Book Binge
May 29th, 2006 RachelAfter four years of university, it would appear that I have quickly become a literature bulimic…in between required readings, essays, lectures, and all the other good stuff that comes with being a university student, reading "for fun" kinda fell off the to do list. Well, unless you count issues of People and Shape as ‘reading’ - for me it was more about *not* thinking in a way that did not involve a television set.
That might be it too - our decision to pass on cable at least for the time being has also changed our daily routines. Less TV = more walking, more conversation, more music. Now, the TV is still sitting out front as the centerpiece to the living room, but it’s not the center of what we do when we get home from work. DVDs have replaced the routine sitcoms and nightly news (okay fine, there wre way more nights watching sitcoms than indepth interviews about important issues…). Watching a DVD becomes a deliberate choice, not a routine.
The same goes with purchasing the content we watch - if you add up how much a $50 a mont cable bill is…that’s a lot of DVDs. That’s even more DVD rentals. We’ve started to compromise between the two, thanks to a genius idea by a co-worker (thanks Steph!). DVDs on eBay are extrordinarily well priced. Example:
Season 2 of the O.C. in the stores = 70 bux before taxes
Season 2 of the O.C. on eBay as a "buy it now" purchase = $30 bux with all taxes and shipping included.
Arrested Development so far is an even better deal. But the auction hasn’t closed yet, so I can’t say exaclty how good. But trust me, it’s worth it.
But anyway, back to the books. We went to Borders on Saturday and I immediately felt liberated and apprehensive about the whole thing. Where should I start? Best Sellers? Cultural Theory (I studied it yes, but I still love this stuff)? Business books? Bargain Bin?
I browsed and picked many a book up. By the time I left I had a nice heavy bag of five books, three of which were part of a "Buy 2, Get 1 Free" deal. I justified this kind of literary gluttony with the very true realization that I would have a hard time remembering the books I had found interesting the next time I came through…plus five books would last me a while, right?
Well, if this weekend is any clue, five books won’t last me a while. Curtis Sittenfeld’s book Prep was tough to put down mostly because it was so good, but also because it just felt so darn wonderful to be reading because it is pleasurable and not because it is a chore…not because it is required. I urge any girl who attended high school, public, private, prep or otherwise, who ever felt unsure or insecure to pick it up and see how easily you find it to put the book back down. Best of all, the book is not written in an adolescent voice - Lee is thinking back on her high school days from her late twenties. It makes the story read far more honestly and allows Sittenfeld to foreshadow and allude to the future in a way that keeps you turning the pages.
Less T.V., more exercise and reading. If this is California living, it’s agreeing with me.
