But it's not something you can put into words - explaining why a formula is beautiful is like trying to explain why the stars are beautiful.

small sketchbook drawing

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There is an interlude to my reading of I Capture the Castle. Sometimes I have a hard time getting into certain books. I'm surprised I'm not enjoying I Capture the Castle more. Several of my friends/co-workers/and even blog readers were excited to learn I was reading it and said that they loved it. Maybe I'm not far enough into it yet?

I think the writing almost reminds me too much of my childhood journals. I used to obsessive-compulsively write down every. little. thing. I wanted to remember EVERYTHING. I would write things like this: "sitting on a rock by the lake. A dog in a pink sweater just walked by. It is now two minutes after I started writing this entry. Dad just said, 'There's a big pine tree in the corner.' He means the corner of the yard. This rock feels cold. Earlier I was sitting on one of the deck chairs, but I had to move because mom was rearranging the deck." I would start to write about one thing and then get sidetracked by mundane details I felt were necessary to record, then go back to what I was writing about before... exhausting! And that's kind of what the writing in Castle reminds me of, as it is written in the form of a diary by a young girl...who seems to feel the same need I once felt to talk about everything surrounding her (not enough feelings and too many external notes...ah, the diaries of 11 year olds!)

Anyway, the book that is intercepting my reading of I Capture the Castle is The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa, and I truly love it. It's about a math professor who has an 80 minute memory span, and the woman who cleans and keeps his house for him. I think I love books that have a sentimental psychological element to them, if that makes sense. My entry title is a quote from the book. The book is detailed yet fast-paced (which Castle is not). The details in Professor are more thought-provoking and feel real and like they are there and yet kind of magical, where as the Castle (which I think is supposed to feel magical) just feels incredibly ordinary to me. Hmmm.

Well anyway, those are my book reviews for the evening! When I've finished both books I'll have a more accurate report to make. :) I hope you're all having a wonderful middle-of-the-week!! 

xoxo Amanda