Hmmm, it's been a little while since I've posted, so I feel as if I ought to say something. I've been pretty busy with research, etc. but there's been free pockets as well. On Thursday night, a number of us saw Macbeth, which was shown in the Trinity college gardens. I've never seen a play outdoors before, and it was the perfect night for it (a really nice balmy sort of evening). I thought the play was well done and enjoyed every bit of the performance. Friday evening was eventful as well, with the last Harry Potter film just coming out. We went in a group to see that as well and other than ending up next to a very drunk guy who smelled overwhelmingly of stale beer and expected me to explain the plotline to him, the evening went very well. On Saturday evening, I hung out with friends in Didcot and then spent all day Sunday reading a couple of required texts including Cloud Atlas. I'm not really sure what to say about Cloud Atlas. It's a very experiential sort of book, and although it is brilliantly written, it was a bit difficult to get into. Perhaps there is just too many seemingly unrelated plots that are connected by only a thin thread. It reminds me a bit of the movie Babel, which turned out to be a bit of a flop. I really hope the movie they are making of Cloud Atlas is more successful. I am definitely interested in seeing how they tie Mitchell's six stories together into a coherent world history of sorts on film. It will be impressive if they manage it. I think my favorite work of fiction we have read so far is Carol Churchill's play A Number. I loved all the connections to previous genres and time periods with her focus on fathers and sons and doubles. It would be a really fun play to analyze or write about.