Friday, March 31, 2006

The rain falls fast on a humdrum town

Hello all. Another day off, and another day at the library. But this time I have BIG NEWS.

Ani DiFranco is going to be in concert in my state this month and I have tickets! Now, you've heard me chat about her from time to time, but I've never gotten to see her live and I honestly thought the chance had passed me by, because I scalped a ticket when I went to see Dimbrilliance and she had lost hers.

Ani quit touring because she had very bad carpal tunnel syndrome after over 15 years of touring and playing her guitar in her beautiful, inimitable style. But she's back! And I have tickets! I cant wait. I really can't. and I'll be sure to tell you all about it.

Cross one off my "musicians to see live before I die" list. I've got her down now!

In other news. Well, there isnt much. We were supposed to have more severe weather last night, and we lucked out with only tornado watches, which is good. We needed the rain and it was lovely. The thunder was a delightful low growl most of the evening, and instead of it frightening me, it was comfortable. We watched Survivor, CSI and Without a Trace and in the commercials I worked on my umpteenth reading of "The Vampire Lestat" because I wanted some brain candy and I wasnt in the mood for Harry Potter or Alexandre Dumas. I need to re-read The Brother's Karamasov sometime soon, and then maybe start on The Davinci Code, as suggested by our good friend Flash. If it gets him off his arse and reading [quoting his profile, not being mean, I promise] its got to be decent, at least.

I have an appointment with an advisor next Wednesday to talk about my college major. I've pretty much decided to go for two degrees at once, and Beloved says I am nuts. I think I can do it. I think I'll like it. And I want to make a good decision, since I want to do graduate [and hopefully doctoral] work once I get my degrees. I'm going to be in school forever, but I love it, so its not too bad, right? In case you're curious, I've selected Professional [techinical] Writing and [Elgish] Literature as my two degree options. I know you'll be laughing, since I never proofread this site, but honestly, I can write when I am into it, and I can proofread quite well when I make an effort, but this is an escape, right?

Apeaking of books, has anyone else read The Brother's Karamasov? It was my favorite book before The Count of Monte Cristo knocked it off the top of the list. I love the book. Its autobiography, allegory and fictional prose all whirled together. Its beautifully and painfully written. Big book, though. And a bit of a lagging read, at first, I admit, but it ends in brilliant style, and its incredibly moving. There are also a lot of roots in the existentialist movement inspired by the work, in fact, if I remember rightly, Freud even discussed existentialism in this book in a paper of his. Maybe I'll look it up again. Hm.

You know, if you wanted, I'd like to see everyone's top 5 book list, if you have one.

I'll start, hows that sound?

5. Memoirs of a Geisha, Arthur Golden [new to my list - I cant put it down]
4. Oranges Aren't the Only Fruit, Jeanette Winterson
3. Harry Potter [select one of the last 3, I dont care]
2. The Brother's Karamasov, Fyodor Dostoyevsky [sic]
1. The Count of Monte Cristo, Alexander Dumas

alright. Your turn.

6 comments:

-L said...

Alecya, I am brainstorming my fav books - FUN! I wish I would have read your post earlier this afternoon...my god, has this afternoon at work been dragging! But now it's time to leave so I'll have to leave a longer post later...Ciao for now, darhling! :)

Aravis said...

This is tough! I've always loved reading...

In no particular order:
1. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
2. The Scarlet Pimpernel, Baroness Orczy
3. The Witch of Blackbird Pond, Elizabeth George Speare
4. Animal Farm, George Orwell
5. A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens

I eliminated most young adult favorites from my childhood. I also didn't include the Chronicles of Narnia, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, or all eight books in the Anne of Green Gables series. I reread all of those series fairly regularly. There are also lots of other books I could probably rotate in as well: Tolstoy, Pullman, Nix, Christie, Barbara Michaels, etc.

Anyway, congratulations on getting those tickets! I can't wait to hear all about it. :0)

-L said...

Righto, I'm back!

I don't think you're nuts at all for pursuing two degrees at once! In fact, I am quite leaning towards another Bachelors now...I think it makes heaps of sense! :) Do you ever wish you could just be a professional student some days?

I have read Brothers Karamasov and loved it, too. It was assigned reading for a Philosophy class I was required to take, and I really, really enjoyed peeling through the layers of the characters, etc, etc. It's one of the few I didn't try to redeem for a few $$ at the end of the year. :)

Now, for my Top 5 (in no particular order)...*grabs snack of cheese and contemplates some more*...Like Aravis said, this is a tough assignment!

1. A Farewell to Arms/One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest/To Kill A Mockingbird
2. The Things They Carried - Tim O'Brien
3. Charlie & the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
4. Favre - Brett Favre & Chris Havel
5. Bridget Jones' Diary/The Edge of Reason - Helen Fielding

Some commentary - #1 were the beloved books I most remember from high school, assigned reading that I couldn't bear to put down until I finished them.
#2, a Vietnam book, amazing characters and written beautifully. #3, well, what better for a child's imagination than a factory of candy & chocolate?! #4, yes, I'm quite the silly cheesehead...but it really is well-written. Laugh out loud hilarious; I feel as if Brett's actually talkin' right in front of me. It's a yearly read at the beginning of football season. :) #5 Every girl can relate to Bridget a bit, can't she?

I have this silly habit of maintaining a book list of books I want to read...either recommended reads, or from reviews I come upon, or books I happen to come across. I have 10 pages of books to read! Chicas, your selections will be added...

Aravis, good call with Animal Farm & P&P!!! Can't go wrong with either of those... :)

HistoryGeek said...

Yay! for Ani DiFranco. Give her a big kiss for me.

My favorite books:

1. Imago, Octavia Butler
2. At the Root of this Longing, I can't remember the author...it's about the intersection of spirituality and feminism.
3. The Underground Man, Dostoyevski (okay, I didn't love the book, but it was powerfully written and really made an impression).
4. Greenwitch, Susan something
5. Jack of All Trades, can't remember the author and I've lost the damned book. It's a tragedy all around.

Sorry I can't be more sure on the authors...all those books are very far away right now.

Anonymous said...

Top 5 Books....sorry, going to be a typical boy here:
1. Star Wars: Rogue Squadron - Michael A Stackpole.
2. Necropolis - Dan Abnett.
3. 1984 - George Orwell.
4. Ravenor - Dan Abnett.
5. Fifth Elephant - Terry Pratchett

...and the pop-up karam sutra. ;)

adem said...

I'm always rubbush with top 5 lists etc. I can never remember.