禁煙３日目

Suddenly having come up with an idea, I've started putting it into action since January 29th.
The idea that is now terribly torturing me and will continue to do so for what seems to me like an eternity is trying to quit smoking!
When working, reading a book or browsing the Net, or after having a meal, I found myself thinking about smoking all the time, and needless to say, what is now occupying almost all of my mind is to take a drag on a cigarette once more.
I feel like I'm going insane with an irresistible urge!
I can't concentrate on my work and reading, let alone writing this blog.
I don't know whether or not I'll be able to give up smoking completely.

数日前までは素晴らしい思いつきだと思っていたはずなのに、脳はおろか、髪の先から爪の先まで、禁断症状という名の苦しみが駆け巡る今、どうしてそんな馬鹿げた考えに取り憑かれたのか、自分でも全く理解できません。
もはや修復不可能とさえ思える私の健康状態を云々するより、困窮する日本経済や税収を、猫の額ほどでも、雀の涙ほどでも押し上げるべく、この身を投げ出した方が感謝されるのではないかとさえ思わせるニコチン、恐るべし。
ニコチンにより破壊される脳細胞の影響よりも、ニコチンがきれたことによる脳細胞の一斉ストライキの方が、人体に与える影響は甚大で深刻なのですね。
英語どころか、まともな日本語さえ出てきません。
いつでも、誰にでも、どんな些細な事ででも、本気で噛み付いてしまいそうな自分が少し恐い、禁煙３日目の私です。　ウガー！

☆今日のメモ☆

・precede : 時間的な前後関係においての『～の前に来る』
・following : 時間的な関係においての『～の次の』
・come before ～ : 計画などの優先順序において『～に優先する』
ex. Project X should definitely come before Project Y. : プロジェクトXはプロジェクトＹよりどうしても優先すべきだ

・whichever ～ earlier : 『どちらか早く～する方』
ex. Check all departing planes from here to Big York tomorrow through Friday, and take whichever leaves earlier. : ここから、明日から金曜までにビッグヨークに発つ飛行機をチェックして、いずれか早く出発する方を押さえて

・best-kept secret : 知られざる秘密
・wait on line : 並んで待つ ※ Interesting fact: Only New Yorkers say they wait "on line," the rest of Americans say they wait "in line."
・miss out on ～ : ～を逃す
・make one's way to ～ : ～へ向かう
・It was fun to see the city through the eyes of a visitor.
・smile one's broad white smile : 白い歯を見せた満面の笑みを浮かべる
・If someone is "as busy as a bee," it means that they are very busy.  A "busy bee" is also someone who is busy, but also cheerful.
・have a bee in one's bonnet : 奇妙な考えに取り憑かれる
・get bitten by the ～ bug : ～に強い興味を抱く
ex. I was never interested in dancing, but after a few lessons I was bitten by the salsa bug and now dance salsa three times a week.

・all the time in the world : いつでも時間に限りなく
ex. If a son needs help with his billiards, then there is all the time in the world to work on it together.

・a majority of over two-thirds of the members present = a majority of two-thirds or more of the member present : 出席者の2/3以上の多数
・stone's throw away (from ～) : （～から）目と鼻の先
ex. Outside the cathedral, in the Pizza del Duomo, stands the Fontana dell'Elefante(Elephant Fountain).  A stone's throw away, behind the nearby Fontana dell'Amenano fountain is a bustling fish market.　 by the Mainichi Weekly

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惚れたぜ、乾杯

It was nearly the dead of night on Saturday (or should I describe it as Sunday?) when I finished reading Harry Potter and the Chamber of the Secrets, because I couldn't put it down on the verge of reaching the ending.
As I feel every time I read any of the Harry Potter series, I once again wondered if Harry really would be able to solve the mysterious, inexplicable cases with not more than 100 pages left, despite my having read it once in Japanese.
Needless to say, I soon got absorbed in the breathtaking scenes happening one after another in the last part of it, and it became more difficult for me to go to bed without getting it through.
That's why I had to stay up until over midnight.
Maybe I must say J.K.Rowling is undoubtedly one of the greatest writers who can firmly grab their readers, and that I'm really glad to be able to have come across her books.

Now, the next, or second, book I have to read is Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the fourth volume of the Harry Potter series.
Thinking back on my first reading of it, though I feel like the beginning of it was a little dull, I'll do my best.

Oh, I must write at least this:
Kayoko Fukusi, your positive attitude to running extraordinarily encouraged and impressed me!
Thanks a lot!!  (^^)

☆今日のメモ☆

・It made the hairs stand up on the back of Harry's neck.

・"... And that's where you came in, Harry.  You found it, and I couldn't have been more delighted.  Of all the people who could picked it up, it was you, the very person I was most anxious to meet..."

・I knew you would go to any lengths to solved the mystery - particularly if one of your friends was attacked.
go to any length(s) : 必要なこと（できること）は何でもやる、あらゆる努力を尽くす

・"... The last thing I r-remember is him coming out of the diary -"

・"Which goes to show that the best of us must sometimes eat our words," Dumbledore wenｔ on, smiling.
eat one's words : 前言を取り消す、食言する

・Apparently Mr. Malfoy had set out in a great hurry, for not only were his shoes half-polished, but his usually sleek hair was disheveled.

ハリ・ポタを読むたびに、『残り○○ページで本当に終わるんだろうか』と不安になってしまう私ですが、今回もラスト直前には本を置くこともままらず、ハリ・ポタの世界に負けじと魑魅魍魎らが跋扈す丑三つ時まで読み耽ってしまいました。
えぇ。 過労死寸前の脳に鞭打ちながら。

それと、私、恐らくは今日中にでも『ある事』を始めようかと思っています。
英語には全く関係のないことなのですが、もしかすると、このブログも少し休みがちになってしまうかもしれません。（今以上に？）
『ブログと「それ」と何の関係があるんだ』と、心なく揶揄する方もいらっしゃいますが（おまえのことだ＞SO）、私にとっては関係大アリなのです。
まぁ、あっという間に何もなかったことにするかもしれませんが・・・。~(=^‥^A

最後に！！
滅多にスポーツで感動することのない私ではありますが、昨日の福士選手には心からの拍手を送りたいと思います。
笑ってましたよ、彼女。
並々ならぬ努力を続け、トラック競技においては結果も残し、さらには辛いはずの局面さえも笑って乗り越える彼女に心底惚れました♡

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悩ましい問題

The time when I have to decide what books to buy next seems to draw nearer as I move through Harry Potter and the Chamber of the Secrets little by little.
It's hard for me to choose only one book or two because I have such many books I want to try as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Flowers for Algernon, The Remains of the Day, The Golden Compass and so on.
Needless to say, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, which is almost two times as long as each of its former volumes, is already in the top of my wish list, which means the easier the other book I should get next is to read, the better.
Books easy to read..., hmm, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, Holes or The Ring?
A friend of mine has recommended me to read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which is one of a few books she was able to read to the end, and she, the big fan of Roald Dahl, says every time we meet that it's highly interesting and that you'll definitely love it once you read it.
I should try it for our friendship, shouldn't I?  (^^;

Oh, and one more thing.
Though I was going to buy the book I came to want after seeing the comments a woman, to my delight, posted, The Golden Compass, my determination began to waver due to my having come across a site in which an unacceptable review to me was written.
It says The Golden Compass is for advanced-level learners, while it introduces Never Let Me Go as one of the books for beginners despite my thinking it's almost the best I can somehow understand.
Should I wait for more information to be written from her?
Anyway, it's something to consider after reading through the Harry Potter series.

☆今日のメモ☆

・And out of it came something that made Harry let out a long, piercing scream unheard by anyone.

・It was only as he threw the last of the Lockhart books back into it that he realized what wasn't there.

・They found themselves face-to-face with him aiming a crowwbow at them.

・"However," said Dumbledoew, speaking very slowly and clearly so that none of them could miss a word, "you will find that I will only truly have left this school when none here are loyal to me.  You will also find that help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it."

・Summer was creeping over the grounds around the castle; sky and lake alike turned periwinkle blue and flowers large as cabbages burst into bloom in the greenhouses.

・Then Fang suddenly let loose a great, echoing bark, making both Harry and Ron jump out of their skins.

・And from the middle of the misty, domed web, a spider the size of a small elephant emerged, very slowly.

・No afternoon ever lasted as long as that one, nor had Gryffindor Tower ever been so crowded, yet so quiet.

ハリポタ２巻も終わりに近づき、そろそろ次に読む本を決めなければという、悩ましくも楽しみな時期にさしかかりました。
既に購入リストのトップに陣取っているハリ・ポタ４巻だけで２冊文はありそうなので、もう１冊は、前から興味のあった簡単で読みやすそうな本を買ってみようかと思います。
数年前に多読を始め、あっという間に座礁してしまった某女史が、やたらとロアルド・ダールの作品を薦めるので、彼女に敬意を表する為にも、そして２人の友情の為にも、ロアルド・ダールの長編にチャレンジしてみましょうか。
著名な某日本人作家をして、『いつかロアルド・ダールのような短編を書いてみたい』と言わしめた彼の短編集は、現在、定期購読している毎日ウィークリーにて連載中につき除外いたします。

それと、『The Golden Compass』！！
『Never Let Me Go』を初心者向けとして書いている某サイトにて『上級者向け』と紹介されていたのですが、私に読めるんでしょうか？
（同サイトでの『Never Let Me Go』の紹介ページはこちらとこちら。）
イギリス人でも理解できないところがあったと書かれると、思う存分潮干狩りができてしまうぐらい引いてしまうんですけど・・・　(^^;
よ・・・、よろしければ、読んでみてどんな感じなのか、さらなる情報お待ちしております。＞Ｎ様m(__)m

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欠けているモノ・すべきコト

Well, what should I write in this blog today?
Every time I scrawl English, though I think I've written it as carefully as possible in my own way, I get anxious about whether my learning style is really all right.
In both writing and reading English, let alone speaking or listening, I can't help feeling I don't know even basic rules of grammar of English enough to write what I want to or understand what I read.
Though I think it's natural and not something to be ashamed about for us beginners to make mistakes, and that important thing for us is to try to have as many opportunities to learn proper English as possible so that we become able to notice our mistakes, the more I learn, the more confused I get.
What should I do to improve my English skill?
It's ridiculous to ask the question nobody can answer or, maybe I should say like this, everybody knows the answer to.

☆今日のメモ☆

・Behind the wall was a spiral staircase that was moving smoothly upward, like an escalator.

・Not only were there a dozen frost-covered Christmas trees and thick streamers of holly and mistletoe crisscrossing the ceiling, but enchanted snow was falling, warm and dry, from the ceiling.

☆今日のツボ☆

・"Why not ask Professor Snape to show you how to whip up a Love Potion!" ......  Snape was looking as though the first person to ask him for a Love Potion would be force-fed poison.
ｆｒｏｍ Harry Potter and the Chamber of the Secrets

この勉強法でいいのだろうか、他にすべきことがあるのではないかと、誰にも答えられるわけもない、あるいは誰に聞くまでもなく答えの分かりきっている疑問に襲われるのは、独学という勉強法ゆえなのでしょうか？
学習スタイルは関係ないような気がしないでもありませんが、こんな日は独学の侘びしさが、現在、日本列島を席巻している寒波よりも辛く厳しく身に染みます。
基礎なのですね、きっと。
基本的なことをしっかり理解していないから、英文を書こうとしても、洋書を読もうとしても不安になるんでしょう。
ただ英語のある生活を楽しみたいだけなのですが、楽しめるようなレベルになる為には、越えなければならない山がまだまだたくさんあるようです。
お金さえ出せば手に入るお手軽な楽しみが氾濫する現代で、何が楽しくて英語ごときに苦しめられる道を選ぶのか。
せめて、『これさせあれば完璧！』な参考書でもあればいいのですが、そんな物があれば誰も苦労しないわけで。
だからこそ面白いのかもしれないと自分を慰めつつ、今日も英文を凌ぐ長さになってしまった和文に、溜め息を隠しきれない私なのです。

今日の結論 ： 日本語に逃げるべからず　　わかってるんだけどね・・・

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誰のため？

I heard that Keisuke Kuwata's Complete Package, which will consist of a DVD of his live performed from Dec. 31, 2007 to Jan. 1st, 2008 at Yokohama Arena and a CD including almost all of his songs and a Yuko Hara's song released in 2007 and a new song he wrote for this, is to be released on March 12.
Personally, I think it's really great news because I couldn't record the satellite TV program of his live due to not being a satellite TV subscriber, but how about those who have bought all his singles and subscribed to it to watch his live?
Not that I underestimate the effort and the difficulty in creating a new song, but don't you think the price of 5,500 yen is too high for listening to only one new song?
Though I know some people say it's wrong to complain about it because you also have the right not to buy what can't satisfy you, I can't help thinking that's not the point.
Thinking of the CD as a sort of bonus might be better, and I think it is, but if it was something most of his fans haven't gotten yet, nobody wouldn't complain like that.

3/12発売の桑田佳祐・コンプリート・パッケージなる物は、某衛星放送にて既に放送された年越しライブのDVDに、去年発売された全シングルとそのカップリング１曲を除くほぼ全曲に、原由子さんのソロシングル（カップリング）１曲、おまけに新曲１曲を含むCDを付けて5,500円也。
この内容で『どうだ、安いだろう！』と胸を張られても、全シングルを買い、桑田さんのライブを見る為に衛星放送に加入したファンは文句の１つも言いたくなって当然でしょう。
新曲が入っていなければ、心おきなく『買わない自由』を選ぶこともできたでしょうが、なまじファンであるが故に、新曲１曲の為に5,500円を払うハメになろうとは、これ蛸に。
蟹に？
もとい、これ如何に。
決して、１曲を書き上げる為に要する努力を過小評価しているわけではありません。
この資本主義社会で当たり前と言えば当たり前なのですが、制作側の『売らんかな主義』が、（恐らくは無理矢理着せられていたのだろう）某アイドルグループのシースルーの衣装よりも見え見えなのが少し恥ずかしいだけです。
かくいう私は衛星放送未加入者。
桑田さんを始め、コンプリート・パッケージの制作に携わられる皆様に、深く、深く、心から御礼申し上げ、禿げ散らかしたオヤジの頭皮よりも見え見えに喜び勇んで、予約させていただきます?

☆今日のメモ☆

・Harder to avoid was Colin Creevey, who seemed to have memorized Harry's schedule.

・They said good-bye to Hagrid and walked back up to the castle, Ron hiccoughing occasionally, but only bringing up two very small slugs.

・Saturday afternoon seemed to melt away, and in what seemed like no time, it was five minutes to eight.

・Nor could Harry and Ron get much response from her when they asked what she was up to, and not until the following Wednesday did they find out.

・Just because a wizard doesn't use Dark Magic doesn't mean he can't, Miss Pennyfeather," snapped Professor Binns.

・Madam Hooch, the Qudditch teacher, asked Flint and Wood to shake hands, which they did, giving each other threatening stares and gripping rather harder than was necessary.
from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

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電子レンジ

It's so cold like in a freezer these days that it's hard for me to get out of the futon every morning.
Don't you feel it gets cold with few exceptions at this time of year when the national university entrance examination is held?
Though there seem to be a lot of difficulties examinees have to overcome to pass the exam, I hope they can do their best.

By the way, my microwave suddenly broke down on Wednesday night without any warnings or signs of it despite having worked well until the morning.
This bitter cold might be unbearable for the about fourteen-year-old microwave too.
To my sadness, and naturally, it's never responded to my desperate request ever since that night when it refused to work for my snack for the first time in its life.
Good-bye, my comrade, and rest in peace.  (T-T)

After giving my last word to it, I pulled the plug out of its socket and the next day I went to buy a new microwave oven.
To be honest, I thought for a while I'd better wait until my SO's  coming to my home so that we could bring it home by car, but I couldn't wait because I didn't think I could live without it.
Frozen food in the freezer is too cold to eat without heating it.
If I had eaten those frozen food in this shivering cold weather, I'd definitely have caught cold, though I've seen a girl eating frozen food without cooking on TV once.
It was, however, Saturday morning that I had the microwave delivered.
Though I've shopped at the same store many times, I've never received purchases within the day I bought despite the store's saying in their TV commercial that they offer same-day delivery service.
What was the point of my having bothered to go by bicycle?
My SO said to me that I should have waited until his coming.
Yeah, I know.  I thought I could use it by Friday evening at least...
Anyway, the brand-new microwave now looks glittering in my cramped kitchen.

私が京都で一人暮らしをしていた時からなので、もうかれこれ14年？　それ以上？
先日、長年、苦楽を共にした戦友とも言うべき電子レンジ君が誰にも気付かれることなく、ひっそりと天に召されました。
『朝は、あんなに元気に御飯を温めてくれたじゃない！』と泣いてみたところで時すでに遅し。
季節は冬。
冷凍庫の中の氷のごとき食品群を貪り食うには、あまりに寒すぎる。
たとえ真夏であったとしても、食らい付く前には相当の心の葛藤が生じるかとは思いますが。
そんなこんなで、少しでも早く商品を届けてもらおうと『即日配達』を謳い文句にしている某店に行きましたが、商品を決め、いざ購入手続きをという段になってから『配達は２日後です』と平然と言い切る店員。
いいのよ。　それぐらいのことで取り乱すほど子供じゃないわ。
今や生活必需品とはいえ、出来ないものは仕方がない。
きっと、きっと、あまりに仕事が忙しくて、自社のＣＭを目にする機会もないのでしょう。
ただ、何度この店で買い物をしても、一度として『即日配達』のサービスを受けたことがないのが解せないだけ。

☆今日のメモ☆

・starting tomorrow ： 明日から　（＝as of tomorrow）
・come in handy ： 役に立つ 役立つ 重宝する
・be in over one's head ： どうしていいのか分からない
・pull the plug ： 支援をやめる
　ex.　After learning about the projected cost of the new stadium, the investors decided to pull the plug on the project.
・if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen ： 耐えられないならやめるべきだ
・We shouldn't let a bad apple color our view of an entire group of people. ： 悪い人が数人いるからといって、そのグループに属する人すべてが悪いとは限らない。　－ from the Mainichi Weekly

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量より質

Looking back at my recent blog entries, I noticed Japanese has taken up most space of it despite my having started this blog to improve my English writing skill.
Though I surely swore on the last day of last year that I tried to use proper Japanese at least on the Net, I think everything has its limit, and I have to admit the percentage of Japanese of late diaries is undoubtedly beyond it.
Then, what am I supposed to do?
Should I give up my resolution without sticking to it for only one month?
No, I still have another way to keep up my resolution.
"Quality beats quantity every time!"
I think that's the only way left for me, but on the other hand, why do I feel as if my resolution were waiting to be broken?

Also I've started reading Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets since yesterday.
Mrs. Weasley is so cool, no, so hot that I can't help smiling, remembering her brave fight in the last volume, every time she tells her mischievous sons off.
Mothers are really strong not physically but mentally, aren't they?
While reading it, I strongly felt again nobody can defeat them or their love for their children.
Not "magic is might", but "love is might, power and the source of everything!"

『二兎追う者は一兎をも得ず』とばかりに、日々、取捨選択を迫られる世の中であることは重々承知しております。
が、『あちらを取ればこちらが立たず』もまた哀し。
他に道はないものかと彷徨うのも、ある意味、人の宿命。
もう少し彷徨ってみます。
そして私の新年の誓いなぞ、寒風吹き荒ぶ冬の日本海の断崖絶壁に置かれた灯火より儚いことを確信するわけですね。

英語読書はハリ・ポタ２巻に取りかかったところです。
ウィーズリーおばさんの止まることを知らない叱咤激励（単なる叱責か？）の数々に、そしてお馴染みのメンバー達のまだあどけない姿に、笑いを誘われつつ、少し胸が熱くなります。 (T-T)

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読書記録・洋書（2008）

2008年度版：読んだ洋書の感想と、全く主観的なお薦め度。
シリーズものはラストだけ読むというわけにもいかないので、全部まとめて同じお薦め度にしようかとも思いましたが、それだとあまりにも面白くないので、強引にお薦め度に差をつけています。（ほとんど無意味だと思いますが）
下から上に読んだ順になっています。
英文は本文からの抜粋です。

The Golden Compass (US) 映画化されたのでご存知の方も多いと思いますが、日本版『ライラの冒険シリーズ』の第１巻『黄金の羅針盤』がこれにあたります。 私達の世界と酷似したイギリスや北極を舞台にしていますが、この世界の人間は「daemon」と呼ばれる動物の形をした自分自身の魂を必ず伴うParallel Worldに住んでいます。ストーリーには"elementary particles（素粒子）"、"photons（光子、光量子）"etc...、文系向きではない単語が多数出てきますが、そこはあまり神経質にならず、ストーリーのテンポの良さと、お転婆どころではないLyraの行動力、Lyraを取り巻く様々な謎や個性的な登場人物達をトコトン楽しみましょう♪ 英語としては、最初の２章は難しい単語も少なく、初っ端からLyraが事件に巻き込まれたりする為、ストレスなく読めます。が、Lyraを取り巻く世界や状況説明が始まる３章からは、辞書との格闘を余儀なくされます（私の場合）。その後、Part.２以降はまた読みやすくなりますが・・・。「上手いなぁ～」と思うのは、まず１＆２章で読者をストーリーに惹き込んでから、少しだけ面倒な状況説明に入るとこ。私達英語初心者は言わずもがなですが、例え英語を母国語とする人達でも、小さな子供達にしてみたら、イマイチ盛り上がりに欠ける状況説明から入るより、イキナリ事件に巻き込まれ、いくつもの謎を突きつけられてからの方が挫折しにくいだろうというのは想像に難くありませんから。 ・・・というわけで、英文抜粋は１章と３章からそれぞれ少しずつさせていただきます。（少しずつじゃ、あまり意味はないと思うけどね~(=^‥^A） （6/4-6/26　所要日数：23日間 ページ数：399ページ One. The Decanter of Tokay Lyra and her daemon moved through the darkening hall, taking care to keep to one side, out of sight of the kitchen. The three great tables that ran the length of the hall were laid already, the silver and the glass catching what little light there was, and the long benches were pulled out ready for the guests. Portraits of former Masters hung high up in the gloom along the walls. Lyra reached the dais and looked back at the open kitchen door, and, seeing no one, stepped up beside the high table. The places here were laid with gold, not silver, and the fourteen seats were not oak benches but mahogany chairs with velvet cushions. Three. Lyra's Jordan Jordan College was the grandest and richest of all the colleges in Oxford. It was probably the largest, too, though no one knew for certain. The buildings, which were grouped around three irregular quadrangles, dated from every period from the early Middle Ages to the mid-eighteenth century. It had never been planned; it had grown piecemeal, with past and present overlapping at every spot, and the final effect was one of jumbled and squalid grandeur. Some part was always about to fall down, and for five generations the same family, the Parslows, had been employed full time by the College as masons and scaffolders. 最後に、お気に入りの台詞♪ ・"It is the Alethiometer. It tells the truth. As for how to read it, you'll have to learn by yourself." ・"I wish..." she said, and stopped. There was nothing that could be gained by wishing for it. A final deep shaky breath, and she was ready to go on. お薦め度：★★★★★

The Remains of the Day (UK) Kazuo Ishiguro氏のブッカー賞受賞作品で、私にとっては「Never Let Me Go」に続いて２冊目のIshiguro作品です。諸々の雑用が重なり、読むのにやたらと時間がかかってしまいましたが、読み終わった時は「何だか虚しいのだけれど、かつ清々しい」という妙な読後感が病みつきになりそう。(^m^*) 作品全体に流れる「静かな深い愛情」というのが、Ishiguro氏の持ち味なのかな・・・？　今回は古き良きイギリスの高名な紳士に長年仕えてきた執事さんの旅行記＆回顧録。いえ、「過去への旅行記」というべきかな？　今は亡き主人への確かな忠誠心と自分の仕事への誇り、自分でさえ気付くことのなかった愛情の、そしてその破局の突然の自覚。その一生を振り返り、悔やまずにおれないのは、人生の終盤につきものの事ではあるけど、それを「一日の終わり」になぞらえ、来るべき明日に、未来に思いを馳せている点が、常に高みを目指してきた執事さんらしい・・♪ 英語は某HPに「Never Let Me Go」より簡単っぽいことを書いていましたが、間違いなく「Never Let Me Go」より難しいでしょう。 特に古き良きイギリス紳士たちが集まるシーンでは、辞書が手放せない状態でした。逆に言うと、それ以外のシーンでは、比較的楽に読めるんじゃないかと思います。 手に汗握るシーンなどは皆無ですし、「Never Let Me Go」のような衝撃的な展開もありませんが、静かな感動が欲しい人、必読です♪ ↑のリンク、品切れかもしれませんが、私が買ったのはこのUK版なので無理矢理リンク。 初心者向けに書き直されたペンギンズ・リーダー版(?)の「The Remains of the Day」もあるので、買う際は要注意☆ （4/31-6/2　所要日数：34日間~(=^‥^A） ページ数：258ページ It seems increasingly likely that I really will undertake the expedition that has been preoccupying my imagination now for some days. An expedition, I should say, which I will undertake alone, in the comfort of Mr Farraday's Ford; an expedition which, as I foresee it, will take me through much of the finest countryside of England to the West Country, and may keep me away from Darlington Hall for as much as five or six days. The idea of such a journey came about, I should point out, from a most kind suggestion put to me by Mr Farraday himself one afternoon almost a fortnight ago, when I had been dusting the portraits in the library. In fact, as I recall, I was up on the step-ladder dusting the portrait of Viscount Wetherby when my employer had entered carrying a few volumes which he presumably wished returned to the shelves. On seeing my person, he took the opportunity to inform me that he had just that moment finalized plans to return to the United States for a period of five weeks between August and September. Having made this announcement, my employer put his volumes down on a table, seated himself on the chaise-longue, and stretched out his legs. It was then, gazing up at me, that he said. お薦め度：★★★★☆

Harry Potter And the Order of the Phoenix (UK) シリーズ最長の第５巻！３→６→７→１→２→４→５巻と、奇妙奇天烈な順序になってはしまいましたが、私にとって英語版ハリー・ポッタ・シリーズへの最後の挑戦となった巻です。散々な仕打ちに＋反抗期で、１巻の可愛いハリーとは別人かと思うほど短気なHarryが、新しく加わった仲間達とともに、Ministry of Magic相手に、そしてもちろんDeath Eaters や Voldemort 相手に大暴れします。が、痛快とは決して言えないエンディングが待っております。この『やるせなさ』は最終巻を読み終えるまでは消えないどころか、益々度を増していくので、最終巻が出てから一気に読破しようと思っている人が、一番ストレスを感じない正しい読み方かも。 英語のレベル的には４巻よりも少しアップしたのかなとは思いますが、１巻から読んできた人にとってはお馴染みの単語がおおいので、特に苦にならずに読める程度です。 （3/8-4/8　所要日数：32日間） 総語数：258,220語 The hottest day of the summer so far was drawing to a close and drowsy silence lay over the large, square house of Privet Drive.Cars that were usually gleaming stood dusty in their drives and lawns that were once emerald green lay parched and yellowing ― for the use of hosepipes had been banned due to drought. Deprived of their usual car-washing and lawn-mowing pursuits, the inhabitants of Privet Drive had retreated into the shade of their cool houses, windows thrown wide in the hope of tempting in a nonexistent breeze. The only person left outdoors was a teenage boy who was lying flat on his back in a flowerbed outside number four. He was a skinny, black-haired, bespectacled boy who had the pinched, slightly unhealthy look of someone who has grown a lot in a short space of time. His jeans were torn and dirty, his T-shirt baggy and faded, and the soles of his trainers were peeling away from the uppers. Harry Potter's appearance did not endear him to the neighbours, who were the sort of people who thought scruffiness ought to be punishable by law, but as he had hidden himself behind a large hydrangea bush this evening he was quite invisible to passers-by. お薦め度：★★★★☆

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (US) １～３巻までは読み切りの本同様、もしくはそれ以上に、読み終えた時に『あぁ、良かった。面白かった』と本を置くことができますが、４巻以降は幾つかの試練を乗り越え、謎を突き止めた喜びよりも、今後の展開への不安を募らせながら本を閉じる人が多くなるのではないでしょうか。１～３巻までも７巻のラストにたどり着くためには欠かせない要素となってはおりますが、４巻以降は７巻のラストにたどり着くための長い道のりの一行程としての側面が強くなってきている感じです。では４巻だけを振り返って面白くなかったのかと聞かれると、とっても面白かったです♪『無駄に長い巻』という印象のあった４巻ですが、意外なオチの数々は流石です。英語的にはイディオムなどが増えてきて、少し難易度がアップしている感があります。 （2/7-3/7　所要日数：約28日間） 総語数：約191,694語 The villagers of Little Hangleton still called it "the Riddle House," even though it had been many years since the Riddle family had lived there. It stood on a hill overlooking the village, some of its windows boarded, tiles missing from its roof, and ivy spreading unchecked over its face. Once a fine-looking manor, and easily the largest and grandest building for miles around, the Riddle House was now damp, derelict, and unoccupied. The Little Hangletons all agreed that the old house was "creepy." Half a century ago, something strange and horrible had happened there, something that the older inhabitants of the village still liked to discuss when topics for gossip were scarce. The story had been picked over so many times, and had been embroidered in so many places, that nobody was quite sure what the truth was anymore. お薦め度：★★★★☆　（★3.5ぐらいかな～？）

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Roald Dahlによる原作も有名ですが、映画化された事でも有名な『チャーリーとチョコレート工場』。奇想天外なキャラクターや設定・ストーリーにワクワクしながら、ブラックすぎるユーモアに込められた教訓を読みとるというのが、この本の本来の読み方かもしれませんが、個人的にはWonka氏の孤独を何故か想像してしまう、そして作者の子供達への深い愛情が印象的な本でした。子供達を生かすも殺すも大人次第という意味では、大人達こそ読むべきなのかも。Roald Dahlらしいブラックで予想外なストーリーを楽しみたいなら、ショートストーリー集の方がお薦めです。★の数はハリ・ポタなど他の本との対比において少な目設定。 （2/3－2/5　所要日数：約３日間） ページ数：155ページ They were looking down upon a lovely valley. There were green meadows on either side of the valley, and along the bottom of it there flowed a great brown river. What is more, there was a tremendous water curled and rolled in a solid sheet, and then went crashing down into a boiling churning whirlpool of froth and spray. Below the waterfall (and this was the most astonishing sight of all), a whole mass of enormous glass pipes were dangling down into the river from somewhere high up in the ceiling! They really were enormous, those pipes. There must have been a dozen of them at least, and they were sucking up the brownish muddy water from the river and carrying it away to goodness knows where. お薦め度：★★☆☆☆

Harry Potter and the Chamber of the Secrets (US) もはや内容を説明するまでもないハリーポッター・シリーズ第二巻。英語のレベル的には１巻とさして変わらず、１巻を既に読み終えていて、ハリ・ポタ独自の単語やハグリッドの訛りに慣れていれば、読むのは苦ではないかと思います。ハリ・ポタには意外と、日常でも使いやすい文章表現・会話表現が満載じゃないかと思うので、英語学習の一環として読んでみたい人にもいいのではないかと。（使える表現を盗んでやろうと思いつつ、なかなか身に付かない私が言っても説得力はゼロですが）もちろん、細かいことは気にせず、怪物やゴースト達が闊歩し、火の鳥が舞い飛ぶ世界に思いっきり没頭してみたい人にももってこいの作品です。数時間の映画では表しきれない不思議な世界をトコトン楽しみましょう。 （1/16－1/26　所要日数：約11日間） 総語数：約84,993語 Not for the first time, an argument had broken out over breakfast at number four, Privet Drive. Mr. Vernon Dursley had been woken in the early hours of the morning by a loud, hooting noise from his nephew Harry's room. "Third time this week!" he roared across the table. "If you can't control that owl, it'll have to go!" Harry tried, yet again, to explain. "She's bored," he said. "She's used to flying around outside. If I could just let her out at night -" "Do I look stupid?" snarled Uncle Vernon, a bit of fried egg dangling from his bushy mustache. "I know what'll happen if that owl's let out." He exchanged dark looks with his wife, Petunia. Harry tried to argue back but his words were drowned by a long, loud belch from the Dursleys' son, Dudley. お薦め度：★★★★★

Bridge to Terabithia ディズニーが映画化したので日本でも有名な『テラビシアにかける橋』の原作です。 ５年生で一番早いランナーになる為に練習に励んでいた絵を描くのが大好きなJessが、転校生のLeslieと出会い、二人だけの王国を築きながら友情を育んでいき・・・。友情・家庭・勇気そして死など、多くのテーマから何をどう感じるかは読者次第かも。－誰も知らない二人だけの秘密の王国 ― 『そんなこと、私も昔はしてたっけ』と感慨に耽ってみるも良し、Jessの素直で情熱的かつストレートな気持ちに微笑むも良し、思いっきり泣いてみるも良し。英文は短めで初心者向けですが、会話文はかなりカジュアル。★の数はハリ・ポタなど他の本との対比において少な目。 個人的には★３つ。 （1/3－1/11　所要日数：約９日間） ページ数：約191ページ "Do you know what we need?" Leslie called to him. Intoxicated as he was with the heavens, he couldn't imagine needing anything on earth. "We need a place," she said, "just for us. It would be so secret that we would never tell anyone in the whole world about it." Jess came swinging back and dragged his feet to stop. She lowered her voice almost to a whisper. "It might be a whole secret country," she continued, "and you and I would be the rulers of it."Her words stirred inside of him. He'd like to be a ruler of something. Even something that wasn't real. "OK," he said. "Where could we have it?" "Over there in the woods where nobody would come and mess it up." There were parts of the woods that Jess did not like. Dark places where it was almost like being underwater, but he didn't say so. "I know" - she was getting excited - "it could be a magic country like Narnia, and the only way you can get in is by swinging across on this enchanted rope." お薦め度：★★☆☆☆

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (US) 言わずもがなのハリーポッター・シリーズ第１巻。 ハリ・ポタ７巻を読み終えた今では、かなり簡単な英文に思えますが、初めてハリ・ポタを読む方には、ファンタジー特有の日常生活ではまずお目にかかることのない単語の数々が少し鬱陶しいかもしれません。１巻は特に最初から最後まで新鮮な驚きと感動に溢れ、十二分に満足のいくラストも待ち受けているので、苦労した以上に楽しめる本だと思います。唯一の不満は、"Philosopher's Stone（賢者の石）” が US版では "Sorcerer's Stone（魔法使いの石）" になっていることぐらいかな。 （12/20－1/1　所要日数：約13日間 総語数：約77,618語 Mr. and Mrs. Dursely, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. They were the last people you'd expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn't hold with such nonsense. Mr. Dursley was the director of a firm called Grunnings, which made drills. He was a big, beefy man with hardly any neck, although he did have a very large mustache. Mrs. Dursley was thin and blonde and had nearly twice the usual amount of neck, which came in very useful as she spent so much of her time craning over garden fences, spying on the neighbors. The Dursley had a small son called Dudley and in their opinion there was no finer boy anywhere. お薦め度：★★★★★

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太陽の塔:The tower of the Sun

After finishing Bridge to Terabithia, I got to Taiyou no Tou, The tower of the Sun, written by Tomihiko Morimi, and finished reading it in hours yesterday.
The former is a fantasy novel mainly featuring the kingdom made by Jess and Leslie's imaginations, and the later is also written about a man's daily life who  seems to have no charm but a huge imagination or obsession.
Though I think the former is a worthwhile book, the later might not be worth spending your limited time reading it when you look for something exciting, useful or touching through your reading.
Besides, you should not read it to kill time in such public places as trains or cafes, or you might get attention from others because of your having let out a laugh.
It's natural that you think the less number of times you make a fool of yourself, the better, isn't it?
I can't, however, tell you clearly what made me laugh like that.
I mean, this book is worthless for most people as the main character confesses in it.
I would nevertheless like to say you should read it once as long as you are not the kind of person who gets annoyed with completely fruitless acts.
Of course, on your own responsibility.
Yes, I probably like this book.

私にとっては十分すぎる程の英語漬けな日々を送っていると、ただでさえ怪しい日本語能力がさらに低下する気がします。
英語はこの際諦めるとしても、日本語すらおぼつかないとあっては、大人として情けない。
美しい日本語に、流れるような文章に、情緒や趣溢れる美しい世界にもっと触れたい！
・・・そんな思いで購入した『太陽の塔』（森見登見彦）。
結論といたしましては、大間違いでした。
そもそも一人暮らしの大学生の男という、部屋の隅で菌糸類が繁殖していようと、台所でかつて食べ物だった物の集合体が腐臭を放っていようと、たまった洗濯物が限度を超えて発酵していようと一向に気にならない人種に、情緒や趣はおろか、何かしらの感動や興奮を求める方が、絶対的に、誰が何と言おうとおかしい。
しかも腹の立つことに、この作品の主人公自身が『「おまえの日常なんぞに興味はない」と言う方は読まない方が賢明であろう。・・・読み終わった後で文句を言われても困る』と書いているので、文句を言うこともできない。
せいぜい『何かしらの対価を求める者は、この本を読むべからず』とブログに書き殴るぐらいしか報復の手はない。
特に、私のように繊細（？）な女性は読まない方がいいかもしれません。
出てくるのです、アレが。
字面にすら生理的嫌悪感を覚えるので英語で書かせていただくと、cockroachが、否、cockroachesが・・・。
読み飛ばすことを良しとしない私は、そやつが登場する場面を健気にも想像力をオフにして読み進めようと試みましたが、12色、いいとこ24色ぐらいの想像力をモノトーンに落とすことに成功しただけでした。
悲しいかな、12色の映像がモノトーンになったところで、黒一色のあやつら相手には何の効果もないのですが。
おまけに、100人中120人、いや200人、何なら1000人は予想できただろうお約束の罠にまんまと引っかかる主人公を、清水の舞台から突き落としてやりたくなったのは私だけはあるまい。

敢えて長所を挙げるなら、主人公と同じように京都で大学時代を過ごした私としては、懐かしいことから、あまり思い出したくないことまで思い出させてくれたことでしょうか。
といっても日本が世界に誇る（？）京大ではなく、京大よりランクはグゥ～ンと下の某私立大学ですが・・・。
『あ～、いたわ。こういう男』とシミジミと思い出す、『白鳥は 哀しからずや 空の青 海のあをにも 染まずただよふ』を地でいく、煉瓦造りのお洒落なキャンパスにどうしても馴染めない男達・・・。
何よりも、白鳥のように美しくあるわけもないことに、涙を誘った男達・・・。
そんな男達の全く無意味な妄想と闘いに興味のある方は是非一読あれ。
何がおかしいのかと問われると答えに窮しますが、とりあえず中盤までは何度となく笑ってしまいました。
そして中盤には笑うかわりにツッコミを入れ始め、終盤には『うんうん。泣け。さぁ、ドンドン泣け！』と肩を叩いてやりたい気になります。
ラストには再びツッコミを入れてしまいましたが。

森見登美彦さんの作品の一番の魅力は、良く言えば明治時代の文豪を思わせる文体と、やたらと小難しい漢字の多い文章でしょうか。
『おまえには到底読めるはずあるまい』と言わんばかりのふり仮名に、そしてそれに感謝せずにはいられない自分の馬鹿さ加減に、時にむかつきながらも、なぜか惹かれる彼の文章。
悔しいけれど、気に入ってしまったのかもしれません。

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Bridge to Terabithia

I finished reading Bridge to Terabithia written by Katherine Paterson yesterday.
I think it might be a worthwhile book for anyone, with such diverse and sympathetic themes as friendship, family, bravery(gut), dream and death, and I must confess my tears streamed down my face one after another while my reading of it.
Especially, it jogs our wonderful memories of childhood, like making a secret kingdom just for us, fighting with invisible enemies and listening to the inaudible voice of spirits...
I'm not sure if today's children play like that or can understand such plays, though.
Yeah, people of our age must have played a long, long time ago the same way as Jess and Leslie did in Terabithia, and it's highly exciting and great for us to live again in the amazing world where we used to run about, through our reading of it.
Also the straight, pure and therefore strong feelings which Jess felt when he wanted to give Leslie something that he could be proud of, not for her but for himself, and when she couldn't take enough time for him because she had to help her father's work, are similar to what almost all of us experienced, so we can't help smiling at him.

The beautiful world nobody knows, except only you and me....
It's also fragile, and we know we can't live there forever and must move on to the next stage in real world with the precious memories.
I guess though he will leave there sooner or later, Terabithia ruled by the little king and queen will continue to exist by his building the bridge. 

☆　ネタバレ 注意　☆

この本を読む前にネットでチェックした、映画版『テラビシアにかける橋』の感想や粗筋とはほんの少し違うなというのが今の私の感想。
映画版では苛められっ子で家庭でも学校でも疎外感を感じていたJessが、転校生で同じく苛められっ子のLeslieと出会い、二人だけの王国を築き、友情を育んでいき～といった内容のようですが、原作では、少なくともJessは苛められっ子というわけではなかったように思います。
（あくまでも私の未熟な英語力で読んでみた感想ですが）
むしろ、学校で自分の意見を通す術や、学校で浮かないようにするための心構えに長け、家庭で彼に割り当てられた仕事も、疎外感を感じながらもきちんとこなし、親や教師を、ひいては自分自身をも落胆させない為に、たった一つの趣味 －個性的な動物の絵を描くこと－ も隠し通す、ある意味とても現実的な男の子として書かれていたように思います。
そんなJessが、一見大人びているのに少し要領が悪く（授業中に教師に気付かれずに妄想にふけるといJessにはない要領の良さは持っていますが）、家庭の事情もあって苛められていた転校生のLeslieと出会い、想像力豊かな彼女に感化され、二人だけの王国 － Terabithia － で、互いに共通している部分を通して、かつ自分にはない相手の長所に刺激されつつ友情を育んでいく。
そんなお話。
ただ、ラストは私の予想とは少し違いました。
Jessが

"Terabithia was like a castle where you came to be knighted.  After you stayed for a while and grew strong you had to move on.  ......
... Now it was time for him to move out.  She wasn't there, so he must go for both of them.  It was up to him to pay back to the world in beauty and caring what Leslie had loaned him in vision and strength."

と言った時、Terabithiaのことは二人だけの秘密として想い出に変え、少し成長して、もとの生活へと戻っていくのかと思いました。
ある意味、それが大人になることなのかな・・・と思うので。
Terabithiaを封印するのではなく、いつか自分がそこから巣立っても、次に引き継がれていく道を選んだということなのでしょうか。
JessにとってはLeslieこそがTerabithiaに架かる橋だったと思うので、いずれ彼はそこを去る覚悟ができているとは思うのですが、橋を架けることによって、今度はJess自身がMay Belleにとっての橋になったのかな・・・？
自分がそこを去った後も、ひっそりと存在する小さな王と王妃が君臨する王国・・・。
確かに素敵かも。

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蜘蛛の苦悩、ゴリラの孤独

Yesterday, when feeding Ruu the budgerigar at night before getting him back in his cage, I found a spider sitting on the hem of the kotatsu cover without moving.
To be honest, I don't like spiders because I've been bitten by a spider on my hand once, so I tried to brush it off the cover with tissue, but it hardly moved, only taking 2-3 steps weakly and, it seemed to me, sadly.
"Is it dying?" I thought for a moment, I, however, got it away from my sight mercilessly.
10 or so minutes later, I nevertheless found it being on the cover again, just in front of me, maybe I just imagined it, apologetically.
It was as weakly as it had been a while ago.
I didn't know what I was supposed to do with it, and what's more, I really don't like spiders as I wrote.
Not knowing what else to do, I rolled it onto a piece of paper with tissue, and shook it off into the cold winter air outside.
Sorry, but I don't think we could live together peacefully and comfortably, at least to me.

And today, going outside to take out the garbage and taking a casual glance at the sky, I noticed a big stuffed gorilla sitting alone on top of the transparent roof of our bicycle parking with its back to the road I stood on.
What happened to it?
Anyway, it seemed to me as sad and lonely as the spider had done, though I don't know why.
Maybe, I'm a little tired.

蜘蛛に限らず、足のたくさんある昆虫の類にはどうしても馴染めない、条件反射というよりも脊髄反射的に拒絶してしまう私ですが、昨日の蜘蛛はどこか違いました。
死にかけていたんでしょうか？（小さい蜘蛛だったんですが）
生きてはいるけどほとんど動かず、『老体にこの寒さは堪える』 とばかりに、どこか申し訳なさそうな雰囲気をたたえつつ、炬燵布団の上、ヒーターの真ん前で暖を取る蜘蛛。
追い払おうとティッシュで突くと、何とも悲しげにヨタヨタと立ち去ろうとするその後ろ姿（？）には、『老兵は死なず、ただ消え去るのみ』 という台詞さえ思い浮かべるほど。
そんなことを言いながら、十数分後、いつの間にか二度目に暖を取りに現れた老兵を、無慈悲にも冷たい冬の夜に放り出してしまった私は鬼？

そして今朝は、何故か自転車置き場の透明なルーフの上でポツンと佇むゴリラのぬいぐるみを発見。
やっぱり寂しそうに私に背を向けて・・・。

見る物全てが悲しげに見えるというのは、私が感受性豊かな人間だという証明でしょうか？
違いますね。　きっと疲れているんですね。
少し仮眠を取った方がいいのかもしれません。
仙人のようなお爺様蜘蛛と、背中しか見せない心を閉ざしたゴリラ相手に、愚痴りながらお酒を飲み交わす夢でも見そうな気がしますが・・・。

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賢いお買い物

I received a package from Amazon on January 3rd.
The books I bought this time are Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson and Taiyou no Tou, The Tower of the Sun, written by Tomihiko Morimi, not to mention Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K.Rowling, and now I'm reading the first one little by little.
Though I've neither watched the film version of it nor read a copy of Japanese version of it even once before, I decided to try at the moment when I saw the many comments of those who had watched or read it on the Net.
As somebody wrote there, it might be easy to read, it, however, took me some time to get used to her writing style.
I can read it without any serious problems now, fully absorbed in the world which is being made by Jess and Leslie.
My favorite sentences for now are:

For the first time in his life he got up every morning with something to look forward to.  Leslie was more than his friend.  She was his other, more exciting self - his way to Terabithia and all the worlds beyond.

Jess is so passionate that I can't help smiling at his straight confession about how he feels about Miss Edmunds or Leslie.
Well, I have to read a copy of the Mainichi Weekly (and of course, get some work done) before getting to it.

『和書は中古本を買うべし』 というセコイ考えを、何となく 『エコロジー』 な雰囲気を漂わせて言うことがだいぶ板についてきた、どこまでいってもセコイ私ではありますが、アマゾンで洋書を買うついでに前から気になっていた作者の本を一冊購入しました。
『夜は短し歩けよ乙女』 で山本周五郎賞を受賞された森見登美彦さんの、『太陽の塔』（日本ファンタジーノベル大賞受賞作品）です。
こうして 『～賞』 という言葉を書き連ねると、何となく高尚な意図があって買ったかのような錯覚に浸ることができますが（私だけ？）、何ということはありません。
『今だけ！ 和書と洋書をあわせて買うと、洋書はその場で10％引き！』 という、閉店時間直前のスーパーのような誘い文句に釣られただけだったりするわけです。
『太陽の塔』 だけを古本屋で買うのと、（洋書だけ）10％割引の機会に乗じてしまうのと、果たしてどちらが本当に賢い買い物だったのかについては、あまり深く考えたくない問題です。

"Bridge to Terabithia" は確かにハリーポッターより格段に読みやすいかもしれませんが、かなりカジュアルな台詞や、時折目にする小さい子供達の話す間違った英語（最初のうちはJessが訂正してくれたりしますが）、短くて読みやすいと言えば読みやすいけれども、多少ブツブツと途切れがちな感じもしないではない文章 etc... で慣れるまで少し時間がかかりました。
というより、ほぼ間違いなく、私がまだ洋書を読み始めたばかりで、作者により異なる多様な文体に免疫がないためでしょう。
まだ、Jess と Leslie が二人だけの王国 － Terabithia －を作り始めたばかり。
これから二人がどうなっていくのか期待しつつ、無理せずマイペースで読み進めていきたいと思います。

それよりも何よりも、どうして余計なことにかまけている時に限って、時間は早く流れるんでしょう？
所詮、私は私立文系。
アインシュタインに尋ねても、わかるはずない相対性理論。

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手紙：The letters from jail

Oh, I was going to update this blog yesterday, but I couldn't because I stuck my nose into what was none of my business.
What a waste of time using my precious time for someone who never deserves it was!
I was so stupid, and I swear I'll never do such a meaningless thing to me.  Never!

By the way, though I wrote in my previous blog entry that I didn't have anything to read, I did. (^^;
Only one book I'd never read despite having bought it, according to the record of this blog, on July 11, 2007.
It's Tegami, the letters from jail, written by Keigo Higashino, which focuses on the harsh reality a man was forced to face after his brother committed a murder-robbery to get enough money to send him to university.
The fact of his being a murderer's brother gets in his way whenever he's about to grab his happiness, and even if he wants to forget it, the letter from his brother in jail reminds him of it every time he receives it once a month.
I couldn't keep back my tears after I reached the scene in which he went to see the family members of the victim and was handed something important.
Also the words the president of his company said to him:

"to commit a crime is to kill not only him/herself but also all his/her family members socially, and that's just the punishment the person should receive,"

are still in my mind, stinging me sometimes like a thorn.
The book made me think about what seems impossible to solve, and is, I think, a must-read book.

東野圭吾さんの『手紙』、多少のアルコールが脳まで冒していた事実があるにせよ、呼吸困難に陥るかと思うほど泣かせていただきました。
ただ、この犯罪を犯したお兄さんが、ここまでいくともはや罪だとしか思えないほど朴訥な『いい人』（鈍感だけど）だからこそ成り立つ話であって、昨今の、信じられないような理由や方法で犯行を犯した人物の場合、また話は違ってくるのかもしれません。
そしてこの話を読んだ後、『この話は映画化されていたはず』と思い、よせばいいのにネットで検索してみた私はある事実に出くわすわけです。
この映画、年末にテレビ放送されていたんですね・・・。
今さら悔やんでも後の祭り。
『所詮、すれ違いばかりの人生さ』と、意味もなくハードボイルドな私。
ただ、この映画の挿入歌に小田和正さんの『言葉にできない』を使うのは反則としか思えない。
（関係ありませんが、小説ではジョン・レノンの『イマジン』がキーワード的に使われています）
この曲を聴いただけで泣けてくる私に一体どうしろというのか？
映画館で溢れくる涙と鼻水で呼吸困難に陥った人がいるに違いない。

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ハリポタ・１巻、読了

Happy New Year!  (^^)
How was your New Year's Day?
Though I didn't see the first sunrise of the year, after getting up at 6:30 a.m. yesterday, I saw with my SO from the balcony the half-moon and Venus (I can't tell you that's definitely it because I'm not acquainted with planets) shining in the still dark sky.
It seemd a good sign to get a look at the Venus: Aphrodite of the goddess of love and beauty, but at the same time, I know it's also known as Lucifer: a fallen angel who used to be the brightest one and is now famous as Satan. (^^;

Also I finished reading Harry Potter and the sorcerer's Stone yesterday, being intoxicated with chilled sake and the fantasy.
Though it took me more than ten days to read it through, if it had not been the end of the year and I had been in good shape, I feel like I might have been able to finish it a little earlier.
It's just a excuse or my imagination, though.
Anyway, it was as full of fantasy and exciting things as I read it for the first time about seven years ago.
(Needless to say, the book I first read was a Japanese version.)
Well, I have nothing to read today, so I'm going to enjoy a lazy holiday, drinking, eating and maybe, sleeping. (^^;

おぼろげな初夢さえも、布団から出た途端、それまでの暖かさと共に霧散して消え去り、初日の出も、ガラスの御猪口を傾けるのに勤しんでいる間に天高く登り切ってしまい、相変わらず情緒の欠片もない日々を送っております。
唯一の慰めは、まだ暗く氷のように冷たく冴えわたった空の端に、寒々と輝く月と明けの明星を拝めたことでしょうか。
とはいえ、その星が果たして本当に金星であったのかは、空の事情にもとんと疎い私には判別致しかねますが・・・。
『信じる者は救われる』
元旦の朝に、愛と美の女神アフロディテに会えたと思っていれば、いいことがあるかもしれません。
たとえ、それがかつて天上で最も光り輝いた天使でありながら、その後、神に背き地獄の王・サタンとなったルシフェルの名も持つとしても・・・。
信じる者は救われる。　思い過ごしもなんとやら。

『ハリーポッターと賢者の石』も、年末の慌ただしさと、いまひとつ優れない私の体調にもめげず、お正月に飲み交わすお酒とファンタジーの世界に酔いしれながら、何とか読み終えることができました。
１・２・３巻は冗長な部分も少なく、というよりほぼ皆無にして、結末の意外性においても文句のつけようがなく、２度目の『賢者の石』体験であったにもかかわらず、十二分に楽しませて頂きました。
（第７巻を読み終えた時の感動に勝るものはないと思いつつ、その本１冊のみの完成度・満足度においては第１巻の勝ちでしょう）

さて、アマゾンに注文した本がまだ届かないので、今日はひたすらに怠惰なお正月休みを満喫したいと思います。
遅くなりましたが、2008年が皆様にとって素晴らしい年になりますよう・・・。　=＾-＾=

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