Welcome to the fifth episode of summer week, I mean entry. I have no idea why it is that despite my continued lack of interest in TV I still see the world through TV colored glasses. I guess these things take time. I'm still feeling very unsettled by my lack of interest in TV - it's been two weeks now since I've wanted to watch TV. Several people told me in the comments section that the same thing happens to them when they read a lot - and I suppose that is the normal reaction, but I've never had that experience. I can have the flu and be so sick I can hardly move and I still want to watch General Hospital - I could read morning noon and night and still want to catch a quick episode of Hazel (such a good show) when I'm done - and I used to have my Mother tape shows for me while I was at school and I would watch them right away when I got home (she was my human TIVO.) And yet now I have no interest in it. I can't make sense of this. Whhhhhhhhhy? Oh well, I guess summer is the best time of year to have no interest in TV.
And now it's time for another installment of "You're going to look at childhood pictures of me whether you like it or not" (catchy title huh.)
Here I am in the Summer of 1986, sporting the look that says, "Fruit can be fashionable." I have this picture of myself framed and sitting on one of my bookshelves - which kind of make me feel like an egomaniac, but there is a method to my vanity. I read in a book somewhere that women should always keep a picture of themselves around from before the age of 9 or 10 because that's about the age when girls start to censor themselves in order to be what others expect them to be, to present a false and more perfect image to the world. At first when I read that passage I started to laugh because censoring myself is something that I have never excelled at - although I did manage to be nice to someone who annoyed me once at a party back in 1998, and I lasted for 32 whole minutes which was a personal best for me. But then you've probably already figured out how bad I am at censoring myself by now - especially if you read the entry about the inkless pen, which let's be honest here, did not reflect well on me. So I considered framing the picture more of a preventative measure - and well okay, I'll be honest, I also enjoy looking at myself more than is healthy because that just the kind of self involved person that I am. And now on to on to our regularly scheduled program:
Today's book, "Hermione Beldame is a sixty year old writer of romance novels. She is rich, sophisticated, self-made, often divorced, long widowed, and long finished with the notion of romantic love as a part of her life. Until, one day, at a party - she sees across the room an attractive man who finds his way to her. What begins as a charming conversation between two strangers develops into much more (and much less) as the novel charts the course of a brief encounter that disrupts the equilibrium - the hard-won serenity - of its heroine, seizing her heart and her life during her summer with George." I had a really hard time finding a picture of today's book because I seem to have some crazy knack for going into the library and picking out books that are all out of print. I think that next weeks entries aren't just going to be about trying to have standards, but also about finding some books to read that are actually still in print.
I really enjoyed today's book - which is a sentence I haven't been able to write in a long time. I don't even have anything to complain about with this book - which kind of left me panicked earlier today thinking Oh no, what am I going to complain about - nothing about this book is annoying me. So, since I have nothing to complain about with this book, I'm just going to throw a totally random complaint out there: I really hate it when people block the driveways to fire stations even though there's that sign in front of the driveway that clearly states DO NOT BLOCK THE DRIVE. It's just so inconsiderate. Whenever that happens I just sit there and think Wouldn't it be ironic if a fire broke out while that car is blocking the drive and it turns out the house the firetruck was headed to was the house of the guy blocking the driveway.
Okay, now that I've gotten the complaining out of the way let's move on to what I liked about the book:
- I really liked the main character. - It's weird how this happens, but I've read many books where I enjoyed the plot but couldn't never quite warm up to any of the characters, or sometimes just flat out despised all of the characters. But that wasn't a problem with today's book.
- I loved the part where Hermione was talking about the formula she follows to write her romance novels. It was basically a list of all of the stuff I complain about every time I attempt to read a romance novels (men who don't act the way men in real life act, women who are all virgins while the men are all sluts, women who are always under the age of thirty) - and so I found that part rather amusing.
- I really liked the flashbacks to Hermione's early life, especially her teenage years in the 1940s, despite the details being a bit depressing. I just love that time period.
And now it's time for Cooking With Angie (seriously, I've got to stop with the TV references):
Fruit Dip
1 (3.4 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 cup confectioners sugar
1 cup whole milk
In a medium mixing bowl, mix together all ingredients. Serve chilled.
Variation: Sometimes I add 1-2 tbsp of fruit spread to this for added color and flavor.
For those of you who are new and are wondering what the heck I'm talking about with that inkless pen thing, here's the entry (although I probably should have the good sense to let that awful entry fade into obscurity): http://abookaday09.blogspot.com/2009/06/hitchhikers-guide-to-galaxy.html
