My Sunshine State

Have you ever been somewhere and felt like you'd been there before even though you knew you hadn't? Have you ever visited somewhere for the first time and instantly felt that you belong?

For me, that place is Florida and I can't wait to go home.

Run, Run, As Fast As You Can

Nothing much has been happening around here. C has been on nights which gave me plenty of opportunity to do some reading without being frowned on. I'm probably giving the impression that I do nothing except read all day. Of course, that's not true. Let's see, there's 168 hours in a week... 60 hours working or travelling to and from work, 50 hours sleeping, 14 hours for cooking and housework, 4 hours football duties, that leaves 40 hours a week for me. I have no idea where this time goes. I guess most of it I waste sitting on my arse thinking about what I should be doing. For some of it, I read.

BOOK CHALLENGE 19/1000 (25)
The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle became book 19. I read this book years ago along with a load of other Sherlock Holmes stories. Although I remembered the gist of the story, I was a fair bit in when I remembered who the murderer was. That was okay though because it was still interesting to read it to the end to find out all the details. If I had the time I would pull a few more Holmes books and read them too. I haven't watched Sherlock Holmes on the TV in years but it was Jeremy Brett who I pictured in my head whilst reading. It's strange how you can picture a character one way until you see a dramatisation and then you'll always picture that actor's face forever more.

BOOK CHALLENGE 20/1000 (26)
I decided to stick with the crime novels for a while. The 39 Steps by John Buchan was cleared next. I know I've seen the film but I didn't remember any of it so this one wasn't spoilt at all. Besides, it's not really a whodunit so it wouldn't have mattered. I am beginning to wonder what the criteria was for the Guardian's list though. Not all of the books I've read so far have been amazingly good. This one, for instance, isn't among the best books I've ever read. It is a classic but is that enough for it to have been chosen!

In between reading books from the challenge I've started reading the Anita Blake series by Laurel K Hamilton. I have discovered I have a penchant for vampires. I've read Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles and Stephanie Meyer's Twilight Saga. Looking through our DVD collection we also seem to have quite a few vampire films, Blade Trilogy, Underworld trilogy, Lost Boys etc. I never realised before. I guess it's easy to see connections when you're looking for them.

Sci-Fi Overload

I knew it was all going too well. I was on schedule, averaging two books a week. I don't know what happened. The house took priority for a week or so and then I just had so much trouble trying to get into a book. I started reading Hyperion by Dan Simmons and then The Female Man by Joanna Russ but I just couldn't get on with them. I had obviously reached my Sci-Fi limit. I tried to persevere and at least finish the two books I had started but it was no good. I needed a break. Not a break from reading, just a break from science fiction.

I haven't been a member of a library since I was a kid. I sort of forgot they existed. I have so many books myself and almost everything else is accessible via the Internet so I didn't have much use for one. Until now. A thousand books is a large number of books to source. I have managed to source about two hundred so far from my own book collection, ebooks etc but my purse is not going to stretch to buying another 800 books in the next few years. (Besides, I think C might kill me if I start bringing loads of books home again). So the library just might be the solution to my problem. My local library is tiny and fairly poorly stocked but luckily membership covers all libraries in the borough so I am hoping I can track down quite a few on the list.

BOOK CHALLENGE 18/1000 (24)

First trip to the local library paid off and I picked up The Reader by Benhardq Schlink. Nice, short, easy to read. Just what I needed. I was surprised that I enjoyed this book a lot more than I enjoyed the film. Even though the film is an excellent adaptation and keeps very true to the book, I found the film a bit slow. It was refreshing to be away from aliens and spaceships and just read about real people in the real world with real feelings. I feel like I am on my way again.

Switching genres was the right move, I think. It might be just what I need to get me back on schedule.

In case there is anyone actually reading my blogs, a brief explanation may be necessary. At the beginning of the year I set myself the challenge of reading all the books on The Guardian's "1000 novels you must read" list. I set myself this task after discovering that I had only shamefully read 35 of these most important books. The plan is to blog a record of the books as I read them and my thoughts about the challenge along with all my other various ramblings through life.

HAPPY ST PATRICKS DAY

As the saying goes, "Everyone's got a bit of Irish in them". I don't know if that's true but I think everyone likes to let their hair down and party once in a while and the Irish certainly know how to kick back and let loose. Usually I would be doing a gig in some local pub, watching everyone use the day as an excuse to get more drunk and more outrageous than usual. Let's face it St George's Day is nothing by comparison which is probably why we reach for the most tenuous connection to the Emerald Isle at this time of year. From "My great-great-great-great Grandmother on my father's side was from Sligo" to "I spent a weekend in Dublin, once". We'll all find that link that makes us feel a little Irish for just one day.

Unfortunately, I won't be joining in the shenanigans this year. I've got tickets to see Tom McRae at Scala. No Irish jigs for me. There is a bar and I'm not driving so maybe I'll mark the occasion with a little impromptu Riverdancing at some point tonight. You never know.

Charity Begins at Home

I have the week off work. The plan is to totally declutter the entire house and get a head start on the Spring Cleaning. A whole seven days to go through everything we own and decide if it's staying or going. You might think a week is plenty of time, and for most people it would be, but I am the squirrel of the family. I absolutely hate throwing anything away. Every shelf, drawer and cupboard in the house is full. The attic is full. The garage is full. It's daunting.

I am doing this all on my own for two reasons. One, C is at work all week and two, it's all my crap. It's day 3 and I am absolutely shattered. As everyone knows when you are having a big clear out everything tends to look a lot worse before it starts looking better. That is the stage I am at. I have thinned out the bedrooms and am now working on the lounge. After two trips to the local charity shops to drop of boxes and bags of stuff, I still have lots more to pack up and ship out. The car is loaded up ready to go back out tomorrow but for today I have had enough. Every bone and every muscle is aching. I have cracked open a well deserved bottle of Michelob and put on a DVD.

A long list is floating round my head of all the things I want to get done this week. At the moment I can't see me finishing everything by Sunday but I'm going to try my hardest. I've got to get some repairs done on the car and an MOT. (I don't know when I'm going to fit that in because I need the car.) I also need to go visit my Mum because I haven't seen her since Christmas.

Maybe I should have booked two weeks off.

Sweet Dreams

I don't dream of much. In all honesty, there's not much I need. Like most people I sometimes wonder what I would do if I won the lottery. I make promises of giving loads to charity and buying houses for close family. I plan on buying us a house large enough to home a library for me and a games room for C. I'm sure we would buy a home in Florida too and probably do a bit of travelling. It's not that unusual from what most people would do.

Of course, it will never happen especially as I don't usually buy a ticket. The most we can hope for is a long hard slog through life along with everyone else. The truth is I don't think I would be comfortably with winning a large sum of money. It would feel a bit like cheating. I have no doubts that everything I will get from this life will be something I have worked hard for. I like to think I'll appreciate it more.

The Martians are Coming

BOOK CHALLENGE 16/1000 (22)

War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells was much better than I thought it would be. After reading Time Machine and the Island of Dr Moreau, I was expecting to be disappointed. The fact that most of the story is just a few miles from where I live probably helped. This is definitely the best of the three books. This one I would read again (not that I'll have the opportunity for a few years).

BOOK CHALLENGE 17/1000 (23)

Adverts for DVD of The Time Travellers Wife by Audrey Niffenegger have been all over the TV the last couple of weeks. I haven't seen the film yet so I thought this would be a good choice. Although it is written by a women the language is very masculine in my opinion. The narration alternates between the two lead characters and I would have expected there to be a marked difference in styles between the two but there wasn't. I enjoyed this one but I was creeped out by it a bit. I felt like this man was "grooming" this young girl. I'm sure it wasn't meant to come across that way but that's how I read it.

My book reader has been going everywhere with me. I've been reading over my morning cup of tea, lunchtime at work and most evenings. I am an addict. I keep thinking I'll have a little break but I don't. Between reading, tweeting and blogging I'm not getting a lot of anything else done. I have next week off work. The plan is 7 days to declutter and spring clean. You might think that is a long time but if you saw the state of our house at the moment you would understand.

I must not sit reading all day.

I must not sit reading all day.

I must not sit reading all day.