Desert Island Wishlist

Inspired by Little Stories

"When someone asked G.K. Chesterton what one book he would want to have along if stranded on a desert island, he paused only an instant before replying, 'Why, A Practical Guide to Shipbuilding, of course'". -Philip Yancey, from the introduction to G.K. Chesterton's Orthodoxy

Ah, the time honored question, What book (or in this case, 10 books) would you take with you to a desert island?

1. ) Narnia (the big anthology....that's not cheating). Who wouldn't want to have Peter, Lucy, Susan, and Edmund with them if they were stranded on a desert island? And Reepicheep. I'd really want Reepicheep.

2.) Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.  Say what you will about it, this book always succeeds in taking me to a new, magical world, something I'd imagine you'd really need if trapped on an island.

3.) The Bible. No more excuses for not knowing it in and out! Plus I feel like you could read the Bible for years and not learn everything it had to teach you.

4.) Me Talk Pretty One Day. I'm going to need a laugh and a homesickness remedy while on the island...David Sedaris, a Raleigh native, covers both of those.

5.) I suppose it's too much to hope for the collected works of Jane Austen, so I'd want Pride & Prejudice.  But I really wish I could have Sense & Sensibility and Northanger Abbey, too.

6.) The Blind Assassin. Really I'd be happy with any Margaret Atwood, but this is the densest (is that a word?) and one I could really delve into if given extended periods of time.

7.) The P.G. Wodehouse Omnibus. Bertie for laughs and Jeeves for practical advice. Plus all those other characters I've never got around to but have been meaning to read.

8.) Love in a Time of Cholera. I feel like I could read this book over and over and get something different out of it every time.

9.) Frederica.  My favorite Georgette Heyer (and, conveniently, the longest).

10.) Honestly, I'd want at least one book I hadn't already read. Pulling out of my to-read shelf, I think I'd go with The Portable Dorothy Parker.  The mix of literary styles would be nice.

And The Practical Guide to Shipbuilding, of course.

In life news, Brian didn't get in to Fordham. Note the lack of tears on my end.

March Madness

(No, not the basketball kind. But I'm looking forward to that too..)

I've been looking forward to March for a while, for a number of reasons, and I'm so glad it's here.

Brian should be hearing back from more schools this month (he got into St. Louis last month!! Hooray! Except he's on the waitlist for an assistantship, so we still don't know if he can even go there. *sigh*). Every day when I check the mail I pray something from a school will be in it, but so far no luck. But now I can really say that it will be any day now!

Plus, we're going to...drumroll...the Wizarding World of Harry Potter!! I am so psyched. I am justifying the expense by saying that we will probably never live within driving distance again, plus we get the Florida resident discount. I have been dying to go there ever since they announced it was opening and I intend to thoroughly enjoy myself. I'm thankful for a day of vacation, no matter how short.

Work-wise, my biggest event is this month, and I'm both looking forward to seeing all the pieces come together (I've been planning it since November) and that it will be over (and hopefully a moderate success). 

Brian's first draft of his thesis is due at the end of the month, which I know he is stressed about, but I'm looking forward to it since I'm that much closer to getting him to myself for a couple of months this summer. Graduation is only 2 MONTHS AWAY!

There are, of course, plenty of things I'm worried/stressed about (not knowing where on earth we're moving, and when, being a large part of it) but I intend to enjoy March while it's here. April will have to be a month of decision making, but I'll take that when it comes.