Turkey Day and the Hidden Way

I've decided that Thanksgiving is, perhaps, the best holiday out there. When you think about it, there are no tricky religious connotations that go along with it, and almost everyone is given time off to eat delicious food and hang out with family. In all honesty, I can't think of a better way to spend my time - unless, of course, I'm reading. Which I haven't been able to do much of recently, despite my best efforts. I continue to have to do research for my Latin American studies class, and between that and just general homework and life maintenance, there has been little time for pleasure reading (I'm sure I'm starting to sound like a broken record when it comes to that subject, though!).

I've made fairly decent progress on The Other Boelyn Girl, but I'm afraid that I'm coming to that point in most Philippa Gregory novels where I just loose general interest. The back and forth between Mary and Anne, up to this point, has been relatively interesting, but I'm unsure as to how much longer it can carry on before there just has to be one that is picked. I'm also rather intrigued by the character George, especially now that there has been allusions to his being gay and pursuing another male courtier. It's interesting to read how some of the other characters react to this, especially in relation to the highly Catholic and courtly England at the time. Other than that, I can't really seem to find much to praise about the book as of yet. It's got a simple story-telling format, but I find Anne to be immensely annoying and, in all rights and aspects, just kind of a bitch. I think that Henry is just a spoiled brat who can't ever be appeased, no matter what he has or is missing. I suppose that the case could be made that, because this is historical fiction, that the characters are all based on real people, and this is most likely the case. But that doesn't mean I have to like them.

In addition to The Other Boelyn Girl, I've also cracked open Lolita, which has been on my list of books to read since earlier this summer. (I feel it necessary to mention here that Kavalier and Clay has fallen by the wayside, as it just wasn't a good enough book to keep my attention amongst all the other books that I want to read) So far, I'm absolutely in love with it! Nabokov writes with such an interesting style, with such passion for words and their power. It's to be admired, although the subject matter might not be of the most prurient nature. I'm not one for books where characters obsess over other characters, and when its a situation of an older man obsessed with a MUCH younger girl, I find myself even more wary. But Nabokov's words are almost enough to make all of that go away! His phrases and word choice are so flowering that I find myself sinking deeper and deeper with each page. I love it!

Other than that, Thanksgiving is right around the corner (as in, like, two days from now) which means that I turn 19 in three days! Yay for me! And I have to say that, all things considered, its been a pretty awesome year. There have been some friend problems, and now theres the little issue of being deeply in like with the guy next door and him having no idea, but other than that, I've found what I believe to be the hidden way to getting by, to having a good time and enjoying life - slow down. There is no reason to be going a thousand miles an hour all the time. Maybe, if something doesn't get done because you don't slow down, it wasn't supposed to be done in the first place. I don't mean this to be the secret to life (I think saying I had the secret to life at 19 would be a little presumptuous!) but it seems to work for me! If I can say that I woke up in the morning, did all the things I was supposed to do that day, and have a little time for reading or chatting with friends at the end of the day, then that was the best kind of day I can hope for. So, lets hope for many more good days, many more good books, and maybe even a good cup of coffee or two!

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