Almost tl;dr, lol....But Do r!!!

 
So, I'm seeing Deathly Hallows II tomorrow and I can hardly wait. We're getting 3D Harry Potter glasses too, which is so supremely nerdy. I wish I wasn't as excited as I am, lol. It's also kind of sad, too...I pretty much grew up with the Harry Potter books, and the books grew with me, if you know what I'm saying. Everyone remembers The Philosopher's Stone and how, while there was Voldemort and a mountain troll, it wasn't all that dark or scary, but if we look at Deathly Hallows, that shit's fucked up. Everyone dies (I'm not going with a spoiler alert here, if you haven't read the books, you deserve to have the story ruined). It a much darker, more adult story...Though, except for the final battle scenes, I doubt that there will be anything in this movie that will be as dark (and strangely arousing) as the torture scene in Deathly Hallows I with Bellatrix (that crazy minx) and Hermione.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to it. 

I've been reading a lot lately because I've really got nothing else to do...I mean, I've been out here and there, but the point of holidays -- in my mind -- is to be away from the people you see everyday, lol. Anyhow, reading recommendations time!!!!

I'm seriously recommending, above all, that everyone go out and read -- right this very second!! -- The Surgeon of Crowthorne by Simon Winchester. I think I mentioned before that it's about one of the main, if not THE main, contributor to the Oxford English Dictionary who submitted this colossal amount of information from the comfort of his cells in an insane asylum. The book is incredibly well written. The author somehow managed to pull together this enormous amount of information (journals, original dictionary entries, correspondence, hospital and police records etc) and was able to weave it into something that is not just very, very readable, but also true (though the Winchester wasn't there and it's not unreasonable to think that some bits are filled in). The whole thing was great -- easily one of the best books I've read in a while -- but one of the best parts of the book was the afterword where Winchester was speaking about all the research and whatnot he had to do for the book. He came across someone who had a bunch of old, dirty printing press plates and this person gave him one. I was disturbingly excited to learn that the plate he got was one of the original ones used to print the actual OED....I can't imagine how many copies of the OED it helped to print. I can't imagine how many people worked with that plate....I'm deeply envious, lol. That would be a truly extraordinary thing to have in one's collection.

Which reminds me, I need a new dictionary. Did you know that to get the best from your dictionaries you should replace them every ten years or so. Did you also know how difficult it's become to find a dictionary? I don't want to constantly have to refer to the internet when I want to look something up. I think the internet is important and extremely useful, I mean, having everything to hand is awesome, but it's not the same as having a text you can turn to at anytime. I guess for me it's about that tactile experience of having that book in hand and seeking information printed and reprinted and redeveloped by people. I don't know, call me old-fashioned.

Back to books!!!

I read Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye recently, which was great, but I don't think it was quite as heart-stopping as my favourite book of hers, Beloved. This one is about a very badly treated young black girl who wishes for (and gets) blue eyes. Morrison wrote that the story was inspired by a moment in her childhood where her school friend said that she wanted to be beautiful, that she wanted to have blue eyes and that would make her beautiful. Morrison was outraged that her friend would change something -- her dark and familiar features -- that she knew was beautiful, and then repulsed at the thought of how odd her friend would look with blue eyes. The author has an interesting writing style...It's casual and conversational, but somehow it speaks to something deep and a little bit profound in her readers. I don't know how she manages. I still like Beloved better, but this one didn't suck, lol.

However, of all the books I've been reading, I think you all should read the one I haven't yet finished, A Prayer for Owen Meaney by John Irving. He's the dude who wrote The World According to Garp which I also thought was incredible. This one is about, amongst a great many other things, a pair of boys (Johnny Wheelwright who is the narrator, and the strange Owen Meaney) and the things that happen to and between them. I'm only about 200 pages in and I find myself thinking about it, going "yeah, I really have to get back to Owen Meaney." I adore Irving's style...It isn't particularly technical, which I concede might be a negative thing for some readers, but I think that sometimes floral, fancy writing can get in the way. Here, the writing is casual, easy and neat, and the characters are allowed -- encouraged -- speak for themselves. And speak they do. Go read it right this very second (along with Garp) and let me know what you think.

The next one I'm going to read is -- WAIT FOR IT!! -- Wodehouse by Robert McCrum. It occurred to me that I have read, as have lots of you, lol, a lot of Wodehouse's work, but I know very little about him. So, I figured I ought to remedy that. I've only read a few pages and so far it's deeply entertaining; McCrum includes some of Wodehouse's writing along with his own which provides a nice balance. I really can't say much more than that because I haven't read much more than that, but I'm looking forward to that one.

So, I'm sorry (as always) that I've been such a bad journaller (diarist?), I hadn't realised how long it had been since I last updated, lol. And I'm also sorry that this entry is so dashed long!!! But you brought it on yourselves, lol, some of you asked for book recs and here they are. 

Aside from all this craziness, not much is going on with me. Not long before I go back to uni, so I'm making the most of my lazy, lazy holidays...Sleeping late, staying in PJs, watching too much TV. Yeah, you're just jealous. I'm well and rested and so, so, so looking forward to HP7.2 tomorrow. It's almost embarrassing how excited I am :P

Ciao!!!