The Rule of Four and lunchboxes

Alright, before I offer my thoughts on another of my favourite books, I'm going to share a story. A sad, sad little story about me and my lunchbox.

So, I was at the public library the other day, doing some research when I got kind of hungry. So, I packed up my books and notes and lugged my stuffed bag over to a café around the corner. But when I got there, I realized that I'd forgotten my previously packed lunch box (which contained a crisp apple, a lovely sandwhich, and a gingerbread cookie I'd baked myself, I may add) at my desk at the library. More than a little annoyed, and very hungry, I trudged back to the library and to my desk. And, you guessed it, the lunch box wasn't there. I felt my heart sink a little, but then the girl who'd been sitting across from me looked up at me and asked me if everything was alright (I suppose hunger must have made me look rather deranged as I tore the little workspace apart in search of my lunch)

I replied by telling her that I'd lost my lunch. This statement made her blush a little. I raised my eyebrows, suspecting that she might have eaten it herself, but then, very sheepishly, she asked, "It wasn't the denim lunchbox, was it?"

I nodded.

"Well," she started, "There was this guy who came up to me looking for his lost lunch box, and I pointed yours out to him and he sorta... took it."

You can imagine that her words did not improve my mood. I mean who goes around tricking innocent girls into giving them other people's lunchboxes? Who does that?!?!?!

Don't worry though, I didn't take out my frustration on the girl. I politely thanked her for her time, left the library, and then let out a loud curse at the world in general. It wasn't until the nexr day that I found out that the person who'd taken it was actually a friend of mine who'd seen me forget it, and decided to play a trick on me. Again: I was not amused.

But more of that later (maybe...) for now I am going to focus on another of my favourite books: the Rule of Four. It was written by Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thompson, and it, in essance, is about a group of four students about to graduate from Princeton, two of whom are are trying to decode and understand a cryptic book written in Florence during the 1400's: the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili.

Now there's a mouthful if I ever saw one, eh? Well, the content of the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili is just as mind boggling as the title. It contains a story that makes little to no sense, with ill chosen words placed in at random times, creating a jumble of prose which the worlds best scholars can't make heads or tails of. What they do know, is that there is a method behind the book's madness: words are hidden behind words, and history changing secrets are encrypted and buried in the impossible book.

So, the rest of the novel is about the four students and the effect the book has on their lives. The main protagonist, Tom Sullivan, is the son of a scholar who spent all his life obsessing over the book, and he loses himself in the book more than a few times too. His friend Paul Harris; a humble genius, is also studying the book, and hopes to have it cracked in time to submit his findings for his graduate thesis: a fast approaching date. Then there's Charlie, the laid back good guy, and Gil, the rich, handsome popular one.

Together, the four of them have to deal with obsession, campus life, growing apart and murder. And let me tell you, it makes for a very gripping conclusion. Not only are the characters real and likable enough that you care about what happens to them, but the thrill of decyphering the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili and learning it's author's secret makes this book impossible not to love. And then there's all of the lore and history packed into the story as well...it's like the Da Vinvi Code, only if I had to chose I'd pick the The Rule of Four any day.

Now for some fun: I'm going to show you guys one of the simpler cyphers used in this book: the cypher aplhabet. First, you chose a code word, which can be any word that doesn't repeat letters. Then, you rewrite the alphabet, writing the letters of the code word first and then filling in the rest. For example, if I used the word phone:

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

P H O N E A B C D F G I J K L M Q R S T U V W X W Z

Olli trdof, ec? Well, that's all for now, folks!

A truth universally acknowledged...

It's a grey October day out there, and a cold one at that. I can see the wind whipping crisp leaves off trees by my window, and hear it whistling through cracks that I can't find. The sound alone makes me want to shiver...

Of course, you don't care about that. What you want to know is; why should I bother reading this particular blog? Answer: I've no idea. I started this blog for two reasons-

One: to discuss my one true passion in life (well, that's a lie... it's not my only true passion, but let's not quibble): reading, and Two: because sending my most inner and private thoughts out into cyberspace, where they are easily accessible to complete strangers, somehow gives me comfort (this reminds me; I am an incurable sarcastic person. If sarcasm annoys you, I offer you my most sincere apologies. No, really. I mean it).

So, I think I'll open this blog with a nod to it's title. In other words, it's time to play a game of Spot The Quote:

"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife."

Is it from 1984? Nicholas Nickleby? Wuthering Heights? Obviously not. No, my friends, you are looking at the opening lines of one of the world's favourite books; a book which contains the social satire of George Orwell, the subtle comedy of Dickens and the desperate romance of Emily Brontë - Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.

Now, I'm not one of those readers who claims that this book is the be all and end all of all literature, nor do I believe that the novel is the best of Jane Austen's works. However, it was the first book of hers that I had a chance to read all those years ago, and it was love at first page (I am not exaggerating. There was drooling involved).

I loved her twisting and unpredictable plots, I loved the window her books offered me into life during 19^th Century England, I loved her dialogues and romance, but most of all, I loved her characters. It was while reading her books that I first discovered the power of having deep, dynamic characters; before this point, it took nothing but a good plot and pretty language to reel me in. Elizabeth Bennet, her sisters, Mr. Wickham and Mr. Darcy changed the way I read books and looked at the world in general, and for that, Pride and Prejudice will always have a place on my bookshelf (and in my heart, of course).

And that is why I chose it to form my blog's title. Well that, and because from now on I can start blog posts by saying things like: "It is a truth universally acknowledged that basketballs are a bloody menace, and should not be allowed anywhere near my delicate computer moniter, especially when they are in motion." This sort of general statement would be followed by me venting for a paragraph or two, and then offering my opinion on a book I'd read, or had heard about. This is, after all, primarily a blog about reading, for readers, and written by a girl who enjoys nothing more than to leave the world behind by curling up on the bench in her backyard with a good book.

Well, ta for now, dear imaginary readers =]