Reading Romance

An interesting thing happened a couple of weeks ago. The student office had spring cleaning I guess and gave away books for free. Now, anyone who knows me can guess my reaction. It was like Yay!! Gimme!!!

Most of the books and other texts that were given away were textbooks and university booklets and essays and such, but some were romance novels. I was fascinated. What can romance novels possibly have been doing at a university? Then it hit me. Maybe romance novels aren't as put down as I think they are. Or someone put private books on that table as well as uni property. They were old novels. I swiped four of them.

Yes, I like to read romance novels. I am very aware that they do not in any way reflect the real world. But then again, I like to read fantasy novels and sci-fi also. They don't reflect the real world either. They are however not as frowned upon as romance novels. I wonder why.

I know a couple of authors of romance novels. They are highly educated, skilled women who works hard to write their novels. It is not easy to write a romance novel. Everyone who thinks so is very welcome to try. Besides being hard to write, they are even harder to sell. As any manuscript is since there are so many trying. Only a few do it well.

The sad thing is that the romance novels lose quite a lot in translation. They're better in English. Too bad they're not available here. Very good thing to have American friends sending books and stuff once in a while.

Anyway, as I was saying, romance novels are just as good as any other genre. Just because they aren't sold in any bookstores doesn't mean they're not litterature. And just because they're not hardcover doesn't mean they're not books.

I am not going to apologize for reading romance novels, nor will I apologize for reading fantasy or sci-fi. I will not apologize for reading Shakespeare, Doyle or Foucault. That is for certain. I read whatever I want. I am a highly educated woman. I am neither stupid or uneducated. I still will read romance novels. Mainly because I like them. Just like in fantasy and sci-fi. It's a matter of taste, not class.

In the words of friend Heather: With reading decreasing more and more one should applaud every effort to read there is.

Just my two Euros...

Ta ta for now!

Nina

Summer holidays

Yay! The summer holidays have started! I've had final exam and the last corrections made to last essay handed in yesterday. Today it was warm and sunny so I decided to take the day off and engage in some of my favourite activities.

I have only two weeks of summer holidays so I'd better enjoy every minute of them. I sat in front of tv and watched some of my favourite daytime tv-shows like Rachael Ray, Oprah, Dr Phil and Ellen. Yes, I do like them and I admit I do watch them. Not every day. I don't have time to sit down every day to watch tv all day long, but sometimes I just let the tv run all day long. And please don't bother me with that old "you need to be outside when it's sunny"-garbage. No I do NOT need to be outside, in fact, I could stay indoors all summer long if it suits me. I'll go outside when it pleases me.

I was good today though. Read a bit in new course book. I did tell you I'm taking a class in the summertime too right? That's why my summer holidays are just two weeks. Next class starts in mid-June. So I started to read Edith Wharton's "The Age of Innocense". So far it is a very good novel. And cheap. Lord knows all books bought for uni studies are outrageously expensive but this one wasn't. I was thrilled! I love books! I would love to live in a library! Don't get me started on that subject...

Anyway, so far I like the novel. The language itself is enough to keep me reading. You know me, grammar geek no 1. It's almost poetry. Very fitting for the setting of the novel. It was just like "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" by Mark Haddon that we read in another class. The language itself is such a crucial part of the story. I guess most people doesn't realize this. I know I didn't pay any attention to this before taking my classes in English. Now I will pay more attention to it when writing my own. I've talked to a lot of talented authors and a lot of people in the writing community and the single most important piece of advice they give is to find my own voice and style of writing. However, the voice of the author cannot override the voice of the story. It would be seriouly strange if one of, let's say, Jane Austen's characters would suddenly say "yo dude!" right? Or if a rap star suddenly thee-d and thou-d everyone.

So that is what I learned today. And what the word "accrued" means. Thanks Pet!

I did realize something too. I'm very fond of the word "however" suddenly. Please don't be annoyed with me. It's just a phase.

Ta ta for now!

Nina

Words

I'm the ultimate grammar geek. I realized that a couple of years ago when I couldn't stand the typos in one of my favourite novels anymore and started to correct them. I very rarely write in books. That is a hideous crime and should be harshly punished! You don't destroy books in that manner! Ok, must breathe...

Anyway, being a collector of words I was delighted when friend Heather published a list of words I didn't know on her blog today. Yay! I learned something new. My desire for knowledge was satisfied for today. Tomorrow, well that is a whole other issue.

I discovered the wonder of words quite early in life. Do you remember when you first started to read by yourself? At first it was slow and the more pictures there were in the book, the better it was. And then you realized you were reading silently to yourself in a book with little or no pictures at all. And suddenly, there was this amazing insight. It is fun to read! There are millions of books out there just waiting for me to read! What an amazing feeling that was. I realized then I would never be alone again.

Books are our friends.

Now, can you imagine what kind of self restraint was needed for me not to buy a book when I realized one of the stores in town had a booksale on paperbacks. More than 50% off. That took some serious talking to self. Something like this:

"I want one of them!! I want this one and this one and this..."

"No, I can't have any books today!"

"Why not? Look! There's another one! And they're cheap!"

"Because I just bought train tickets and can't afford to buy books."

"But... I want books!!!" (this is where inner self threw itself on the floor and had a temper tantrum so better self had to carry it out of the store)

About the same thing happened at the craft store. Guess if inner self sulked... All the way home...

I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every second of it. :)

Ta ta for now!

Nina

Exam day

I'm a bit tired today. I had an exam. Not a big one, a small one. It didn't take very long. I hope I passed it. I also got second draft of essay back. There are parts of it that needs changing. There are also parts I know I want to rephrase before handing in the final draft for grading.

That was it for that class basically. I started the blog as a tool for learning English in class. I'm still having fun though so I guess I'll keep it running for a little while longer.

Spring semester is almost over. I have passed all the exams I have taken so far. Only one left. I can't say that I know that I will pass the last one, but there is good hope for it. During summer I am going to attend yet another English class. I know, I simply can't get enough of English classes. :) This one will be in creative writing. It sounds like a lot of fun. I'll have to get back to you on that one later.

I watched a show on tv earlier tonight about hoarders. I think I might be a hoarder. Not of things but of information and academic merits. Just the other day a friend said that I am like a badger, always digging up information I don't need. I just love Wikipedia!! I know, it's not always reliable information, but if you're not using it for anything other than just a bit of fun or as a starting point in further studies (of more academically approved sources) then I don't see the harm.

I think it might be time to go to bed before I start rambling worse...

Ta ta for now!!

Nina

Hamster-hunting

It is not as bad as it sounds. I promise!

It all started when a friend bestowed a copy of Janet Evanovich's "One for the Money" on me. Anyone even remotely familiar with Ms Evanovich's novels will know who Rex is. This sparked an interest in getting a hamster for myself. However, being a student and allergic to cats and dogs and horses I didn't think a hamster would be such a great idea. I still haven't got one. I will one day.

A friend of mine recently bought a hamster. I haven't seen the little bugger yet, but I hope I will soon. This purchase inspired me to do a bit of research about hamsters. I had no idea there were that many different kinds of hamsters and there are hamsters with pedigrees also. Apparently there is a whole world out there of hamster shows and breeding I had no idea existed. Of course there are a gazillion different doohdahs you can get for your hamster. My favourite so far is a little car with a wheel inside of it. You know, like Fred Flintstone had to run to get his car moving the hamster has to run to get it's car moving. The hamster ball also looks really fun for a hamster. At least that is what friend tells me. She says her hamster has a ball in the ball (yes, that pun was intended).

Anyway, with the almost limitless options of colour, fur type, eye colour and ear colour I have to decide what kind of hamster I want before I go out and buy one. I read somewhere that it's better to buy from a certified breeder than from a pet store. I wouldn't know about this. I do know that the hamsters I found pictures of online are way cute and I want every single one of them.

Once I saw a charcoal grey hamster in a pet store. Very dark. Very cute. I want one of those. Black or dark grey. And with lots of fur sticking out in all directions. That's how my dream hamster would look. I have seen light colored ones that are way too cute also. Ah... when I get a job... I will have a hamster one day! And that hamster will have a little car to run around in!

Ta ta for now!

Nina

Bling!

I figured I could look for a necklace to wish for my b-day (which is coming up in about a month and a half for anyone interested...). I made the mistake of googling "jewelry". I had no idea there were that many online shops selling jewelery of all kinds and prices. This is big business indeed.

This jewelery-googling made me think about what we use the Internet for. We have Facebook and MySpace to look for old friends and new acquaintances. We have online shops and even stores selling just about everything you can imagine if you have the dough to pay for shipping. We have online matchmaking sites to hook you up with Mr Right/Mrs Right or whatever you are looking for. We have games with thousands of players so you can live the life of your choice online. There's even a game named "Second Life" which probably isn't percieved as a game for those who use it, but it certainly isn't real.

I think that we will use the Internet more and more in our daily lives. When the Internet was first constructed it was for the explicit purpose of exchanging scientific information. Nobody could even try to predict that in 2008 one can order food online from ones grocery store. So this is my prediction. In the next five years the Internet will expand to encompass more and more people in the third world. There will be more and more business online and less actual stores. People will get used to the idea of not actually touching the item for sale before purchasing it. In the next ten or so years we will have evolved the Internet to become a global community where our avatars wander digital streets, go into digital shops, paying bills online and have coffee with our friends' avatars. There will be voice activated and eye movement will determine what we see from which angle. People will not have to go to the office to conduct work. Everything is digital and accessible from any computer around the world. All business meetings will take place online. We have gloves and goggles and headphones on to see, hear and interact with our digital surroundings. The digital world is percieved as to be real in 3D.

In 50 years we will have abandoned computers altogether. Since we have ruined the earth so much we will have to work hard to even get anything to eat so nobody will have time to sit in front of comps. Or we will have become fat, lazy people only living online not in the real world. I have no idea really, but the simple truth is that we are heading for a major disaster if we don't do anything very very fast to save the earth. Perhaps it is already too late to do anything. Maybe we're already doomed.

All this because of a googled necklace...

Ta ta for now!

Nina

Pet Peeves

A friend (Heather) published a list of pet peeves. Very interesting reading indeed. Some I agree with, some I don't. Probably because I've never had encountered that problem. Anyway, this reminded me of a refrigerator magnet I saw in a shop the other day. It read something like this:

If it's open, close it.
If it's on the floor, pick it up.
If it's dirty, clean it.
If it's hungry, feed it.
If it's sad, hug it.

I thought that was really good. I have to go buy that magnet...

There hasn't been a post in a while now. That's because I've had difficulties with internet connection from home and on top of that I have no less than three essays to write due on Monday. I'd better get started right? :)

Computers would be one of my pet peeves. Why can't a computer just work properly the first time around? And why can't the manual be at least something one can understand? No... Why should it? I figured it was close to a miracle when I got connection up and running on the second try with just one phone call to the supportteam. But then it failed again. Miserably. Phone again to supportteam. Nope, you've got too old whatever doohdahs it was. They knew how to fix it, but wouldn't tell me because it wasn't in their job description... *sigh* Ok, phone friend. This saint of a friend actually talked me through how to fix it. And now it works! Yay! And it wasn't because of old doohdahs.

Ta Ta for now!

Nina