Quicksilver is mocking me. I haven’t made much headway. It sits there and smirks, with its many lenghtly pages and historical references.
Insead, I’m reading kids’ books! I picked up Coraline, and loved it. It is the darkest and spookiest book I’ve read in a long time. There were many details that seemed very true to childhood — Coraline’s insistance that she is an Explorer, her dislike of spicy food, and the way she relates to her eccentric neighbors who never call her by her correct name. The resourceful child having to rescue her parents is a staple of children’s literature, but the “other mother,” that Coraline meets when she passes through a mysterious door was so original and creepy, I was rushing to the end of the book to see how Coraline would be able to defeat her.
I also finished reading The Slippery Slope. I’d read a bunch of the earlier Lemony Snicket books, but this is the first one that I’ve read in about a year or two. I was happy to see that Mr. Snicket was up to his old tricks, referencing Frost, Swinburne, and Stockholm syndrome as the Baudelaire orphans attempt to escape their latest unfortunate events.
Sometimes I think it is too bad I don’t have a legitimate excuse for my reading habits, like being a children’s librarian : )
Oh, well, if a horde of bookish children randomly show up at my apartment, I have enough comics and books to keep them entertained for a couple hours.
Hang in there with Neal S. Yeah, there are some parts of Q. that are slow going — but it’s ultimately rewarding (perhaps not quite as much or in the same way as Crypto. but worth it nonetheless). And about Neil G.: If you liked Coraline, also try Neverwhere, which is his BBC miniseries (now available on DVD and excellent despite Dr. Who-style production values)-turned-novel.
I’ll try to hang in there! I actually got past the first paragraph last night. I think I’d have a better time of it if the book wasn’t too heavy for me to lug during my morning commute, because there are some quality reading minutes there!
I think this: if a horde of any sort of children shows up at your pad, it’s best to have some refreshments on hand to go along with the storytime.
All hail Mr. Snicket. Go on, all hail, I said.