親愛的

        我看了一本書。



        The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society，台灣遠流的譯本，叫做《親愛的茱麗葉》。



        根西馬鈴薯皮派文學讀書會。



        根西島，是法國外海的英國領土。說是領土，其實根西是個自治地區。英國皇室除了美其名的皇權之外，英國政府什麼都管不著。稅不上繳、法不由定、官不由選。但電話號碼掛的是英國國碼。



        博客萊上的導讀說，中文譯名翻的好；原名太不「文學」。看完這麼一本書，講出這麼一句話讓我很愕然。文學一定要那麼高深莫測、深奧隱誨？書裡講的都是再自然不過的、日常、想法、見解。就算是農夫養豬戶，也可以去理解的生活。



        生活即是文學。



        我讀的是英文版，或許有機會，親愛的你可以去翻翻中文版。一邊趕稿、一邊幫雷少念多益的這個星期；我手邊帶著這本書。筆電沒有電了，沒法趕稿；我就翻開書籤夾著的那頁進度，就著飲料，窩在座位上，偷偷咯咯笑；偶爾抬頭關心一下模擬考試生的寫作進度，等著雷少做完模擬考題目來檢討。



        自從離職在家專心翻譯，一個月來，我反倒多了時間看書。稿子照樣拖的很慚愧狠心虛，可是每晚睡前的書還是放不下。



        讀完了美味關係的原著，又拿起根西馬鈴薯皮派。巧合的是，兩本都是小品。前者用部落格文章與日記段落串聯；後者是書信、電報、電纜通訊...



        今天下午看看已經看完了半本。回到家忍不住拿起來繼續看著，笑著。為了書信往返中的生活記事、為了那島上一票好友男男女女的生活境遇、為了莫名串聯起來的緣分。



        從不知道什麼時候起，我有了在新書封底寫上名字簽上購買日期的習慣。所以看到書中女主角收到一封陌生人的來信，說是因為一本二手書輾轉聯絡到的，特別有感覺。



         曾經在亞馬遜光看說明買了一本書；這是我第一次買書買到大失所望。作者的故事筆法不但像個稚嫩的青少年，還像個嗑了藥嗨過頭青少年一樣毫無章法。至少我無法領會那書的美妙之處。我只看的頭腦發脹，想睡覺；或者出去淋雨；或者曬太陽。



        一趟旅行帶出門，我沒把書留在倫敦的青年旅社，堆滿書籍的書架上。同寢男生跟我說可以玩book swapping，把我的書留下然後翻翻哪本書有興趣，把它帶回家。



        我遲疑許久，選擇把書遺留在英國的火車上。那時候還覺得是很浪漫的事。



        或許哪個旅途無聊的乘客，會選擇那個位置前往愛丁堡。或許他會發現這本書。在那一個小時的車程之中，說不定，那個新的乘客會愛上這本書，然後給它一個家，不也挺好。



        私底下，我希望這本書留在英國。在青年旅社，它或許漂洋過海會淪落到圭亞納也不一定。我只是舉例。然後瑪姬知道之後跟我說，那萬一是韓國人坐到那個位置把書帶回家呢？



        我啜著熱茶假裝什麼都沒聽到。



        我要偷偷承認，是因為青年旅社的書沒有的看上眼的。



        馬鈴薯皮派，當初買這本書也是一時衝動：看著名字覺得很可愛。



        這是作者生平第一本，也是唯一一本著作。在書正式付印出版前，瑪莉安雪佛不幸與世長辭。身為美國人，一遊英國之後寫出讓自許1/3個英國人的我暗笑不已，拍案叫絕，直跟Skype那端的男友嚷嚷，好英國的一本書。



        希望親愛的你會去翻翻這本書，跟我一樣又哭又笑之後，掛著滿足的微笑闔上有點折彎的書頁，泡上一杯熱騰騰的茶，窩在沙發上逗弄著小貓或小狗。然後覺得世界、生活，都很美好。



        順道一提，我發現無名分類沒有閱讀這一項。好震驚。

不需要

        不需要太多太多關注，真的。



        那些幽靈帳號、廣告訪客、問卷調查留言都可以給我滾的遠遠的。這裡是我分享心情、想法的地方。



        不是隨便人家貼小纸條的電線桿。



        只需要朋友，有地方可以接觸到我的想法；只需要在他們想起我的時候，有這麼一個地方讓他們去追尋我腦袋裡面拉哩拉雜的有的沒的。



        只需要，在忙碌的趕稿的時候有個小小角落，讓我雜唸。



        至於訪客數量、衝人氣衝首頁；我都沒有需要。



        麻煩打包滾蛋。



        硬闖者，殺無赦；並用無名檢舉機制制裁。



        Too much attention is not required, honestly.



        All those fake accounts, advertisement guestbook sign-ins, survey follow-ups can just pack it and leave. 



        This is a ground for me to share my thoughts and feelings, not some random poll at the corner where people can litter and post all their doggy little ads.



        I need my friends, to access my thoughts somehow; when they think of me, they'd have a place to find out what's in my heart and on my mind.



        Just a place for me to do some random nagging whenever I feel the pressure of translation deadlines are getting to me.



        The visitor counts, volume or homepage placements, are simply unnecessary.



        So beat it.



        Those who insist, will be deleted, and prosecuted with the Wretch prosecution system.

Can't sleep at 7am in the morning

        This is one of the luxuries of not working a day job and focusing on translation all through the night.



        If you can't sleep at 7am in the morning after a long night working on translation, you can always listen to BBC news on ICRT and laugh at the stuff they talk about that you just know, is typically British/English.



        Today is was something about the British love of heroic failures.



        Some South Pole explorer who set off to be the first Brit to explore that white, icy cold piece of land that was, or at least turned out to be, a very optimistic failed explorer to who unfortunately for his own good (but fortunately to feed the British admiration), died in the process.



        Or about the English Premier Leage footballers that are, according to the former editor in chief of The Sun, barely equipped with enough brain to not walk into a lamp post, arrogant, selfish, greedy and cover up whatever happens in their personal lives as long as they can until they can no longer surpress the media attention and come up with a gaigantic scandal. 



        In this particular case apparently about John Terry, England Squad's current, and maybe soon to be former captain for the 2010 South Aftrica World Cup.



        You've got to love the British.



        Their sarcasim is something the Americans can only mimic and end up sounding arrogant. Their sense of humour is what every other English speaking country spent ages chasing after and still, can only grasp that very little. 



        No one can be as bitter while as funny and as enjoying themselves.



        So, here's my salut to them, at 7am after one too many coffee and a pounding headache, with a smile on my face and some random ranting.



        God bless the Queen.....or at least her Britain.