Anybody read the new Dan Brown book yet? I haven't...I might eventually, but all the build-up hype made me back off. I don't like hype. I read all of the Harry Potter books, actually worked at a midnight release in a bookstore, but I didn't much care for the insanity there, either. I'm not one for mob mentality.

Speaking of books, those are what I'm immersing myself in today. I spent all weekend killing myself over writing articles (it paid off, but it ruined my mood) so I'm giving myself permission to do no "professional" writing today and just enjoy myself. Drink too much coffee (not that I don't do that every day anyway), read some books, do some crosswords. Stuff like that.

I'm going to be reading snippets from the hilariously wonderful book Alphabet Juice, and perhaps some of this bio of Audrey Hepburn that's largely pictures. Picture book for adults = super cool.

That's all I've got for today, kids. I'm sleepy and still recovering from the massive amount of writing I did over the weekend. 18+ articles and rewrites? That's a lot. Break time! See you tomorrow.

The Things That Matter

After finishing Rebecca, I realized with an unpleasant jolt that I had nothing left from the library to read. So of course I had to go yesterday and get some things. I got Everything Is Illuminated, a bio of Audrey Hepburn, Brave New World, The Things that Matter and a book called The Accidental. The ones I've not read look interesting and the one I have I know is good; I just want to review it.

There was a terrific thunderstorm this morning. I haven't heard it rain so hard since Findlay flooded a couple of years ago. The thunder was fantastic, too. It sounded like the world was tearing open. I loved it.

Right now I'm reading The Things That Matter. It's an analysis of 7 great works of literature and how they relate to seven different stages of life. So far it's been really good; I've read the first section, which deals with Frankenstein. It dragged on a little towards the end of its 40-some pages; I got the feeling that the author ran out of things to say and so repeated them a lot. However, it did get his point across. Lots of biographical information on Mary Shelley and a perspective on Frankenstein and the creature (not the monster, as I usually see it called, which I thought was interesting in itself) I haven't really seen before.

So far so good.

I also got the movie La Vie En Rose, which is about Edith Piaf. La Vie En Rose is one of my favorite songs. Audrey Hepburn sings it in Sabrina, and Edith Piaf is famous for it; it's a beautiful song. The actress who plays Piaf in the movie, Marion Cotillard, also plays Billie Frechette in the movie Public Enemies, which I saw a week ago...it's a good movie, by the by. Worth seeing, despite its length. It's one of the most beautifully shot movies I think I've ever seen. There's one scene in particular, in a bar, where the only thing in the frame are the heads of the characters talking at one side of the screen, the edge of the bar extending away from them, and darkness. It's unspeakably gorgeous.

Now that the storm is over, it's sunny and humid and sticky...I know my mom isn't going to turn on the AC, which sucks since (for once in Findlay) there is no wind. But it's a pretty day. Everything is crackly and wet.

I like Saturdays.

Gigi

Has anybody else seen the movie Gigi? I have -I'll be honest, it's not my favorite. Leslie Caron (who I loved in the movie Lili, which has an oddly similar title) came off as more irritating than spunky, and it bothered me. She was a great actress, but this musical just doesn't do it for me. Regardless, I have always wanted to read the book Gigi.

Sadly, but not shockingly, my library does not have a copy of it. What they did have was "Secrets of the Flesh: A Life of Colette" -a biography of the woman who wrote Gigi. And wow. Just...wow. The woman was fascinating and bizarre and brilliant. It's a long book (500 pages) and I had it finished in about 2 days. I could not put it down from the moment I picked it up.

You know how a lot of artists are temperamental and weird and get in trouble all the time?
That's Colette. She lived in the late 19th and early 20th century, acted onstage, had lesbian and bisexual relationships, got married and divorced, wrote scandalous books -and didn't care what anyone thought of her. She knew what was up. And she just lived the way she wanted to. Fascinating, grumpy woman.

So of course I wrote a review of the book, which you should go read (the review or the book? Both).

I work so hard I feel no pain

This morning, my structural integrity was compromised. I dropped/struck a cereal bowl on the divider in our sink, given that I am without coordination of any kind beyond that which allows me to walk and type. I went about picking up the larger pieces and grabbed a roll of paper towels to snatch up the littler ones when, lo and behold, there appeared blood on the paper towels! I wasn't even aware of having cut myself open, but apparently I had; there's about a centimeter long cut on the tip of the ring finger on my left hand. It will not stop bleeding. I checked for glass inside of it, but it won't stop bleeding long enough to let me see. It doesn't really hurt, so I'm assuming we're okay, but it's a little bit irritating to bleed nonstop. I had to remind myself that one cannot bleed to death out a tiny cut in the end of their finger, despite the fact that the water running off of my hand was full of blood.
Life goes on.

I'm reading a book called "Audrey Hepburn's Neck" -so far I'm not impressed, really. The references to AH (the sole reason I picked up the book) seem forced and random...they're supposed to be an integral part of the main character's life, but I'm 40some pages in and it's barely been touched. I'm hoping that it improves as I read, but as yet the only thing that's been interesting to me have been the descriptions of Japan, which are cool. I like that aspect. We'll see where it goes. Expect a review eventually.