Episode 704: First Bit Of Academic Reading In Ages!

Started reading Adam Zagajewski's Eternal Enemies today, as well as polishing off one chapter of Andrew Gurr's The Shakespearean Stage 1574-1642. I figure the way to make myself finish the latter is to commit to reading at least one full chapter a day, since I'm usually quite rubbish at getting through academic works. Am contemplating bringing back some novels this time, in addition to the poetry I'm carting back. It's either going to be Bret Easton Ellis or A. L. Kennedy, although ideally, I would read them all by the end of September instead and save the hassle! Furthermore, I've already planned my next round of acquisitions, so it's not like I won't have another stack of novels to ship home next year. My mum would appreciate it if I stopped buying books, as it's become quite inconceivable where I would store them. I admit that's a serious issue, but somewhat unfortunately, I could totally see myself doubling my personal library. No sweat. It's probably a good thing I'm not terribly into 'classic' novelists, or my shelves would've overflowed way before now. I like to think that my library reflects pretty well on my taste, which is admittedly very heavily biased towards contemporary writing, with Thomas Hardy being the notable exception. (I sometimes think I only love Hardy so much because when we did The Return Of The Native in JC, Mr Purvis totally convinced me of his brilliance. That and all the thwarted desire bubbling away in all the novels. Seriously, all of them.) At the same time, there are some areas of literature I feel obliged to explore further. French literature, to pick an obvious example. When I get my own place in future, there's going to be a room dedicated to my library. Definitely.