I received a belated birthday present a while back from my kind brother. It's a book about London, and more specifically, things to do in England's capital city. I've had my eye on it for months, and I felt very smiley when I finally got it. It has lots of wonderful ideas of things for me to do. My plans have changed and I've decided to leave London for once and all. So I really want to enjoy it as much as possible before I head off :-)
Today I went to the Courtauld Gallery again. The Picasso exhibition is free and so I decided to take my wonderful boyfriend along with me this time. I think he really enjoyed it too. If you're a student, it is completely free to go. So go if you can!
So yes, I went to see lots of beautiful paintings this afternoon. Picasso, Manet, Dagas, ahhh ... endless.
David and I also went to three book shops. They were so fun! I love looking through bookshops. Especially when I'm not by myself. Although reading itself is quite a solitary act, there's nothing more fun than discussing books with friends! :-) There was one called The World's End in Chelsea, then we walked pass Daunt Books and then we saw one in Fulham, too. Charity shops are equally as good as these places, though. But you'll find second hand ones are often just as cheap :-) and it's always nice seeing lots of independent places to rummage through. I found this lovely edition of Thackeray's 'Vanity Fair' with a biggish font (which always makes me happy, as a fellow dyslexic). I also bought a really nice edition of Tolstoy's 'War and Peace' which I intend (at least attempt to get through) to read ths summer.
Since I handed my work in, I made sure that I would read at least one book within the first week of finishing. Just because I had completed a literature degree, why should I not carry on reading? Would it be considered a 'break' to stop reading entirely? I don't know, really. I reckon it'll be more of a break to read a book that I wanted to read solely for pleasure. This is why I read 'Of Mice and Men' by John Steinbeck. It was so good! I highly recommend it to anyone, even teenagers. I won't go on about it, as I'll end up telling you something that will spoil the plot! I also read Kafka's 'Metamorphosis' which I actually thoroughly enjoyed. I read it thinking that I would hate it, but I always like to give things a try; I ended up loving it instead. So, in the not-too-distant future, I intend to read 'The Trial' if I can :-)
I've also been catching up with Jane Eyre. I bought the book on my 22nd birthday back in February, hehe. I've just not had the time to re-read it though. I'm currently on page 250/450 so I'm just over half way through now. I'm enjoying it much more this time. I don't feel so frustrated with Jane and instead I actually feel a lot of sympathy for her so far - despite some things!
What are you reading at the moment, everyone? :-)
