ramblings about Ransome, etc.

Goodness gracious! I just finished unpacking, and discovered that while I was in Britain, I bought 36 books. I left one behind (Gaudy Night) and re-sold one (The Picts and the Martyrs), but I carried 34 home yesterday, as well as two books on CD. I mean, we’d planned to buy books - why else go to Hay-on-Wye? - but I had no idea I’d bought so many. No wonder my bags were so heavy!
I only finished three of the books I bought while I was traveling: a rather nice small copy of Northanger Abbey, Gaudy Night(we went to Bath and Oxford, so I was inspired to finish those), and Picts.
I’d brought And Ladies of the Club... on the plane, and finished that as well. Given that it was a bestseller when it came out (what a snob I am about bestsellers!), I think it has held up remarkably well. I don’t think it will be a classic someday, but I wouldn’t mind if it were.
I picked up all sorts of books - nearly all by British authors, and many from 1920-1950, an era which I like quite a bit. My favorite was one that I had never dreamt existed: a version of Margaret Irwin’s Royal Flush, adapted for children. It seems funny now, because while Royal Flush alludes to homosexuality, poisons, and strange passions, it’s all off-stage. I wouldn’t have thought a children’s version was necessary - but I’m glad it exists, because I didn’t find a copy of Royal Flush while I was in Britain. This children's version will tide me over for a while.
I don't know why, but I suddenly felt I had to re-read The Picts and the Martyrs; I scoured Hay-on-Wye for a cheap copy, and read it within a day or so. Ir's one of my favorite Arthur Ransome titles. Funnily, my favorite Ransome books are almost by default. I don't like books where the action is imagined, so that knocks out Missee Lee and Peter Duck. I'm bored by birds, so there goes Coot Club, Big Six, Pigeon Post and Great Northern?. Funnily enough, I met a Ransome enthusiast when I was in Scotland, who said that every Ransome Society (not sure of the official name of the group) meeting takes place somewhere where alcohol is available.

The Movie Soundtrack of Your Life

I just got back from Britain yesterday, and while I have tons to write about it (I bought a ton of books, and read a few on the trip), I'm doing this instead. I got tagged with a blogger meme (courtesy of ModFab via Low Resolution), so here I go:

QUESTION: If your life is a movie, what songs are on the soundtrack?

Here's how it works:
1. Open iTunes
2. Put it on shuffle and press play
3. For every question, type the song that's playing
4. Make up a Title and choose your Cast

Title: Ordinary person

Cast:
Ok, I'm cheating by not coming up with a cast. I want me to play me, natch. And I want to give jobs to my friends and relatives.

Opening Credits: "How You Remind Me" by Nickelback
Canadian, which I like. The "Are we having fun yet?" in the chorus could be both a question about this fictitious movie, and a reminder of all those years when I politely smiled at that very question. I hate that question.

Waking Up: "Tivo!" by Patton Oswalt
This is a reminder that the world goes on while I sleep. This wouldn't work well as part of a movie, unless it were on in the background over a silent montage of me getting ready for the day.

First Day At School: "The Peace Carol" by John Denver and the Muppets
Well, this album came out a year or two after I started school, but it's still appropriate. Though, this was one of the songs that bored me as a child. Hmmm - maybe this meme isn't working well for me? I think my itunes collection is too random.

Falling In Love: "Hey Jealousy" by the Gin Blossoms
Crazily enough, I thought "hey wouldn't it be strange if this came up? Because it would be appropriate, because it always reminds me of the first guy I was really serious about (well, in a teenager way). So the odds were less than 1% that this would be the song that came up, but it's perfect.

Fight Song: "Chop Suey" by System of a Down
Well, this could be a good song to fight to - certainly, there's enough angst here, though it's not as angry as lots of other SoaD songs (which is why I have it on itunes).

Breaking Up: "Atomic" by Blondie
What on earth? This makes no sense whatsoever. This would be the song I'd listen to post-breakup, being all maudlin ("'oh, your hair is beautiful tonight' - but I'm not there to see it!"), but not the one during the breakup itself.

Prom: "Season in Hell (Fire Suite)" by John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band
Um, ok. It's a few years out-of-date for my prom, and it's not even vaguely about love (this is the "can you see the light? can you hear the sound? can you feel the slow world turning around?"). Then again, Prom usually isn't about love, either.

Life: "The Zoo" by the Scorpions
Hunh! Certainly there are days when my life seems this way ("Another boring day"). The Germanic accent is appropriate as well, given that most of my family came from Germany. I don't think of my life as something on the city streets, though. Hopefully, it won't be.

Mental Breakdown: "A Baby Just Like You" by John Denver & the Muppets
I'd buy that: a reversion to childhood, and me muttering "who the heck is little Zachary?" as I have a breakdown.

Driving: "Rikki Don't Lose That Number" by Steely Dan
For sure! It's a great song to belt out, and it's often on the radio. And there's a cinematic precedent: John Mahoney singing it in "Say Anything", which was a huge movie with me and my friends when it came out.

Flashback: "The Carol of the Bells" by the Barenaked Ladies
I remember sitting in the study, sitting on the floor, and thinking about how disappointed I was in the Barenaked Ladies' Christmas CD. But surely that's not a significant moment for a movie?

Wedding: "The Door Into Summer" by The Monkees
Is this a warning? The song - one of the best and saddest from the Monkees, who I was listening to a lot at the time of the wedding - is all about someone neglecting his personal life for work.

Birth of Child: "The Power of Love" by Frankie Goes to Hollywood
Although this song is about romantic love, there are some appropriate lines: "I'll protect you from the hooded claw, keep the vampires from your door. When the chips are down, I'll be around with my undying death-defying love for you."

Final Battle: "Love will tear us apart again" by Joy Division
If the final battle is a breakup, then this is appropriate. Otherwise...

Death Scene: "Out of Control" by She Wants Revenge
Unless I die while wearing thigh-highs and heels in a seedy dance club with some guy who picked me up, this doesn't seem too likely.

Funeral Song: "Boat on the River" by Styx
Well, there's a river, and Styx is involved. It's not quite the River Styx, but the ending line ("I won't cry out any more") seems fitting.

End Credit: "Cake" by Jim Gaffigan
Well, listening to comedy over the end credits seems fun.

If you just read this, that means I tagged you. Do it!