Archive for January, 2009
New Loot
Dropped by at Kinokuniya, got a couple of presents for a couple of people, and also added to my library. Here’s what came in through the window:
The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time
Mark Haddon
I’ve read this before, actually, but I just had to add it to my library. It was also a long time ago since I read it, so I thought it would be a good time to make the purchase. It’s a book I remember being tremendously amused with, actually, and I’m very fond of it.
Waiting For Godot
Samuel Beckett
I have no theatre on my shelves, and I figured that that grievance had to be addressed. Something I know and love to begin with.
By Night In Chile
Roberto Bolaño
I’m devouring 2666 rather happily (more on that some other time), and so far the one affirmation I’ve had from it is that Bolaño is a magnificent writer. I’m keen to explore a bit more, so I’m starting with this.
Your Inner Fish
Neil Shubin
This volume is a natural history book exploring the evolution of the human body. I’ve had my eye on it for quite a while now, and now that the paperback is out, I’m happy to see my first science book in quite a bit. (I think the last Science book I bought was a Feynman, and that was the middle of last year, if memory serves.)
Selected Poems
T.S. Eliot
Eliot is one of the most important of writers to me, so it’ll probably seem more than a bit strange if I told you now that I gave away or sold all of my Eliot. A recent quote invoked by a friend of mine reminded me that it was high-time I restored Eliot to my shelf, and so here he is, in a lovely ff edition.
Murder In The Cathedral
T.S. Eliot
As a combination of the two previous points on Eliot and theatre, I also got my hands on an Eliot play. I’ve never read this before, and now’s as good a time as any, though that’s just a euphemism of a sort, since it’ll be a while before I get to it.
All in all, it went slightly over my budget, and I got a gift for someone whom I probably shouldn’t have got a gift for, but I think we’re doing well, especially with the return of science, the restoration of Eliot and the first seeds of theatre. All very good.
d
R.I.P. Rabbit
John Updike has passed away. [via The New York Times] He died of lung cancer.
I was never the biggest fan of his work, and it has been a long time since I’ve read the Rabbit Angstrom books, but I will never quite forget the muscular poeticism that had at that time left me quite enthralled. A modern great, and no matter one’s opinion of his work, we are surely the lesser for this loss.
d
Oh school again.
Oh Yes
Bright and merry on a Wednesday morning, it’s off to school again. Not so eager, not so keen, but hey, what’s the worst that could happen?
That said, I didn’t do quite as much as I’d have liked during the break. Some Math, mostly, as well as a bit of reading, visiting of my grandparents, confirmed that I’ve just been ridiculously happy ever since 2009 began, and just about nothing else. The plot goes good, however, the new one I was thinking of, and New Year’s Day is trickling along, though very slightly.
I didn’t get round to doing the querying for The River, although it did strike me that a couple of fairly large chunks would have to be edited. Quick adjustments though, so I’ll be jotting them down some time today, I think.
Happiness Is A…
Strange. This new mood. I think I’m getting old. Buzzing with positivity for no good reason at all. At best, that could be called foolish. At worst, dangerous. Ah but you shouldn’t complain about being happy. I mean, that just doesn’t make sense. Let’s see where this goes.
Short Weeks
School looks like this: Three days this week, short day today, then a long one, and one that is potentially long though most likely short; the weekend; Monday kicks off a brand-new week and it is one of the rare Mondays that will be long because of lab, though I get to work together with three very nice people for the lab; Tuesday is long; free Wednesday (phew); Thursday and Friday should be about the same as this week; and the weekend returns.
Not looking too bad.
And then it’s another week. Sigh.
Book Outing
I’m going shopping soon. If any one of my immediate friends would like to join me on my book outing to Kinokuniya, it’ll be Wednesday to Friday, depending on how it works out. I’m moderately flexible.
Off to school.
d
Starting today…
I’m kicking off my 2666 reading today. Wee!
New Year’s Day
Once Again
A very happy Year of the Bovine for those who celebrate Chinese New Year, and also for those who don’t. Go out. Have some fun. Play some mahjong.
Actually…
I’m slightly coincidentally writing a short story called New Year’s Day. It is not going very well. It’s as if I’ve lost the spark I had started out with, so now it just sits around waiting to reignite.
On the other hand, the plotting for the (new) next project goes well. I’ve devised a simple plot scheme to go with for now, and it seems to work out fairly well. Of course, no details yet, and you know where the devil tends to be; which is basically to say that I’m still not at all confident about this yet, so I’ll talk about it a bit more maybe in the unforeseeable future.
Murakami Wins Prize
Haruki Murakami wins the Jerusalem Prize. [via Ynetnews]
Nike Coraline Shoes
Here they are. [via Josh Spear]
And Not Much Else…
I think that’s all I’ve got. Off to enjoy the New Year break. Or to die trying.
d
Special Delivery
Today, my sister visited and dropped off 2666, which is one of the reasons I’m tremendously happy now. Yay.
d
年年有余
新年好
Well, no, I’m not going to write in Chinese, but the Chinese New Year approaches. Many happy wishes and blessings to come in the Year of the Bovine. Enjoy the holiday break too!
诚实的工程师
I nearly lost a book yesterday. I left it in the canteen while rushing off to meet a friend. I realised it a little too late and went back only to find the canteen crowded and it really wasn’t where it was before already. After frantically checking every single place I had gone to after that to no avail. It all left me a little sad, because the book (The Singularity Of Literature) cost me quite a bit and there was a bookmark that I had brought back all the way from Japan.
Late in the afternoon, I saw Matthew, who had had a late lunch. I made no mention of the book because I had by then accepted that it was lost to me forever.
Then the other friends started popping up asking if I had found the book, and Matthew asked, What book, what book. And we explained and he said, is it… this blue book called the… something of Literature? I saw it during my late lunch!
And after some scurrying about, it was back in my hands. It had shifted a few tables, so I can only assume that some folks had moved it. That said, I guess we have some really honest Engineers-To-Be, though I think part of it could simply be down to how none of them were likely to be interested in an academic Literature text.
Thanks a bunch to Matthew too, who somehow joined the lovely coincidence.
意想不到
My plotting plans are going in a completely unexpected direction, and I think I’ve really accepted that Singapura isn’t going to be my next project. I’d love to tell you more about what I’m intending to do next, but the truth is, I’m not too sure myself, so I’ll say more when I’ve worked it out.
d
