reading (The Hotel New Hampshire)

I finished reading "The Hotel New Hampshire" weeks ago, but I haven't managed to sit down and write my review. Generally I like the crazy characters and crazier circumstances of this book. I have to disclose that some of my enjoyment of the book is geographic, my first home as a wee tot was in the town where The Hotel New Hampshire was supposed to exist. My grandparents backyard abutted a field leading to the Dairy School, though we all know that's not what it's called. I like the wandering writing style. The story, likewise, just kind of wanders along, it gets someplace eventually, but plot helix is a better description than plot line. But in the meantime, Irving paints some great images.

If this book were your sole introduction to sex, you'd probably take a vow of chastity. There is a lot of sex and there is love, but rarely do they exist together. Among some of the characters there is great love and sold connection, but it's so utterly understated you have to wonder if the characters realize it exists.

This books has foreshadowing and foretelling. The foretelling is irritating. The story is told mostly in linear fashion, but occasionally Irving decides he has to let you know a critical event happened, not how or any other details just that it happened, about a half chapter in advance of when it will happen. The foreshadowing is a change in tone which readers will quickly pick up on. By the end of the book I felt like Pavlov's dog, only the dog got to anticipate food and I got to anticipate tragedy.

48. John Irving "The Hotel New Hampshire"

reading (The Carnivorous Carnival)

I finished "The Carnivorous Carnival" just before going on vacation. If you've read this far in the Series of Unfortunate Events, you know what to expect. I think the alliteration was cranked up even further than in previous installments, a fabulous feat. As you might expect, the unfortunateness is greater too, with more mature subjects and more complicated morals coming into play. Of course, there is still utter silliness too.

49. Lemony Snicket "The Carnivorous Carnival"

for all the good it did me

Today derien mentioned that someone on her friends list had posted about a guy who wrote a thank you letter each day for a year and wrote a book about it.

I couldn't do it. I couldn't do anything every day for a year. Consistency, day in, day out, is something I'm no good at.

I'm a project person. I can pick up a project and run with it, giving it great effort and attention. I may complete it, or I may find another project and set it aside. There is always another project and there are always a collection of half finished projects.

On a related note, notalwaysweak announced one of her New Year's resolutions was going to be finish up her WIPs. Now I don't write in fandom or really write at all, so I don't have WIPs. But I have projects. I'm not going to pretend I can get all of my projects in progress finished or scrapped within the year, but I'm going to try to get some of them cleaned up.

That and my desk, I need to get my desk cleaned up.