So which will I obsess over today? I didn't even realize as I was ordering them that I was pairing up my dueling obsessions: the Russian novelists and English history. (And let's face it, hate-reading all the trashy history of its monarchy. haha.)I've been craving this Nabokov (because it's Nabokov and) I heard he named Anna Karenina the greatest of all time. (Which actually puzzled me halfway through, as it was gorgeous, but plodding. Just before the halfway point, 400 pages in, it took off like a shot, and hasn't slowed for a second.)I can't wait to hear what he has to say. I kept putting off ordering it, because I knew I'd be tempted to peek, and that was just ASKING for spoilers. I'd really love to hear some of his thoughts AS I read though, if only I could filter out any spoilers. I finally relented, because somehow I just wanted the feeling of Vladimir sitting on the table beside me, just waiting to weigh in.And of course, ten seconds after he was free of the packaging, I had plunged in. Just three pages, safe so far, but . . . Better not press my luck.Meanwhile, I used the gorgeous weather to combine a cardio trip on a mini signing "tour" (3 stores, haha), Wednesday, and spotted Henry VIII leering at me from the escalator. I resisted getting off to see him on the way up, but he sucked me over on the way down. Of course!It didn't look like the most authoritative, necessarily, but...pictures! Haha. Not what I normally look for in history books, but ... Those fuckers all blur together. And it doesn't help that most of them use the same damn names. Way too many Henrys and Edwards--though I appreciate the ones who come with a cute little add-on like The Confessor. Hennyway, I figured a book with pictures and dates and snapshots, would be a really handy reference book--like wikipedia, right in my own home! haha.And it was on the bargain table! How could I resist? I did resist, briefly, because I was traveling light without my backpack and didn't want to carry it into the next 2 stores. (Even worse, carry in a B&N bag to an indie store, and then not buy anything.)So I made sure they had it online from my phone, and then ordered the next morning before 11am with Nabokov to get same-day delivery, and they came right by dinner last night. (I do love that.) So I've been back and forth between them, but set them aside late last night for Anna, who is really inspiring me to write this week, and I'm racing into her homestretch now.
BTW, craving a book with "Lectures" in the title? Younger Dave would have been astounded. Haha. But I'm OK with that.
