atomicules

Push propelled program tinkerer and picture maker.

To The Lighthouse

"His immense self-pity, his demand for sympathy poured and spread itself in pools at her feet, and all she did, miserable sinner that she was, was to draw her skirts a little closer, round her ankles, lest she should get wet."

— To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf

Yay! Managed to get around to reading To the Lighthouse. I liked it a lot. I'm reading everything out of order, does that matter? I only mention that because it reminded me of The Waves, easier to read than The Waves, but also perhaps less interesting because of it? I feel like I need to read it again already though - just look at that sentence above.

Album of the year: Highly Flammable

I was a bit worried about getting to June and having had no contenders for album of the year (I've decided that's a thing until I get bored of it), well not just that, but no new music that has really grabbed me. I get to worry about this now as I'm legitimately of that age where it's ok just to listen to music you already like, although I don't want to yet. I suppose that's not completely true, there have been individual tracks: Sigrid's Don't kill my vibe is rightfully awesome, I really like Amber Arcades' It Changes and Noga Erez's Off the Radar and Pity have probably been the biggest ear openers of the year (and Pity is desperately sad).

DBFC also released their long anticipated album, Jenks, and Eddy TM had a fantastic album playback show where he espoused how great it was not to be disappointed that the album didn't live up to the expectations, but, if I'm honest, I probably did feel like that on first listen. That feels like it's changing after a few more listens, but Autonomic is still by far the standout track; I mean, it's that good this was close to being album of the year anyway, but then there was...

Nadia Rose's Highly Flammable. Is. Just. Amazing. It actually came out in January, but unsurprisingly wasn't on my radar since I'm 100% not her target audience, but it is just great. She's a fantastic lyricst and uses her name to full effect: "Guess who's back, but you never left. Yes I did, I rose from the dead" and "They try to put me down but Nadia Rose, yeah, Nadia Rose" (full marks awarded for that one). Skwod is my favourite, but I really like them all. And Crank It has to be one of the best closers on an album ever (and I'd heard this before - who knew?!). It's a pretty short album, but you can just do what I've been doing: stick it on repeat.

I'd originally chickened out of calling it so soon, what with half the year left, and had just worded this post with Highly Flammable as my front runner so far, but I've since decided to just be brave and make the decision now.

LINK: Saint Etienne 10 Of The Best

Oh... So Tough.

I mean, it's hard to choose, but my top ten would just be ten tracks from So Tough. Any will do. I still remember (I think) when I first heard this album, probably close to the year it was released, and (I think) the school friend who is was who gave it to me to listen to and "A cigarette, a cup of tea, a bun" has been in my head ever since.

Two Frozen Duck Ponds

Just to demonstrate how hard I found it to read Orlando, I've already finished reading The Catcher in the Rye and The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle after finishing Orlando - which I started just after Christmas.

The Catcher in the Rye was one on My List. I'd actually remained in complete ignorance of the plot so had no idea what it would be like. It was pretty gripping, easy to read and with good toilet sized chapters (key quality of all good books). I spent the book excited to find what was going to happen... and then it ended.

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle was a more recent addition to My List. It was utterly enthralling and I spent the book excited to find what was going to happen (and even more excited to see if I'd start understanding what was going on). I think it is mostly wrapped up at the last possible minute.

What I didn't anticipate was that the books would be linked, and not as trivially as it seems, by ducks. Fitting (for me. And here).

Such A Revelation

"And it was to each such a revelation that a woman could be as tolerant and free-spoken as a man, and a man as strange and subtle as a woman..."

— Orlando by Virginia Woolf

On it's own that could probably be taken out of context. Here's a better understanding of that bit and the whole novel.

Dark Spaces Between

"For some time the dark spaces between the lamps had been becoming brighter and the lamps themselves less bright."

— Orlando by Virginia Woolf

I can't really explain why, but I like this sentence.

Clothes That Wear Us

"Thus, there is much to support the view that it is clothes that wear us and not we them; we may make them take the mould of arm or breast, but they mould our hearts, our brains, our tongues to their liking."

— Orlando by Virginia Woolf

That Silence Is More Profound

"That silence is more profound after noise still wants the confirmation of science."

— Orlando by Virginia Woolf

Steadily making my way through Virginia Woolf's books. This is the most normally written I've read of her novels so far*, but by far the hardest I've found to read; I think perhaps because I couldn't gauge what it was meant to be† - as per usual I left reading the notes and accompanying introduction‡ until afterwards to experience the book as is. I think that was a mistake. If read at the time of publication you'd more likely have had some knowledge of Virgina Woolf's life and social circles and therefore understood and enjoyed the novel a lot more - It made a lot more sense to me after reading the introduction and learning about her friendship with Vita Sackville-West.

I'm now on an interlude of a couple of more modern, none Virginia Woolf, novels, but then I want to read To The Lighthouse. A lot.

* - A Room of One's Own doesn't count since not a novel. This is similar ly written since a faux biography.

† - I couldn't gauge whether comedy, fantasy or serious; Actually a bit of all of them.

‡ - The swanky edition I have is almost half notes and companion text and it's better for it.

LINK: 1977 The Love Album

State Of Their Own Affections

"...there is nothing people are so often deceived in, as the state of their own affections..."

— Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

True.

These are the ten most recent posts, for older posts see the Archive.