How many nights I prayed for this, to let my work begin

[kleenexwoman]

Humanities nerdiness is harvesting every book in the library that you can find that has anything to do with Russian folklore, then getting irked enough to yell because you still can't find an English translation of the right book anywhere, even on Amazon, despite the fact that the story you're doing all this research for is already plotted out very tightly in your head and you're not sure if you're even going to change it according to what you find or not.

I wonder if I can squeeze some pearls of wisdom and/or rare books out of Ari Berk. I don't even know if he's hanging around on campus this summer.

ETA: Holy crap, I love university libraries. Only the one Propp book, but there are a few "Everyday life in Soviet Russia!" type of books, and even one about black ex-pats in "Red Russia," which answers a really weird question I'd had kicking around.

Comments

[cortocorto.livejournal.com]

I hate it when you can't find an English translation of something good and important...A couple of months ago I almost went out of my gourd because I couldn't find an English translation of a French naval officer's memoirs of the 19th century war in Vietnam...I can relate, and I sympathize with you...

[drworm.livejournal.com]

I love libraries, even when I suck at finding shit.

I mean, I brought home an encyclopedia of espionage. That has to make everything worthwhile.

[josephwaldman.livejournal.com]

*swoons*

I am Nostradamus. I was in the stacks at about the same time as you were, this time in 2001. I recall particularly thinking "(a) this is fun, (b) but it ain't gonna go anywhere, so (c) better just use the translation. God bless the Babelfish!