Week Forty-Four, Items 401-408

Awful book 1

This is, without question, the most terrible book I have ever read. The reason why this is even worse than the Twilight series is that Keri Hulme clearly thinks she has written an innovative book about human nature and relationships. Stephenie Meyer wrote a teen romance about sparkly vampires—I doubt she took herself so seriously. The Bone People is a frequently nonsensical mess that focuses on sociopaths who abuse each other in a variety of ways. Near the end of the book, the plot is derailed by a sudden focus on Maori mysticism. There's also the fact that, just like Dan Brown does with Robert Langdon, Hulme makes it clear that she envisions herself as her protagonist. Few things irritate me more than when authors do that. When I was done reading The Bone People, I wanted to take the English language out and buy it a beer to help it get over everything this book put it through.


Awful book 2

This book is also awful. I received it as a gift, and I can see why it was chosen for me—I have a history degree, and love Buffy the Vampire Slayer more than any other show. But reading this book is like listening to a drunk frat boy tell his buddies a story. It is poorly researched and was poorly edited. It's disjointed, and not nearly as funny or insightful as the author clearly thinks it is. Also, here's a hint: If the sentence "That may be oversimplified and a little bit sexist, but it's true" (p. 123) appears in your book, you're an idiot. It means that you either lack critical thinking skills or delight in your own ignorance.

Quilt book

I got this book at a thrift store, and flipped through it to find color and pattern inspiration for a graphic design project I was doing. I am not crafty, and will probably not make a quilt at any point in my life, so I don't think I can get any more use out of this book. 

Country CD

For our wedding, we put together our own playlist. My mom gave us several CDs, which I appreciated. But (no offense, Mom!) I don't like this one. The song "I Loved Her First" is, frankly, creepy. It's written from the point of view of a dad who is weirdly possessive of his daughter, and who seems to be trying to foster competition with his daughter's new husband. I'm sure the sentiment was supposed to be sweet, but instead, it landed squarely on disturbing.


Dress straps

The bridesmaid dress I wore in October was strapless, but came with these spaghetti straps. I don't think the dress would look as good with them, though. I also cannot think of anything else that I could do with them. So they can go.


Dog nail clippers

We used to use these to cut our dog's nails, but she hated it. We switched to using a Dremel tool to do the job, and she tolerates that much better. So we don't need to keep these.


Wire hanger

I've been over this before, but I am particular about the hangers I use. Anyway, I don't often need to get things dry cleaned, but I did recently. This place was recommended to me, and I'm glad it was—my winter coat needed to be cleaned and have a seam repaired, and they were able to do a great job with a quick turnaround. But just because I liked the service doesn't mean I need to keep the hanger.

Pink hooded sweater

I apparently went through a phase during which I wore hoods a lot, because I've got a number of shirts and sweaters with hoods (I know it isn't visible here, but this sweater does have a hood). But I don't really wear them much anymore. I have enough sweaters, so I don't need to keep the ones I don't often wear. This one can go.


Progress: 408 items out of 500 = 81.6% done.