Reading Journal

I finished both Count of Monte Cristo and Circle of Friends within the same week. I really tried to stretch it out because if I finish two books at the same time, that means I'm starting two books at the same time, and that's rough for me. I can handle and almost enjoy picking up a book while I'm in the middle of another one. But that's precisely where I need to be: in the middle of one. Otherwise it's too easy for me to get them confused, even if one is a classic and the other is a short book about management.

Another downfall of finishing them so close together is that it didn't allow me poetry time the way I had intended. So I decided to make my next Old read to be Milton's two epics on Paradise. Technically, it's in the same book that I would hold in my hands, but it's two separate pieces. And they're poems. So it's like reading two poems. Also, I think the content has the potential to be helpful in my personal life during the next few weeks. (!)

I wasn't particularly a fan of the way Monte Cristo ended. Although I do remember finding a couple of passages intriguing and worth sharing. Too bad I left my copy at home. It's a great book, though, and read surprisingly fast considering the heft of the pages and the language. Having a character and alternate name list would have been helpful, though.

Same goes for Circle of Friends. Except I like the ending of that one. It's one of my favorites, actually. It's a pleasant and satisfying ending, but it isn't overdone and truer to life than most novel endings. I really would like to say more about it, but it would involve spoilers. Just know that I'll talk about it with anyone who has read the book. It's just fabulous and I should probably stop building up to more than it actually is.

Writing Journal

So I've been a slacker on writing a poem a day. (I figured I'd have dry days, which is why the precise goal is 366 this year.) It's the 9th and I've only counted 6. Although I may have one or two I don't remember in a notebook at home and I almost thought a list of Wheel of Fortune puzzle answers was some wierd, abstract poem I had written. Although that does give me an idea for future inspiration...

Anyway, today, I'm going to freestyle. Disclaimer: This may be a little obscure to some readers and all too clear for others. I wish there was some other way, but I've learned that I can only put so many emotions into one bottle before it explodes like a Molotov Cocktail. (And I totally call dibs on that imagery.)

(Title Suggestions?)
I don't know whether I should laugh or cry.

The sinister side says to laugh.
After all, the olive branch has made her shy.
Why else the lack of response?
The immediate turn of the glance?

The sensitive side says to cry.
After all, I couldn't ask for a hug goodbye.
Why else but for her coldness?
The thickening tension in the room?

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Well, that was easier and quicker than I thought it would be.

Reading Journal

This weekend, I finished Mr. Fooster. It was an ok book, although I'm thinking I'll put it with my children's selections. It's a better fit, both literally and logistically. The content is very appropriate and good for that hard-to-reach-with-books age: 8-12. And my regular fiction bookcase is literally overflowing. The rows of books bowed as I put selections back after deciding I didn't want to read that particular one for my "random." I'm lucky the Maeve Binchey paperbacks are small and the shelves are wide because the one I picked out for Christmas fits perfectly in front of the other one I have.

I spent half an hour reading out of a book I snatched from my mom's house sometime ago. Something called "Best Loved Poems of the American People" or something. Read a few by the Shelly's and a couple about an old bucket in a well. (One was in response to the first one.) Found a movie ticket stub stuck in the pages for some reason. I didn't recognize any of the poems on the page, although read and liked the one about Mr. Felix and work. (Or something like that.) I'm thinking of using that incident as poem fodder. If it's appropriate to share, I will. If it becomes to personal or winds up being no good, I won't.

I picked up "Anpao," as a re-read for my Random.
But after bringing up Ms. Binchey just now, I might put him back and go for "Circle of Friends" as a re-read. It's a little closer to home in terms of my personal life and I'm anticipating reading the one I just bought as being my next New. (Can't remember the title; I just know she's a good author and it was like $5.)