The first time we were in the vicinity of each other, Hans was twenty-two years old, fighting the French. The majority of young men in his platoon were eager to fight. Hans wasn’t so sure. I had taken a few of them along the way, but you could say I never even came close to touching Hans Hubermann. He was either too lucky, or he deserved to live, or there was a good reason for him to live.
In the army, he didn’t stick out at either end. He ran in the middle, climbed in the middle, and he could shoot straight enough so as not to affront his superiors. Nor did he excel enough to be one of the first chosen to run straight at me.

A SMALL BUT NOTEWORTHY NOTE
I’ve seen so many young men
over the years who think they’re
running at other young men.
They are not.
They’re running at me.

[...] That was the first time Hans Hubermann escaped me. The Great War.
A second escape was still to come, in 1943, in Essen.
Two wars for two escapes.
Once young, once middle-aged.
Not many men are lucky enough to cheat me twice.

[Markus Zusak, The Book Thief, p. 182 & 186.]

This is an excerpt from the book I am reading right now. It is a really great book. It is narrated - if you haven’t figured it out - by Death, which makes for a pretty unique and unusual reading experience. I am only half-way through but really enjoying it so far, and this quote kind of stuck out to me so I wanted to share it.

I decided to split up one post into two because it was just getting really long. That is what I get for not posting in over a week!

I had applied for an internship with a publishing company in Munich in December - originally for this summer but they had no spots left [in December, crazy!] so they told me to contact them again this fall for next summer. That’s what I did, and now I have an interview coming up in a few weeks. I am a bit anxious if I think about it [but I don't do that too much yet] because I have a feeling this will actually be a proper interview, unlike most interviews I have had so far.

I asked the housing office if my apartment will be all girls or mixed and they told me it will be mixed, two girls, two guys. This can be a good thing as things will probably be more balanced, less drama. But I really hope they will not be messy [and guys have a higher tendency to be messy than girls]. Anyway, I should meet them all in just under two weeks.

I have ordered all my books for next semester. I tried to keep things inexpensive and ordered quite a few books used [but in good or very good condition], which saved me quite a bit of money. I suppose that also means I will have to start reading for class soon. I have been reading more again lately but all leisure, no school reading. I am still reading Atonement which has turned from leisure to school reading, as it will be taught in one of my classes next semester. I also finished The Music of Chance by Paul Auster which I read because I love Auster, but as Auster is a good contemporary American author [which is what I study, 20th century American Literature], I never feel too guilty about reading his books. It was a really good read, very strange though. It left me wondering what the hell just happened, but not in a bad way.

So I think you may be able to guess by now what this will be about … Of course. Twilight. What else? As those of you who also read Twilight may know, Midnight Sun, essentially Twilight told from Edward’s perspective was leaked. Someone who was given a copy of the unfinished unedited draft by Stephenie Meyer scanned all the pages and put them online. S. Meyer reacted to this in a message on her website saying she is very sad and upset that her intellectual property was distributed like this without her knowledge or consent. And that because of this Midnight Sun is now on hold indefinitely. This really sucks. She actually made the draft available on her website, and being the weak human being I am I could not resist an entire 264 pages told from Edward’s perspective, so I downloaded it, and read it. It is amazing. Especially considering it is a rough draft. It will [would?] be such a great book. When I first heard of this project, I was having my doubts - I was wondering how she would make a story we essentially all know so interesting just by telling it from a different perspective, but she did it. And she did it really well. I really really enjoyed reading the first twelve chapters of Midnight Sun, it was captivating from the first to the last page. I do not really feel guilty for reading them, after all, there is a chance she might never finish it, so this is all we’re going to get. I do hope, though, that she will finish the book. I have a feeling that once she has calmed down after a little break, she will continue with the book, just because the impression I have of her is that she will not want to leave it unfinished as she seems like the biggest fan of the characters she created. I do understand she is really upset right now [though personally, I find her reaction a bit unprofessional and maybe hasty, but she is a human being like everyone else], but I hope she will let us find out the rest of the story. And from a marketing perspective, I think whoever leaked it actually did her a favor, as Midnight Sun was far better received than Breaking Dawn [which I liked but many didn't], but I suppose that doesn’t change how she feels.