Joie de vivre

I have never consciously avoided reading popular fiction, yet my booklist shows it turning up more and more infrequently.

Because honestly, very little of it is any good whatsoever. 

I always end up catching the newest Grisham, because while his writing is not the best his plots are often masterful. (Plus I've met him and he's a nice guy.) I always read the newest from Pratchett and Lawhead, but neither of those fit into what I consider the popular fiction category -- the books you find in any Wal-mart, airport bookstore, the light summer reading everybody takes on vacation. 

Yet I always hold out hope that there might be one to come along that is really something, really special. I thought that The Sunday Philosophy Club might be it, but it didn't do much for me, although it's much better than most of today's writing. Isn't it Romantic? had a shot but I still didn't like it.

I've eyed The First Wife since it came out two years ago. I was drawn to the cover: a woman paused half way up a graceful curved staircase, looking down pensively at something below. It's beautiful. It should be a painting.

The synopsis sounded interesting, too. I thought it sounded like it could have a chance at being a really good book. Yet I stayed away from it -- until Friday, when I happened upon a review that compared it very favorably to DuMaurier's Rebecca. Ah ha! said I. This has Potential. Perhaps it can be more than the average book and actually can achive something of Beauty and Magnificence.

So in the end I read 59 pages of it last night and realized that A) the writing was very bad, B) the plot was not just implausible but Stupidly Implausible, and C) I didn't actually care if I ever read another line in it.

So I stopped. But I feel gypped and deluded and angry at modern writers for being mediocre as the rule, not the exception. 

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In other news. Today was a good mail day which delivered my first Christmas card of the season, I take great satisfaction in filling bags with trash because it makes me feel productive, and I like flouting grammar rules on occasion.

And I love life. 

Praise Him from whom all blessings flow.

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PS: *giggle*

I am very, very, very tired. I need to go fix myself supper, but I'd almost rather just sit here and starve.

Happy - I've been looking for a dress casual winter coat since last December. Everything was ugly or didn't fit. I was preparing myself to spent close to $100 this fall to find a nice one, and instead I stumbled across the perfect thing that was both beautiful and classy, and fit perfectly. I spent a grand total of $1 on it. Some people just have no idea what they're selling at garage sales! *high five to melyndie*

Also bought an antique terrarium. I love it - beautiful glass bell covering the plant. I used to make them out of mayonaise jars when I was little. This is much better. So elegant. 

I get to go to the winter ball in Boise again this year. Hurray! I was afraid the dates wouldn't work out with the time I had available to take off work. 

emkay_smiles, you're in my prayers.

I went to a wine tasting and bought a bottle and was never asked for my ID. o_O I am, after all, just a few months over 21. Maybe I look older than my age after all. Or maybe it was that "air of confidence" that I don't see, but am told I have. (Hannah?)

The good news is that I found something I like much more than dry red wines. Yay for a sweet table wine.

Saturday I also saw tigers. Live and very, very large...but oh so cuddly looking. I wish you could tame a tiger absolutely and keep him as a pet. For one thing, they remind me of Hobbs.

I love what's happening in my Sunday school class. I love the caring and concern people have for one another.

I never seem to think quite so well about life and love as I do when lying in the dark on a blanket on a grassy hillside, with the sounds of the live music washing over and around me. And I think I say this every year after the festival.

I love sweet potatos.

Willie, the soft snuggly cat who lay curled up beside me all night, cornish hens, the color mauve, silver cell phones, early morning fog, and walking through town while the town is still sleepy.

This morning the fog was so lovely--I took numerous pictures of the fog over the fields, the blue clouds above the fog, and two beauuuutiful horses running through the fog. If the pictures turn out, and savetheolives will scan them for me, then I think I might have a perfectly loverly icon for equuschick. If she wants it.

I wasn't sure how long it would take me to get to work, and I was afraid I'd get stuck waiting on a train to cross the highway, so I ended up getting into town half an hour too early. All was well and good, though, because I simply parked at one end of town and walked down main street. People, I had a sweater on. In August. The sun was all bright and slanty and autumn looking, and birds were flying around, and the town was a quiet as it gets. Few shops were open, and few cars were out, and It Was Fantastic.

I also had the added benefit of burning some of the many calories I consumed last night, in the form of a cornish hen and Starbucks icecream. However, the scale has shown me consistantly at 115 lb since I got there, so either 1) the scale is broken, or 2) I'm doing okay.

I choose the second option.

Ahhh. I love this weather. I think I should get my lunch to go and eat in the park today, possibly while talking to Someone on the aformentioned silver cell phone. (Which no, is not mine. Just on loan for the weekend ; ))