Friday, 16 August 2013

Books, giving up and multi-tasking



16 August 2013

The other day I did something for only the third time ever; I gave up on a book.  When I can always try to buy new writers, new to me that is.  The writer this time was D.E. Meredith and the book was called Devoured, a mid Victorian murder story.  I gave up on it around page 50.  The basic story is about the death of a rich female 'collector' of geological and botanical specimens.  Running through it is also a mystery of the whereabouts of a set of letters.  However, I wasn't impressed with it.  Of course, others will disagree with me, and that's fine, I'll live with it.

The other two books I've given up with were Mill on the Floss, which has sent me to sleep each of the three times I've tried to read it, usually before the end of the first page!  The other one was the first Harry Potter.  I found that one far too obvious in its story line.  My initial thoughts were of Cinderella with balls!  I also didn't think that the writing was all that good either.  Perhaps the seven publishers who refused were right to do so, we'll never know now we will.  Whatever, J K Rowling certainly had a gift for marketing and that was what really made the series into bestsellers. 

Sometime ago I bought a 'book-on-CD' thingy, John Grisham's The Appeal.  I couldn't remember if I had actually listened to it, I'm doing so now while I'm typing this.  Normally I like to do one thing at a time.  If I read, I read, not read and listen; if I listen I listen and not read; if I'm watching telly then ... ... ..., well, I'm sure you get the idea.  I've always thought that I can't do both together because I like to concentrate on one thing only.  Yet today I am typing and listening.  I'm feeling a bit ambiguous about it.  Maybe I shall have to keep at it so I write and do something else.

So what sort of photo for today then ... ah yes ... 

a bunch of orange berries I snapped at Brandon the other day.

And the Sage speakth ...

A 25-year-old Jewish girl tells her Mom that she thinks she is pregnant. Very worried, the mother goes to the drugstore and buys a pregnancy kit. The test result shows that the girl is in fact pregnant. Shouting and crying, the mother says, "Who was the pig that did this to you? I want to know!"
Without answering, the girl picks up the phone and makes a call. Half an hour later, a Mercedes stops in front of their house.  A mature and distinguished man with gray hair and wearing a yarmulke steps out of the car and enters the house.
He sits in the living room with the father, mother, and the girl and tells them, "Your daughter has informed me of the problem. I can't marry her because of my personal family situation but I'll take charge. I will pay all costs and provide for your daughter for the rest of her life.
"Additionally, if a girl is born, I will bequeath two retail furniture stores, a deli, a condo in Miami , and a $1,000,000 bank account."
"If a boy is born, my legacy will be a chain of jewelry stores and a $25,000,000 bank account."
"However, if there is a miscarriage, I'm not sure what to do. What do you suggest?"

All silent at this point, the mother, placed a hand firmly on the man's shoulder and tells him,
"So, you WILL try again."

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