passing the time

I'd forgotten how good it is to find a really great book and curl up in bed to read. This evening I hopped into bed; after an 8 hour shift from 8am-4pm (good heavens above and below) and clutched my new best friend: Zadie Smith's White Teeth. It's funny, smart, colourful and oh-so-intriguing. It's the sort of book that you are loathe to leave, even for one second to get a glass of water, go pee or otherwise. And I'd hate to use that time-old cliche of "I couldn't put it down"; but believe you me, I wouldn't let go of it (carried under an arm, sat on the adjacent chair at dinner, never left the kitchen bench while the dishes were cleaned) resulting in a headache from having the words too close to my eyes for prolongued periods of time.
And I have a feeling it will be one of the few English books that make the tedious, sleep-repelling flight over to France with me when I go. Along with it, perhaps Oscar Wilde's plays, Arundhati Roy's The God of Small Things, Tom Stoppard's plays, The Rule of Four (Caldwell and Thomason).
And NOTE! It was so satisfyingly pleasant to find a book that instantly captures your attention and drags you into the world. I've found it increasingly hard to find books that do this for me: good books with bad endings, or typical language - Anastacia, A Special Relationship, North of Ithaka (coincidentally the ones I buy cheap from that musty-smelling bargain bookstore at Railway Square...perhaps I should rethink my budget for books...).

Next on my list:
The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold

I've been encouraged to read this by a completely unreliable source (who hasn't read it...and is waiting for me to be the guinea pig and recommend it; if it passes my test). White Teeth, however, was recommended by someone I completely trust when it comes to my literary repertoire - though I still haven't gotten a hold of that book...Captain so-and-so's mandolette..or something of that description.

Music currently in my CD player/playing on my Creative mp3:
Amelie Soundtrack
Berlitz CD (Learn Spanish at home!) - don't ask
smatterings of Jamie Cullum, Thelonious Monk and Oscar Peterson trio
Natasha St-Pier

Things I really should be doing:

Writing 3 social theory/cultural studies essays and 1 PR research proposal...

oops.