Sunday Sundries: How Do You Get Rid of Books?!

We'll come to this very very important question later my pretties, but first let me tell you that my week was pretty awesome! I like, did things, and saw people, and left the house every day and it was just good all round. Plus, there were always Olympics to come home to! (I'm seriously going to be so bereft now that they're basically over... I'll have to watch like actual telly!) Oh and also I saw Batman AT LAST and it was pretty freaking amazing. I appreciated that it was a lot more straightforward than The Dark Knight (I genuinely still get confused by parts of that, so that's not good...) and yet still wondrous! But I'll say no more in case you happen to be the one person in the world who hasn't seen it yet.

So, in addition to having a pretty glorious week (did I mention the weather was fab too? The weather was SO fab!) I also got some stuff done for this:

Which were, doing this to my hair (full disclosure: it was like that for about 2 minutes before I discovered it made the front of my hair look weird and took it out, but I still did it and IT COUNTS, especially since my hair is now too short to do anything with) and making these Nutella doughnuts. I know. Nutella doughnuts. I almost want to cry at the thought that anything so beautiful could exist in the world. LOOK HOW DELICIOUS:

I'm pretty proud of myself, and also I was both amazed and impressed at how easy doughnuts are to make! Seriously! (all I would recommend about the recipe I linked to is to only make half, because SO MANY LEFTOVERS. Not that that's really a bad thing, but doughnuts are so not as nice the next day). So I think that technically I have completed the Pin it Do it challenge now (I was aiming to do 2, I think) but I'm gonna keep on going because sense of achievement, YESSSSSS!

Now onto the question of the day/week/MY LIFE. Seriously, how do you get rid of books? I ask this because, this week, I did get rid of say, 20 books, which is good but really not enough. And I say not enough, not because I want to make myself unhappy by ridding myself of books that I might want to read again, but because I can't even get rid of some books that I know I don't want to read again. Like this: A Penguin Classics Edition (you know, the ones with the black spines that are awesome?) of Joseph Andrews by Henry Fielding. Or this one: The Hungry Tide by Amitav Ghosh that I had to read for a University module, and was fine but I don't really want to read again. Or even: Bushwhacked- this book that I got a really long time ago that I assume humorously critiques Bush the Second's Presidency, but hey guess what, that was over like 4 years ago!

And I don't know why I can't get rid of them! It's like... I have special specific reasons for wanting to keep each of the books that I know I should probably rid myself of (it's part of a pretty collection, I read it at uni, I haven't read it yet and what if it changes my life?!) and, even now, when I am literally at book saturation point, I still can't get rid of a real number of them so that I can just have room to move around! With the books I've read, I feel like there's a mixture of nostalgia and cataloguing happening- nostalgia in 'oh, I remember reading that, it was nice!' and cataloguing in 'well, I read this book, and this book, and this one' but, then, isn't that what this whole blog is for? I've seen enough Hoarders to know that having special specific reasons for keeping everything is surely not going to lead to anything good, but can I do anything about it? Can I fuck.

So, HELP ME! Do you have any advice on how to get rid of books? Any systems, or words of support? Or do you think that I don't even have a problem, and that hey, there are a lot worse things to hoard than books? Because that's another angle of my thinking, which is fine until there's no space left. And there is no space left. One positive thing is that I dump books really quickly if I'm not enjoying them (see ya never, Tom Sawyer) but even I can't read that fast! And for every book I don't like, there are about 10 that I do. So... 

Skarsgard and I don't know what to do. Help?

Devouring Books: Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami

"'Memories warm you up on the inside. But they can also tear you apart.'"

Oh boy. This book. I have no idea what to say about it, so brace yourself, this could be interesting (conversely, it could also be really boring, so... We'll see). Firstly, I have to say that I finally finally get the 'Murakami is intimidating thing' because reading 3 of his other books did not at all prepare me for reading Kafka on the Shore. It's so... out there, and mental, and there's a guy who talks to cats, and ghosts that aren't ghosts so much as memories, and if you ever tried to describe it to someone (like this right here) it sounds like a hot mess, but when you're reading it, everything seems to make sense in the context of the story. Well, sort of. If you're willing to accept that Murakami is insane, which I readily do because I love him so!

I love him, but oh how he frustrates me sometimes! I've been thinking about it (this review has been percolating for about a week) and I've decided that, unlike every other Murakami experience I've had, I wasn't quite fully immersed in the crazy world of Kafka on the Shore. I was close, and for the last 150 or so pages I was completely there, but the thing is... Ok, I'm just going to say it, Murakami seemed completely preoccupied with the main character's cock. And I'm not talking his pet chicken. But seriously, the main character is 15 years old, so knowing about his cock made me feel pretty uncomfortable anyway, but it's just brought up all the time. Forget the ear thing, this was a whole penis thing. And I don't think I'm being prudish here, and to be honest, I don't even really care about the character's age, I just found it jarring to have to roll my eyes every time he brought it up (no pun intended. Maybe.)

So, there was that. And I think that all this means is that I've slightly opened my eyes up to criticisms that other people have of Murakami, and have accepted their validity. While I'm still all for the complete immersion in his writing, and in letting his books wash over you (totally the only way to read him, by the way) in order to embrace the crazy, I think everyone has their breaking point at which this isn't fully possible, and it turns out mine is constant penis descriptions.

BUT. But but but but but, in spite of my reservations, and Kafka on the Shore maybe not quite living up to my past Murakami experiences (which, to be fair, highest expectations ever? Pretty much. Or at least second only to my expectations for The Moonstone...) it's still kind of amazing and absorbing, and I feel like I could read it again and again and still not come anywhere close to understanding anything about what Murakami's trying to say at all, but I'd still thoroughly enjoy myself, you know? I mean, half the book is set in a library, and there's this whole thing about irritating feminism (like, not that all feminism is irritating, but you know how by focusing on one tiny thing, you can kind of miss the whole picture? Feminism like that is kind of bad...) and there's the oddest couple of an old, not really there man, and a young upstart who doesn't really know what he's doing and it's awesome, and I kind of just love it all! Apart from the constant penis references.

Now, I'm going to do something that I haven't really done before because I really want to ask, so if you haven't read the book this is going to be very spoilerish, so skip this paragraph and head to the final one. Go on, do it now... OK, so if you have... You know how there's the place where Kafka goes towards the end, and Miss Saeki's younger self is there and so on, do we think that's kind of a version of the afterlife, and it can be accessed cause the entrance stone was turned, or something else entirely? And also, if it is a version of the afterlife, do we also think that that's where Nakata, and all the children's souls or whatever went, and because of Nakata's abusive upbringing and so on, he just refused to come back? I mean, I realise that it's all pretty vague and it's kind of useless trying to figure out what Murakami is talking about basically ever, but... what did everyone else think about that?

Basically, what can I say? It's a book by Murakami so I of course think that you should read it, even though I spent half of this review moaning about the penis thing. It's an extremely strange book with almost indecipherable symbols, and yet, I can't get enough of these crazy things Murakami does. Apart from this one thing that made me feel actually sick, that I can't really give away because, spoilers! But also, yeah, that I did have enough of. Too much, you might say. But anyway! Kafka on the Shore- it's pretty great, albeit weird. Like all the best people.

The Moonstone, Part One: "I had stood there listening to them, all in a tremble; not knowing whom to suspect or what to think next."

You and me both, Betteredge, you and me both. Seriously, though, how great is this book?! In a typical fashion, I was super-excited about reading it for the entire week (or, probably, for longer than that actually) and then... Forgot to actually read it. So i just finished it this morning, and my thoughts aren't really gathered in any coherent way, so excuse me if I just do the word equivalent of flapping my arms around excitedly.

SO! So many suspicions I have, that even at this early point I think I've accused everyone in the entire book of stealing the moonstone (except Sergeant Cuff, who, by the way is awesome. Seriously awesome) EVEN Betteredge who, you know, says he slept through the whole night, but he would say that, wouldn't he? I mean, obviously Rosanna is waaay more likely to have done it, but that's the entire problem with that theory- like we're going to know about it this early on! And then, obviously, Rachel seems very very veeeery suspicious, but I believe that she smeared the paint, but did so on a... nocturnal journey to one of her cousins (her cousins. Ew.) SO basically I have no idea with that, so let's just leave it alone for now. I say this:

(Seriously, I have so many Skarsgard gifs. So this is clearly going to be enjoyable for everyone!)

OK! So even though I suspect everyone, I also kiiind of love everyone too! Penelope is a ridiculous gossip, Franklin seems to know what he's all about, and the French/German/Italian/English thing? Amazing. Clearly he's also completely dreamy because Rosanna and Rachel both want a piece of that action, even though Betteredge reckon's Godfrey's a better choice (for Rachel anyway). I'm sorry, but Godfrey is dreadfully dreary (possibly unfair to say, since he hasn't really had as much narrative time as Franklin, but still) and, you know, doesn't even have a beard! Does anyone else think that Franklin's beard maaaybe bodes ill for his character though, since beards are usually super untrustworthy, albeit sexy? THIS CONCERNS ME!

Since we are all, obviously, looking for the next Marian, I kind of want to tentatively suggest Rachel, except that she got super moody and door slammy once her precious diamond went missing (toootally suspicious), but then also there's this:

"She was unlike most girls her age, in this- that she had ideas of her own, and was stiff necked enough to set the fashions themselves at defiance, if the fashions didn't suit her views."

You know? So I think we need more Rachel, to figure out if she really is fab, or if, in fact, she sold the diamond to fund a super super illegal abortion of Franklin's baby... (I don't know why this has become a soap all of a sudden, but hey, let's go with it!)

There are clearly so many awesome things I'm forgetting because I didn't leave myself enough time to process things, so I'm going to have to bullet point my way to the end- here goes:

• "How it was I don't understand, but we always seemed to be getting, with the best of motives, in one another's way. When I wanted to go upstairs, there was my wife coming down; or when my wife wanted to go down, there was I coming up. That is married life, according to my experience of it"- This is what will happen when you use marriage as a money saving venture! And, if all else fails, go and find another woman, and live with her some of the time, right Wilkie..?
• I did a little cheer at Betteredge's racial tolerance- he's probably more forward thinking than some people who live in England today, so... Way to be awesome, Wilkie "I am generally all for amusement, and the last man in the world to distrust another person because he happens to be a few shades darker than myself."
• Then there was this, which is basically the truest true thing that's ever been said: "Mr Franklin noticed me, contending with a perturbed stomach or mind- which you please; they mean the same thing." Yes? Yes. YESSSSSSSSSSS!
• And finally, this is kind of unrelated to the story, but I finally read the little author profile in my edition and nearly laughed myself to DEATH- apparently Wilkie took a lot of opium, and "he began to suffer from paranoia and hallucinations, including the presence of a 'subjective doppelganger' he named Ghost Wilkie"- GUYS! He named his subjective doppelganger! Just like a normal person would do! Ahem... Damn, I love this dude!

So, that's all I have for you! Basically I love everyone, and will do until they prove themselves to be unworthy, or horribly boring. According also to my author profile, Opium plays a prominent part in The Moonstone, so I'm thinking either the police dude is going to use it to figure things out (a la that guy Johnny Depp played in From Hell) OR maybe Rachel has a nasty heroin habit and that's why she had to sell the diamond... These teens and their drugs...

Top Ten Tuesday

Well, haven't done this in a while... And actually, I've never really done anything that's like 'hey, read these posts of mine because they're awesome!' because, well, shyness and stuff... But anyway, hey, read these posts of mine because they're awesome!

Top Ten Posts That Give The Best Picture of ME!

1. Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer- Cause, well, it was sort of a landmark book in my whole not-eating-meat thing, and maybe sort of one of the most actually important books I've ever read in relation to my LIFE. The comments are also pretty worth reading because, hey, everyone has an opinion about eating animals- who knew?!

2. 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami- I like this review just because it's such a visceral reaction to a book that I've had, and is probably the way I'd like to write all my reviews, only I don't because going 'omg, it just made me feel SO GOOD!' is not really that helpful to anyone, ever. But still, it only felt right to write about the love rather than offer any kind of critique of this book.

3. An Education by Lynn Barber- Because I like a good rant, and this is the angriest one I can remember. What this says about me? Barber, I can't take any of your bullshit.

4. A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson- This post really just says 'I am secretly (hidden even to myself!) a massive science nerd'. Or, quite possibly, just a Bill Bryson nerd, but you know. Whatever.

5. Rant about criticisms of New Girl- Because I put my feminist hat on (let's face it, that's a hat I always wear...) and defended New Girl and its adorableness, against the cries of 'it's not feminist enough!' I also enjoy this post because I prophetically decided that there would be some major criticisms of Girls when it came out, and lo and behold there were! I don't know whether to be impressed or depressed by this...

6. The Astronaut's Wife- The thing this says about me? I will literally watch anything that has Johnny Depp in. It's sick but true. Seriously, don't watch this...

7. The Sisters Brothers by Patrick DeWitt- Totally a recent review, but I think it's very very indicative of how I feel about really really really great characters in books. A little preview: eeeeeeeeeee!

8. The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare- This one says, I will not put up with sexist bullshit, even if you are William freaking Shakespeare. I'm very happy with that message.

9. Angels in America by Tony Kushner- I don't really know what this says about me, other than DAMN, I really love this play. Like, obsessively. So here, this says 'I am obsessed with Angels in America.'

10. Breaking Bad- And let's just finish off with another obsession... Totally current, and so all encompassing that I had a Breaking Bad dream the other night that was pretty freaky. So there's that.

There are some posts that aren't reviews that I do like and which probably say more about me-the-person, but can I be bothered to look through and find them? No I cannot. I do like this post about why the internet makes me sad (that, apparently, I could be bothered to find) which says a lot about my willingness to bite the hand that feeds... Oh well!

Sunday Sundries

I know I say this all the time, but this time I really mean it- I'm going to try and keep this brief, because Sunday's kind of nearly over here! I realise that I don't have to do a Sunday Sundries post, but a little consistency isn't a bad thing, amiright? I am.

SO! This week was good, kind of middleish in the middle (a cancelled trip to see Batman genuinely made me feel miserable for two days, which is probably not a great indication of my emotional state) but on the whole actually really nice. And the main reason for this, and something I should definitely remember, is because I got out of the house! And did things not in my bedroom! (ooer!) But seriously- I went places and met people and it was all nice and good, and I need to remember that doing such things are nice and good so that I do them more often. Yes. *Nods definitively*

Getting out more also meant experiencing Olympic transport, which was DREADFUL (sample conversation: "Oooh, a field! It's like the opening ceremony!" Yes, OR you're a twat who needs to get out of London more) and then less dreadful but awfully sweaty smelling. So yeah, it's kind of put me off public transport for the next week, and made me grumpy about the Olympics for the combined time of about half an hour- other than that it's been all 'YESSSSS gymnastics!' and 'OMG that body!' and also, the birth of a new crush on this swimming GOD:

So yeah, a good Olympic week, you know? Very very good indeed...

Ahem. So, Olympics+going places=not all that much reading, which is bad because the things I have to read! They are numerous and exciting! (by 'have to' I don't mean that I have to do it, but that I have them! And I want to read them! But I'm failing to make proper time!) I finally, finally found an affordable copy of We Need To Talk About Kevin (i.e. a charity shop copy) on Friday, and I'm dying to read it, and then I need to read my first section of The Moonstone for discussies on Wednesday, but ALSO the wondrous Ellie sent me Let's Pretend This Never Happened (RAK, people, look into it!) and I really really really desperately want to read that! So really I'm in the most wonderful reading position cause I really really want to read all these things, it's just... How to prioritise?! I just don't know!

But, if that's as big as problems get at the moment, then I'm ok with that. 

And now:

Ok, my loved blog this week is totally new and so doesn't really have many posts to its name, BUT I can already tell it's going to be GREAT! You've probably all seen it already, but if not, it's the new Classics Club blog! I know it's going to be good because I love basically all of the moderators' blogs, and also because it seems like a really great way for everyone to interact and see each others posts, and also, a monthly classics meme? Don't mind if I do! Basically I'm really excited about it, and I want everyone else to be too! 

P.S. I forgot to add, clearly the BEST thing that happened to me this week, which was winning an Amazon voucher from Sarah! Apparently I'm super ungrateful to not have mentioned it in the main text, but I am really really grateful and excited about it! Expect a 'this is what I bought with it' post, when I figure out exactly what these things are... 

Devouring Books: Antony and Cleopatra by William Shakespeare

"Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale

Her infinite variety; other women cloy

The appetites they feed, but she makes hungry

Where she most satisfies."

I should warn you before I even begin that this review is not at all going to do this play justice. I mean, I don't think I'm really qualified to do Shakespeare justice at all anyway, but this time is even worse because 1) I read this during a readathon which, while fun and everything, doesn't exactly encourage me to deep reading, if you know what I mean, and 2) I had some mostly wrong pre-concieved ideas about what the play was going to be like, and when it wasn't like that I got slightly pissed off and huffy and, dare I say it, even bored? We'll discuss (and by discuss I mean I'll type and you read. You know, if you want.)

So. The preconceptions I had about Antony and Cleopatra were that, it would basically be a tragic, Romeo and Juliet style love story, very dramatic and sexy and, you know, with loads of Antony and Cleopatra together time. And obviously they're the two most important characters, and they are together some of the time, but it felt like their story actually took a back seat to the power struggles between Antony and Caesar (not that Caesar. The other one. A new one) and their battles and skirmishes and whatnot. This isn't exactly a problem (although, as we all know, I don't like things that include war!) and it's not something that really devalues the play at all, it's just that my preconceptions of the thing held me back from fully appreciating what it actually was about. Which is a shame, but it's something that I do a LOT, not just with books but with movies too, so I should probably work on that. I happen to know that, when I read this again, I'll like it and appreciate it much better, but the first time around? It didn't really work for me.

The thing with reading plays is, as good as they are, their intention is always to be performed, and so reading them doesn't really give you a proper or full representation of what they actually are. I actually found that with Antony and Cleopatra, I got really confused about who was on whose side at each point, and when various battles were happening, which I'm sure is something that I wouldn't be able to miss onstage. It doesn't help that I was also reading the battle scenes/bits where Antony was in Rome whilst half of my mind was going 'but when will he go back to Cleopatra?!' and this is why I say I'm sure I'll be able to appreciate it better next time around. But anyway, I found the political side of things confusing, and didn't really know who was friends with whom at any given time, but it's entirely my fault for basically not wanting there to be a political side to things, if you know what I mean.

So, was the relationship between Antony and Cleopatra really all that? Well, it was... Interesting. Actually, I don't mean ...interesting, I just plain mean interesting. I never really got any sense that theirs was a 'can't possibly be without each other' love, since, on the contrary, they spend the majority of the play apart, and much of their relationship seems to be based on sex and desire- Cleopatra is clearly this figure of great desire just, historically, but for it to be so... out there was something I wasn't really expecting! Now, obviously there's nothing wrong with their sexual desire, but the problem is that there doesn't really seem to be anything deeper there, and so when called upon to prove their dedication to each other, they're more into looking out for their own, separate interests, rather than for each other.

See, interesting right?! I guess that, since Cleopatra is the ruler of Egypt, and Antony the joint ruler of the Roman Empire, their top priorities are not each other, but their respective countries/Empires. So, basically, they're grown ups who love each other and sexing each other, but are mature enough to realise that their passions are not necessarily as important as entire countries/empires full of people. It's not so romantic, but it sure is practical, and I think realistic. It's not that they don't love each other enough, it's just that they love their people more. Or something. Until they do love each other, right near the end, and that's all good. And also, Cleopatra is a wicked awesome feminist:

"Charmain: Madam, methinks if you did love him dearly,
                   You do not hold the method to enforce
                   The like from him.
Cleopatra: What should I do that I do not?
Charmain: In each thing give him way: cross him in nothing.
Cleopatra: Thou teachest like a fool, the way to lose him."

Ok, not really a feminist so much as a master manipulator of Antony/men in general, but still! She won't be all subservient so that he can be in charge, and that's just great!

So basically I've just given the Antony and Cleopatra more post time than it gets in the play. But that's ok since I get extremely bored and tired out by battles, even when Shakespeare does them. I suspect those parts are much better/clearer when they're being acted out and you're properly paying attention, but for the casual reader, the thing to really stay for in this is the central relationship which is, I say again, really interesting and intriguing and worth sticking around for.

The Moonstone: The Preliminary Post

What shall we say, this is like a heat for The Moonstone and then the actual reading is like the finals? Or have I possibly been watching too much of the Olympics (like that's even possible. How do I always forget how much I freaking love the Olympics?!)?

Ermalermadingdong. Anyway. The Moonstone. Obviously I'm intensely excited to read this, because first of all The Woman in White readalong happened and it was GLORIOUS, and then I read Armadale because I'd had it for ages (or two years. Which is relatively not that long) and because I needed more Wilkie, and that was also stellar, even if reading it without everyone was kind of really sad, and also I could really have used four posts to talk about it. But who's going to want that without a readalong? No one, that's who!

So, now we've come to The Moonstone. At last! I feel like there was a point where I was meant to read this at school (or maybe just the play version? I really don't know) and then we never ended up doing it, or I could be thinking of An Inspector Calls which I have also never read, and now they're both mixed up in my brain even though I haven't read either of them. Which is really weird. Actually reading The Moonstone is sure to sort out this little problem though, so... That's good!

*Mandatory research section* So apparently The Moonstone mentions the Siege of Seringapatam (fun fact- I just spelt Siege wrong, but Seringapatam right. Go figure.) on its first page, and indeed Wikipedia tells me that the novel starts with the looting of jewels from said siege- obviously the 1799 one, not the 1792 one *looks accusingly at anyone who thought otherwise*. This said siege? Well, I can't even be bothered to read the entire Wikipedia article about it, but as far as I can tell it was part of some kind of British attack on India in order to keep the Empire in line and whatnot, so it sounds like it kind of SUCKED. And that, if there's a curse on the moonstone like I believe there is (I believe that's the whole point) then, you know, anyone who doesn't think it's well deserved? No, me neither.

SO- excited doesn't even cover it! And I can officially start reading it today! Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!