Men at Arms

For 7 years, I have had a copy of Men at Arms by Evelyn Waugh sat on my shelf. In all those years, when I've wanted something to read, not once have I picked it up; no, instead I have reached for good old Pink Rabbit, or the The Virgin Suicides, or The Catcher in the Rye... So, I'm about to start it. Setting off to London for a few days (much needed break and change of scenery...) and I plan to read it on the train. About time! Seven years... (>_<) It's a good thing books don't have a use by date, I s'pose.

First new film: something old (1949), something new (to me), something borrowed (from LoveFilm), something... Well, black and white, actually.

Yesterday, I started the new regime with an old Japanese film called Chikamatsu Monogatari, directed by Kenji Mizoguchi. It's a film about adultery and power, set in a time when adultery was actually a crime punishable by death (crucifixion) - so, wildly uplifting stuff! (^_-) An interesting contrast with a film by the same director that I watched last week, The Lady of Musashino, which deals with similar themes in the early 1940s - but I didn't enjoy it as much as TLOM.

Today, I went for a walk in the park. The weather was glorious - hot! Sunny! - and I thought, ahh, if only I had a book with me... Then I realised I DID in fact have a book with me; but it was one I was carrying to lend to a friend, that I have read several times. So, did I sit and read it? No! I sat in the sunshine and contemplated my project instead. Which was nowhere near as entertaining as the book would have been. But never mind.

Next film to watch: 500 Days of Summer...

Nothing but New: Day 1

Last week, I was forced to question my reading habits after a conversation over dinner.

I'm a voracious reader, and always have been; I positively devour books. From trashy thrillers to Tolstoy, Harry Potter to Haruki Murakami, I love to read. But here's the thing; I'm crazy about re-reading books. Harry Potter? Well, I must have read the series at least five times. When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit? Every year since I was eight years old. I got to the end of Twilight - and started it again. I think I've read Cold Comfort Farm six times. And it's not just books; I love to re-watch favourite films again and again, too. I've seen Clueless so many times that I know the entire script off by heart. Lost in Translation? I bet I've seen it ten times; I watched it four times at the cinema!

I think that's pretty normal though, right? Perhaps a little excessive... but not unusual... In fact, I would actually suggest that people who DON'T re-read books and re-watch films are more unusual... I do wonder, though, how many more books and films I could get through every year if I didn't spend quite so much time on the old ones. So, here goes: for the remainder of the year, I will not re-read a single book, or re-watch a single film.

(This is how serious I am: this Christmas, I will not re-watch The Muppet Christmas Carol (a family tradition for about 15 years now) or It's a Wonderful Life. It's going to be tough.)