65. E.L. James - Fifty Shades of Grey

This week's book had a big effect on me. I was surprised I wasn't as disgusted by reading E.L. James' much talked about novel Fifty Shades of Grey. I didn't think I would be disgusted because of the BDSM and erotic scenes that occur every three pages. I thought the literature graduate in me would be disgusted with how simple and silly this most famous book of this year is.

Which it is; there's almost no plot and no interesting storyline,but it didn't disgust me. I was enthralled actually. I switched the literary part in me off and ignored all the: "Oh My"'s and "Holy shit"'s that are uttered way too often. Even the silly sentences that don't make sense at all, but are just used to 'arouse' readers, were completely ignored by me: "I want to brush my teeth. I eye Christian's toothbrush. It would be like having him in my mouth. Hmm..." (James 76). I switched the girl in me on. The shy sixteen-year-old girl I used to be. The girl that dreamt about this man in this book (mind you, I'm not talking about the S&M part!). It doesn't help that Ana studied English Literature as well and wants to work at a publisher's.

Christian Grey is really similar to Heathcliff:

"She distracted me from the destructive path I found myself following. It's very hard to grow up in a perfect family when you're not perfect." (James 432)

Grey was adopted, because his mother who was on crack died when he was four. Christian Grey is a Byronic hero, and I like Byronic heroes. I think they are what most women seek in literature and, if I may be so bold, in life. Think about it; Vampires are the most popular creatures in literature at the moment and they are everything a Byronic hero stands for: broody, difficult, but when you get them it's all so rewarding, because behind all this darkness is a wonderful, loyal, albeit a bit obsessive, man.

"We're coming near the end of the bridge, and the road is once more bathed in the neon light of the street lams so his face is intermittently in the light and the dark. And it's such a fitting metaphor. This man, whom I once thought of as a romantic hero, a brave shining white knight - or the dark knight, as he said. He's not a hero; he's a man with serious, deep emotional flaws, and he's dragging me into the dark. Can I not guide him into the light?" (James 355)

The exact reason why women flock towards this book is easy to say though:

"'Anastasia, I'm not a hearts and flowers kind of man... I don't do romance. My tastes are very singular. You should steer clear of me.' He closes his eyes as if in defeat. 'There's something about you, though, and I'm finding it impossible to stay away. But I think you've figured that out already.'" (James 72)

I will try to go into more detail about Byronic men; the reason this book became so popular as it did, but for now this is it. I can't allow myself to be distracted for too long, because I need to start reading the second part.

64. Maarten H. Rijkens - We always get our sin too

A silly little book this week by Maarten H. Rijkens, called We always get our sin too. The reason I read this little book is because I went on a business trip to London this week. Not much time to sit around and read when you're in London!

This book is basically a book full of Dutch expressions literally translated into English. It's not great, because I think the author actually touched upon most of the funny expressions when he wrote the first book. This is meant to be a kind of dictionary, but I have never needed it and it isn't very practically because the way the index works is not ideal. 

And to give you an idea of the phrases:

"We were hanging on your lips" (Should be: We were hanging on your every word)
"It's not a one day fly" (Should be: It's not a flash in the pan)
"How do you do and how do you do your wife?" (Should be: How do you do and how is your wife?)

63. Anthony Bourdain - Kitchen Confidential

I skipped a week and I apologise. I figured though that after 62 weeks, one week would not be too bad. And I have a good excuse, because the week before last my boyfriend and I had to live in a flat without a bathroom. A flat in complete disarray because the landlord decided to change it into a luxury apartment for the festival. Long story short we moved. A bit farther away from city centre, but it's an amazing flat and I'm happy because the first thing that I have organised are my books (mind you, I have many more books in The Netherlands):

Now, let me start discussing this week's book by Anthony Bourdain, who is apparently a famous chef. Kitchen Confidential is about his rise in the world of culinary establishments in New York. It's about his ups, but really mainly about his downs. He used a lot of drugs and somehow he managed to secure a foothold in the ever changing world of top-range restaurants.

I'm a foodie, but I'm not very knowledgeable when it comes to life in a restaurant. I order food, but I never think about what the kitchen goes through. And Bourdain is unable to give me a good view in the kitchen. I think he chose the wrong backdrop for his books and he fails to describe his work, instead he goes on and on about several colleagues of his and different establishments without going into much detail about any of it. So, I feel like I've quickly skimmed over his life, but I still have no idea what it's about.

Maybe that's what life in the kitchen is all about though. Living on the fast track. It's not suitable for novels though, even for an autobiography it's too hasty, but what can you expect of a man who works over 80 hours a week. You can't expect him to sit down and describe his life in detail. He describes the pace of the book perfectly when he tells us the 14 things you need to be ready for when you're an aspiring chef,:

"7. Lazy, sloppy and slow are bad. Enterprising, crafty and hyperactive are good" (Bourdain 297)