Comfy, Cozy & Contented

As the weather has turned cooler, one of my favourite things in the house has been put back into use.  It's not the central heating, but close - our open fire place.  There is nothing more comforting than coming in from the cold, having a steamy shower or soak in a bath, then snuggling into a chair in front of a blazing fire.  Even if you can't settle in the TV or engrossed into a book, the flames dance & leap to mesmerise and maintain your suspended attention.

From here you can add to your contentment, even though this may in fact be enough.  A glass of wine, or a cup of tea; maybe even a piece of cake or some lovely chocolate to nibble on.  The day ends earlier now.  The sun beginning to fade in the sky as we scurry from work.  The chill of the air which had until now been staved off by the sunshine, now swirls past you as you walk the street or sit in your car.  However, the cold is left behind.  An intruder that is not given to pass the door, and there you can relax, in front of a cheerful fire, comfy, cozy and content....

The Issues Confronting Children's Literature

I am currently attempting to do some research & get a plan completed for my major essay in children's literature.  The question I am struggling with seems such a simple one. Should children's books just be fore children? Consider the adult reader.

My answer to this was simply, and loudly "NO", but unfortunately they require a reason for my no and that reason must come to approx. 2500 words!  So, looking at some of the reading I have done, I can back it up using the following points:

1) Nostalgia - that is that the adult reader relates to certain nostalgic memories

2)Fun/Frivolity - picture books, comics & graphic novels

3)Age: human condition is linear regardless of age; perception between child & adult readings

4)Categorisation of 'children's' books

From here I am stuck.  I have the general idea - out in the ether - of what I want to say but would love some feedback by anyone as to what your thoughts are in regards to why, as an adult you read children's books.  What feeling do you get from reading them?  What do you get out of reading them?  Those sorts of questions.  Also think of children's books as a whole such as picture books.  Are the books that you read 'children's' books or 'young adult'?

I'd be interested to see how many of you approach this question as well as once you have thought past your original response to the idea of is children's books just for them.  It is a very problematic area of study as our conditioned responses are often the most difficult to explain or critique.   

Addiction

I was thinking about Easter since it's Good Friday and how many people who have chocolate addictions would be in heaven now because of the able excuse to partake of said addiction.  My addiction in fact has nothing to do with food.  It's not drink, nor is it smoking (revolting habit! should be banned from every public venue).  It is in fact books.  Most of you are probably thinking that it doesn't count as an addiction but here as it is with most things, the semantics of definition can be dependent upon the person.

These are times, as we are hearing more regularly, of difficulty financially.  I myself as a student are finding this a bit trying, particularly with the car needing a good overhaul and the usual bills.  However, I still manage like the smoker, drinker or chocolate eater, to feed my addiction.  I buy books.  Not one or two, but more in the realm of four or five.  This figure is of course, lower than what it was before the monetary struggles where it was not unusual for me to buy in the field of ten plus a week or fortnight.  So, although at present my addiction is still being fed by buying the books, I have not kept up with the reading due to the school workload I have this semester...I am looking forward to the mid year break to catch up on the ever growing pile.

To all the addicts out there (smokers excluded), I wish you a bountiful Easter!

Dreams

Usually I don't remember my dreams but last night's was a doozy and for that reason alone is why I think I remembered it!  I was reading - uh duh a trial for me -  when suddenly it was almost like an Alice in Wonderland world.  The weird thing was (as if that wasn't weird enough), I kept being told by someone I had to read more books...there were piles of them everywhere I tried to go.  When I was hungry I'd just open a cook book & there was the food.... remember scratch 'n' sniff well it was similar but with taste!

The crazy thing was that I work up drooling...yep, a wonderful look for anyone watching I'm sure.  I can remember quite a while back in another dream that I wanted to go to the toilet but the toilet was outside.  Not a problem usually but you see between the house and the toilet were these chickens.  For those of you who don't really know me I am actually quite scared of chickens....something about their beaks worry me, same as emus.  But there was a twist to these evil chickens barring the way to my toilet - their beaks in this dream were poisonous.  Let's just say that the lucky thing was that I fell out of bed, because by then the pain of needing to go may have had a horrible out come in the real world!

Dreams - why are most of mine extremely strange or challenging!?!

Time Management

As I write this the irony of my subject matter does not escape me.  I have a research proposal tomorrow, which I have only cursorily looked at, and a class in another hour, that I have only done half the reading for.  With this said, I have accepted the begging from my boss to do a short shift this afternoon/evening and am working all day tomorrow.  So, when am I going to complete this research proposal?  Sometime in the ether and we can just forget about the rest of the reading.  This history unit that I've taken (the one that I am struggling with the reading) is to be quite honest a mistake.  I will persevere with it but I hate...can I say it any louder - HATE, psychology and this is all that my tutorial class relates back to in this subject.  So, I don't quite care about the rest of the lectures I'll do my major essay on the 1st lecture - witches.

I feel like it's the new year again and I'm making a vow for the coming year, but this is for this semester.  Next week is a 'reading' week for 2 of my 5 classes, so that at least means that I will have a bit of a breather heading into mid semester break which is the week following Easter.  So saying though - there's always a but isn't there? - I am working Friday to Monday this weekend, and then Easter Saturday, Sunday & Monday.  Uh Huh!

Okay, time management...hmmm, well I plan (I say this loosely because my plans are just that until they actually begin), to set myself a timetable of what to do & when.  The big thing is to actually follow them and the even bigger thing is to put this plan in a place that I will actually look at regularly!  So, fingers crossed that this time management thingy actually works.