Literary Quandary
There's the old addage of: when it rains, it pours. This generally tends to refer to all things dull and ugly, plus all creatures short and squat, and all things rude and nasty. (but the Lord God made the lot!) But the proverbial downpour can also encompass the good things in life too, as the optimists are quick to point out amidst an explanation of how the glass of water is half full...and I then argue that, half-full or half-empty, I'd still ordered a Coke.
Anyhoo, today has found me in a most unexpected bind of literary worlds. Mostly, there are suddenly a lot of books for me to read in a very short amount of time. As many people already know (and are no doubt counting down the days), the next
Harry Potter book hits bookstores like an errant comet a week this Saturday. I pre-bought my book at one of the stores in the mall, so all I have to do is walk in, flash my special receipt and walk out with my happy new hardcover.
Naturally, I've been working through the series once more as a bit of a refresher.
Order of the Phoenix is currently reminding me of how Gred & Forge are utterly cool. Now herein lies the quandary. I'll easily be able to finish rereading OotP within the next week and a half.
However, two books from the public library have suddenly arrived for me. A long time ago, I reserved the now infamous
Da Vinci Code to see what all the hype (or fuss, if you're Catholic) was about. At the time, there was a waiting list of roughly 37 people in front of me. I'd all but forgotten the reservation I had on it until suddenly the library called and told me it was ready for pick-up. So now I have 3 weeks to read
The Da Vinci Code before the book goes to #39 on the waiting list. And finish OotP. And then read
Harry Potter & The Half-Blood Prince.
But wait...there's more.
When it first came out, I'd really wanted to read Clarke's 800-page epic
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. Alas, most of the time I didn't have the $40 to shell out for the book. And when I had the money to spend, all of the copies I could find had horribly bent or mangled covers. (I'm not the type to expect a perfectly pristine book when I buy it, but if there are to be horrible bends or manglings, I'd like to at least have the satisfaction of having done it myself.) Likewise, the library's waiting list was about as long for this as it was for the
Da Vinci Code. So I gave up and relegated myself to pining for the book as it taunted me on the bookshelves.
And then unexpectedly, as I was picking up the Da Vinci Code, what did Mel spot sitting upon "The Latest Releases" display but
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. It's like the damned thing was simply waiting for me to show up, and had arranged itself in a sort of shrine. No other books surrounded it, making it very easy and obvious to spot. Having still believed that there were still another 15 people on the waiting list, I was quite joyous in seeing that a spare one had offered itself up for my reading pleasure.
Upon rereading that last sentence, I've suddenly realized it sounds disturbingly sexual. On the other hand, a hardcover book that big couldn't fit down my pants even if I tried to wedge it in with a shoehorn and lots of Vaseline.
Upon rereading this latest last sentence, I've suddenly realized it sounds even worse than it's "last sentence" predecessor.
So, at last count, I have
The Da Vinci Code and
Strange & Norrell to read sometime in the next 3 weeks, or possibly 4-6 weeks if no one else has either reserved after me. And I'd like to finish OotP before beginning HBP. And I'd like to finish HBP sooner rather than later, as I know fans will be debating/bitching about the plot twists within 48 hours after the book's release date, and I'd rather avoid the spoilers and be surprised all on my own, thank you very much.
But at least, amidst all of these large and long texts, I still found time rampage through the latest volume of
Negima. Ah, Negi...how you so give me my pleasurably guilty doses of fantasy & fanservice. If all the other books are entrees, this would be dessert.
Today's Lesson: half a bee, philosophically, must ipso facto half not be. But half a bee, has got to be, vis a vis its entity.
(Ladies and gentlemen: the dangers of listening to
Monty Python Sings! whilst writing a blog entry.)
posted by Phillip at 1:32 AM
