Sunday 30 August 2015

Catch 22, a WIP

Oooh I'm all embarrassed.  My blogger friend Lorrie nominated me for a Liebster award.  More of that in a separate post as it will require some thinking about to respond correctly.  But it did make me think I need to up my game again when it comes to blogging.  

Taking part in the A-Z Challenge got me back into the swing of blogging regularly and it came at just the right time for me.  But recently I've dropped off a bit but I do love a challenge so it was good to get a new prompt.

Today I have finished chapter 19 of Catch 22 by Joseph Heller.  That means there are only 23 chapters to go.  It's been a WIP (work in progress) for a long time now.  Some of you may be thinking why bother?  I've had the same thought many times.  It's not an easy read.  The subject matter, an American bomber squadron based in Italy in WW2, is hardly something I would usually read.  But it's on a list of books that I challenged myself to read purely for that purpose.  To get me reading different things.  To be able to acquire knowledge that I wouldn't otherwise have.  

The chapter I've just read was all about contradictions.  The majority of sentences were contradictory.  I'm beginning to appreciate why the book is so highly rated.  The writing is very clever and the language has huge variety.  I will get to finish it.  Eventually!

I do love a challenge and will persevere to complete things.  Crosswords and number puzzles are one of my obsessions and I hate leaving them unfinished.  During our week away I was in my element as there were lots of newspapers around so lots of puzzles on hand.  It's good doing them with other people as well.  I'm not very good at cryptic puzzles but I'm improving.  Practise might not make perfect but it does make better.

Perhaps I'm really just stubborn.  I hate things getting the better of me.  Give me a tangled ball of wool and I have to get all the knots out.  When something goes missing I have to find it.  That came in useful when we were away as my son misplaced his phone.  In the huge house we were staying in the possibilities of where it could be were numerous but I suddenly remembered seeing him on a sofa in one of the quieter areas at one point and on searching it found the phone tucked down the side of the seat cushions.

Now if I could just channel by perseverance into clearing my house of clutter.......

2 comments:

  1. I admit to giving up on a book I'm not enjoying. It's been years since I read Catch 22... But maybe it's the style rather tan the content.
    As I work in a veterans museum, I do read War stories.
    My fave WW2 is The Narrow Road to the Deep North... Devastating and distressing, but worth it...oh so worth it.
    And my fave of all would have to be "all Quiet on the Western Front" which is, of course, WW1.

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  2. My perseverance is very spotty. I've now learned to give up reading things that do not hold my interest. Since I know my mind will be a blank anyway if I just try to keep on, I've decided to save myself the trouble.

    I think I liked Catch 22--but honestly, I have no memory of it!

    Lorrie at www.shrinkrapped.com

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