i can't really sing, so

It's been awhile since an "Exciting Things in the Mail" post, but quite recently, after moving to a new state in a new region, I've gotten some rather exciting mail. I love mail. I probably say that every time I post an update like this... But mail when you have a new address is especially great. It's like, "I am here! I really live here! Look, there's my name!" So all the best mail that I've gotten since I moved to Louisiana has been especially wonderful: Secret History; or, The Horrors of St. Domingo & Laura// from Strand Books I ordered this book from Strand Books recently, when I was going through the syllabi and making sure that I had every book my professors had assigned. (See, what I am doing down here in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana is going back to school, to get my PhD in English/Creative Writing from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.) I bought most of the books within the first week of being here, some from school, some...

I think I read a lot more than usual this semester? My Goodreads "progress" doesn't indicate this for a few reasons-- some books I read don't have Goodreads entries, three books I read are registered on there as one book, since I downloaded it as one on my Kindle, etc. But yeah: books read so far in 2014, according to my Goodreads account: 43/52 OCTOBER The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery I read this at kind of the same time as my friend Kathleen, and we both felt similarly about it. She was more excited about it at first and then her attention waned. My attention felt lackluster at the beginning, but as I am a "patient completist" I powered through. The ending of this book is one of those wait-I-take-it-back-now-I-want-more sorts of phenomenal. Barbery's ability to make you feel for and connect with her characters is unbearably good in the second half of this novel. I only wish I hadn't read an explanation of what the book is about...

my weekly book purchases i have imposed a strict regulation on my book buying because i own too many books i haven't read and because i work at a bookstore and don't make enough money to buy both books and food. i choose food. the regulation has been modified since i first spoke of it, modified and perfected. i had initially limited myself to one book purchase per week. this didn't seem too difficult considering a) i am poor and b) we are only allowed to buy books on fridays and saturdays. though last week i didn't purchase any books at all, this week i found a few. the thing about one-book-a-week is that it allows me to consider my purchases for longer. it allows me to truly decide which book i need at-this-moment. but i decided one-a-week-only-no-exceptions was a bit harsh for a lover of books. at Strand Books where i work, we have a number of carts lining the store that contain both "dollar books" and "forty-eight cent books", the adjective being...