward present. It felt like the right thing to do.

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  11. Congrats on finishing this. That is amazing and I am in awe. I read the abridged version and while I have the full version as well...yeah, I think I'm good.

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    1. Awww, I have your awe and everything? That's pretty cool. You could totally read this though- it's just about knowing which parts to skip. Which is, all parts that make you roll your eyes and shout at the book a lot. It's quite a few parts, I'm not going to lie, but the rest is preeeetty awesome!

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