I should be doing other things

...but I'm here instead. I finished Special Topics last night and it was SO GOOD, although it sort of Shadow of the Wind'd me, by which I mean turned into a terribly frightening thriller with a satisfying-yet-still-not-totally-satisfying conclusion. I could barely sleep, seriously. But it was really excellent. I have a soft spot for literary thrillers, and this book was not only that but also smart and dashing and witty and loveable, even though most of the characters are total asses and only the protagonist is really worth your time (but it was written to be that way, so I guess Pessl succeeded marvelously). It made me want to read all the great classics of the Western canon, which, luckily, is exactly what I'll be doing next year. It also made me want to memorize large chunks of famous and/or beautiful poetry and prose and recite them whenever the occasion arises. So maybe I will add that to my summer to-do list.

My one and only complaint with the book was that the title was almost completely irrelevant to the actual book itself. It was one of those titles where you can tell it's just been shoehorned awkwardly into a really unimportant and mostly unmemorable fragment of dialogue so the author can justify titling it such. But oh well. I had no other issues with it and really liked it a lot.

I need to start planning my Summer Reading Challenge (complete with booklistofjoy), but these last couple days have just been so, so crazy. After graduation I will start. Er, or maybe when we get back from Europe. But I need a few suggestions for books to take on the plane with me. It is going to be a really long flight and I think I will take four books (it is tough because we are only taking carry-on luggage, so I can't even store more books in my checked bag). Possibly five. I need to achieve a delicate balance, though. I want to take two classics from my Directed Studies reading list (probably Herodotus's Histories and Thucydides's History of the Peloponnesian War, although I feel like I should take the Iliad) and then three really great "light" books. I'm not sure which three. It's so hard to choose because if they're too light, I'll finish them all on the way there and have nothing to read on the way back. And I can't even think of any contemporary fiction that fits the bill! I feel like I've read it all already. Any suggestions?

A final note: I read an interview with Jodi Picoult (more thrillers! I freaking love them even though they get no respect from Literary Sources!) in which she said that she always forces herself to write every day even if she's just not feelin' it. She said this, which I love: "You can edit bad. You can't edit blank." What a sweet woman.