I’m catching up on reading, catching up on my TV shows, catching up on a lot of things, and eventually – hopefully not very long from now – I’ll be catching up with my blogs. Until then it will stay as it is now. The occasional entry whenever I have time. It’s not great, but it sure is better than nothing.
I usually don’t read several books at the same time. I have one book that I read from start to finish and then when I’m done I switch to the next one. I do switch really fast, and I always have a potential next book on the nightstand waiting. Still, I read those books one after another.
I don’t know how people do it. When I read a book I don’t want another book around to confuse me. I don’t feel the urgent need to read something different. Somehow it even seems like betraying one book with another one. So usually, the book I’m reading at whatever moment is the only book for me at that moment right there right then.
Now for the second time this year I kind of broke that rule. First I had Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home which I read alternately with whatever other book I had at the time. And now I read both Neil Gaiman’s American Gods and Frank Schätzing’s Nachrichten aus einem unbekannten Universum. I also have a reason for this breaking of the rule. I find that I have less problems with reading several books at the same time when they’re from a totally (or at least remarkably) different genre.
Fun Home was not only biographical, but it was also a comic. For me reading a comic book is a totally different thing than reading a fiction novel. Right now I’m reading a non-fiction book and a fiction book at the same time. Again this is enough for me to ignore the one book at a time rule, because both books feel totally different.
I don’t know if I will ever understand why people read several fiction novels at the same time. I’d get confused. And I don’t think I would especially like it. Still, there’s this one scene from Gilmore Girls where Rory explains to Lorelai why she carries five (or more?) books around with me. It’s easy and completely understandable: One is a novel, one is a biography, one is poems, one is short stories and one is essays.
I’d break down under the weight, but at least I can relate to that.
I have high hopes of getting my life back. Somehow.
But don’t worry. I’m really fine. I spent a lot of time at work these last days, but it was okay, because everyone working on the release spent a lot of time and we had fun. But now, I can’t wait for the weekend.
The biggest news might be that Peter is back from Malta. After four long weeks (that didn’t seem as long as I feared they would) I drove down all the way to Frankfurt on Saturday to pick him up. All the way actually means less than two hours, which for me was a really big thing, since this is the longest I’ve ever driven alone and probably the fastest. I kinda knew our car can go at 150 km/h, I just wasn’t aware that it could happen to me.
I also learned that the Starbuck’s at Frankfurt airport doesn’t have my favorite cheesecake. So, excuse me for going all big coffee house chain on you, but the raspberry cheesecake they sell at Starbuck’s might just be the best cheesecake I have ever had. This cake is to die for, and I totally don’t mind that it costs half a fortune (at least cakewise) and probably has about 2 billion calories, because it. Is. Great. But due to the unfortunate lack of cheesecake I only had a chocolate donut, which isn’t really to die for. Too bad.
I also cheated a bit on my 365 days project. I hadn’t gotten around to taking photos in a while, but I just decided to ignore that and now even I don’t know how many days there actually were between day 26 and day 27. It was more than one, though. There was no day 24, because I tried not to cheat and then I didn’t care so much. From now on, if there’s a day missing it’s probably not because I didn’t take a picture, but because some of them are for friends and family only. It’s partly for your own safety, though. Unless you want to see a close-up of my big toe with a nasty black bruise on it. Then I really can’t help you. And yes, it was the best idea I could come up with that special day.
Anyway, new photos are up and I really like that one. It’s so random and totally uninteresting, but the colors are pretty. Plus, I couldn’t really live without my internet, so maybe it’s not so uninteresting after all.
If you haven’t heard from me in a while, it’s because I’m either busy or tired. Busy of course means a serious amount of procrastination, including staring at both Powell’s Staff Top 5s of 2006 Picks and my Amazon wish list, which naturally grew a lot longer not long after I noticed that the Top 5s were up.
I’m also at work a lot. Since I’ve started my new job I’m both a lot more exhausted a lot happier. I’m working with a lot of really nice people, people that actually share my interests and don’t stare at me blankly when I say something like ‚Firefly‘. So far all is great and I’d rather spend nine hours a day at a job I actually enjoy than 8 hours at one that drives me insane every once in a while.
I haven’t missed a day of my 365 day thingy at flickr yet, although I must admit that since most of the week I come home when it’s already dark outside and I kind of ran out of interesting things in our apartment really quickly, the pictures are not extraordinarily great. Plus, I really haven’t made any great progress with the camera and I pretty much stick to the buttons I somehow kind of understand, which is about one. Maybe that one switch, too. I upgraded my flickr account to a pro account, though. It was about damn time.
So far that’s the news. There might be more, but did I tell you about the exhausted and the tired? Yep. That’s why after one more minute at staring at my wish list, I’m heading to bed. I still have some books to read before I can justify ordering new ones.
We recently got some money from my grandparents. Some as in a lot, but most of it is going directly to the big „saving-for-a-house“-account. A little of it, though, also was carefully distributed all around town on a carefully planned shopping trip to Cologne today.
I knew I needed some new clothes, possibly some new shoes. And I always need new CDs. I got everything I wanted except for new pants. Shopping for clothes usually stresses me out, so I decided to be happy with what I found and not drive myself crazy hunting for some pants that for all that I know don’t even exist. It’s the mystery of my life that every time I have something specific in mind, it’s nowhere to be found.
First stop was the electronics store, where I ended up with two more CDs than I had originally intended to get, thus three in total, plus one DVD. By the way, I think you should all get Carla Bruni’s „Those Dancing Days are Done“. While you’re at it, you can also get „Quelqu’un m’a dit“. I love her husky, broken voice so much.
Anyway, I then proceeded for the second most dangerous part of the journey: Buying clothes. I’m really bad at buying clothes. I tend to pick the wrong sizes, and I seem to be unable to figure out what I can wear and what looks just wrong. I also can’t usually take more than one visit to a changing booth, so if I haven’t found anything by then, it’s very possible I’ll leave the store without buying anything. And while some of you might think that this is a good thing, since I’m saving money and stuff, it’s not. Because I wear out all my old clothes up to the point, where I really can’t wear them anymore, so I really need to buy some clothes from time to time. This time, however, was slightly different. I was in some kind of zone, where I not only picked out the right clothes rightaway (except for one blouse and one dress that looked really strange on me), but they were also cheap and available in different colors and, you know, there. I got a nice new skirt, three new light pullovers and a nice green sweater, all on sale and just great. Now, if I can only find some pants, I’m practically done with this year’s clothes shopping. Awesome.
The next part of the journey is tedious to narrate. I had lunch in a cute little place a bit off the center called „Souppresso“, where I had – guess what – soup. I’m really into soup and dessert at the moment, don’t know why.
Then came the most dangerous part: Buying shoes. I’m pretty sure I’ve whined about how my feet are stupid and only half about all shoes in a store usually fit. I also can be picky when it comes to shoes. It’s not like I care so much, but when I actually decide to spend money (and precious time) on some, I want them to be perfect. So I knew there was a shoe store we once stopped by that looked like it might be perfect for me, style-wise. I went there and tried out about every shoe remotely Mary Jane style and red. I kinda focused on red. I have black shoes already. Actually I have several black shoes. I wanted something else. I finally found a pair that was red, Mary Jane like, affordable, and fit. Wow. How did that happen?
Here is a picture of that miracle that happened today:
After that, practically high on the feeling that I’d bought new clothes AND new shoes I got some cake at my favorite cake shop and drove to my parents to celebrate. Because I sure as hell had a reason to.
Now I’m done with throwing my money around. I might order some books tomorrow, but then that’s that. Besides, what do I need now anyway?
I decided to try and do this 365 day project everybody is doing this year. Considering that I got the camera back and now am able to make kick-ass photos of about everything it seems like it’s time.
I also might have totally ripped of srah’s buddy icon. Sorry.
So there, today is day 1. Watch me.
Yay! The new season of Beauty and the Geek has started! It was only when I watched the season premiere that I realized how much I love this show.
So, here are my first thoughts (some spoilers, there, so don’t read if you want to stay unspoiled for the first episode):
Tori totally deserved to get eliminated. I felt kinda sorry for her during the first challenge, but the interview totally showed that she was too lazy to even try. I’m kinda sorry for Sanjay. He wasn’t my favorite, but he didn’t deserve to get stuck with Tori.
Nate’s comedy routine was really good, as was Mario’s.
Sheree was exceptionally great at the interview challenge. I don’t believe that she’s stupid for one minute. That girl’s smart. What’s she doing there?
I really like Mario and Nadia. I think it was cute that their feelings about each other were so similar. At first I was afraid that Mario was an arrogant jerk, but he seemed really nice later on. Nadia is a sweetheart.
Andrea is a bitch. And wears stupid outfits.
Cecille is a real bitch. I first wasn’t sure what to think about her. The thing that made me dislike her was her reaction when Sheree won. She obviously was so proud of her mediocre performance that the thought that someone else could have been better never occurred to her. Studid woman.
I like Erin. Just because.
As always, opinions are likely to change. We’ll talk some more next week. Can’t wait.
10. John Haskell, American Purgatorio
An American road trip, the search of a wife who disappeared, the one book that I literally couldn’t put down, so I stayed awake until really late at night to finish it. I’m still unsure what it was that gripped me so much.
9. Anthony Bourdain: A Cookâ??s Tour
I mean, I just love Anthony Bourdain, so how could I not love this book. His story of the search for the perfect meal all around the world.
8. Marisha Pessl: Special Topics in Calamity Physics
Possibly the book with the most metaphors, but also a great coming-of-age story and a thrilling mystery. Plus, the edition I have gets the award for prettiest cover.
7. Jasper Fforde: The Well of Lost Plots
I finished the Thursday Next series this year and I just love all the books, but The Well of Lost Plots probably was the best Fforde book I read this year. The others are still really good as well.
6. Ann Patchett: Bel Canto
Third runner-up for Saddest Book of the year is this wonderful story about a kidnapping gone wrong and its aftermath, a group of terrorists and the guests of a birthday party forced to live together.
5. Carlos Ruiz Zafon: The Shadow of the Wind
Possibly the most beautiful book I read last year. There’s love, there’s books, there’s Barcelona. There’s a young boy and a mysterious writer whose lifes suddenly get intertwined. Sigh.
4. Haruki Murakami: Kafka on the Shore
Yeah. So this book is kind of, you know, strange. You have to just trust me when I tell you I loved it and you are most likely to love it, too.
3. Walter Moers: Die Stadt der Träumenden Bücher
The year I learned to love Walter Moers. If there is one German fantasy author who doesn’t only create great stories, but can actually write, it’s him. It also helps that his ideas – at least, most of the times – are wonderfully absurd and crazy.
2. Kazuo Ishiguro: Never Let Me Go
I’m always afraid that talking about this book I might say too much. Read it.
1. David Mitchell: Cloud Atlas
I always have a hard time choosing one favorite book, because they’re all so different, so how to actually make a choice. Cloud Atlas stood out from all the books, which is why I chose it as my favorite book of the year 2006. It was just amazing to follow this book word by word, paragraph by paragraph, page by page. It was a strange journey through six diffrent lives and six different ages, a journey there and back, beautifully written, full of woundrous things.
Also notable:
Best Short Stories and Probably Funniest Book: David Sedaris, Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
Best Children’s Book: Conor Kostick, Epic
Book that Seemed the Longest (and Probably Also Was the Longest): Susanna Clarke, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
Saddest Book: Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner (runner-up: American Purgatorio, but that one already scored)
Most Charming Book: Alexander McCall Smith, The No. 1 Ladiesâ?? Detective Agency
Best Love Story with a Time Twist: Andrew Sean Greer, The Confessions of Max Tivoli
Best Strange Finnish Book About Strange Finnish People Living in Strange Finnish Woods: Arto Paasilinna, Hirtettyjen kettujen metsä (German: Im Wald der gehenkten Füchse)
