I've decided to make the effort to write a weekly column (well, post, really) on what I've been reading.
Mostly, this was inspired by reading Nick Hornby's The Polysyllabic Spree, which I have, irritatingly enough, misplaced twenty pages from the end. How annoying is that?
The Polysyllabic Spree is a reprint of columns Hornby wrote for American literature magazine, The Believer. At the beginning of each one he lists the books he read that month and the books he bought, before going on to write down his thoughts on them.
It's kind of odd that I enjoyed the columns, despite Hornby and I having very different tastes. I like most of his books, sure - About A Boy, High Fidelity, and How to be Good come to mind - but, for instance, I've never gotten along with Dickens, which is one of his favourites. I also love sci-fi, which Hornby just cannot understand (really, he says that himself). In fact, I'm now determined to go check out Iain M. Banks' work at the library, based solely on a few paragraphs of Hornby's bafflement. Not at the fact of his bafflement, but because the bits he described seemed really, really interesting, and not baffling at all.
Oh, I've just spotted Hornby's latest book, Juliet, Naked on the pile at the end of my bed. That was one of the books I bought at the airport at New Years, on my way to Aberdeen.
Speaking of books I bought at New Years, I finally read that one by Derren Brown, Tricks of the Mind. I found it absolutely fascinating, and finished it over two days. I really couldn't put it down.
Tricks of the Mind is basically about whatever Derren Brown felt like writing. It's aimed towards the general public, and contains a little information on his life, but a lot more information on memory tricks. Did you know, for instance, that in 2004, the final score of the FA Cup Final was Manchester United 3, Millwall 0? I am never going to forget that, after reading the following paragraph;
Mostly, this was inspired by reading Nick Hornby's The Polysyllabic Spree, which I have, irritatingly enough, misplaced twenty pages from the end. How annoying is that?
The Polysyllabic Spree is a reprint of columns Hornby wrote for American literature magazine, The Believer. At the beginning of each one he lists the books he read that month and the books he bought, before going on to write down his thoughts on them.
It's kind of odd that I enjoyed the columns, despite Hornby and I having very different tastes. I like most of his books, sure - About A Boy, High Fidelity, and How to be Good come to mind - but, for instance, I've never gotten along with Dickens, which is one of his favourites. I also love sci-fi, which Hornby just cannot understand (really, he says that himself). In fact, I'm now determined to go check out Iain M. Banks' work at the library, based solely on a few paragraphs of Hornby's bafflement. Not at the fact of his bafflement, but because the bits he described seemed really, really interesting, and not baffling at all.
Oh, I've just spotted Hornby's latest book, Juliet, Naked on the pile at the end of my bed. That was one of the books I bought at the airport at New Years, on my way to Aberdeen.
Speaking of books I bought at New Years, I finally read that one by Derren Brown, Tricks of the Mind. I found it absolutely fascinating, and finished it over two days. I really couldn't put it down.
Tricks of the Mind is basically about whatever Derren Brown felt like writing. It's aimed towards the general public, and contains a little information on his life, but a lot more information on memory tricks. Did you know, for instance, that in 2004, the final score of the FA Cup Final was Manchester United 3, Millwall 0? I am never going to forget that, after reading the following paragraph;
'04: M3, Millwall 0. Whore: mum, wall 0. Let's convert 'Millwall' into 'wall' to seperate it from the other Ms. Who's that whore? Why it's my own mother (God forgive me), stood against a wall, making nothing at all.
...makes me crack up everytime.
What he's done there is convert the information into words and formed those into an interesting image that you won't want to forget. '4' becomes 'whore' because it rhymes, while '3', using a slightly different number system, becomes an 'm' sound (because an m has three prongs). 'Man U' become M, Millwall is wall. The nil score isn't converted, because we can use it as it is.
That's only a very short overview of that system, but you had to know that much to understand that paragraph, which is the single funniest thing I've read all year.
The book also covers a little about hypnotism, and some of Derren Brown's feelings on mystics and mediums (he disapproves) among other things. It's fascinating if you're the sort of person who likes to know how things work (I only recently realised that some people don't - they're happy to enjoy something without identifying all the peices. How very odd).
I was hoping that that book would last me for the four hour bus journey down to Southampton, but since I finished it so quickly, I got started on the next one - rereading Maureen McCormick's Here's the Story: Surviving Marcia Brady and Finding My True Voice (incidentally, I managed to finish that on my journey down to the bus stop).
Maureen McCormick played the original Marcia Brady, and that's all most people know about her. I admit, I wanted the book simply because she was my favourite character. I didn't even realise she played Judy in Teen Angel, and I loved that show.
McCormick's a very interesting person, too. I think I would like to be her friend. I like how candid she is about her attraction to men, and the frank way in which she discusses her past drug problems. She still looks beautiful, too.
I like biographies. I'm not always in the mood for them, but it's always interesting reading about people's lives.
Maureen McCormick did a cameo on Scrubs in 2003. I use a screenshot of that as one of my usericons on livejournal, but you can see the whole clip here, lucky blog readers.
I wonder what it was like for her, after being haunted by Marcia for so many years to say on TV "my name is Maureen McCormick", and then to be shushed? It doesn't seem to have been a big deal for her, but I find that it kind of sums up the influence Marcia has had on McCormick's public life.
What he's done there is convert the information into words and formed those into an interesting image that you won't want to forget. '4' becomes 'whore' because it rhymes, while '3', using a slightly different number system, becomes an 'm' sound (because an m has three prongs). 'Man U' become M, Millwall is wall. The nil score isn't converted, because we can use it as it is.
That's only a very short overview of that system, but you had to know that much to understand that paragraph, which is the single funniest thing I've read all year.
The book also covers a little about hypnotism, and some of Derren Brown's feelings on mystics and mediums (he disapproves) among other things. It's fascinating if you're the sort of person who likes to know how things work (I only recently realised that some people don't - they're happy to enjoy something without identifying all the peices. How very odd).
I was hoping that that book would last me for the four hour bus journey down to Southampton, but since I finished it so quickly, I got started on the next one - rereading Maureen McCormick's Here's the Story: Surviving Marcia Brady and Finding My True Voice (incidentally, I managed to finish that on my journey down to the bus stop).
Maureen McCormick played the original Marcia Brady, and that's all most people know about her. I admit, I wanted the book simply because she was my favourite character. I didn't even realise she played Judy in Teen Angel, and I loved that show.
McCormick's a very interesting person, too. I think I would like to be her friend. I like how candid she is about her attraction to men, and the frank way in which she discusses her past drug problems. She still looks beautiful, too.
I like biographies. I'm not always in the mood for them, but it's always interesting reading about people's lives.
Maureen McCormick did a cameo on Scrubs in 2003. I use a screenshot of that as one of my usericons on livejournal, but you can see the whole clip here, lucky blog readers.
I wonder what it was like for her, after being haunted by Marcia for so many years to say on TV "my name is Maureen McCormick", and then to be shushed? It doesn't seem to have been a big deal for her, but I find that it kind of sums up the influence Marcia has had on McCormick's public life.
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