The Terror of Knowing

Over the last few weeks I have left the comforting bubble of undergraduate education and entered into the scary chaos that is Real Life. You know that place that I avoided entering for 3 years by going to university to study English? Yeah, that place. Along with that, I have began the job search. This started properly once I’d finished my last exam but I am still unemployed.

One of the main issues here is that I’m stuck between places, in limbo if you’d care to be dramatic about it, because I am back at home in Teesside but will be returning to Lancaster in October to start an MA in Early Modern literature. Because of this, finding a part-time job has been… tricky, to say the least. So rather than spend day after day doing nothing but scrolling through job vacancies and filling out application forms, I’ve decided to also indulge in my creative hobbies with more regularity than just when I have a passing whim to blog.

So (drumroll please) I have decided to make a real go of this blog and of book blogging (maybe even vlogging ooo exciting) and as such actually documenting what I’m reading and enjoying would probably be useful. It also keeps me accountable – even if there’s no one reading this blog and it’s just me – which is always good when it comes to getting through books I’ve been meaning to read for weeks years. So without further ado (and ignoring the fact it’s already the 12th) here is my August TBR:

1) Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2003) – JK Rowling
As part of my nostalgic kick for the Harry Potter books, I’ve conveniently reached the fifth one (long touted by me as my favourite of the series) just as we come into August. Re-reading the first four books of the series has led to me to drastically reconsider my opinions – Goblet of Fire in particular might be my favourite now? – so I’m interested as to what my opinions on Order will be!

2) Anna Karenina (1877) – Leo Tolstoy
I have a confession: I am part-way through this book. I started reading it on the train back to graduation (in July) and was enthused at the surprising speed with which I was making my way through this hefty novel. Then… I hit a wall, probably around the time I picked up Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone on a whim. So here’s to hoping that August will bring the completion of Tolstoy’s realist narrative.

3) Notes from an Exhibition (2007) – Patrick Gale
I know nothing about this book apart from its author who I saw on an alumni version of University Challenge some months ago. I’m really curious to see how I like this book considering I know literally nothing about it or the Cornish setting Gale celebrates.

4) The Remains of the Day (1988) – Kazuo Ishiguro
I read (and loved) Never Let Me Go so it seems only sensible to delve into more Ishiguro. I picked up a copy of Remains some months ago in an Oxfam book shop and it’s been looking so neglected on my bookshelf that I just had to pick it up.

TBR Summary: 4 books, 2364 pages

4 books may seem like very few but adding up the collective page counts is alarming, to say the least. I hope I can get through all of these, if not then perhaps I’ll shelve Anna Karenina for later, and maybe just maybe I’ll even have time to read a few short stories and poetry collections.