Saturday, May 30, 2009

Satisfaction

I remember being much more satisfied with The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series the first time around. What happens to Zaphod? What happens to Fenchurch? Why don't we see any more of the insanely cool Heart of Gold? Or the Improbability Drive? Or the dude who designs fjords? Adams set up a lot of really good things in the first three books, and even some great things in the fourth. I feel as though it all sort of falls apart in the fifth. And Adam's does such a great job of tying together a whole host of things, but just leaves out a whole multitude of others. Granted, there are some great additions to the series in the final book, like the new and improved Hitchhiker's Guide. Despite it's ultimate purpose of doom, I find his descriptions of it (and the whole space time continuum thing) fascinating and understandable. At least as understandable as explaining the whole space time continuum thing can be. Don't get me wrong, I am still a Hitchhiker's fan. I just feel as though a final book to the series could have tied everything together and left me feeling much more satisfied with each reading.

On another note, regarding reading, a friend of mine posted a list of books he is going to read over the summer, and despite not really having "a summer" anymore, I still have the summer months ahead of me, and have decided to try to set some reading goals. There is a dollar bookstore (that's right! Everything for only one dollar!) semi-near my house, and I have made some fantastic purchases at said store. I'm much more willing to buy a book that just sorta looks good when it is only a dollar. I'm still picky with my books. They still have to be in good condition. But I don't mind buying books that I have never heard of nearly as much as if I were paying $12+ for it. But I digress.

Here are the purchases I made and ultimately the list of books I hope to read:
(she searches through her messy room to find the stack)
  1. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - Robert Louis Stevenson
  2. The Turn of the Screw - Henry James
  3. The Promise - Chaim Potok
  4. The Clue in the Jewel Box - Carolyn Keene (that's right! I couldn't pass up a stroll down nostalgia lane after seeing this Nancy Drew book for only $1!)
  5. The Visitation - Frank Peretti
  6. Thank You for Smoking - Christopher Buckley
  7. Saffron Sky - Gelareh Asayesh
The last two are additions to the list I originally told my friend, and if I get through the other five, then I will read them. But my main goal is to read the first five.

I am also in the middle of reading Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. I feel extremely cultured to be able to say that he is one of my favorite authors. I am a fan of classics, since they have stood the test of time, and it feels oddly dignifying to be able to actually and genuinely say Dickens is one of my favorite authors. A lot of girls like Jane Austen, and I cannot wrap my brain around this, as I find her books dull, boring, and infuriating (I don't care about any of these characters whatsoever). But Dickens. He's just...great.

On a completely unrelated note, I really like the new body wash I have. It smells clean and makes me feel clean. I realize this is what a body wash is supposed to do, I just like the way this new stuff does it better than my old stuff.

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