Bibliophilia

Just a note: I'll get around to posting my update for July about a day after I manage to get off my ass and write it. I know i'm playing a dangerous game given that now it's August so every day that passes is filled with things I cant with good faith put in that entry. Writing my CAT (our community diagnostic) is making me not want to write anything at all, but since its due soon hopefully i'll have that update soon.

Now on to what i'm thinking right now- books are cool. Let me repeat and elaborate: books a pretty awesome. Let me tell you some cool things about them:

1) They write some of them in english

2) They're usually well written, and if they're not they manage to fail in a funny way

3) They're full of things you might not think of yourself. If you could, you wouldn't need to read it after all

4) They don't demand you keep to a schedule while reading them

5) They occasionally surprise you with having WORDS in them

6) They make good door stops

Nice list bozo you might say, but number five? Really? Yes. I deal a lot in coloring books. Words are nice.

So here's a list of books i've read since getting here:

The Reader

To Love a Thief (purely research)

Three Cups of Tea

I, Claudius x2 (ie: I read it twice since getting to Costa Rica)

One Hundred Years of Solitude

Table for Two

Saving the World: A Maximum Ride Novel

Love in the Time of Cholera x2

Guns, Germs and Steel

The Liar x2

A Million Little Pieces

Alice in Wonderland

The Outliers

Dorothea

Moreover, I now work in a library. No, not one I built, just one that was shoddily enough built that they asked me to help run it. As the municipal library of the city has a couple hundred books in english and none of the librarians or staff speak english, I get the wonderful, wonderfully frustrating task of cataloguing them, and the wonderfull power rush of writing up a spanish translation for the title and short spanish description of the plot of each one. I'd like to believe that one day some poor English (language) student writing his thesis is going to waste a good week trying to write a literary analysis of some tragically awful romance novel because my poor translation makes him think he's dealing with a greek tragedy. Some of the problems i've already run across: how do you translate The Grapes of Wrath? I went with Las Uvas Odiosas. Also, apparently Costa Ricans have no concept of the genre murder mystery. I explained it in detail to the librarian who got a very concerned look in her eyes. I now categorize murder mysteries on my chart of all the plots as "story that involves a crime and usually a murder then someone has to deal with it, but this is not a detective book, this is scary- be warned"

Also, I like digging through tourists' old discarded travel reading (which constitutes a good 90% of the collection) because a) I like seeing the kinda trash people read when they feel its justified by being "vacation lite" and b) because I found this note written on the inside cover of the murder mystery On the Street Where you Live by Mary Higgins Clark

"This is an exciting THRILLER. It will have you on the edge of your seat.

_______________________________

Oh Christopher-

As you are reading this, I am missing you. A LOT. I had a really good time with you, I hope the next part of your time isn't too lonely and your not crying because you miss my annoying ways and my sexy model poses. Keep up the good work with your sexy poses, you'll really go somewhere with them- be good- email me, call me, don't forget me. You are wonderful, thank you for putting up with me. I will talk to you soon. I miss you and love you. Call me when you get back!

Michelle <---look at that sexy autograph"

Michelle Michelle Michelle. First, Christopher probably never got your note, he probably just dropped off the book in the first place he could which is why it ended up here. Also, it's 'YOU'RE not crying'. Finally, don't be so desperate. After all, you have sexy model poses, if he knows whats good for him, he'll come back of his own accord.