Borders had a sale...

I went into Borders a few days ago looking for a book for my dad. Of course, whenever I go to Borders I must consider the fact that I'll probably buy something. Just usually not 12 somethings. While perusing the bargain book section, I noticed The Best American Non-required Reading 2008 for just $4. It was one of those books that I'd always wanted to buy, but hadn't gotten around to. I snatched it up and continued browsing. Then I noticed boxes lining the wall next to bargain books. Boxes full of books for $4. I knew that it was meant to be; I immediately starting grabbing at paperbacks that I'd been meaning to read and others that I'd never heard of. It was euphoria...it was overwhelming...it was really started to hurt my arms. I was carrying so many books that I appealed to my mother. "I...I don't know what to do! I don't know what to put back!" I cried, bending forward to show her my load. "Well, I guess we have to buy them all," she said simply.

Two days later, I returned alone. I was less brave on my own, cautious while browsing the boxes and shelves. Will I really read this? I'd ask myself. Do I really need another copy of this just because I like the cover? I narrowed my stack to four "must-haves" and headed to the checkout.

The List (in no particular order)
Towelhead - Alicia Erian
Q&A - Vikas Swarup
Jane Austen Book Club - Karen Joy Fowler
Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict - Laurie Rigler (figured I'd stick with the Jane Austen Theme)
Best American Non-required Reading 2003 - ed. Dave Eggers
Best American Non-required Reading 2006 - ed. Dave Eggers
Best American Non-required Reading 2008 - ed. Dave Eggers
The Short Stories - Ernest Hemingway
The Beautiful Miscellaneous - Dominic Smith
Everything Bad is Good for You - Steven Johnson
Who the Hell is Pansy O'Hara? The Fascinating Stories Behind 50 of the World's Best-Loved Books - Jenny Bond and Chris Sheedy
Miracle at St. Anna - James McBride
God is Dead - Ron Currie, Jr.
Overheard in New York - S. Morgan Friedman and Michael Malice
The Life Before Her Eyes - Laura Kasischke
The Book of Lost Things - John Connelly

I never did find that book for my dad.

...It's Arrested Development

Over the past week or so, I re-watched the entire series of Arrested Development. My love for it has been renewed and now I find myself plugging the show to everyone I encounter. First I just talk it up, then I offer to lend out my own DVDs, then I contemplate a kidnapping and forced watching of the show. But what about this show is so good? Well, everything. So I've decided to use this blog to plug the show as well. Every week (or whenever I feel like it) I'm going to post a classic AD video clip, quote, photo, or just a picture of a frozen banana. Let the festivities begin.

Arrested Development Classic Guest Star #1
Zach Braff

Zach Braff appears in Season 2 as Phillip Litt, producer of the popular Girls With Low Self Esteem video series. His main ambition is to get girls with low self esteem to take off their clothing on camera. He comes off as a total jerk, prompting Lindsay to create a video called Men With Low Self Esteem. When Lindsay and Tobias confront Phillip and pull his pants down for their video, they discover...

Arrested Development Classic Moment #1

Phillip Litt suffers from the same rare condition as Tobias - he is a Never Nude (that's "exactly what it sounds like")!!!! Despite Tobias's claims throughout the series that "there are dozens of us," Phillip Litt is the only other Never Nude that we encounter. The two realize that they share a rare bond and converse in their always present cut-off jean shorts. It's a beautiful (and classic) moment.

Something About an Island

If you like the TV show LOST, or if you need a reason to make fun of obsessive LOST fans, you should check out the new blog Katelyn and Annie started. Now that Season 5 has come to a close, we've decided to take this summer to re-watch every episode of LOST. Katelyn and Annie are planning on blogging about each episode - reflections, new theories, insights, etc. I might just contribute here and there if inspiration strikes. You never know, a new LOST drinking game might pop up.

Books, books, books!

I hardly write anything here, but I figured I could spare some time to blog a few lists here and there. Specifically lists about books, since I spend a good chunk of my time reading.

Books read in May 2009:
1. I Capture the Castle - Dodie Smith - novel, 20C British
2. Shopaholic Takes Manhattan - Sophie Kinsella - novel, 21C British
3. Notes on a Scandal - Zoe Heller - novel, 21C British
4. All the Sad Young Literary Men - Keith Gessen - novel, 21C American
5. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - J.K. Rowling - novel, 20C British*
6. Vita Nuova - Dante Alighieri - poetry/prose, 13C Italian
7. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - J.K. Rowling - novel, 20C British*
8. The Divine Comedy: Inferno - Dante Alighieri - epic poem, 14C Italian^
9. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - J.K. Rowling - novel, 21C British*
10. Little Children - Tom Perrotta - novel, 21C American

Also,
Selections from The Decameron - Giovanni Boccaccio, 14C Italian
Selections from The Book of the City of Ladies - Christine de Pizan, 15C French


The stars are re-reads, since I've obviously read the entire Harry Potter series. Several times. The ^ by Dante means I haven't finished it yet. We were only supposed to read a few Cantos for class, but I decided to keep going. Unfortunately, I got distracted by other readings for class (and fun) and having yet picked it up again.

Every time that I've re-read the Harry Potter series, I secretly fear that they'll lose some of their magic for me. I'm afraid that after 10 years and countless re-readings, I won't love them as much anymore, that they'll just become stories from my childhood. Luckily, these fears have never been realized. In fact, it seems as if every time I read the books, I discover something new, or rediscover something that I'd forgotten.

I Capture the Castle was cute, Shopaholic was cutely annoying, Notes on a Scandal was enthralling. I was disappointed with All the Sad Young Literary Men. Keith Gessen's prose is superb in that last-sentence-of-a-chapter-really-grabs-you-and-floats-around-your-head-for-a-few-minutes way, but the plot and character development were severely lacking. The characters were so underdeveloped that half the time I couldn't even distinguish between his three narrators (were there three? or four?). Each was a self-pitying, self-absorbed twenty-something struggling through love, life, and post-grad studies. Unfortunately, none were sympathetic, or even interesting, to the reader. Also, the infusions of Russian history were usually overwhelming and completely unnecessary. Yes, I understand that one of the characters (I don't remember which one) is attempting to writing his thesis on the Mensheviks or something, but his constant pontifcation is alienating to readers who most likely have no idea what he's talking about. I can only assume that Gessen himself is some sort of hybrid of his three narrators which should not be taken as a compliment.

Dante's Vita Nuova is an interesting mix of poetry and prose. Dante either prefaces or follows each poem with his specific reasons for writing it and sometimes a brief interpretation or explanation of passages. The Vita Nuova is comprised completely of poems about the love of Dante's life, Beatrice. The entire concept of the work, stemming from the title (Italian for New Life), is that Dante began a new life upon meeting Beatrice, symbolically starting anew after seeing her for the first time. While his obsessiveness and adherence to "courtly love" are hard to relate to, Dante's work is impeccable and surprisingly easy to read.

I would highly recommend Tom Perrotta's Little Children. His characters are so real, so relatable, that it was easy to forget I was reading a book. I saw the movie first, so I knew what to expect from the book, but was still plesantly surprised. However, the last few minutes of the movie were different than the book and I honestly think the movie's ending did more for the story. It's definitely still worth the read.