When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return

So, I apologize in advance, but I'm sort of obsessed.

Things I do not like about this video:

• Final position
• Take off could have been better
• Hand stuff on the sit

Up in the air I go flying again

Step one, climb ladder.

 

Step two, take off and do trick.

Step three, dismount.

And yes, I do realize this is supposed to be a blog about the list project. The thing is, it's been a long time since I've read one that I really hated, and those make the best fodder for posts.

Find a circus ring with a flying trapeze/ Tell me on a Sunday, please

A Prayer for Owen Meany is one that I liked in spite of myself. The plot did not sound appealing, and, of course, there is zero street cred to enjoying John Irving. Plus, we all remember how I felt about The Tin Drum.

And yet. And yet.

It was just rather a lot of fun, as it were. My favorite chapter was the one about Christmas. It was timely and sort of hilarious.

Anyway, I'd describe this one as very enjoyable. I suppose that there is room for a deeper literary analysis here, but once again, I'm not sure I'm especially interested in that. At all. I think I'll leave it at enjoying this one.

This is not the proper way to hold a cat

Ready is not a question

So, I just finished Libra. Sigh. At first, I was really excited about this book, since it had a plot! It's been so long since I've read a book with a real plot that was the main focus. I soon realized, though, that a plot may not be enough. As I described the book to someone, it makes me think of the sort of book that I would buy and read in an airport.

Since I don't really feel like writing about this book's literary merits, I thought I'd put the book in its historical context instead. Apparently it was published in 1989. One of the main things that happened in 1989 was that we acquired a pet cat. Yay! Seriously, I adored this cat.

Here are some fun pictures from 1989. I like the first one because I look demonic. I like the second one because he looks furious; I appear to be squishing him.

Faith is knowing One of two things will happen: There will be something solid to stand on or You will be taught to fly

 

 

Has she been there all along? Was I too far gone to know?

I still feel a bit out of synch with my reading. Or maybe it's just that Henderson the Rain King isn't doing too much for me. Ah, well.

In the meantime, let's make this be a blog about my other hobby.

This is me attempting the pullover shoot. I've got the pullover part down, and I'm good at balancing like a meerkat. Pump and shoot, that sort of didn't happen so much.

You're not going to let me in there, are you? You've got your armour back on.

I was looking at the list the other day, and all of a sudden it all felt very overwhelming. That's never really happened before, so on the one hand it's a bit strange. On the other hand, I suppose that it's a fairly understandable emotion in some ways. Yes, I've read over 430 books on the list, but I still have nearly 570 to go, and that, my friend, is a lot of books.

Some may just be that life generally feels a bit overwhelming at the moment. It's been an intense and exhausting week, certainly. Still, I'm intrigued that this feeling would come now, so soon after meeting my goal for the year and so close to the halfway point.

Failing to achieve something doesn't really hurt when it never seemed possible. It's the narrow misses, the almosts, the things that felt sure, that sting. I'm not sure if it's that the more achievable the goal of reading all these books feels the more I see not reading them all as a failure of some sort that is overwhelming, but considering, I think it's a piece.

Of course, I know that I'd never actually quit. I'm having far too much fun.

Where did you get your pants?

Confession: I haven't actually read Joseph Anton yet. I also haven't gotten a copy of A Dance to the Music of Time, though I did make a first attempt, which sadly failed. It's been quite a week, though, so I don't blame myself exactly. Still, I do have the tendency to plan these little rewards and then never follow through. For example, I have yet to eat a Madeline cookie. Le sigh.