hullo! there was supposed to be a middlemarch post today, but it's been a busy day, and i'm still not packed or fully cleaned, and i'm leaving for JFK at 4:30 a.m. i did start writing a post, though, but i'm thinking i'd like to get a smidgen of sleep at one point -- or at least be able to pack and clean and such. therefore, i'm going to say we'll take a weekend off from middlemarch, and i will leave you with two important things to note from today:
- i got to hear michael ondaatje (as part of a panel called "the art of mentoring") (i volunteered at the pen world voices festival today). one of my favorite books is the english patient (god, the language in that book; it's so rich and lush and beautiful -- the kind of language you get drunk on), so this was a huge, huge deal.
- i saw an advanced copy of purity out in the wild. it walked past me before the event, then i walked past it after the event, and, as hyperbolic as this sounds, i died a little inside both times because, omg, i want it. it's so ugly pretty, and it looks nice and long (yes, i know i wrote about being wary of long books two days ago, but i've never really felt like franzen's novels felt too long), and fuck september for being so far away.
have a great weekend, all!