Early To Rise

We're expecting a man to come and fix a box to our TV that'll log our viewing habits. It's a paying gig. We get £25 up front and then pocket money for carrying on with it. Every little helps.

We were told he'd be here between 8 and 12- which prompted us to get up a little earlier than usual. I'm not complaining. I don't normally catch the sun-rise and this morning's was a lovely kitschy confection of pink and yellow and speedwell blue. 

Literary Meme

cmcmck as this meme about literary habits. I couldn't resist

1. Libraries or Bookshops.
These days I go to the library. It's cheaper

2. Pens or Pencils
Pencils for doing crosswords, pens for everything else.

3. Handwritten or Typed.
I've used a keyboard for 40 years

4. Thesaurus or Dictionary
The Thesaurus for crosswords, the Dictionary for checking my spelling (which seems to be deteriorating with age).

5. Kindle et al or Print Book
Not bothered. It's the text that matters

6. Wikipedia or Encyclopaedia.
Wikipedia. So much handier and constantly updated.

7. Radio Play or Television Drama
I only ever listen to the radio in the car.

8. Poetry or Prose
Stupid question

9. Fiction or Non-Fiction
Fiction mainly.

10. Novels or Short stories
There are fewer great short stories than great novels- so novels, I suppose.

11. Fantasy or Commercial/Literary Fiction
I read more literary fiction than anything else. My genre of choice is detective fiction

12. The Grapes of Wrath or Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit.
Haven't read either. G o W is a pretty good movie, but then I liked the TV version of Oranges too.

13. The Odyssey or The Road.
Haven't read either

14. Tipping the Velvet or The Well of Loneliness.
Haven't read either

15. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland or Winnie-the-Pooh
I'm fond of Pooh but Alice is a work of genius

16. Frankenstein or Dracula
Frankenstein is turgid. I enjoyed Dracula. I'd trade in both for The Ghost Stories of an Antiquary.

17. Charles Perrault or The Brothers Grimm.
Grimm

18. William Shakespeare or William Blake.
Shakespeare. Blake (though I love him dearly) is a minor figure by comparison- and most of his stuff is unreadable. 

19. Virginia Woolf or Katherine Mansfield
Haven't read Mansfield. Woolf is wonderful but only in parts.

20. Philip Pullman or JK Rowling
Philip Reeve

21. Emily Dickinson or Sylvia Plath.
Stevie Smith