A little more from Sei Shonagon...

Having to go to the bathroom at night in the imperial palace is such bullshit

— Sei Shonagon (@shonagon_sei) August 18, 2013

Hahahahahaha I like to touch base with Sei as I continue to read The Pillow Book

Book Haul, Early September

I had a book come into the library reserve today, so I just had to stop by...

Worst photo ever!

This photo comes on the heels of trying to visit the St. Paul library, and getting totally lost, and driving around in circles (squares) around downtown, with google maps being totally unhelpful, eventually giving up and going to a library in the suburbs. Big fail! City driving makes me really anxious and unhappy though, so this was pretty much par for the course. If I had my way, I would have stopped and parked somewhere far away, like up on the hill, and walked down into the city.

If I ever have a full free day, I'd like to do that.

Anyway, today I got...


Bossypants by Tina Fey

SO EXCITED to read this book finally! I tried to get it for ages, but it was always out and I kept getting screwed on the request system. Placing a book on hold at my library is SNEAKY because they always have an expiration date on the hold, and if you don't remember to bump the date forward you can lose out on a hold. ALSO, they never call you or notify you by email or ANYTHING when your hold comes in! So if you forget about it, or it takes ages for your number to come up in the queue, you are SCREWED. Your hold will expire and you will not get your book and you will be SAD.

Well, imagine my happiness to spot this book on the Staff Recommends shelf. I took big power strides over to the display and grabbed the book. Haha! Victory is mine!


Why We Buy by Paco Underhill

I need to read this for a school project, and I placed it on hold last night, and I knew that there was one in the library (I just wanted to claim it!) so I KNEW it would be on the hold shelf today.

It seems interesting... why we buy what we buy is something I think about a lot, as well as what sort of triggers are in place during shopping experiences.


My Cooking Class CHOCOLATE BASICS by Orathay Guillaumont, Vania Nikolcic, and Pierre Javelle

This book is heavenly. 90% beautiful photos, 10% simple text about how to make amazing chocolate sweets.

I need to own this book. No question. Good thing I accidentally forgot to cancel my trial month of Amazon Prime (seriously, I don't want Amazon Prime, but now I've paid for it, so I'm going to use that sucker for all the free shipping and streaming Downton Abbey that it's worth. Written in my August 2014 planner it says "CANCEL AMAZON PRIME!").
The stinky thing is, the item I really really crave (chestnut jam -- impossible to find in stores) is not under Prime. WHAT IS THE POINT, I ASK YOU.


Sense & Sensibility (1995)

Emma Thompson! Alan Rickman! Kate Winslet! Hugh Grant!!

I know what I'm doing tonight!!

Austenland

Ahh, Jane Austen. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways...

Ignore the copy of Jane Eyre. 

This past week, I went to see the movie "Austenland", starring Keri Russell. I was the only person in the theater, probably because it was a Wednesday night, I had to go to a rather overpriced hipster theater to see it, and it has gotten terrible reviews.

Well sue me, I liked it.

Basically, you have to be a fan of Austen. And you probably have to be a girl/woman. And you must be a little forgiving of the whole thing. Oh, and having an inherent fondness for Brett McKenzie definitely helps.

As you might suspect, I really love Jane Austen. I often repeat that I went through a period of about a year where I read Pride & Prejudice over and over... at least once a month. I'd read it on my lunch break, at my desk, and when I finished I would wait a day or so and start over again. It never ever gets old. My favorite thing about Jane Austen is that you can read her works in many different lights. You can take a moral lesson from Sense & Sensibility  about correct actions and not getting carried away by emotions, you can examine social norms & levels in Emma  and Mansfield Park, you can learn about knowing yourself in Emma and Pride & Prejudice. Or you can laugh at all of them. Or you can just fall into the world of balls and muslin.

OR, if you're in a particular mood, you can just settle back and enjoy the inevitable love story.

To enjoy "Austenland", you just had to let go a little bit. Keri Russell is instantly lovable in any movie. There were lovely costumes. The whole plot and Austenland itself was really silly and not quite believable, but it wasn't supposed to be. You were just supposed to relax and suspend a little disbelief.


I'm 3/4 of the way through The Friendly Jane Austen and it is ACE! So, so interesting and informative. It's got lots of interviews with professors, writers, actors, and critics concerning different aspects of the novels and the themes therein. I'm super excited to revisit all of her novels once I'm done with this book. HIGHLY recommended for any Jane Austen fan.