The One in Which I Demonstrate My Powers of Justification

I realize that my personal blog has mutated into a blog about books. Perhaps, you think, perhaps this blog is no longer what it says on the tin: the (disjointed) tale of a person in progress. In my defense, a lot of my life revolves around books: I'm an avid reader, graduated with an English degree, work in publishing, and continue to be a determined writer/self-editor.

So there. (This is usually where I stick out my tongue in a most mature fashion.)

I've finished Castle Waiting all too soon--however, the second collected volume isn't out until the spring, so I've had to move on.

I decided to stick with the sci-fi/fantasy genre. My dad bought me the Earthsea quartet from a bookstore in downtown Stuttgart, Germany, and I've been slogging through it. Thanks to my flights home for Thanksgiving, accompanied by the usual delays and layovers, I finished it today. I'm glad I had all four--I'm not sure if I would've continued after the first book. Or the second. Or even the third. I didn't dislike them, but there was something that just kept me on the precipice of enjoyment.

As I had over an hour left before my flight for Michigan, it was a good thing indeed that I had a spare book in my bags. Okay, so maybe I had three... You see, I went shopping on what I now like to call Procrastinator's Saturday--taking advantage of all the leftovers of the more dedicated Black Friday shoppers. Being me, I didn't walk away with a fabulous outfit or some steal on a purse.

No, that would be what normal people do. Instead, I bought a pair of slippers (of a kind I've been contemplating for not days, weeks, or months, but actual years. Yes, I've thought about buying this particular style of slippers for 3+ years), a pair of work shoes (fun, yet capable of hiding an extra pair of socks), and books. Two of them, to be precise.

So, after I finished Tehanu, I exchanged it for Going Postal by Terry Pratchett. I've been circling this author for years (why do some of my life decisions take so long?), but have been rather intimidated by the sheer amount of books he's written. So, upon a trip to Barnes & Noble, I decided to dip my toes into Discworld and bought two of his books. Considering that I practically finished Going Postal over the course of the layover and flight, I think I'm enjoying the experiment.

What was the third book, you ask? An example of poor addition? No, as I also went attic shopping. I, with the permission of my mother, brought home one of her three copies of Moby Dick (she had a hard time finding a copy where the text wasn't microscopic in size).

And, to enable my other addiction, the one of the caffeinated nature, I also walked away with two boxes of Pocket Coffees and a milk foamer, once used by my father, to make my very own cappuccinos. I already have a stove top espresso maker and some Italian espresso, so now I can make honest-to-goodness cappuccinos. I don't know when I'll have the time to try it on my own for the first time, but it will be as soon as possible.

So yes, I'm enabling my vices. But in the grand scheme of things, I think I'm much more pleasant for it.