One day you turn around and "social studies" has become "Chilean fiefdoms of the fourteenth century" and that's how you know you're in college.

I liked the quote I used in the title.  It reminded me of my senior seminar class (Gender, Sex and the Rhetoric of Science) as well as the definition of tragedy my Shakespeare's Tragedies professor used: "A dream of innocence, realized by a fact of guilt, that acquiesces therein."  You're missed, professor Howlett.

I finished up I Was Told There'd Be Cake and it was hilarious.  I had to hold back from laughing out loud on the T.  Although perhaps I shouldn't hold that laughter back; I might get more space on the train as people slowly back away from the crazy laughing lady.  Of course with my luck this would just encourage a chatty stranger to start up a conversation and then I'd have a new T buddy who, with my luck, would have the same schedule as me and I'd never get any commute-reading done again.  I'm so anti-social during rush hour.

Right, the book.  At first the stories were a little hit or miss.  None were bad, but some just could not hold my attention.  And the more I read the more I realized that the stories I liked were the ones I could relate to.  I don't think I necessarily need to be able to directly relate a story in order to enjoy it but I was afraid maybe that was the case.  I scanned my shelf to see if this has always been the case.  I suppose it makes sense to see yourself in the story, to see something in the story that you've experienced.  But the more I looked at the other books on the shelf, especially the works of fiction, the more I realized that while there are certain elements of the human experience I can relate to, the stories themselves are foreign.  That's why they're so interesting.

I tried to figure out what is different about IWTTBC.  After mulling it over for awhile, I realized it's the tone and style of the book.  It feels conversational, like you're sharing stories with a friend.  And when you listen to someone else's story, you end up thinking up your own story you'll tell as soon as they finish.  Granted Crosley is a better storyteller than I am and I enjoy listening to her stories without spending the whole time reading it waiting for her to hurry up and finish so I can tell my own (in my head) way-better story. 

Of course this is just my personal experience with the book and I know this will be something I pick up when I want to read a quick essay or two.  Do you find yourself being drawn to books that feel like a conversation? 

Title quote from page 183

As most New Yorkers have done, I have given serious and generous thought to the state of my apartment should I get killed during the day

The quote I used in the title is the first sentence of the first essay "The Pony Problem" from the book I Was Told There'd Be Cake by Sloane Crosley and it was this opening that drew me into the book.  It's what got me to buy the book in the first place.  I had just intended to pick up one new book and I had already found it on one of the bargain tables (win!).  But the other person I had come to the Booksmith with had disappeared so while I wandered around trying to find him I ended up in the Essay section of the store and I saw this book.  I was already getting some strange looks from people who saw me repeatedly wandering up and down aisles without actually looking at the shelves, so to keep from looking suspicious I thought I should stand in one place for awhile and actually look at a book.  So really, I came across this as a tactic to make sure no one thought I was casing the place.  This is one of the reasons I love bookstores; I tend to come across books in the oddest of circumstances. 

I read the first few essays and so far my favorite is "The Good People of This Dimension".  It's probably because out of the stories I've read so far I relate the most to this one.  I don't have a collection of objects from exes ("The Pony Problem"), I'm not Jewish and have never gone to a Christian summer camp ("Christmas in July"), and I've never had a boss as abusive as Sloane ("The Ursula Cookie").  That's not to say I have to relate to a story to enjoy it, but it's certainly easier to commiserate than compare and having shared a number of homes with a number of people, commiserating is what you do when you're talking about apartment living.   

I've never had roommates or shared a building with other tenants who removed the hinges on the door in order to get in because they didn't want to touch the doorknob or tried to dig their way to China.  Perhaps you need to live in NYC to get that level of crazy.  I can certainly relate to the noise complaints. In the essay the restaurant downstairs decides to add a back dining patio and the construction noise each morning becomes a lot to deal with. The kids in one of my old neighborhoods had an affinity for fireworks that didn't limit itself to the 4th of July.  Perhaps they were just more patriotic than I am.  I never made it to the point Sloane did, of actually calling in a formal complaint but I'm sure I will become the crotchety neighbor at some point.  So far the closest I've come is yelling into the vents how crazy it is that you can hear conversations going on in the other apartments after my neighbor woke me up during an argument with his girlfriend at 2am again.  Passive-aggressive I know, but I knew too much about his clearly failing relationship and it seems he thought so too; after this move he made sure to have his arguments at a lower volume.  Or during the work day.  And then he made the ultimate kind gesture and moved out. 

It's not just the shared experience I enjoyed about this story, but the voice that comes through.  The line, "The first floor is really the second floor, which always struck me as very European until I moved in and had to climb an extra flight of stairs each day," (60) made me literally laugh out loud.  Probably because I feel the same way, especially when climbing the stairs to my friend's 4th-floor-but-actually-5th-floor walk-up apartment.  It's a mean trick to play on people. 

I think there's something to her writing that feels like someone sharing her personal stories with you so you want to share something back.  But clearly I'm sharing something here on my blog instead of actually with her.

By the way, happy 4th of July to my fellow American readers!

Title quote from page 1

Crosley, Sloane.  I Was Told There'd Be Cake.  Riverhead Books; New York.  2008.

Newest acquisitions

I'm planning another entry or 2 on stories from Everything's Eventual.  By planning on I mean I haven't come up with them just yet.  I just finished the stories "Everything's Eventual" and "L.T.'s Theory of Pets" and I'm more than half way through "The Road Virus Heads North".  I'm surprised the book is taking me as long as it is, considering it's not much longer than the other books I've recently read and I've read it before.  You'd think this would go faster.  I had planned on writing an entry today, but I ended up going out for dinner, frozen yogurt and books instead.

I'm excited about my new books.  New books always excite me.  I like re-reading old favorites too, but any of these books could be a new favorite.  There's so much potential. 

Anyway, I picked up I Was Told There'd Be Cake by Sloane Crosley and Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell  by Susanna Clarke.  I skimmed a couple of the essays by Crosley and there's a good chance I'll read this before I actually finish Everything's Eventual.  The little bit I read cracked me up.  I've had a few friends with trusted book tastes read and recommend Strange & Norrell and it was on sale so I decided to pick it up.

I also want to make mention of the awesome local bookstore we have in town, The Brookline Booksmith.  I do shop at the big boxes like Borders and Barnes & Nobel but I try to support the local places and the Booksmith is fantastic.  Great new selection, lots of used books, and fun events like Christopher Moore showing up. It's the type of place I would like to run.  Now if only they would get some of Jasper Fforde's stuff in.  Especially Shades of Grey once it comes out in paperback!