Saturday, June 26, 2010

Never Let Me Go

I just finished watching Julie and Julia with my sister. We had an awful time tonight choosing a movie. It went back and forth with neither of us wanting to watch what the other person wanted to watch, while at the same time neither of us had a personal preference to offer to the other person. In the end, though, it was Julie and Julia, which Amy had never seen and which I had only seen once back in January. A good choice, I think, and when it was over all there was left to do was turn off the TV and head into our respective bedrooms. It is almost 2 a.m., after all.

I'm sitting cross-legged on my bed right now, with a blanket across my lap because the darn laptop is cold after sitting asleep on my desk for so long. The thunderstorm we've been trying to ignore all night has finally drifted away to the East, and although the dogs have settled down with its passing, I miss the background booms and flashes of light.

I've never been one to say that I love storms, and to run outside to watch the clouds as they flicker and the trees as they get ripped up at the roots and blown into the neighbor's yard. In fact, I used to hide under my covers and curl into a ball away from the window (because I didn't want my eye to be sliced out Spiderman 2 style if the glass broke, of course). Nowadays, I actually enjoy reading during storms. It seems like a sort of a cozy, romantic thing to do, doesn't it?

Anyway, as I said, the storm has passed and I am left as always in a silent house with my books, my computer, and a few thoughts rattling around up top.

Can't think of any at the moment, of course.

I guess I could tell you about the book I'm reading currently. It's called Never Let Me Go, written by Kazuo Ishiguro. I first decided to read it because I was making my usual rounds of my bookmarked websites, and came upon a movie trailer of a movie based on the book. The film has Carey Mulligan and Keira Knightley, two people I like very much, and guess what? The trailer actually looks really good. I know it's stupid to judge a movie by its trailer, but I'm very optimistic.

Despite my excitement over the movie, I wanted the book first. It's only right, after all, and as (as you're probably aware of by now) I don't entirely loathe the written world, I thought I'd crack open the novel and see if there was a good story behind the intriguing title.

Let me tell you, dear people, there certainly is. It's a good story, it's a well written story, and it's a story that is revealed to you bit by bit. I'm on page 142, which is roughly halfway through, and I'm completely enthralled. It isn't one of those books you can't put down, let me warn you. It's one of those books that is so fascinating that you have trouble picking it up, not only because you don't want it to be over too soon, but because you feel you have to read it somewhere special, where you can really sit back and savor it. This is not a book to be read on a bus or in a waiting room. You have to read it when you're alone, preferably outside.

But I won't make rules for you. Just pick it up for yourself and see what I mean. The Forest Lake library has four copies, if you're in the area, and when you've finished you can stop by Target and tell me how you liked it. I work 6 a.m. to 12:30 all next week and the week after.

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